Car Hire in Faro
If you’re planning a holiday in Portugal, you may find that a car is a necessity if you want to get the best of your trip. The beauty of Portugal is that it still has many unspoilt areas, including quiet beaches, which are not completely smothered in tourists. Similarly, to get a real flavour for Portuguese culture you will necessarily need to venture outside of the tourist areas, and to do that you really need a car. Over and above this general need, having a car handy gives you a fantastic level of freedom, the perfect way to explore a new culture.
Whatever parts of Portugal your holiday takes you, be it Faro or anywhere else, hiring a car is definitely to be recommended. There is plenty of freedom in terms of how you go about doing this, as car hire locations are many and varied, with ample flexibility built into the contracts to suit you. Getting a hold of a car is hassle free, but what about driving in Portugal? The good news is that it isn’t vastly different from driving anywhere else in Europe. Here are a few key aspects of Faro and Portuguese driving to bear in mind.
General Rules
Most of the general driving rules are exactly what you’d expect them to be in Portugal. You drive on the right as in most other European countries, and remember not to overtake on the right as this is not permitted when you’re in moving traffic. You have to be over 18 years old to drive in Portugal, and children under 12 must sit in the back unless they are taller than 1.5 metres. Remember to use your headlights any time you pass through a tunnel, and don’t use a mobile phone unless you have a hands free kit for it.
The Portuguese driving authorities require that you carry a number of set items with you in a car at all times. These include: spare bulbs and wheel, child seats for children less than 1.5m, a reflective red triangle for warning, and a reflective jacket for the same purpose.
Roads
The motorways in Portugal are known as the Auto-estrada, on which the general speed limit is 120 km per hour. On local roads you’ll see black and white road signs, but on the Auto-estrada they are blue, so keep an eye out for them. You will more than likely come across tolls if you’re travelling by motorway, so be prepared for that.
Documents
Just in case you get pulled over at any point, it’s vital to ensure you have all of the documentation that is required for driving on Portuguese roads in Faro and elsewhere in the country. You need to have: an EU driving licence, vehicle registration documents including log book, proof of paid road tax and third party insurance displayed, the car’s garage service record, and an IPO certificate for cars older than 4 years. Of course most of this will be sorted out during the hire process, but it pays to be aware of what you need.
