Just how bad is the driving in Portugal?

[Every day a journey]

Off on a little road trip in a couple of weeks.

Flying into Faro then will be taking a slow and leisurely drive west and then north to Lisbon.

Been to Lisbon many a time and the driving there is shocking, but just how bad is it elsewhere in the country?

Surely can't be as bad as Madeira which I've also experienced!

Eta: Have driven in most other European countries so comparables would also be good.

[//j17]

Didn't seem to be too bad on the whole - certainly a lot better than Italian driving!

[Johnniem]

Had a eurohoon in Portugal last year so not much driving in towns but I can't say that I found the driving to be poor at all. Don't ask about Italian cities though!

[unzippy]

A couple of weeks back I drove from Lisbon to Cascais, pootled around Cascais and then back to Lisbon. No bother, seen more erratic driving in Belgium.

[chip*]

The driving around Sorrento area / cliff side roads was my worst experience ever. I parked up at the hotel on arrival and only drove the hire car again for the flight home! I count myself a pretty confident driver, but enduring 2 near accidents on route to the hotel was enough for me.

Driven to west Algarve twice staying at Alvor, and the driving standard I encountered was impeccable compared to the Italians!

[Stuart70]

Drove around Porto area and the Douro valley, down to Evora and then onto Vilamoura.

Driving was fine, the less said about the smashed side window to break into the empty hire car in Porto, the better!

[hiccy18]

Rode right down the middle of Portugal this year, nothing overly alarming about the driving. Policeman was very relaxed about our parking in Evora which was welcome, everyone else was getting a shirricking.

[Condi]

Comparable to any other southern European driving*. No worse, no better. The roads are quiet enough out of town, and in town you just have to drive like a local and keep your wits about you. If you can drive in London you can drive in Portugal.

• Except Naples, that is a whole other level of bad.

[MrBen.911]

The drive from Faro around the coast will be very chilled, roads are generally pretty good, traffic levels mostly low and driving is just fine.

The only exciting bit on my last trip there was driving from Lagos to Faro in a massive storm with trees being uprooted which was a little nerve wracking.

I've not driven into Lisbon but have driven in other Portuguese cities and didn't notice them being particularly different from Spanish or Italian cities in terms of driving.

[Sgt Joe Roberts]

I've driven at least 10000kms in Portugal and never noticed any major difference in driving standards compared to home. The big differences are the amount of tolls everywhere in Portugal ( except the Algarve ) and the absolutely terrible slip roads on/off the motorways. A lot of them are extremely short and sometimes they are combined on and off slip roads.

[Jasandjules]

Far better than the UK. Lane discipline is better, people move if you are going faster, people appear to see a UK plated car and give it more leeway.... Tthe downside is tolls on the "wrong side" of the car so hopefully you have a passenger.

[Every day a journey]

Love the remarks about Italy. So so true. Especially Naples. That’s quite something.

[Every day a journey]

Jasandjules said:

Far better than the UK. Lane discipline is better, people move if you are going faster, people appear to see a UK plated car and give it more leeway.... Tthe downside is tolls on the "wrong side" of the car so hopefully you have a passenger.

In a rental so no issue there.

[nyt]

I drove the length of Portugal a couple of years ago, including Lisbon and Porto, and had a very good experience with no problems at all.

One thing to be aware of is that you really do need an electronic toll/auto-pay device. On some roads and motorways there are no toll booths or pay gates, and there may be little or no obvious indication that you have incurred a charge.

So it’s essential to arrange a toll device before you leave, or make sure your hire car comes with one.

[moffspeed]

Agree with most of this. I ve driven all over Portugal and generally driving standards are OK.

As mentioned above - beware the slip roads on & off the motorways - they tend to be short and often share on & off .

Finally beware the elderly gentlemen who finish their night on the Sagres with a drive home in their battered Aixam/Ligier microcars - adequate lighting & lane discipline are optional extras .

Oh, incidentally the A22 motorway across the Algarve is now toll-free.

Edited by moffspeed on Saturday 12th September 18:57

[davek_964]

Every day a journey said:

Love the remarks about Italy. So so true. Especially Naples. That s quite something.

We're on our way back from Italy, and although I have bad memories of Italian drivers from 10 years ago, this time they were fine.
The biggest problem we had was with German drivers. If somebody was blocking a lane - which happened much more than I expected - 80% of the time, it was a German car. And that was true across multiple countries.

[Every day a journey]

nyt said:

I drove the length of Portugal a couple of years ago, including Lisbon and Porto, and had a very good experience with no problems at all.

One thing to be aware of is that you really do need an electronic toll/auto-pay device. On some roads and motorways there are no toll booths or pay gates, and there may be little or no obvious indication that you have incurred a charge.

So it s essential to arrange a toll device before you leave, or make sure your hire car comes with one.

Yep. Checked that option when booking.