Renting a Car in Portugal in 2026: 20 Tips From 8 Months Behind the Wheel
I have rented cars in Portugal twice, eight months in total. For four of those months, I lived in Nazaré with the car parked outside, used it for day trips, and then drove it all the way south to the Algarve. When you live with a rental that long, you learn things a one-week visitor never runs into, usually by getting them wrong first. This guide is all of that, so you don’t have to repeat my mistakes.
Some good news before we start: renting here is easy and cheap in Europe, and since January 2025, a whole group of motorways, including the A22 in the Algarve, no longer charge tolls. Here are 20 things to know before renting a car in Portugal, plus the driving rules, real costs, and routes worth planning around.
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Do You Need a Rental Car in Portugal?
In the cities, no. Lisbon and Porto are a headache with a car, parking is scarce, the streets are tight, and the train between them is fast and cheap anyway.
Also, both cities are very walkable, and you don’t want to get stuck in Lisbon trafic, believe me. To move around the cities (both of them), you can use local transportation, Uber or other car-sharing apps (I love Bolt) or taxis.
Everywhere else, yes. The monasteries, the small villages, the quieter Algarve beaches, none of that works well without a car. My rule after eight months with a rental here: pick it up the day you leave the first city, return it before the last one.
Why Drive Across Portugal?
Because everything is ridiculously close together. You can have breakfast in a surf town and be standing inside a 12th century monastery before lunch. Try doing that by train. Trains here are great between the big cities and useless for almost everything in between, and the in-between is where Portugal keeps its best stuff.
I kept a rental in Portugal for eight months in total, four of them living in Nazaré, and my favorite finds were almost never planned. Some days I would just take the car out with no destination, pull over at a viewpoint, end up having lunch in a village with one restaurant, and that turns into the day you tell people about later. The car is what makes those days possible.
Also, it’s cheap. Rentals here cost less than in most of western Europe, the roads are in good shape, distances are short, and since 2025 a lot of motorways don’t even charge tolls anymore. If you have never done a road trip abroad, Portugal is a good place to start. It’s hard to get it wrong here.
How to Find the Best Car Rental Company in Portugal
There isn’t one best car rental company in Portugal, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. It depends on your dates, your pickup point, and which operator happens to have the right car at a fair price that week. Then there are Car rentals that have basic terms and conditions that are not good for you and those should be taken out of the picture to help narrow down the search .
That’s why I always start on Discover Cars: it compares the big international desks (Hertz, Sixt, Europcar, which I never use, by the way) with the small Portuguese companies in one search, and it shows you each company’s real customer rating next to the price.
My method after eight months of rentals here (3 bookings): filter for free cancellation, sort by price, and then, before anything else, check the supplier’s rating, not only on discover cars platform but also on Trustpilot or Google.
Also I would recommend taking the rating with a grain of salt and read the reviews from somebody who left 1 star. Things can happen when you are traveling and it’s not always for the good, for million reasons. And it’s not always the fault of the car rental. This comes from a suspicious person who doesn’t think highly of car rentals.
A cheap offer from a company rated below 8 isn’t cheap. It usually means trouble at the counter when you bring the car back.
I always end up booking local companies as they often offer the best deal, cheaper than the big brands and sometimes friendlier too, but the rating tells you which ones to trust. (I have been using Centauro and EPI and they have both been great)
20 Things to Know Before Renting a Car in Portugal
1. Book early and compare, then compare again
I use Discover Cars to compare the international desks and Portuguese local companies in one place, with real ratings for each. For July and August, book months ahead; for the rest of the year a few weeks is enough. My extra habit: if your booking has free cancellation, search every couple of weeks again.
Prices move, and I have rebooked the same category for much less than my original reservation. Two pricing quirks worth knowing: deep off-season rates at city offices can drop below €10 a day, and a full 7-day rate sometimes costs less than 5 or 6 days, so always quote the week.
And for stays over a month, email the company directly before booking online: long-term rates are negotiable in Portugal, and I have paid well under the daily price by asking.
2. Take the full insurance
Here comes the real big advantage of booking with discovercars, or at least what I love the most, besides cheap car rentals. The basic coverage that comes with cheap rates has an excess that can go over €1,000. Discover cars offers a full coverage that costs a few euros a day (depending on the type of car), way less than what the counter charges for the same thing, and it means a scratch is just a form to sign instead of a fight. After eight months of rentals here, I just consider it part of the price of the car.
3. Bring a credit card in the driver’s name
The deposit goes on a real credit card in the main driver’s name. Debit cards get refused at a lot of desks, or they force you into the most expensive insurance. If you’re planning to rely on your credit card’s own rental coverage, get written confirmation from the card issuer that Portugal is included before you fly.
4. Read the agreement: mileage, fuel, borders
Three lines to check before you sign: unlimited mileage (some cheap offers cap it around 100 km a day, useless for a road trip), a full-to-full fuel policy, and if a Seville side trip is tempting you, make sure you check with the car rental that crossing into Spain is actually allowed. They usually allow but there is an extra fee involved. The surprises are always in the fine print, so read it. Another question I always as is “What is not included in the insurance?”
If you ask what’s included, sometimes they leave something out, because they take it for granted. Or at least that’s been my experience.
5. Film the car before leaving the lot
Walk around the car and film it and take picture. Make sure you check that the pictures are good. Most of the time the lighting is so bad that you can’t see anything. Every scratch, the rims, the windshield, the fuel level. Check that the damage sheet matches what you filmed before you leave, and do the same thing at drop-off. Three minutes each time, and nobody can pin old damage on you.
6. Documents: license, passport, maybe an IDP
EU licenses work as they are. US, UK, Canadian, and Australian licenses are valid for stays up to 185 days. An International Driving Permit is recommended alongside non-EU licenses, and it’s cheap, but honestly, the desks rarely ask for it. It is necessary, though if your driving licence is not written in roman alphabet.
7. Age rules
Minimum age is 21 with most companies, and under 25 you’ll pay a young driver fee, up to €35 a day with some brands. If that’s you, check the conditions tab before booking.
8. Manual is the default
Book an automatic early or learn to love the stick. I once reserved a Fiat Panda and got handed a 3-door Fiat 500 instead, which honestly turned out to be the right car for Portugal: small enough for village streets and old town parking, big enough for my whole life in the trunk.
9. Add every driver to the contract
If someone else is going to drive, add them to the contract. An unregistered driver behind the wheel voids the insurance completely. The fee is small. Being personally liable for a whole car is not.
10. Skip the paid GPS
Google Maps works great in Portugal. Get a local SIM or eSIM, download the offline maps for the interior regions, and spend the GPS fee on lunch instead.
11. The toll system changed in 2025
This is the update most guides still miss: on January 1, 2025, Portugal removed the tolls from the former SCUT motorways, including the A22 across the Algarve, plus the A23, A24, and A25. The main routes still charge though. Lisbon to Porto on the A1 runs around €20 to €25 one way, the A2 down to the Algarve is tolled too, and the rough math on paying roads is €1 per 10 km.
How you actually pay: the traditional motorways have toll plazas. Take a ticket going in, pay cash or card going out, and don’t enter the green lanes marked with a V, those are electronic only.
The easiest setup with a rental is asking the desk for the Via Verde transponder: small daily fee, tolls charged to your card, and it covers the few electronic-only sections too. If you want to price a route before driving it, the official Portugal Tolls site has the rates. Ask the car rental for the VIA Verde. You will get charged a one time fee. (I paid 18 Euro) and then you will get charged for the tolls you used in about a month on the credit card you have registered with your reservation. They will also provide an invoice from ViaVerde with the breakdown of your expenses. If you want to doublecheck make sure you write down everytime you use a toll road. I didn’t because I forgot so I had to trust them. 🙂
12. Speed limits and what fines look like
Motorways 120 km/h, national roads 90, towns 50, and more and more 30 zones in the historic centers. There are cameras. If police stop you in person, you can pay the fine at any post office (CTT) within the deadline. Camera fines find you months later through the rental company, with an admin fee added on top.
13. Parking: blue lines and underground garages
Blue lines on the street mean paid parking, usually 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays. Cities have plenty of underground garages, and small towns keep free lots at their edges. Don’t leave anything visible in the car, that advice is universal, but overnight street parking is generally safe in Portugal. Keep in mind that some of those Garages will give you the option to pay with VIA VERDE, but when I asked I was told that because it’s a rental, it wasn’t applicable. So you basically get the ticket and paid when you leave.
Street parking usually come with limited time and machines. You need to find the nearest one, pay for the time you think you will stay, get the ticket and put it in the car, well visible from the front window. They are pretty strict with parking fees, so make sure you time your parking correctly, or you will get a fine. I know because it happened to me in Cascais. (amazing town that you must visit, by the way)
14. Shoulder season cuts the price in half
The same car that costs a fortune in the first week of August is genuinely cheap in October, often less than half. And spring and fall are better for driving anyway: open roads, mild weather, everything still open. My guide to the best time to visit Portugal goes deeper on this.
15. One-way rentals carry a return fee
You can pick up in Faro and drop in Porto, and it’s often worth it, but there’s a one-way fee and it varies a lot between companies. Check it at booking. Sometimes it’s worth picking your drop-off city based on the fee alone.
16. Distances are shorter than you think
Lisbon to Porto is 314 km. Lisbon to Faro, 278. Évora, 134. Óbidos, 85. Nothing is really far here, and that’s exactly what makes Portugal such an easy country to drive.
17. Know your fuel before the first fill
Check which fuel your car takes before the first fill, it’s marked inside the fuel flap. Gasolina 95 is petrol, gasóleo is diesel, and putting in the wrong one is the most expensive mistake you can make with a rental. Where you fill up matters more than what you fill up with: the Intermarché and Continente supermarket stations are noticeably cheaper than the highway ones, which you’ll find at service areas roughly every 40 km on the motorway.
17. Child seats and the equipment the law requires
Kids under 12 and under 135 cm need a proper seat in the back. Rental companies charge up to €10 a day per seat, so on a two-week trip buying one locally can actually be cheaper. Every car also has to carry a reflective vest and a warning triangle. They come with the rental, but check they’re actually in the trunk while you’re filming the car.
18. If something goes wrong
Breakdown: call the number on your rental agreement first, their assistance handles the towing and the replacement car. Accident: 112 is the emergency number, take photos, exchange details, and tell the rental company the same day, because late notification can void your coverage. With full insurance, a small scrape is just a form at drop-off. That’s why tip 2 exists.
Is Driving in Portugal Safe and Easy?
Yes to both. The roads are modern and well kept, the signs are clear, and outside Lisbon and Porto traffic is light. Two things to get used to: Portuguese drivers show up fast in your mirror on the highway, so keep right except to pass. And village streets can narrow down to one-car width, where the system is a wave and somebody reversing. Roundabouts are everywhere, and whoever is already inside has priority.
Portugal Road Trip Routes Worth Renting For
The Nazaré to Algarve stretch is the drive I know best, and the full south-to-north crossing is the trip I’d recommend first. My Faro to Porto road trip maps it out in two weeks. After that, the classics: Lisbon to Porto with stops in Óbidos, Nazaré, and Coimbra, the Lisbon to Algarve run, and the monasteries loop, Alcobaça, Batalha, and Tomar, which I covered starting from the Alcobaça Monastery and still think about. Around Sintra, the palaces and Queluz Palace make an easy day by car. My full Portugal itinerary strings the whole country together.
Renting a Car in Portugal: FAQ
How do tolls work in Portugal in 2026?
Since January 1, 2025, the former SCUT motorways (A22, A23, A24, A25 among others) are toll free. The remaining paid ones, like the A1 and A2, have toll plazas plus Via Verde electronic lanes. The easiest option with a rental is the Via Verde transponder from the desk, which charges tolls to your card automatically.
What extra charges should I watch for when renting a car in Portugal?
The usual suspects: additional drivers (€7 to €10 a day), young driver fees under 25, child seats (up to €10 a day each), one-way drop fees, cross-border fees for Spain (€60 to €150), airport surcharges, and fuel policies that aren’t full-to-full. All of it is visible in the conditions tab before you book, if you read it.
How much does it cost to rent a car in Portugal?
Usually it’s about €15 to €30 a day in shoulder season, and two to three times that in August. Full coverage adds a few euros a day. The same 6-day rental that costs around €350 in August often costs less than half that in October. Same car, same company. However, as I am updating this post and rewriting some info, I was checking the Discovercars page and the car rental for this week, in August, looks extremely cheap. You should check it out.
Which side of the road does Portugal drive on?
The right, like the rest of continental Europe. If you’re coming from the UK or Ireland, you’ll adjust within a day. The roundabouts take a little longer.
Renting a Car in Portugal: Final Thoughts
Book early, film the car, take the insurance, and enjoy the fact that the A22 doesn’t charge you anymore. Portugal is one of the easiest and cheapest countries in Europe to drive, and the best parts of it, the small towns, the empty beaches, the random detours, only really open up when you have your own car. If you’re flying into the Algarve, my renting a car in Faro guide covers the airport details, and the islands play by their own rules, which I cover in my Azores car rental guide.
