Driving in Portugal

May try his area after Christmas . Read on the net re electronic tolls etc, but are there any hidden gems that I need too know, or is it straight forward as the net describes ?

Thanks.

When entering the Algarve from Spain using the A22 you will see the signs telling you about the toll booth. You just use your credit card and your Reg No is read automatically. You collect your receipt and drive on. As you enter each section there are signs giving the toll fee. I drove as far as Loule for I think about €14. Real easy to use.

If you don't want to use the toll roads just ignore the sign and use the N125 instead which is a turning just past the Toll Station, however the road was pretty rough until you reached Tavira. Enjoy your trip.
Ian

Infared wrote:When entering the Algarve from Spain using the A22 you will see the signs telling you about the toll booth. You just use your credit card and your Reg No is read automatically. You collect your receipt and drive on. As you enter each section there are signs giving the toll fee. I drove as far as Loule for I think about €14. Real easy to use.

If you don't want to use the toll roads just ignore the sign and use the N125 instead which is a turning just past the Toll Station, however the road was pretty rough until you reached Tavira. Enjoy your trip.
Ian

For the past three years there are no Toll Booths on the A22 and no receipts given.
On a hire car the number plate is read and you can pay in a Post Office or the hire company will deduct the payment depending on if they have a transponder fitted.
Not sure how 'foreign' vehicles are charged (if at all!)

PB

There is a toll station. Ignore paying is your choice!

Infared wrote:There is a toll station. Ignore paying is your choice!

Apologies Infared.


The only Toll station on the A22 is after the bridge from Spain. Your info is correct.
(apparently this can be avoided by turning off just before and using the 'local' road.)
However, if you are already in Portugal then you can travel up and down the A22 without encountering any Toll stations. Overhead gantries record your number plate.

PB

The Toll station only processes your details. The first overhead gantry, toll section, is after the N125 turnoff. So you can ignore the toll if you don't intend using any toll roads. Follow the links previously posted.

I have friends living near Odemira and have been there 7 years. never had to pay a toll charge. The system is a failure as they now have no toll booths etc. You are supposed to register your car and credit card at a post office but nobody does. It's a shame the country is in a terrible state along with the roads and the Algarve is looking tired and shabby but the west coast is pretty much unspoilt

biffobear wrote:I have friends living near Odemira and have been there 7 years. never had to pay a toll charge. The system is a failure as they now have no toll booths etc. You are supposed to register your car and credit card at a post office but nobody does. It's a shame the country is in a terrible state along with the roads and the Algarve is looking tired and shabby but the west coast is pretty much unspoilt

Well the toll charges still apply. If you hire a car then they are fitted with a transponder, (by law), and you will have to pay any charges.


As for the roads in the main they are better than the ones in the UK. Yes there are some that are in a poor state of repair but a lot of EU money has been spent on improving them.


The motorways, because so few locals use them, are a pleasure to drive on. Many locals don't bother because they object to the toll system. Maybe your friend doesn't drive on the toll roads.


Ian

I agree Ian, the toll charges still apply, and I agree hired cars do pay the toll, and my friends do use the motorway, and they assure me that they have never paid the toll. Nor have I. I didn't try to avoid paying either. When you consider the amount of traffic on our roads compared with mainland Europe it is not surprising that our roads ware out and have to be maintained at shorter intervals. So yes , driving in Portugal is good because there is hardly any traffic. I called in at Castro Marim and Villa Real then to Tavira along the N125 and that was this year and to me that was not what I would call in good condition or even average condition. Maybe it has been resurfaced since then. I can only tell you what I saw. I used the A22 From Tavira to the big car park at Silves (didn't stay) then to Sagres and up the west coast to Odamira. They scenery along the west coast is worth the drive. Maybe you have seen that part of Portugal

Just read that they are about to consider abolishing the tolls.

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PB

would not surprise me. Any country that has toll roads, bridges etc has barriers, manned or auto.

biffobear wrote:I agree Ian, the toll charges still apply, and I agree hired cars do pay the toll, and my friends do use the motorway, and they assure me that they have never paid the toll. Nor have I. I didn't try to avoid paying either. When you consider the amount of traffic on our roads compared with mainland Europe it is not surprising that our roads ware out and have to be maintained at shorter intervals. So yes , driving in Portugal is good because there is hardly any traffic. I called in at Castro Marim and Villa Real then to Tavira along the N125 and that was this year and to me that was not what I would call in good condition or even average condition. Maybe it has been resurfaced since then. I can only tell you what I saw. I used the A22 From Tavira to the big car park at Silves (didn't stay) then to Sagres and up the west coast to Odamira. They scenery along the west coast is worth the drive. Maybe you have seen that part of Portugal

The N125 to Tavira is one of the worst stretches of road. I think that it was left like that deliberately to put tourists off and encourage them to use the toll roads. Why put transponders in all hire cars, by law, unless it was to make money from tourists.

Good new that they are considering abolishing them.

Ian

I agree. Just my luck to pick the worst road in Portugal. I was told that Portugal couldn't afford the pay barriers when it became a toll road so it all went off a bit half cocked. I use the toll roads in Spain as the prices are not to expensive at present but France is a different matter.