Portugal

[Innkeeper]

Right thinking where to next. Would like to go to Portugal but wife (Les) says she heard the roads are terrible. But she doesn't know if it meant road surfaces or traffic.
Any one got any imput

 

[Speve]

Road surfaces in places are bad but not all and I think there are far more poor roads in the UK? Go for it you won’t regret it.??

 

[DBK]

The motorways are brilliant and virtually no traffic on them. Can't remember the other roads being poor, certainly not as bad as Italy.

 

[Podney]

Nowt wrong with most of them. Go for it! Lovely country,lovely people.lovely wine,lovely beer,lovely food.lovely beaches,lovely forests.

Lovely really.

 

[Adrian1]

We are luck to have a flat in Portugal and the roads are not that bad as just got back from a trip to Italy great people good wine and food fuel a bit more when we went in march
Enjoy

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[Ingwe]

Pretty much second what DBK says above. Not had any problem with the roads.

 

[Emmit]

This is not a complaint but rather an observation.

When we visited we noticed that a billiard table smooth main road went from that to cobbled when entering towns.
The cobbles aren't as in the UK. They (the locals use a very hard basalt type rock that is split and embedded into the road surface.

 

[Lenny HB]

A few roads are bad but most pretty good, although driving is reported to be bad we have not found it so. Just watch it on roundabouts they love just stopping to pick people and drop them off and ask directions halfway round a roundabout.

 

[Sundowners]

You are not in a rush, take it easy. If you stick to the main roads, especially motorways, if you don’t mind paying tolls, but it’s not necessary, there are plenty of good roads without, shames us when we go back to the UK, the condition of them there. You do get pot holes, but they are soon filled, not left for months with yellow lines painted round them. Inland is lovely in the Center, a lot of windy roads with lovely scenery, if you take your time it can be a very pleasant experience. Inland you get to the real Portugal. If you get near to Oliveira do Hospital, there are two Aires, one a couple of miles out of town on the N17, the other at Barril de Alva, beautiful place and aire, there are two campsites in the area if you want to use them. One at Arganil, the other at Coja, the village next to Barril de Alva. If you end up this way, give us a shout on here and we’ll join you for a drink.

 

[busby]

Thought the roads had greatly improved this year.Had a great 6 weeks touring The Algarve and inland ..Great country.BUSBY.

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[Viennese]

We decided that Portuguese drivers were even worse than Belgians!!

 

[TM59]

Just go for it. We find Portugal great. Love the beaches. Cost of living not to bad either. Roads are ok.

 

[DBK]

The only issue with Portugal is the language. It may look like Spanish but it doesn't sound like Spanish.

 

[scotzsue]

Favourite place, on the whole road surfaces are as good and in some cases better than a lot of our local rural roads. just watch out for inadvertantly going on the motorways and remember there are several companies running the tolls.

 

[mart]

Spent six weeks touring last year ,never used the motorways and had a brilliant time .good food , very nice beaches and helpful people.

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[chrisinplymouth]

We had 6 weeks there earlier this year and loved it. My only advice would be If you intend to use the toll motorways at any point get yourself an Emovis tag, it’s worth every penny......

 

[Norman Jones]

The roads are not terrible, it's a wonderfully welcoming place, especially up North.

 

[Lumpy]

We have recently returned from a trip around Portugal, we had no problems with the main and B roads (we don't do motorways). We did mistakenly find our ourselves on dirt roads a couple of times and I am surprised we haven't got a huge suspension bill. My advice is stay on surfaced roads. We found that there are some very nice Aires in rural Portugal, recently built and very clean with all services including FREE electric, water and toilet/shower facilities. We also found a motorhome stopover at a private house 10e per night with all necessary facilities including a sauna! and free use of washing machine and swimming pool.
Portugal is a fabulous place, with beautiful views and welcoming people, but be warned in the more rural areas of Portugal many people do not speak English so make sure you have google translate on your phone for more complicated conversations ;-)

 

[maxi77]

One thing to watch out for is pedestrian crossings, the Portuguese expect you to stop and will walk out with no warning. You get used to is and start spotting people walking near crossings/

 

[JJ]

I am slightly concerned about this thread...

May I recommend visiting Brits to stay on campsites down in the Algarve region where English breakfasts and beer in big glasses are served...

Don't venture north where the roads are all really bad, crime is rife and the Police pick on UK vehicles to extort exorbitant fines to help with their Christmas fund.



JJ

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[JJ]

One thing to watch out for is pedestrian crossings, the Portuguese expect you to stop and will walk out with no warning. You get used to is and start spotting people walking near crossings/

As a pedestrian, you are expected to step onto the crossing in order to stop the traffic...

their country, their rules...

JJ

 

[7735]

Only caught out once with a bad road when I tried to avoid a toll road. Had to turn back eventually and pay the money.
Spongy

 

[maxi77]

As a pedestrian, you are expected to step onto the crossing in order to stop the traffic...

their country, their rules...

JJ

No problems I live in Portugal