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Billy161 
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Joined: 14/April/2016
Location: London
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Points: 28
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 Topic: Driving to the algarve
Posted: 14/April/2016 at 12:46 |
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We are driving to the algarve for first time,arriving in to Santander and staying overnight in Plasencia.whats the best route from their and the toll roads seem complicated
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peteknopp
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Joined: 20/December/2006
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Posted: 14/April/2016 at 13:28 |
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From Plasencia aim for badajoz then onto Beja then head down to algarve
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Richardk
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Posted: 14/April/2016 at 14:17 |
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Ive done the journey many times to/from Uk via France but prefer to drive to Seville then towards Huelva then Algarve. Its a bit further but avoids the poor/slow roads of the Alentejo. You are on motorway/dual carriageway the whole time, you go on Seville ring Road.
Hope it goes ok
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Billy161
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Posted: 14/April/2016 at 16:56 |
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Ok thanks so that's on the a66 is it.we are pretty fast drivers so how long will it take us and what about the toll roads how do we manage them or should we go on 154 road,we travel end of april
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wendyhsmith
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Posted: 14/April/2016 at 19:47 |
I did this drive a couple of months ago. I went the same way as Pete. I stopped at Martinamor just south of Salamanca. It took 5 hours to get there from Santander. Next day from Martinamor aim for Beja then follow the signs for Algarve. The only bit of toll is the very last part which I think was about €4 and I stuck a bank card in (no pin asked for). That took 6.5 hours.
The roads are empty and very good. Cruised at 70mph in a Fiesta. Easy. Make sure you fill up with petrol before you cross into Portugal short of Beja as petrol was only €1.01 a litre in Spain.
However. Next time I won't go that way, I agree with Richard about avoiding the Alentejo roads between Beja and Albufeira. The whole road is being dug up for miles with crappy diversions from one side to the other, temporary lights etc. So instead, after Salamanca aim for Seville then the A22 into Portugal. Never had a toll charge on this road in 8 years of using different UK plated cars at various times (but have never got on it at San Antionio de La Frontera).
The further south you get, the worse the driving gets until it reaches its dizzy heights of ridiculous on the Algarve.
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Billy161
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 07:11 |
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Ok that sounds good so when you go into Portugal from the a22 Seville route do you not get on a toll road
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Richardk
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 08:32 |
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There is a toll booth where you can buy a transponder as you enter Portugal over the Guardiana river bridge from Seville/Huelva. There is no physical barrier though so if non PT plated car you could (and many do)drive straight through
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Billy161
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 09:18 |
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That sounds better but what happens if I get stopped,if if its cheap surely better to get ticket
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cubsur
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Joined: 26/January/2006
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 09:29 |
You don't get 'stopped' but if they catch up with you later for non payment of tolls the fines are pretty steep.
You can avoid the tolls by leaving the A22 immediately once over the bridge and into Portugal, but by using the N125 road you might spend more on petrol than the cost of the tolls you are trying to avoid, which average around 9 cents per km.
Also, there are a lot of reconstruction works on the N125 resulting in delays.
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Albufeira Resident
www.algarvebus.info public transport information for the Algarve
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Algarveaddick
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Joined: 27/December/2008
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 09:44 |
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The N125 from the border to Olhao is awful at the best of times, if they have the same amount of work going on that side of Faro as this I reckon a journey time of about two and a half hours.
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Billy161
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 09:50 |
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Ok.sound like I'll stay on toll road and pay the toll as we are here for a month and can't stand the hassle of always looking over my shoulder for a small amount
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Andrew
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Joined: 27/December/2008
Location: UK or Algarve
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 10:13 |
and just to confuse your decision making a little more, if you stop and buy a transponder, and keep it all proper and legal, you'll have to register a bank account to make payments from or go to the Post Office and pay your bill, your problem there is you have to leave two clear days before you can pay at PO, so last two days you are here, don't use the toll road as you wont be here to go and pay!!
Oh, and welcome to Portugal!  |
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Andrew
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wendyhsmith
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Joined: 03/July/2008
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 10:16 |
Its not a case of avoiding the tolls. I'd be very happy to pay the toll to avoid the madness of the N125 and the dreadful driving (plus lots of roadworks).
I haven't entered it on the Seville road in a non PT car so don't know much about the foreign plates/transponder possibilities at that exact point.
However, it does piss me off that you can drive on a toll road in any other country in Europe and pay at booths however, at no point on the A22 is there a facility to do this as you go. Why not?
I gave up trying years ago to sort it out. Asking about paying tolls on the A22 in a foreign plated car is like opening a can of worms. lol. I'd quite like to know what the current status is though?
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Andrew
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Joined: 27/December/2008
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 11:04 |
Does anyone actually know of anyone who has got done for not paying?
We went to Post Office and paid for two trips in a hire car, they had about twenty other none paid against the same vehicle, before we had it, in fact going back over a year, they shrugged shoulders and said nothing would be done about it. That was a Portuguese registered hire car so wouldn't be too difficult to pursue.
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Andrew
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Big Col
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Joined: 18/August/2011
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Posted: 15/April/2016 at 11:31 |
Unless it's changed, LuzCar who operate (PT registered) hire cars from Faro Airport, do not provide a transponder with their vehicles. Their view is that the authorities do not pursue tourists who clock up "small" amounts when using the A22. Certainly I have not been contacted in the last two years.
Using the toll road up the country towards Lisbon is a different matter however. 
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Colin
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