General Logistics Question Portugal / Valenca

[Jackie305]

Hi, I will be arriving in Lisbon in September, @ 8:00 AM, renting a car at the airport and driving north towards Porto/ Valenca/ Tui area. I wanted to do little bit of sightseeing in Lisbon, including Miradouro da Graca, having a Pastry at Pasteis de Belen, Jeronimo's Monsatery and Belen Tower. I plan to stop along the way at Nazare, and possibly sleep that evening in Coimbra.
The next day I am still figuring out what to do and where to drop the car off. I would like to see a bit of Porto and haven't planned it as of yet.
I would like to return the car in Portugal, and not have to pay extra to drop it off in Spain. This is where I am seeking suggestions. I plan to start officially walking from O Porrino to SdC, planning 5 days of walking.
Where would be the best place to drop off the car? How would I get from there to O Porrino? I was thinking of the train station in Valenca. If I drop off in Valenca, would I take a Taxi/ car service or bus to O Porrino?

Thank you

 

[henrythedog]

Hi, I will be arriving in Lisbon in September, @ 8:00 AM, renting a car at the airport and driving north towards Porto/ Valenca/ Tui area. I wanted to do little bit of sightseeing in Lisbon, including Miradouro da Graca, having a Pastry at Pasteis de Belen, Jeronimo's Monsatery and Belen Tower. I plan to stop along the way at Nazare, and possibly sleep that evening in Coimbra.
The next day I am still figuring out what to do and where to drop the car off. I would like to see a bit of Porto and haven't planned it as of yet.
I would like to return the car in Portugal, and not have to pay extra to drop it off in Spain. This is where I am seeking suggestions. I plan to start officially walking from O Porrino to SdC, planning 5 days of walking.
Where would be the best place to drop off the car? How would I get from there to O Porrino? I was thinking of the train station in Valenca. If I drop off in Valenca, would I take a Taxi/ car service or bus to O Porrino?

Thank you

If dropping the car at Valença station is an option, then that’s as close as you’ll get to Spain!

You could get a cab from there (it’s a big enough town) or walk over the bridge and get one in Tui. There’s a taxi rank there. Cross the bridge, head north to the Main Street, turn right, second on your left.

 

[naplesdon]

You will definitely want to drop the car off in Portugal if you rented it in Portugal. There are large drop-off fees for returning a rental car in a country that is different from the country where it was rented.

 

[Vacajoe]

Public transportation is excellent in Portugal and your days are so limited, have you considered NOT renting a car? Lisbon itself is wonderful but having a car there is a detriment (same with Porto). Even taking a taxi between train/bus stops would likely be cheaper than the one way drop off fees

 

[naplesdon]

Add to that the parking fees and claustrophobic streets of Lisbon!

 

[jungleboy]

Public transportation is excellent in Portugal and your days are so limited, have you considered NOT renting a car? Lisbon itself is wonderful but having a car there is a detriment (same with Porto). Even taking a taxi between train/bus stops would likely be cheaper than the one way drop off fees

I was also going to suggest this. Apart from Nazaré, there's nothing in the OP's itinerary that isn't easily accessible by public transport.

 

[Jackie305]

Thank you for your responses. I will be traveling with a small backpack and a rolling style carry on. I’m not sure I would want to deal with these pieces while on public transportation. I also saw there is a private service that can take me to the spots I am interested in, although the cost is much more than renting a car. Luckily I am still in the planning stages.

 

[jungleboy]

If I can make another point, and it's not my intention to be discouraging or negative, so I'm sorry if it sounds that way, but it would be that you might be trying to cram too much into this time. If I read your original post correctly (and apologies if I did not), you arrive at Lisbon airport at 8am (after flying overnight from the US?) and plan to begin walking 48 hours later, 500km away. And in the 48 hours in between, you would like to spend time in Lisbon, Nazaré, Coimbra, Porto and possibly more places. Sorry if I misread your post but in case I didn't, this seems like an awful lot to try to do in a very short amount of time, especially considering tiredness/jetlag, regardless of which type of transport you use.

Personally I would just stay in Lisbon that first day and night and get more out of your visit there, and then travel by train to O Porriño the next day. The sense of 'I don't want to miss out on anything' might be leading you to the desire to visit as many places as possible, so I understand that temptation (especially in our current FOMO environment), but spending a couple of hours rushing around cities like Lisbon and Porto before dashing off to the next place seems pretty pointless to me.

 

[Jackie305]

OK, getting back to this thread, again thank you for your suggestions. I have a few questions. I have tried finding the answers myself, but honestly I'm find it logistically more difficult than i anticipated.

If I decide to stay in Lisbon one night and not rent a car:

Can I take a train to Porto the following morning, sight-see and spend one night there? Would travel by train be the easiest way to get to Porto?
The next morning, a Saturday in Porto, I need to get to O Porrino (or Tui???). I see bus routes and trains when looking on Rome2Rio.

To O Porrino:

R2R shows a train leaving from Porto at 8:13 AM - arriving in Vigo at 11:35 AM. On the drop down menu, it shows the stops: Nine - Viana del Castillo and Valenca and then finally to Vigo. If I were to get on this train, can I get off at Valenca and take a taxi (or Uber) to O Porrino?

ALSA and FlixBus are also options, with departures "five times a day". FlixBus leaves at 7AM and stops at Braga and Vigo. Alsa has a bus that leaves at 11:00 AM, stopping at Braga and Valenca.

From Valenca, what would be the easisiet way to get to O Porrino? Taxi, bus or Uber?

Thank you

 

[Tincatinker]

Can I take a train to Porto? Yes, easily and frequently.
The rest of your itinerary is still too busy for me but yes there are multiple public transport options to get closer to Santiago. Santiago from Tui is a five day walk for most. Using public transport will at least save you time hanging about in car rental franchises though you’ll still get to hang out in train and bus stations. The coffee will be better

 

[Jackie305]

Thank you tincatinker
I’m starting my walk in tui or o porrino .

 

[Vacajoe]

The options between Lisbon and Porto are affordable, frequent, and all good. Unless it’s a holiday, you generally can walk up and buy a ticket minutes before the transit departs. Honestly, take that off your worry list.

As for getting to Porriño, it’s about 15km, so a taxi/Uber will likely cost you €15-€20. It’s fast and easy. Buses will be cheaper. Even cheaper is simply walking, preferably from Valenca so you can say you started your Camino in Portugal, even if it was simply before crossing the border. It’s a great city and so is Tui, so skipping them would be a shame.

 

[Jackie305]

The options between Lisbon and Porto are affordable, frequent, and all good. Unless it’s a holiday, you generally can walk up and buy a ticket minutes before the transit departs. Honestly, take that off your worry list.

As for getting to Porriño, it’s about 15km, so a taxi/Uber will likely cost you €15-€20. It’s fast and easy. Buses will be cheaper. Even cheaper is simply walking, preferably from Valenca so you can say you started your Camino in Portugal, even if it was simply before crossing the border. It’s a great city and so is Tui, so skipping them would be a shame.

Thanks, this solves a lot of my concerns.