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Tourist Guide to Car and rental Hire in Lisbon In this tourist guide we hope to present an unbiased opinion to help you decide if to hire a rental car during your holiday to Lisbon. The tourist guide also provides advice and tips with car rental and the agencies that provide the service in Lisbon. Is it worth hiring a rental car for a holiday to Lisbon?

This is a very difficult question and the answer truly depends on the type of holiday you wish to have during your stay in Portugal. Lisbon and the area surrounding the capital is covered by some of the most extensive and good value public transport found on the Iberian Peninsula. Driving in central Lisbon (Baixa, Alfama, Barrio Alto and Graca) is a complete nightmare so simple don’t or expect to get minor bumps, scratches and for your stress level go through the roof. The remainder of Lisbon is difficult to drive in with poor signage, never ending traffic and the constant battle against Portuguese poor driving.

A rental car is perfect for multiple day trips for those who wish discover further than the boundaries of just Lisbon and it becomes essential for families located in the small resort towns outside of Lisbon. The larger tourist towns of Sintra, Cascais, Estoril have great public transport links back to Lisbon but south of the River Tejo is not as well connected. The public transport connections from Lisbon to the larger cities e.g. Evora, Setubal and Fatima by coach are excellent and very good value but these journeys can be completed in a fraction of the time by use of a rental car and the rental car provides additional flexibility.

The roads outside the centre of Lisbon are generally empty and safe. Much of the highway network is tolled and on these routes you will pass only a handful of cars on a journey, as the savvy Portuguese would rather save a couple of Euros and spend that on petrol stuck in a traffic jam on a minor country road.

Car rental in Portugal is not always as cheap as it seems with the many of the hire companies levying "additional option" costs either in the form of insurance to cover ludicrous excess fees, additional driver fees or child’s baby seats.

So in summary we would suggest:
If this is your first trip to Lisbon and you are to be based in Lisbon - do not rent a car there are plenty of sights and great beaches which are accessible without the need for a rental car.

If you are part of a larger group or family group and are based in one of the small beach resorts in a rented apartment or hotel complex outside of great Lisbon then do seriously consider renting a car.

If your holiday is to discover Lisbon and the surrounding area (further afield then just Sintra and Cascais) consider renting a car just the later section of the holiday, do not waste money hiring a car while based in Lisbon.

If main driver is under 25 there are too many additional fees and it is simple not worth renting a car. These additional insurance fees are often added at the rental agency in Lisbon and may not clearly explained in your home country.

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