Whether you’re heading to the beach or inland, the delights of Portugal’s Algarve region are at your fingertips when you take your car. You’ll be able to sample the sheer richness of the local culture up close and personal, and fall in love with the warm welcome from the locals, all with the convenience of personal transport. In a region where the public transport doesn’t always do the job, it’s liberating. So here’s what you need to know about driving on the Algarve and out into the magic of wider Portugal.
Step one – Sort your insurance out!
You’ll want to buy good European Breakdown Cover, either basic or comprehensive, along with your regular travel insurance. One good thing – you won’t need an insurance green card to take your car to Portugal. But if you’re taking your own car you’ll need to cover it abroad. It’s best to talk to an independent insurance broker to make sure you get the cover you need at a decent price and don’t leave any gaps that could prove expensive.
Do you need a special driving license to drive in Portugal?
To drive in Portugal you have to be 18 or older and have a full valid driving licence. If you have an EU or EEA driving license, that’s fine too. You don’t need an international driving permit. You can’t drive a moped over 50cc or a bike over 125cc unless you’re 16 or over.
What documents do you need to take when driving in Portugal?
Don’t forget the paperwork. You’ll need to have your UK driving licence, some proof of ID like a passport, your motor insurance certificate and a V5 registration document. If it’s your own car, registered in the UK, you’ll need a national ‘UK’ identifier sticker. The old ‘GB’ and ‘Council of Europe’ star stickers aren’t valid any more.
Unless you want to be fined, you need to take reflective jackets in the car and wear them if you have to get out of the vehicle on the road. You have to pack a warning triangle, unless you’ve come from a country where it isn’t necessary for foreign-registered vehicles to have one. Cars must have either headlamp beam deflectors or deflector stickers unless you want to do it manually. And whether you’re driving a motorbike or moped, or are the pillion passenger, a helmet is compulsory.
Steep, hilly country and emergencies on the roads
The roads off the beaten track can be hilly, winding and hard to handle, so prepare to come across ‘interesting’ driving conditions in rural areas away from the tourist hotspots.
You’ll find emergency telephones connecting you to an SOS network every 2km on the motorways, IP roads and IC roads. You can also call 112 to talk to an operator who’ll connect you to the emergency services, trained to speak English as well as French and Portuguese.
2025’s ETIAS or European Travel Information and Authorisation System
This 2025 visa programme is important when you don’t need Schengen visa but want to travel to the European Union. Buy the card and you can travel in all 26 member states of the Schengen Zone plus Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania.
What are the rules of the road?
You drive on the right and overtake on the left. For everyone’s safety, keep as far right as you can when someone is overtaking you and never accelerate. Remember you can only drive past a tram when it has stopped as long as there’s a special safe island for passengers to get on and off. Otherwise you’ll just have to wait.
Narrow streets are the name of the game here, often steep, so you need to know the rules for driving on hills. The car closest to a passing place should pull into it. If nobody is closest, the lighter weight vehicle should pull in. It’s always OK to reverse. On hills cars going downhill have the priority, as do all cars coming from the right unless the road signage says different. You should never enter an intersection if you can’t get out of it without causing problems for other drivers. And, like in the UK, emergency vehicles have priority over everything else.
You can use your horn, but don’t go mad with it and don’t blow it after dark. You can flash your lights if there’s an emergency instead. If you’re driving in the countryside you can blow your horn when the visibility is bad or before overtaking.
You must wear a seat belt if the car has them, or face a fine of as much as €600. Traffic lights-wise, they use the international three traffic light system: no amber after the red, and flashing amber lights that mean ‘caution’. If the red light flashes or stays on, it means stop.
Portugal’s speed limit in a built up area is usually 50km/h. Outside built-up areas it’s usually anything from 90 – 100km/h. On motorways your limit is 120km/h. There are specific limits for mopeds, motorhomes and trailers. It’s sensible to get familiar with translating kilometres to miles so you don’t end up accidentally speeding. Finally, there are speed limits on the bridges, like there are here, so keep your eyes open for the signage. Fines for speeding can be as high as 2500 Euros. If you’re silly enough to try to use a speed camera detector in Portugal the fine can also be as high as 2500 Euros. Talking about signage – it makes a lot of sense to learn what the road signage in Portugal means before your holiday, so you’re safer on the roads when you get there.
Child safety is a big deal. If they’re younger than 12 and shorter than 1.35m, children must travel in the back seat in a child car seat. If your child is under 3, they can go in the front seat in a special car seat but you have to disable the air bag.
Bicycles come with their own set of rules, but it isn’t illegal to cycle without a helmet in Portugal unless it’s an electric bike. If your child is riding behind you on your bike as a passenger, they have to wear a helmet.
If you’re taking your campavan there are size limits. It can’t be bigger than 18.75m long, 4m high and 2.55 m wide. And it can’t be heavier than 10 tonnes at a single axle.
If you park illegally you can be clamped or even towed away. Then you’ll be fined and have to pay to get your vehicle back. The legal alcohol limit for private cars is 0.05% but if you passed your test recently and have less than three years’ experience it’s much lower at 0.02%. Like here at home, the police are allowed to do random drink and drug tests if you’re driving badly. If you have a crash you can expect to take a breath test or have a blood test.
Once you begin your adventure and get used to driving in Portugal, you’ll be thrilled at the freedom your own car or a hire car brings. Off-piste attractions, hidden gems and unique experiences are yours, far from the crowded resorts.
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