Portugal toll roads - how does it work? (1 Viewer)

[jaygee]

We are going to travel down the west coast of Spain into Portugal and round to the East coast of Spain. May be in Portugal 3-5 weeks depending on what we find.
I dare say that in that time we may have the need to use Toll roads at one point and was wondering what the best procedure would be as I understand there are no toll booths?
We are 4500kg - don't know if that makes a difference (other than having to pay more I expect:Sad

 

[laneside]

You will like as not get a bucketful of conflictng answers on this one.

We have just recently come from Spain along the Algarve using the toll road and as we crossed the border from Spain to Portugal there was a pull in , which was easy to drive straight passed.

We went in there and pulled to the barrier where our number was automatically recognised, put our credit card in the machine and that was it.

As you drive various sections there are cameras over the road and it charges our card.

This bit lasts for thirty days and I have no idea what we do after that and I believe there is another section of motorways where you buy credit at a booth but will report in the next couple of weeks when we encounter that senario

 

[Billy23]

You will like as not get a bucketful of conflictng answers on this one.

We have just recently come from Spain along the Algarve using the toll road and as we crossed the border from Spain to Portugal there was a pull in , which was easy to drive straight passed.

We went in there and pulled to the barrier where our number was automatically recognised, put our credit card in the machine and that was it.

As you drive various sections there are cameras over the road and it charges our card.

This bit lasts for thirty days and I have no idea what we do after that and I believe there is another section of motorways where you buy credit at a booth but will report in the next couple of weeks when we encounter that senario

My house in Spain is not far from Portugal and what you say is correct, if you are in Portugal for longer than a month and then want to go onto the motorway, you can just stop at the services and pay in the fuel service part, you would then tell them what journey you intend (or have already taken) to take and they will charge you as a single trip.

Pity I didn't know you were passing my place laneside, you could have had a cup of coffee or a beer.

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[chaser]

Dont want to contradict you people who live there but my mate lives in Estoi , just up from Faro and he has an English registered car and just goes up and down the moterway to Spain without stopping at any tolls, and has not had any fines yet!!! .This is since it started , so maybe 2 years . He reckons they cant be bothered to find English cars to send the notices to.
Dont blame me if it doesnt work but that is what I understand.
Been with him so no its true what he says.
Chaser

 

[Billy23]

Dont want to contradict you people who live there but my mate lives in Estoi , just up from Faro and he has an English registered car and just goes up and down the moterway to Spain without stopping at any tolls, and has not had any fines yet!!! .This is since it started , so maybe 2 years . He reckons they cant be bothered to find English cars to send the notices to.
Dont blame me if it doesnt work but that is what I understand.
Been with him so no its true what he says.
Chaser

Yes, I understand that for the first year/18 months that was the case as they didnt have the system totally up and running, it is now. What you need to know is that they now have a system that they "See" you on the motorway as you pass under the cameras and can inform the police who are able to stop and fine you on the spot.

I will say that I have not heard of that happening but it could.

It is also worth a mention that....is it really worth taking the chance for the sake of just a few quid, like Spanish border to Faro in car about £4....come on its not loads of dosh.

 

[RogeTeri]

Portuguese Road Tolls

http://www.portugaltolls.pt/en/web/...s;jsessionid=4AB9EB7358E13E7019B24985A87CDC28

These overhead cameras started a few years ago. At first I don't think they had their act together particularly for foreign vehicles, but as some of the Funsters have said in replies that is changing. I found this link which I think explains it all.

It seems that you will be increasingly at risk of a fine if you don't pay, better to be safe than sorry!

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[chaser]

Quite agree, dont see the point myself for the bit it costs if you are only doing it once, but I was with him on there last month and still no fines.

 

[2657]

From the above link:

[HI]Can foreign-registered vehicles use the post-payment system (payment after using the motorway)?
No.[/HI]

So its all change again, its no wonder people are confused. The last printed leaflet that I obtained in November '12 said post payment was possible at Post Offices, which in my case turned out not to be possible.

 

[Sundowners]

Hi
the normal procedure for locals is to go to a post office or a shop that sells loto tickets/phone top-ups etc. (can't remember their name) a few days after the trip, they will then tell you how much you owe them:Sad:----Ask a local they will tell you what they are called/where they are----the issue we had is that they always seem to be in towns---not great to get to with a motorhome if you can't walk far:Sad:

We spent a lot of time in Portugal last winter, and only went on one little bit of toll route (accidentally) we never paid-------maybe they will collar us when we return

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[JJ]

Please, please, please be advised Funsters.


One simple fact must be understood.


There are two (2) types of tolled motorways. The old and the new.


The old type anyone who has travelled in France will recognise. They have booths and ticket machines. Get a ticket when you get on and pay when you get off (sometimes by card/machine at night but mostly manned).

Then you have the new, electronic toll roads. These I am afraid I don't know too much about but for foreign registered vehicles I understand you have different options at the border. Some register a card in a machine and give their reg number and the tolls are deducted automatically and I have been told that you can also pay a certain amount for a certain length of time. Heyupluv knows all about these roads.

Frankly I (along with most Portuguese) am furious about these "new" toll roads most of which were built with EU money and advertised as Free To The Users roads. (SCUTs).

The moral question as to whether you just use these roads which you have already helped pay for is up to you. I have no choice. My Hymer is Porrtuguese registered so they know where I live. I don't use these roads.

Sorry not to be able to give more details but what I really wanted people to understand is...

In Portugal there are TWO types of toll roads.

JJ:Cool:

PS. If you are going north to south the most likely roads you will use are the A1 and A2 which are both old type tolls...

 

[RogeTeri]

Road Tolls

That's absolutely right. The Portuguese government are doing whatever they can to raise funds. Think it will be a false economy in the end as it is driving vehicles off the motorways and toll roads, which for the best part seem empty. Surely the result will be that minor roads will be overused and if they get repaired will negate the income from the toll roads. They need to find a happy balance.

 

[Pikey Pete]

Please, please, please be advised Funsters.


One simple fact must be understood.


There are two (2) types of tolled motorways. The old and the new.


The old type anyone who has travelled in France will recognise. They have booths and ticket machines. Get a ticket when you get on and pay when you get off (sometimes by card/machine at night but mostly manned).

Then you have the new, electronic toll roads. These I am afraid I don't know too much about but for foreign registered vehicles I understand you have different options at the border. Some register a card in a machine and give their reg number and the tolls are deducted automatically and I have been told that you can also pay a certain amount for a certain length of time. Heyupluv knows all about these roads.

[HI]Frankly I (along with most Portuguese) am furious about these "new" toll roads most of which were built with EU money and advertised as Free To The Users roads. (SCUTs).[/HI]

The moral question as to whether you just use these roads which you have already helped pay for is up to you. I have no choice. My Hymer is Porrtuguese registered so they know where I live. I don't use these roads.

Sorry not to be able to give more details but what I really wanted people to understand is...

In Portugal there are TWO types of toll roads.

JJ:Cool:

PS. If you are going north to south the mostly likely roads you will use are the A1 and A2 which are both old type tolls...

Which, is why I no longer go to Portugal on principle.
Here in Spain, roads built with inward investment from the EU are free, as are all city bypasses.
Roads built with Private money, you have to pay for, which seems fair enough to me.

The road system in Spain is a wonder to behold at times, as is, how quickly they are built once the funding is in place.

We could learn a lot from the Spanish engineers and road builders. A mountain is tunnelled and a viaduct is built over the ravine, without fuss, often one following the other for mile after mile. Absolutely amazing to see and mostly free.

Pete:Cool:

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[JJ]

Each to his own of course but to deprive a whole country of your presence based on a policy over a type of road seems a tad strong. You don't have to use those roads!

JJ:Cool:

 

[jaygee]

Which, is why I no longer go to Portugal on principle.
Here in Spain, roads built with inward investment from the EU are free, as are all city bypasses.
Roads built with Private money, you have to pay for, which seems fair enough to me.

The road system in Spain is a wonder to behold at times, as is, how quickly they are built once the funding is in place.

We could learn a lot from the Spanish engineers and road builders. A mountain is tunnelled and a viaduct is built over the ravine, without fuss, often one following the other for mile after mile. Absolutely amazing to see and mostly free.

Pete:Cool:

We live in La Marina about half way between Alicante & Torrevieja. The main road running along the coast through the towns from above Benidorm to the south is the N322 and is free - and because of this is heavily congested in the summer, it can take well over an hour and a half sometimes to get to Murcia airport.
The A7 runs parallel with this a few miles inland but it is a toll road (private investment) and even in summer is virtually empty. I pay the 1.50E fee to get to the airport in 40mins rather than crawl along the A7 - I must save that in fuel:thumb:
Obviously out of season I'll use the non toll road

EU money is used all over Europe to build and improve roads - in Croatia when we travelled inland we were forever seeing billboards at the sides of roadworks saying "funded with EU money", however where we live in Harwich, there is a fatal junction where traffic has to cross a busy 2 lane dual carriageway to the port. There is an accident at this junction at least once a week, many of them serious, yet the suits from whitehall say there is no funding to improve this stretch of road

 

[jaygee]

You will like as not get a bucketful of conflictng answers on this one.

We have just recently come from Spain along the Algarve using the toll road and as we crossed the border from Spain to Portugal there was a pull in , which was easy to drive straight passed.

We went in there and pulled to the barrier where our number was automatically recognised, put our credit card in the machine and that was it.

As you drive various sections there are cameras over the road and it charges our card.

This bit lasts for thirty days and I have no idea what we do after that and I believe there is another section of motorways where you buy credit at a booth but will report in the next couple of weeks when we encounter that senario

Thanks Laneside :thumb:, your reply was what I was looking for -- someone who has done it recently and what you have said ties in with what I read on http://www.visitportugal.com - electronic tolls

FOREIGN LICENSE PLATE VEHICLES
Easy Toll
Automatic payment of electronic tolls, with the association of a credit card (Mastercard and Visa) to the license plate of the vehicle.
Where to access:
Welcome Points located at the border posts at the following locations EN13 – Vila Nova de Cerveira, A24-Chaves, A25 – Vilar Formoso and A22 – Vila Real de Santo António.
How to access:
The driver, not having to leave the vehicle, enters the credit card in the payment terminal and the system automatically associates the vehicle's license plate to the bankcard. The tolls rates owed are directly debited to the account associated with the card.
Validity:
At the time of accession, valid for 30 days, a ticket is issued as proof and must be kept.
The driver is always able to change license plates or cancel the membership, through the Call Center 707 500 501 (National) or 00 351 212 879 555 (from abroad) or www.portugaltolls.pt.

Don't know what to do if don't enter at one of those points but get the jist of it so will just ask if that situation crops up.
Don't like the idea of not paying -- it's always us that gets caught

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[hdvrod]

I we are also doing a similiar journey,and taking our time so intend setting my sat nav " No Toll Roads" sorted

 

[ukbill]

i crossed into portugal and didnt register a card and the site says you cant do it after u have used them on uk plates so sod em send me the fine i also hired a car and used it on the motorway that you have to pay because they have ya credit card you have to wait 48 hours before it even gets into their system then you can pay at any post office and you also have 5 days in total to pay but using the n125 is ok it can be a but longer but more scenic the a22 is the toll road and best put your satnav to no motorways or it may not know the a22 is a toll road like mine did

 

[frogijock]

My sat-nav is permanently set on NO TOLL roads, if there is no alternative it tells me if part of road is tolled

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