Portugal is two very different drives. On the mainland, Lisbon Airport sits inside the city with the motorways to Sintra, Cascais, Óbidos and Évora all starting within minutes. Out in the Atlantic, Madeira Airport is twenty minutes from Funchal, and the island beyond it is all tunnels, hairpins and viewpoints above the clouds – a place you only really see by car.
Portugal is two very different drives. On the mainland, Lisbon Airport sits inside the city with the motorways to Sintra, Cascais, Óbidos and Évora all starting within minutes. Out in the Atlantic, Madeira Airport is twenty minutes from Funchal, and the island beyond it is all tunnels, hairpins and viewpoints above the clouds – a place you only really see by car.
Debit card, not credit card
You do not need a credit card to rent in Portugal. The refundable security deposit is taken on your debit card and released after you return the car; its amount is shown on each car before you book.
Deposit and excess shown up front
Each car lists its insurance options, its excess and the refundable debit-card deposit before you book, so nothing about the cover is a surprise at the desk.
Local rates, not airport markups
Direct prices from Portuguese partners. What you book is what you pay at pick-up, with no counter fee added at the terminal.
Unlimited mileage
Lisbon to Évora and back is 270 km, and a lap of Madeira takes all day. Nothing we rent charges by the kilometre, so the long days cost no more than the short ones.
Built for a late landing
Madeira's crosswinds and Lisbon's busy slots both delay flights. Add your flight number at booking and the desk follows the arrival rather than the clock.
Two airport counters: Lisbon on the mainland and Madeira in the Atlantic, nearly 1,000 km apart. Open either page for the road out of the terminal, drive times and what is worth the detour nearby.
Our mainland counter, at Humberto Delgado Airport on the northern edge of Lisbon. The centre is fifteen minutes away, the palaces of Sintra forty, and the motorways north to Óbidos and south over the Tagus to Arrábida and Évora start just outside the terminal.
Our island counter, at Cristiano Ronaldo Airport near Santa Cruz on Madeira's south-east coast. The VR1 expressway passes the terminal: Funchal is twenty minutes west, the cliffs of Ponta de São Lourenço twenty minutes east, and the mountain roads start just inland.
The first three regions are measured from Lisbon Airport, on the northern edge of the city. Madeira is its own island, a flight away, and is measured from its own airport.
The capital 15–20 min from the terminal, the palaces and forest of Sintra 35–45 min west, and the Cascais coast with the surf beach at Guincho about 40 min out along the A5.
North on the A8 and A1: the walled village of Óbidos in about an hour, Nazaré and its winter waves in 1h15, and the monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha and the shrine at Fátima in the same circuit.
South over the 17 km Vasco da Gama bridge: the Arrábida hills and beaches 45–55 min away, and Évora, a walled Roman and Moorish town among cork oaks, in about 1h30 on the A6.
An Atlantic island measured from its own airport: Funchal 20–25 min west, Pico do Arieiro at 1,818 m in about 50 min, and the lava pools of Porto Moniz on the far north-west tip in about 1h15.
Familiar right-hand traffic, good motorways and two things worth knowing before you set off: how the tolls are paid, and which nozzle at the pump is diesel.
Drive on the right
Portugal keeps right on the mainland and on Madeira. At roundabouts traffic already on the roundabout has priority, and you use the outer lane only to take the next exit.
120 on the motorway
Limits are 50 in towns, 90 on other roads, 100 on expressways and 120 on motorways. The SINCRO radar network covers the main roads and fines are issued to the car's registered keeper.
Tolls: booths and electronic gantries
Most mainland motorways are tolled, some only by overhead gantry with no booth. Ask at pick-up whether the car has a Via Verde device and how tolls are charged. Madeira has no tolls.
Gasóleo is diesel
At the pump, gasóleo means diesel and gasolina means petrol. The names are close enough to cause mistakes, so check the label inside the fuel flap before you fill up.
Alcohol 0.05%, lower for new drivers
The general limit is 0.5 g/l. Drivers in their first three years of holding a licence face a limit of 0.2 g/l, so for them the only safe amount is none.
Minimum age 21
With at least one year of driving experience. Some vehicle categories set a higher minimum, and it is shown on the car while you are still choosing.
Yes. You pay with a debit card. A refundable security deposit is taken on that debit card at pick-up, on every insurance tier, and released after you return the car. The amount is shown on each car before you book, so you know what will be held before you travel.
It depends on the car and the cover you choose, and it is shown on each car before you book. It is held on your debit card at pick-up and released after you return the car; your bank may take a few working days to show it.
At Lisbon Airport (LIS), 7 km north of the city centre, for the mainland, or at Madeira Airport (FNC), 16 km east of Funchal, for the island. Your voucher names the exact meeting point at each.
No. Madeira is nearly 1,000 km out in the Atlantic and there is no car ferry from the mainland. Fly between the two – about 1h45 – and book a separate car at each airport.
Most mainland motorways charge tolls, and some only have overhead gantries with no booth to pay at. Ask at pick-up whether the car carries a Via Verde device; if it does, tolls are recorded automatically. Madeira's roads are toll-free.
Not for the centre: the hills, trams and tight parking make walking and the metro easier. The car pays off the moment you leave – Sintra, Cascais, Óbidos, Arrábida and Évora are all day trips from the airport.
Only with the partner's written permission, which may carry a cross-border fee. Ask before you book if you plan to cross, because driving into Spain without it can leave you uninsured there.
April to June and September to October on the mainland, when it is warm without the August heat and traffic. Madeira is mild all year, but the high roads to Pico do Arieiro can close in winter storms.
Book in minutes, see the deposit on each car before you choose, and collect at Lisbon or Madeira Airport.
