Algarve Transportation Tips by Bwana_Brown Top 5 Page for this destination

A Handy Rental Car

When we travel to a new country or location, we like to be able to travel around and see the sights at our leisure. Consequently, before leaving Canada, I had arranged for a car rental from Budget at the Lisbon airport. However, since we planned to spend the first three nights in Lisbon, we did not actually pick the car up until the day we left the city and headed south for the Algarve - you don't need one in Lisbon since public transport is cheap and walking is fun!

I was not sure about what size car to rent because of the size of our two main suitcases. We had rented a Ford Focus in England in 2000 and it was a nice size. In the end, we went for a low-end Compact car with unlimited mileage, which turned out to be a Fiat Punto. The two suitcases only just squeezed into the hatchback rear but there was also room for our backpacks off to the side of them when necessary.

It had a manual transmission, no air conditioning (although they said it would when I booked it - we didn't need it in May) and no CD player. However, it was fun to drive, was economical on gas (pump price E1.07/litre or US$4.65/US gallon), could handle the 130 kph super-highway speeds and was small enough to negotiate all those tiny streets in some of the small villages that we visited. I was very happy with the Punto - especially when I got it back to the airport in one-piece 2530 km (1550 miles) later!

The quoted price at the time of rental was E295 including taxes but, by the time they tagged on some extra insurance and final tank fill-up, it came to E366 (US$450) for 10 days of useage. Not bad for total freedom!

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home

Emergency Vehicles to the Rescue

Sitting in our line of stopped traffic at the northern boundary of the Algarve, with everyone's engines switched off and people out of their vehicles enjoying the sunshine, I began to wonder how badly was the highway blocked? Moreso after a police car then a fire truck went roaring past us with sirens blaring. It was a long line of traffic, winding ahead out of sight around the turn, so I decided to take a little stroll to see how long we might be held up. By the time I got within sight of the problem, the fire trucks had doused the worst of it and the acrid smoke had at least turned white. It turned out that the truck had been hauling a flat-bed load up a long hill on this 29 C day and the engine must have overheated and caught fire after he had made the peak. Fortunately, there was a lay-by there and he was able to pull off the highway itself while the cab was destroyed by the fire. I only just made it back to our car before the line of vehicles was off and running again. Altogether, a half-hour but interesting delay!

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home

Truck Fire

On the morning of our 3rd day on the road since leaving Lisbon, we retraced our mountain drive from Aljezur back to Monchique. From there, we continued westward on a small highway to the village of Alferce where we planned to continue onward until we hit the IC1 main highway, where we would swing north for Evora. However, once we reached Alferce, we saw what appeared to be a brand new highway, so new that they had its entrance partially blocked off with only room for a single vehicle to pass through the barricade. Also, there were no signs as to where it was going. We started out onto it anyway because, judging from the position of the sun, it seemed to be headed in the right direction. It was beautifully smooth, with brand new road markings but no signs at all and not a single other vehicle coming or going! We eventually came upon a two-man crew standing on the road doing survey work. I stopped and pointed at my map showing where we wanted to go and one of the men nodded his head! After going over a few more mountain peaks, we eventually saw a plume of smoke in the distance - 'civilization at last' I thought! Sure enough, it was not long before we saw our first houses and made it to the IC1. This is a great highway, and we were soon bombing north with the traffic at 130 kph. Suddenly, the vehicles in front of us began to brake and we all soon came to a grinding halt. Around the turn ahead, I could see black smoke rising - the same plume that we had seen many minutes earlier! (see next Tip)

Mode: AROUND

Type: Car/Motor Home