Car Hire in Portugal
To rent a car in Portugal you must usually be over 23 and have held a full licence for over 12 months. Rental can be arranged via a holiday/rental firm before you leave the UK, should you require a reserved car on arrival, or at any time while in the country from one of the company branches situated around the country. Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz all have main branches in the airports and main cities, with agents operating in other areas. Their distinctive signs are easy to find. In the Yellow Pages look under Automoveis/carros... aluguel = hire/rental.
The price of rental will depend on:
- type/size of car
- length of rental period - usually better discounts for longer periods
- supply of petrol in tank - if the tank is full when you collect, you may be expected to return it as such
- collect/deposit location - some companies allow you to collect the car at one place, and leave it at another of their offices, for which there is a fee levied
- season - some discounts are offered in low season.
Any travel operator will inform you of relevant details. Alternatively you may have a local car rental firm to check information with. There are also many firms now available via the Internet.
