Renting a car in Portugal - Things you should know

Everything you need to know to rent and drive a car in Portugal. Includes discussion on the "Rules of the Road" in Portugal, and tips for getting a good price for your rental car.

You might enjoy watching one of these other videos from Portugal:

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[jeremygman]

Drove all over Portugal a few years ago and didn’t find it too bad, in terms of other drivers. But I’ve lived all over the world and have seen some truly horrific driving, so my perspective is probably different from the average tourist. One particular caution I would mention is that many European streets in general, and Portuguese streets in particular, can be super narrow. Évora, Manteigas, Sintra, and Coimbra all had streets I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through. Even came across a couple of parking garages with dangerously narrow passages. Just make sure you take it slow and if you’re traveling with someone, maybe that person can get out and help you make sure you’re not going to scratch or scrape the vehicle. The vehicle’s proximity sensors will be going off constantly, so aren’t always very helpful.

[gilbertocarmona]

Good to know. It's very similar here (Brazil)... I only drove automatic cars in Canada and USA.

[mffmart]

Updates for 2024:
1. The toll service On-Board Unit (Via Verde) is now mandatory on all new rentals from 2023 onwards, and there is an upper cap of 20€ and change per rental contract. All rental companies respect this rule, but they WILL put a hold on your card for a certain amount for tolls as well (usually around 100€), so watch out for that.
2. On highways (I wouldn't call them 'freeways' considering the fact they are mostly paid) you pay by distance; in practice, this means if you were to pay manually for them (which you probably won't, see above point 1.) you'd most often take a ticket on the way in and only pay once on your way out, and the machine would calculate your fare from your entry to your exit point when you fed it the ticket.

[bitshift]

There are right turns on red lights, but they're rather rare.
I know of one in Aveiro.

[TGASASSY]

I feel like you’re Mainly comparing the driving to how it is in the USA…. Driving in Portugal is very simple and In my opinion it’s safer too. Thanks for the video! Parking Lisbon sucks and so does tax

[abu-vai-sunny-vai]

If I buy full insurance coverage, do I still have to pay deposit?

[airgow]

This was very useful! Is it cheaper to rent a car online before you want to leave Lisbon versus renting a car on the day you are ready to leave Lisbon?

[jorgemarques]

What is weird are the signs in the US, and the way you drive, Americans to park need two parking spots! And only know how to drive in a straight line, come visit Portugal but rent a car with driver!

[davidstoeckl]

We're visiting Portugal for a month this summer. Thanks for your car rental tips. I'm six and a half feet tall. I know you would not be the final word on this, but any cramped mini or economic cars I should avoid, specifically for head and leg space? Obrigado.

[txecome]

"They drive kind of crazy"??? You were driving in Lisbon or in Morroco? You must be kind of mistaken.

[roknablue]

I wonder if you've ever been to Italy (; Obviously not - Portugal is a calm flow in comparison xD And roundabouts are nothing unique to Portugal, it's a world-wide (or at least European) thing xD

[hugochka]

A bit exaggerated with the “they drive like crazy” still good tips.

[joaonobre]

The way he says "Renault" 😂😂😂

[mattjames]

Very useful. TY from a Brit (interesting this video from a US perspective)

[haydendurbin]

How old do you have to be to rent a car in Portugal?

[iolandatrombone]

Do i need to add an extra insurance? Honestly scared by the companies trying to sell additional insurances just to steal money 😅😅😅

[nres]

trying to hire car in maderia ....any idea or info, will be greatly appreciated. thanks

[dektarium]

Heard a lot of stories about tourists getting ripped off by car rental companies in Portugal; specifically about dealers finding any excuse to charge you extra fees for either normal wear/tear or super tiny scratches, or missing plastic moldings that may not have been there to begin with. This is done when you return the car (obviously) and they know you are on your way out of the country and probably not a position to wait for an estimate to fix the "damage" and will likely agree to whatever they demand. Any tips on this?

[thatgirlfiggy]

Do they drive on the opposite side of the road like in England or the same side as in Canada?

[fazzyy]

This did not help my case with my fiance in my argument for us to rent a car while in Portugal but hey it was honest enough.