Tips for Portugal

[Hymie]

Hi all, we're off on our 1st adventure to Portugal on 4 Sept, passing through Henday & Burgos.

We have 10 - 12 weeks to drive through Portugal & possibly head home along the Costa's. If the fires are out we intend to cross the border after Burgos.

Are there any do's & don'ts we should know about wildcamping in Portugal, and secondly could anyone recommend some nice places to visit.

We're not the Algarve/Benidorm types, prefer peace & quiet, and we're both teetotal, so don't need to visit winery's, etc, but will recommendations gratefully received.

TIA,

Hymie

 

[iampatman]

May I make a suggestion.
Go along the North coast of Spain to Galicia, then head south down to Portugal.
Inland Portugal is V Good, Baragems (Lakes)

What he said but don’t forget the coast, some of the beaches are amazing:

Arcade 42.339049 -8.613470
A Guarda 41.898932 -8.878384
Afife 41.769931 -8.871393
Vila do Conde 41.345049 -8.745785
Aviera 40.643999 -8.658871

Enjoy your trip,

Pat

 

[Pauljenny]

Good idea to work your way along the Northern Spain coastline, it will still be very hot south of Lisbon, in September.

Look at the POI.s... there's loads of them.
Look on the European Travel thread, " Spain/ Portugal " where are you "... Full of tips and experience.
Look at the threads that I started, on my home page, ( click on my avatar ).... There's information on a scheme to welcome motorhomes throughout The Algarve, many away from the coast and it's Blackpool belt.
Have fun, don't rush .

 

[shortcircuit]

On the assumption you may use motorways, we did not find any toll booths as they rely on number plate recognition. We entered at Castro Marim and as you cross the border at a bridge, there is a lay-by with a number of pay stations. You enter your credit card and register your vehicle which has had your registration number logged. As you use motorways you are logged on entry/exit and billed accordingly. This is worth doing even although you do not intend to use motorways, as if not, you can get some serious bills. On the motorways you are provided with sign posts indicating the cost of where you are to the next destination/s

I understand from other forums that you can register at other points although I cannot provide any details.

We found Portugal very good, however the roads away from the motorways were dreadful and we felt we were being shaken to bits so were absolutely delighted we had preregistered.
Enjoy

 

[izwozral]

Avoid Pauljenny at all costs, your hand will never be out of your pocket, he dives into sewers for false compensation claims and you can't understand a word he says, he's from deepest darkest Yorkshire.

 

[Moped]

Lisbon is worth a visit but the only real place to stop is the campsite on the outskirts of the city. There is a bus stop just outside and a Jumbo hyper market 20 minutes walk away. 10% discount if you have ACSI card. Obtain a Lisbon Viva Viagem Card by visiting a metro station giving you 24 hour hop on hop off travel on local buses, the metro and trams for about €6 per person per day.

Sintra is definitely worth a visit with its 6 palaces and moorish castle on the hill top. There are pay car parks on the outskirts where you can stop overnight or you can get the train from Lisbon using the travel card mentioned above but you do have to pay around €10 daily if you wish to include train travel in the local region.

The coastline at Alvor on the Algarve is outstanding and reminds me of Thailand in miniture with its rock formations, coves, arches and caves. You can park up in the car park near the beach or use the €4 per night aire next door if you want to get tables and chairs out and generally chill out a bit more.

Visit the university city of Coimbra, the Portuguese equivalent of Oxford or Cambridge, park up in the car park next to the river on the south west side of the city, walk across the bridge and visit the university on the hill above the river. The tour costs around €12 per person and includes entrance to the science and natural history museums. Trust me it is well worth it!

 

[witzend]

On the assumption you may use motorways, we did not find any toll booths as they rely on number plate recognition. Enjoy

There are toll booths on some motorways where you take a ticket and pay on exit or have a toll tag just like other countries don't drive thru without a ticket as without one you get charged the Max amount regardless of where you joined it. The NPR is mainly on the A22 in the Algarve

Some info here The Ultimate Guide to Toll Roads in Portugal. What Every Traveler Should Know.

 

[rugbyken]

having explored various parts of portugal we normally stay along the border with spain but last year we visited stitch (ian) who has a house in the north and he introduced us to the most amazing countryside the douro valley is beautiful but the hills & valleys below are stunning, don’t rush the weather in september is perfect as is northern portugal braganca, marvoa unmissable barragems for wild camping or porto for the old san francisco style street cars, get the app (park 4 night ) all one word you won’t need anything else just go & enjoy

 

[Pauljenny]

Avoid Pauljenny at all costs, your hand will never be out of your pocket, he dives into sewers for false compensation claims and you can't understand a word he says, he's from deepest darkest Yorkshire.

Can't argue with any of the above.
It's Yorkshire Day , even here on The Algarve.
Beer for Dinner.
Cricket in the radio.
Pork pie, mushy peas and mint sauce for us tea.
On a day like this, I'm prepared to forgive all slanders,libels and skirts on my probity.

 

[n brown]

Can't argue with any of the above.
It's Yorkshire Day , even here on The Algarve.
Beer for Dinner.
Cricket in the radio.
Pork pie, mushy peas and mint sauce for us tea.
On a day like this, I'm prepared to forgive all slanders,libels and skirts on my probity.

well i shant skirt your probity.or even probe your skirtery , but the best advice for newbies to Portugal
, as i'm sure you'll agree , is to employ a guide , someone who knows the place well, doesn't overdo the cakeys ,apart from the obvious ones of course , and speaks with a melodious southern lilt rather than a northern accent that confuses the locals.
by lucky happenstance i find myself free in the coming months, and only require a3 star hotel and a small daily stipend and i know all the best bars and beaches

 

[daygoboy]

Looking for a little more excitement in Portugal'

I can recommend a couple of "must not miss experiences",
Mind you I have no personal experience of participating in either.
*

Surfing lessons for Beginners at Nazare, Praia do Norte in particular.

Cliff top Fishing lessons for Novices at Sagres, the local pescadors will reassure
you that it's perfectly safe, so that's ok then.

*I'm not that nuts!

 

[Clunegapyears]

Do use this site to read up on places and things to do
Home | Julie Dawn Fox In Portugal Travel & Expat Lifestyle Blog

 

[Moped]

On the assumption you may use motorways, we did not find any toll booths as they rely on number plate recognition. We entered at Castro Marim and as you cross the border at a bridge, there is a lay-by with a number of pay stations. You enter your credit card and register your vehicle which has had your registration number logged. As you use motorways you are logged on entry/exit and billed accordingly. This is worth doing even although you do not intend to use motorways, as if not, you can get some serious bills. On the motorways you are provided with sign posts indicating the cost of where you are to the next destination/s

I understand from other forums that you can register at other points although I cannot provide any details.

We found Portugal very good, however the roads away from the motorways were dreadful and we felt we were being shaken to bits so were absolutely delighted we had preregistered.
Enjoy

Generally In Portugal motorways running east-west are electronic toll and those running north south are ticket toll. This was as of early 2019 our last visit.

One electronic registration tip. Portuguese number plates only contain 6 characters so only 6 are read regardless of how many you enter. We have a “V” on our number plate. After 24 hours we thought we would check our motorway toll account online to see if all was well.

On checking, the overhead cameras had been recording our “V” as a “Y”. However the tolls charged were still correct so I would guess that only the last 6 characters mattered as the “V” is the first character of our 7 character plate. It is worth checking your motorway account soon after you start clocking up tolls online to make sure things are well.

 

[Glass man]

Orbiter

If you are going to use campsites it is worth joining Orbiter , several sites along the coast and inland.
From memory about €11 a year. It will give you good discounts.
Don't worry about them sending the membership card to the UK ( unless they now issue one where you join ), just keep the receipt and use that.

ALSO take a good copy of your Passport instead of handing over or showing passports when booking.

 

[John H]

If you like getting away from it all, I strongly recommend the northern mountains - the Tras Os Montes region, where it is like going back in time in the small villages, where nothing much seems to have changed for centuries. If you like historical sites - try Braganca, Coimbra, Evora. Don't forget to drive down the Duoro Valley - spectacular, even if you aren't into wine. We always avoid the motorways (which are toll) and the worst excesses of the Algarve but almost anywhere else you will find something to enjoy. Have a good trip. For relaxation, the Atlantic beaches can be spectacular.