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Portugal and Madeira car hire

Mainland and Madeira need separate hires, as the terms bar the ferry between them. Tolls are mainland only; Madeira adds a regional fee.

Car hire around Portugal: Funchal, Lisbon, Faro and Porto

How each place differs behind the wheel. Pickup counts from each search on 22 October 2026 for hires starting 16 November 2026; routes timed on 23 October 2026 with clear roads; ANA is the airport operator.

Funchal spread across green hills above the blue ocean, with white clouds over the mountains

Funchal

  • Madeira Airport lies east of Funchal on the VR1 expressway: 19.0 km into town, about 20 min routed (Visit Madeira says 20 to 25 minutes).
  • Terrain sets the pace: Porto Moniz on the north-west tip is 65.9 km and about 1 h 15 min; Pico do Areeiro 22.8 km and about 35 min.
  • 84 of the 198 Funchal cars had the airport as handover point, 67 delivered in town and 47 elsewhere; no tolls, but the regional fee.
The yellow arcaded buildings and triumphal arch of Praca do Comercio in Lisbon, under a vivid blue sky

Lisbon

  • The airport sits inside the city: ANA gives 7 km to the centre, and Praça do Comércio is 8.4 km, about 15 min with clear roads.
  • Going south to the Algarve or Évora, the routed drive crosses the Vasco da Gama bridge, which charges only in the other direction, into Lisbon from Montijo.
  • Pickup point for all 117 Lisbon cars: the airport itself. Infraestruturas de Portugal shows booth tolls on the A1, A2, A5, A8, A12 and A16 (some only for part of their length) and the A33 south of the Tagus as gantry-only.

Faro

  • Short but urban: Faro town is 10.0 km from the airport yet routed at about 25 min on town streets.
  • The coast runs on the A22, shown toll-free by Infraestruturas de Portugal (read 23 October 2026), and the EN125, where ANSR lists speed cameras.
  • All 71 Faro cars started from the airport; central Lisbon is roughly 3 h 30 min north, mostly on the A2, a booth motorway.
The colourful houses of Porto's Ribeira district rising above the Douro river, under a blue sky

Porto

  • Avenida dos Aliados is 16.6 km and about 20 min from the airport, mostly on the A28.
  • Gantry-only tolls cluster here: stretches of the A4, A28, A41 and A42 have no booths, and ANSR lists cameras on the A20 and A28.
  • Into the Douro valley: Peso da Régua about 1 h 30 min, Pinhão about 1 h 45 min; ANA puts Galicia 120 km away by car. All 91 Porto cars listed the airport for pickup.
  • The meeting arrangement differs between cars: in our per-car check of 22 October 2026, 4 of 6 Portuguese cars used a shuttle bus. Meeting point and shuttle details are printed on the voucher.
  • Enter your true landing time. Of 16 cars we priced at the four airports for a pickup and drop-off both at 03:00 (read 22 October 2026, hires starting 16 November 2026), 10 carried an out-of-hours supplement and 1 was unavailable at that time. Such a charge appears in the total before payment.
  • Delivery charges, also inside the price, applied to 18 cars at Lisbon, 19 at Porto, 17 at Faro and 16 on Madeira in the same count.

On the map: Lisbon airport · Porto airport · Faro airport · Madeira airport

Cars and prices at Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Madeira

Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Funchal each had a search of their own (22 October 2026), all for seven nights from 16 November 2026. “Typical” is the median day price, so half the cars are cheaper and half dearer; your own dates show their own price.

Airport searchLisbonPortoFaroMadeira (Funchal)
Cars listed1179171198
Typical day price€56€70€38€45
Automatic58413483
Manual595037115
7 to 9 seats19141318
Capped at 200 km a day1212811
  • Lisbon: Fiat 500, Opel Corsa, Citroen C3, Dacia Jogger were listed most often.
  • Porto: SEAT Arona, SEAT Ibiza, Fiat 500, Opel Corsa were listed most often.
  • Faro: Ford Focus, Fiat 500, SEAT Ibiza, BMW Series 3 were listed most often.
  • Madeira (Funchal): Fiat Panda, Renault Clio, SEAT Ibiza, SEAT Arona were listed most often.
  • The four columns overlap, because one offer can show up in several airport searches, so they cannot be summed.
Madeira against our other destinations

Same week (16 November 2026 to 23 November 2026), one search per destination, read 22 October 2026. Automatics: 83 of the 198 Funchal cars (42%); 13 of the other 18 destinations had a bigger share, and the middle value across all 19 was 72%. Electric or hybrid: 19 of 198 (10%), a larger share than at 14 of the other 17 (middle figure across all 18: 5%). The Funchal search counts town delivery cars as well as airport ones, while 4 of the others are airport-only searches, so the feeds do not line up exactly.

Cars to book in Portugal: November, January and June

How many cars each search could book for seven days from each start date, counted 22 October 2026.

Airport searchPickup 16 November 2026Pickup 18 January 2027Pickup 14 June 2027
Lisbon117788
Porto91492
Faro71390
Madeira (Funchal)19819348
  • Madeira kept its stock into winter: 193 bookable cars for a January week against 198 in November. The mainland thinned out, with Lisbon at 78 against 117.
  • Treat the June 2027 column as a placeholder, not a summer fleet: on the day we counted, companies had loaded few or no cars for next summer, and Portuguese stock for June may grow as summer nears.

Booking a Portuguese hire car in three steps

  1. Mainland or Madeira?

    Choose Lisbon, Porto, Faro or the Madeira airport. Hire on each side you visit: the terms do not let a car cross between the mainland and the islands by ferry.

  2. Check card, deposit and cover

    This is where the regions part ways: the counts below show how credit card rules and deposits differ between the three mainland airports and Madeira. Each car states its own before you book.

  3. Book, then settle up at the desk

    Part of the price is paid online first, and the booking partner then emails a voucher naming the company, its contact and where you meet. The company takes the balance when you collect the car; on the mainland ask about its toll service, and on Madeira remember the regional fee comes on top of the booking price.

Cards, deposits and cash: the mainland and Madeira compared

Counted on 22 October 2026 in each airport’s search, for seven-day hires starting 16 November 2026.

Asked forLisbonPortoFaroMadeira (Funchal)
Credit card required66 of 11757 of 9144 of 7120 of 198
No deposit at all06073
Deposit payable in cash00026
  • Cars with no credit card rule still wanted a card. Across the 5 Portuguese cars without a credit card rule in our per-car check of 22 October 2026, for hires starting 16 November 2026, a credit or a debit card were the only deposit methods listed, never cash; one of them, on Madeira, held no deposit at all. A debit card has to be physical, embossed and issued to the lead driver. The Madeira search did list 26 cars that accept a cash deposit.
  • Holding period: some Portuguese companies keep the deposit 21 to 30 days after return, and fines or unpaid tolls from your hire may be taken from it.
  • At booking: 15 to 20% of the Portuguese rental’s cost goes online; the Lisbon, Porto, Faro or Funchal desk takes the rest, by whichever methods that car lists.
  • On the mainland the deposit filter is about size, not whether there is one: Lisbon and Faro listed no deposit-free car in that count.

Documents for a Portuguese rental

Licence, permit and ID

  • Bring the original licence, printed in Latin script as well, and still in date on your last rental day. A Portuguese desk will not take a photocopy or a licence on a phone.
  • Take an International Driving Permit along if your licence works only at home; the rental terms advise it strongly. Portugal’s road code accepts EU and EEA licences, and others under the conditions in its article 125.
  • From the UK: a photocard licence works for up to 185 days without a permit, according to the UK government, which also tells drivers to check what the hire company wants.
  • Carry ID while driving; the UK government’s advice for Portugal calls it mandatory. The road code (art. 85) lists what a driver must have on board: personal ID, licence and the insurance certificate, plus the car’s registration, identification and inspection papers where required, so look for them in the glovebox before leaving the desk.

Card, age and phone

  • Where a car insists on a credit card, the lead driver brings that card in person, physical and embossed. A debit card accepted in its place follows the same rules, and the booking and voucher spell out which applies.
  • Age rules belong to the car, so two lookalike models can disagree. The 6 Portuguese cars in our per-car check of 22 October 2026, for hires starting 16 November 2026, wanted a driver of at least 23 to 26, licensed for 1 to 2 years. The search filters handle it.
  • Clause 12: the number you book with, country code included, must answer from the eve of pickup to return, by phone or a messenger; an unreachable renter forfeits service complaints.

Cover levels on Portuguese hire cars

Which levels the Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Funchal cars carried, for hires starting 16 November 2026 (figures from 22 October 2026).

LevelLisbonPortoFaroMadeira (Funchal)
Cars listed1179171198
Basic coverage1179165193
Full Coverage785451147
Full Coverage Plus06066

Higher cover, lower deposit

A Mitsubishi Space Star in Funchal, priced per car on 22 October 2026 for that week, asked €1,200 deposit on basic cover and none at all with Full Coverage Plus, which added €245 for the week. Other cars keep one deposit across every level; the car tells you which.

Gaps in basic insurance

Portuguese standard insurance leaves out wheels, underbody, windscreen and interior, and neglect, vandalism and intentional damage fall outside every level.

Extras of their own

Theft protection, and insurance against personal accident, appear as separate extras on Portuguese cars; read what each car’s version includes.

Driving in mainland Portugal: roundabouts, junctions and cameras

From Portugal’s road code (Código da Estrada, December 2020 text as published by the road-safety authority ANSR; later amendments not compared), the EU’s Your Europe page for Portugal and ANSR’s speed-camera site, all read 23 October 2026.

Roundabouts have lane rules

You join only after giving way to cars already circulating, in any lane. Leaving at the first exit, stay in the right-hand lane; for a later exit, move into the right-most lane only after passing the exit before yours. Breaking those lane rules carries a €60 to €300 fine (art. 14.º-A).

Unsigned junctions: the right has priority

At crossroads and junctions, traffic arriving from the right goes first; failing to yield costs €120 to €600 (art. 30.º). You also give way whenever you pull out of a car park, a fuel station or private ground, or join a motorway from its slip road (art. 31.º).

In town, pick your lane early

Inside built-up areas you keep to the lane that suits your destination and change only to turn, overtake, stop or park (art. 14.º). A green arrow beside a red light lets you turn only after stopping first, and amber means stop unless you are so close that stopping would need hard braking (Your Europe).

Horn for danger, headlights at night

Sound signals must be brief and are allowed only in imminent danger, or outside towns to warn that you are overtaking and at blind bends and junctions. After dark in towns, a flash of the headlights, switching between main and dipped beam, replaces the horn (art. 22.º and 23.º).

Signposted speed cameras

ANSR’s SINCRO network has 123 camera sites on the mainland, 100 measuring speed at one point and 23 measuring average speed over a set distance, each signposted (sign H43 or H42). Its Radares à Vista site maps them and publishes the list, which includes stretches of the EN125 in the Algarve and the A20 and A28 near Porto.

Portugal’s road code for visiting drivers

Taken from Portugal’s road code, the Código da Estrada (December 2020 version; article numbers in brackets), Portugal’s rental terms and the British government’s advice for Portugal, checked 23 October 2026.

Driving

  • Keep right; the left lane is for overtaking or turning (art. 13).
  • Limits for a car with no trailer: 50 km/h inside towns, 20 km/h in shared-space zones, 90 km/h elsewhere, 100 km/h on roads reserved for motor vehicles and 120 km/h on a motorway; signs can override any of these (art. 27, 28). Motorway minimum: 50 km/h.
  • Alcohol in the blood: no more than 0.5 g/l, and 0.2 g/l in the first three years of holding a licence (art. 81, 122).
  • No phone in the hand while driving; a one-earpiece hands-free set or a loudspeaker is allowed (art. 84).
  • Seat belts for every occupant (art. 82).
  • Headlights from dusk to dawn, and whenever fog, heavy rain or smoke reduce visibility; dipped beams by day in signed tunnels (art. 61).
  • Emergencies: call 112.

Carried in the car

  • Portuguese law wants a warning triangle and a reflective vest in every car. Set the triangle at least 30 m back, visible from 100 m, wearing the vest as you do (art. 88). Make sure both are there before leaving the airport.
  • Under-12s below 135 cm use a restraint fitted to their size and weight, in the back except where the code allows otherwise (art. 55). Child seats are booked as extras on Portuguese cars that list them.
  • On a Portuguese rental the renter pays fines, fuel, parking and tolls (clauses 13 and 14); the gauge goes back where it stood at pickup, with any shortfall billed at the company’s rate (clause 3).

Gantries, booths and the Tagus bridges: tolls on the mainland

Sources: the rental terms, the official PT Tolls site and the toll map of Infraestruturas de Portugal (the state roads company), consulted 23 October 2026.

  • Portuguese tolls are yours. A company may make its toll transponder compulsory for a fee, and may take a deposit or card details to cover tolls; the company sets that fee, outside the booking price.
  • Equipment in the car. According to the official PT Tolls site, rental firms have to fit every car with on-board toll equipment and sign it up to a toll payment system. Many offer their toll service at the desk, on conditions of their own.
  • Booths or gantries. Some motorways have booths where you pull a ticket at the entry and settle at the exit, by cash or bank card. Others are gantry-only with no booths: a panel by each gantry shows the charge, and a car with no device is billed by its plate.
  • Settling later. For a Portuguese-plated car without the toll service, electronic tolls become payable within 48 hours of the gantry at CTT post offices, Payshop agents or Multibanco, and must then be paid within 15 working days, plus €0.32 in admin per journey up to €2.56 per payment (PT Tolls). Leave one unpaid and the fine is at least five times the toll, never under €25; a toll from your rental that reaches the company later may come off your deposit.
  • Gantry-only stretches. Infraestruturas de Portugal marks parts of the A4, A28, A41 and A42 around Porto, and the A33 south of the Tagus, as electronic only, with booths on the A1 between Lisbon and Porto and on the A2 to the Algarve.
  • The A22 in the Algarve is toll-free on Infraestruturas de Portugal’s map as read 23 October 2026.

Lisbon’s two Tagus bridges

  • Both charge only on the way into Lisbon: the 25 de Abril at its plaza in Almada, the Vasco da Gama at Montijo (Lusoponte, the bridge operator, read 23 October 2026). Crossing south, neither bridge charges.
  • The routed drive from Lisbon Airport to the Algarve or Évora uses the Vasco da Gama.
  • Lusoponte’s posted limits: 70 km/h on the 25 de Abril deck and 40 through its Via Verde lane; 100 or 120 on the Vasco da Gama deck, where the electronic panels override the fixed signs. Wind sleeves at the start of each deck show the crosswind.

At the booth, and the box on the windscreen

  • A yellow light in a Via Verde lane only means no device was detected (PT Tolls).
  • Enter a booth motorway through the electronic lane and leave by a manual one without a ticket, and the charge is twice the highest toll at that exit.
  • A toll device belongs to one car and is fixed inside the windscreen; it cannot be moved to another vehicle.
  • Pay-later at CTT, Payshop or Multibanco exists only for Portuguese-plated cars, and concessionaires run frequent motorway checks together with the police (PT Tolls, read 23 October 2026).

Police stops, accidents and the fire season

The rental terms come first; then Portugal’s road code (December 2020 text) and the UK government’s Portugal advice, both read 23 October 2026.

Stopped and fined at the roadside. The code has you pay a deposit equal to the minimum fine on the spot or within 48 hours; if you do not, the police hold your licence provisionally and give you a substitute document (art. 173.º). Earlier fines that are final and still unpaid must be paid there and then (art. 174.º), and paying the minimum is an option for 15 working days after notification (art. 172.º). On a hire car, fines are yours (clause 13), and one that reaches the company after you have gone may come off your deposit (clause 19).

Wildfire months. The UK government’s advice for Portugal (updated 11 August 2026) says the risk of wildfires is higher from April to October, that the authorities may close roads, and that starting a fire, even by accident, is illegal. It points drivers to IPMA, whose colour-coded warnings cover rain, wind, fog, thunderstorms, heat, cold, snow and coastal events by district.

After a collision or damage

Clause 7: if something happens that the insurance should cover, ring the hire firm immediately and get a police report drawn up, unless the firm waives it. Skipping either step voids the cover and the cost is yours. For emergency services in Portugal, dial 112.

Driving on Madeira: mountain roads, the regional fee and Funchal parking

Sources: the rental terms, the regional law, Visit Madeira, IPMA and Frente MarFunchal (read 23 October 2026), road routing of 23 October 2026, and car counts from the Funchal search for hires starting 16 November 2026 (run 22 October 2026).

Mountain roads, not motorways

  • Visit Madeira, the island’s tourism board, calls driving straightforward on most main roads and in towns, while some mountain roads “have many curves and require extra attention”. It also notes there are often several ways to the same place, and suggests picking the routes you are comfortable with.
  • Terrain, not distance, sets the time. Pico do Areeiro, at 1,818 m the island’s third-highest point, is 22.8 km from the airport yet routed at about 35 min, most of it on the ER202; parking at the top cost €4.00 an hour when Visit Madeira was read on 23 October 2026. Pico Ruivo has no road: you walk the PR 1.2 (about 45 minutes) or the PR 1.1 from Pico do Areeiro.
  • Road closures for works are announced as numbered notices (editais) by the regional roads directorate on the Madeira government site.
  • The weather service IPMA issues Madeira warnings for areas of its own, among them the North Coast, Mountain and South Coast, plus a rural fire danger map.

The regional vehicle fee

  • Since 1 June 2026, every rental agreement on Madeira carries €2 for each full rental day, charged for 10 days at most: €20 is the ceiling.
  • The booking price leaves it out. The company collects it from you separately and hands it on to the regional authorities.
  • The regional law counts a full day as 24 hours, halves the fee for zero-emission cars (€1 a day, up to €10) and invoices it in the renter’s name.
  • No tolls to set against it: Visit Madeira says all expressways and main roads are free.

Towns and Funchal parking

  • Every car in the Santa Cruz search (184) and the Machico search (127) was also in the Funchal search (read 22 October 2026). Caniço (73), Câmara de Lobos (44) and Calheta (30) listed delivery cars only.
  • Visit Madeira describes colour-coded kerbs (blue lines paid, white free, some kept for residents, yellow no parking), usually paid on weekdays 08:00 to 20:00 and Saturdays 08:00 to 14:00, free on Sundays and public holidays.
  • Funchal’s street meters, run by Frente MarFunchal, cost €0.54 to €1.83 an hour depending on the zone; pay at the meter or in the iParque Driver app.

Tarmac only, and no car ferry to Madeira

What Portugal’s rental terms say about where the car goes.

Paved public roads only. Portugal’s terms name no banned road, so the test is the surface: where the tarmac gives way to gravel or dirt, the car is outside the terms.

Animals: only small pets, travelling in their carrier from Portuguese pickup to return.

A car too dirty to be inspected at return gets a wash, billed to you.

No ferry between the mainland and Madeira

Neither direction is allowed: the terms bar a Madeira car from the ferry to the mainland, and a mainland car from the ferry to Madeira. Fly between them and book a car at each end.

Drive times from Portugal’s four airports

Routed 23 October 2026 from each airport’s pickup point, with clear roads and no stopping, rounded up. Several of the mainland legs use toll motorways.

Leaving Lisbon Airport (LIS)

DestinationDrive time, roughlyRoad km
The yellow arcaded buildings and triumphal arch of Praca do Comercio in Lisbon, under a vivid blue skyLisbon, Praça do Comércio15 min8.4
The red and yellow towers of Pena Palace on a wooded hilltop against a clear blue skySintra30 min30.2
Aerial view of the Santa Marta lighthouse and white buildings on the rocky shore at Cascais, beside the blue seaCascais35 min36.7
White houses with red tiled roofs inside the old walled village of Obidos, under a blue skyÓbidos1 h78.6
The long beach and town of Nazare curving along the bay in warm sunset light, seen from the cliff topNazaré1 h 30 min116.8
An empty sandy beach with footprints and gentle waves at Comporta in soft sunset lightComporta1 h 45 min116.4
The granite columns of the Roman temple in Evora against a vivid blue skyÉvora1 h 45 min130.1
Albufeira beach below sandstone cliffs and white buildings, with blue sea and a clear skyAlbufeira3 h252.2

Leaving Porto Airport (OPO)

DestinationDrive time, roughlyRoad km
The colourful houses of Porto's Ribeira district rising above the Douro river, under a blue skyPorto, Avenida dos Aliados20 min16.6
The twin-towered church of Bom Jesus do Monte at the top of its stairway, under a clear blue skyBraga45 min61.1
The stone keep and battlements of Guimaraes Castle among trees, against a clear blue skyGuimarães45 min53.5
A high view over Viana do Castelo, the Lima river and green hills, under a blue skyViana do Castelo50 min62.3
Painted moliceiro boats moored along a canal in Aveiro, with town buildings and a bright skyAveiro1 h 15 min87.6
Terraced vineyards on steep hills above the Douro valley at Peso da Regua, under a bright blue skyPeso da Régua (Douro)1 h 30 min102.0
Coimbra's old town and university tower rising above the Mondego River and a bridge, under a blue sky with white cloudsCoimbra1 h 45 min131.5
The tiled front of Pinhao's historic railway station under a blue skyPinhão (Douro)1 h 45 min132.4

Leaving Faro Airport (FAO)

DestinationDrive time, roughlyRoad km
Faro25 min10.0
Vilamoura45 min27.8
Old white and tiled buildings of Tavira along the river under a clear blue skyTavira50 min42.6
Albufeira beach below sandstone cliffs and white buildings, with blue sea and a clear skyAlbufeira55 min48.7
Vila Real de Santo António1 h 15 min69.3
The wide sandy beach of Praia da Rocha below golden cliffs, with blue sea and a few cloudsPortimão1 h 15 min74.5
Golden sandstone sea stacks and cliffs at Lagos reflected in calm green-blue water, with paddleboarders and a cloudy blue skyLagos1 h 30 min89.6
A lighthouse at the edge of a sheer cliff at Sagres Point above a deep blue seaSagres2 h121.1

Leaving Madeira Airport (FNC)

DestinationDrive time, roughlyRoad km
Santa Cruz5 min2.9
Machico10 min4.9
Caniço15 min11.1
Funchal spread across green hills above the blue ocean, with white clouds over the mountainsFunchal20 min19.0
A triangular thatched Santana house painted white, red and blue, with tree ferns and flowers in frontSantana25 min22.4
Aerial view of the cliffs and town of Camara de Lobos beside the Atlantic, with Funchal along the coast beyondCâmara de Lobos30 min25.9
Jagged volcanic peaks and ridges seen from Pico do Arieiro, with clouds below and a blue skyPico do Areeiro35 min22.8
Ribeira Brava40 min37.0
Calheta50 min49.9
São Vicente55 min50.2
A rocky islet topped by a small lighthouse off the lava coast of Porto Moniz, with waves and a blue skyPorto Moniz1 h 15 min65.9

Madeira’s times run high for the distance because of the mountain roads; Pico do Areeiro’s is the routed figure with no stops.

Into Spain with a Portuguese rental car

Drawn from Portugal’s rental terms, the booking partner’s figures, and its Lisbon and Faro pages; Portuguese hires beginning 16 November 2026, looked at 22 October 2026.

  • Portuguese cars have one cross-border extra, the “Crossborder fee”, and it lists no country. 48 of 117 Lisbon cars carried it, 40 of 91 at Porto and 20 of 71 at Faro (read 22 October 2026).
  • According to the booking partner’s Lisbon and Faro pages, cars with that option may be driven to Spain. Add it at booking; a car that carries it shows the price before you book.
  • We priced one Lisbon car for hires of 3, 7 and 14 days and its fee never moved: on that car it is charged per rental, not per day.
  • Clause 10 of the terms: let the rental company know before leaving Portugal, so it can prepare the paperwork.
  • The car comes back to Portugal. On 22 October 2026, for hires starting 16 November 2026, Seville took no drop-offs from Lisbon or Faro, and Madrid none from Lisbon; no other Spanish city was tried.
  • Madeira: 18 island cars list the same extra, yet the terms forbid the ferry to the mainland and nothing says what the extra covers there. Ask the company before booking.
  • Planning times only, which do not mean a given car may cross: Porto Airport to Vigo roughly 1 h 45 min over 148.0 km, border queues not included; Lisbon Airport to Badajoz roughly 2 h 30 min over 223.1 km, border queues not included; Faro Airport to Seville roughly 2 h 45 min over 202.8 km, border queues not included.

One-way hire between mainland airports

Pick up at one Portuguese airport, drop at another. Number of cars that allowed it, as checked on 22 October 2026 for hires starting 16 November 2026.

Lisbon Airport→Faro Airport
41 cars · Faro town roughly 3 h 15 min (274.2 km)
Drop-offPriced into the total
The yellow arcaded buildings and triumphal arch of Praca do Comercio in Lisbon, under a vivid blue sky
Faro Airport→Lisbon Airport
41 cars · central Lisbon roughly 3 h 30 min (281.4 km)
Drop-offPriced into the total
The colourful houses of Porto's Ribeira district rising above the Douro river, under a blue sky
Lisbon Airport→Porto Airport
76 cars · central Porto roughly 3 h 30 min (303.9 km)
Drop-offPriced into the total
The yellow arcaded buildings and triumphal arch of Praca do Comercio in Lisbon, under a vivid blue sky
Porto Airport→Lisbon Airport
71 cars
Drop-offPriced into the total
  • A one-way cost can sit inside the rental price instead of showing as a drop-off charge. Lisbon to Faro: 29 of the 41 cars showed no separate charge, yet every one cost more than the same car brought back to Lisbon, and Faro to Lisbon behaved the same way.
  • So set the car’s one-way total against its total for returning to the pickup airport; switch the return airport and the search prices both.
  • No one-way links Madeira with the mainland, since the terms forbid the ferry.

Group sizes, child seats and extra drivers

Groups of five to nine

19 cars at Lisbon, 14 at Porto, 13 at Faro and 18 on Madeira had 7 to 9 seats, in the searches of 22 October 2026 for hires starting 16 November 2026. The seat filter finds them.

Ten or more

Book two; nothing in the four searches went beyond 9 seats.

Children

Booster and child seats are added on the car page; the restraint rule for under-12s is in the road code section above.

Second driver

Listed with its own price on Portuguese cars that include it.

Cancelling or changing a Portugal booking

No penalty applies to cancelling a Portugal booking while 7 or more days remain before pickup (a Portuguese convertible or luxury car needs 30 days), or until 24 hours before on a booking that carries the 24-hour cancellation option. Counting on 22 October 2026, for hires starting 16 November 2026, 117 of 198 Madeira cars and 52 of 117 at Lisbon came with that option.

Cancelling a Portugal booking takes one email: “Cancel” in the subject, your voucher attached. You see the advance again inside a fortnight (14 days), less only the 6% payment-service charge, which Portugal bookings never get back.

If you cancel later than that, or never show up, the advance is gone.

A booking is never edited in place; switching to a new date or car is done by cancelling and booking again on the search.

Longer rental? Agree it with the company beforehand. Days run in blocks of 24 hours, so Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon is billed as two.

“Or similar” in Portugal

Where a Portuguese listing says “Or similar”, the desk may hand you a comparable model. Guaranteed-model cars for Portuguese hires from 16 November 2026, as counted 22 October 2026: 2 at Lisbon, 3 at Faro, 0 at Porto and 64 on Madeira. Where a breakdown or similar force majeure leaves the reserved car unavailable, the Portuguese company has to substitute a car of equal or higher class, with terms and price unchanged.

Portugal car hire questions

Will a Portuguese rental desk ask for a credit card?

That varies between the mainland and Madeira. Among Portuguese hires from 16 November 2026 (search run 22 October 2026), Lisbon wanted a credit card on 66 of 117 cars, Porto on 57 of 91, Faro on 44 of 71, and Madeira on only 20 of 198. Even without that rule a card may be needed: the 5 such cars in our per-car check of 22 October 2026 accepted a credit or a debit card for the deposit, and no other method, and the card must be a physical, embossed one carrying the main driver’s name. 26 Madeira cars in that search accepted a cash deposit.

Which Portuguese airports have deposit-free hire cars?

Madeira first: 73 of the 198 Funchal cars had none for hires starting 16 November 2026. Of the mainland airports, only Porto had any (6); Lisbon and Faro had none (searched 22 October 2026). Deposits show on each car before booking, and some companies hold them 21 to 30 days after the car is back.

How are motorway tolls paid in a Portuguese rental?

You pay them. According to PT Tolls, Portugal’s official toll site, rental companies must fit every car with toll equipment, and many sell their toll service at the desk on their own terms. A device fee, and sometimes a toll deposit or card details, may be asked for; that fee sits outside the booking price. An unpaid toll can later be taken from your deposit.

What is the Madeira car hire fee?

A regional vehicle fee: €2 per full rental day, counted for no more than 10 days, so never above €20. The rental company collects it separately from the booking price, and zero-emission cars pay half under the regional law.

Which lane do I take on a Portuguese roundabout?

Give way to everything already circulating, whatever its lane. For the first exit, use the right-hand lane; for a later exit, move across to the right-most lane only once you have passed the exit before yours. Portugal’s road code (December 2020 text) fines breaches of these lane rules at €60 to €300.

May I take a Portuguese rental car into Spain?

Yes, with the “Crossborder fee” extra added at booking, according to the booking partner; the extra itself lists no country. Warn the rental company before leaving so the paperwork is ready. Expect to return the car in Portugal: in the 22 October 2026 Portuguese one-way check of hires starting 16 November 2026, Seville accepted no drop-offs from Lisbon or Faro, nor Madrid from Lisbon.

Is a one-way from Lisbon to Faro or Porto possible?

Some cars allow it. For hires starting 16 November 2026, 41 Lisbon Airport cars could be dropped at Faro Airport and 76 at Porto Airport (read 22 October 2026). On Lisbon to Faro, 29 of the 41 showed no separate drop-off charge yet each cost more than the same car returned to Lisbon, so compare totals.

Should I carry an International Driving Permit in Portugal?

Portugal’s rental terms strongly advise one when a licence is valid only in its home country; the UK government says UK photocard holders can drive for up to 185 days without one, but should check the hire company’s own rule; old paper licences need updating or a permit.

Which speed limits apply in Portugal?

Without a trailer: 50 km/h in towns (20 km/h in shared-space zones), 90 km/h on Portugal’s ordinary roads outside towns, 100 km/h on roads for motor vehicles only and 120 km/h on a motorway, which also has a 50 km/h minimum. Signs can set other limits.

Further reading on Portugal

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