Porto airport car hirethe desks, the toll device, A28 and A41 gantries, parking and the Douro (2026)

Checked on 10 October 2026. Hire rates change daily, so this page gives none. It covers what decides the real cost around Porto: the desk and its hours, the deposit and cover, the toll device fee and where the gantries are, and where you will park. Check your own booking’s terms before you pay.

Porto airport has six car hire companies in the terminal, all before security [1]. As everywhere in Portugal, every hire car must carry an electronic toll device [4], and around Porto you will use it: the A28 up the coast and the A41 and A42 around the city have electronic gantries only, no booths [6]. Inside Porto the car is more trouble than help. It earns its keep for the Douro valley and the coast north of the city.

The desks at Porto airport

Company [1]	Desk hours [1]
Avis and Budget	07:00 to 24:00
Europcar	06:30 to 24:00
Goldcar	07:00 to 23:00
Guerin	07:00 to 24:00
Hertz (also Dollar, Thrifty)	06:00 to 24:00
Sixt	07:00 to 24:00

All are before security [1]. Most desks open at 07:00, so on an early-morning landing check your company’s hours; Goldcar closes at 23:00. Firms not on this list usually meet you with a shuttle to an office outside the airport: often cheaper, one more step with children and luggage. The voucher says “in terminal” or “shuttle”.

Fuel, cover and the deposit

• Fuel: under full-to-full you collect the car with a full tank and bring it back full, so you pay only for the fuel you use. Under full-to-empty you pay for a whole tank at the start, often with a service fee, and get nothing back for what is left [3].
• Excess: basic cover still leaves you owing an excess that can run into hundreds or thousands [3]. Either buy the company’s full cover at the desk, which usually cuts the deposit, or keep basic cover, buy standalone excess insurance before you travel and leave a deposit blocked on a card [3]. “No deposit” offers are usually tied to the first option.
• Card: Guerin, for example, says a physical credit card is always needed for the deposit [2]. Debit-card rules differ by company and by cover; read your booking’s terms. How to pay in Portugal: paying in Portugal.

At pick-up, photograph the car all round and keep the photos until the deposit is back [3].

Tolls: the device, the A28 and the A41

In a hire car. Since Decreto-Lei n.º 84-C/2022 every hire car in Portugal must carry an electronic toll device, which pays tolls automatically; the company bills the tolls used plus any administrative costs for the service, which articles 27 and 43 link to use of the service and leave to a ministerial order [4][16]. Hertz Portugal, for example, charges €2.21 a day up to €22.14 per rental and refunds it if no toll passages are recorded [5]. Ask at the desk what your company charges.

Where the gantries are. Infraestruturas de Portugal’s toll site groups the electronic-only motorways by concession. Around Porto that is Grande Porto (A4, A41, A42) and Norte Litoral (A28) [6]. The A28 is the coast road north towards Vila do Conde, Póvoa de Varzim and Viana do Castelo. Two stretches of it, Esposende to Antas and Neiva to Darque, have been toll-free since 1 January 2025 [7]. Classic motorways with booths, such as the A1 to Lisbon, still charge as before.

In your own foreign car (for example driving down from Galicia), set up a payment method before you drive on electronic-only roads [6]:

• EasyToll links a Visa, Mastercard or Maestro card to your plate: €1 plus €0.32 admin per trip on top of the toll itself, valid 30 days [6].
• A prepaid TollCard, Via Verde, or a compatible EU toll device also work [6].

The official site is pttolls.com; portugaltolls.com redirects to it [6]. It also says what to do if you passed a gantry without paying [6]. National rules: driving in Portugal.

Driving into central Porto

We found no low-emission zone on the city council’s mobility pages, as of 10 October 2026. Porto does have restricted-access zones (ZAAC). Six are run automatically as ZAACPorto: Carmelitas, Cedofeita, Flores, Ribeira, Santa Catarina and Tito Fontes, and other zones are managed locally [9]. Only cars registered on the ZAACPorto platform may enter, and access is controlled by bollards, identification machines and number-plate cameras [8][9]. If your accommodation is inside one of them, for example in the Ribeira, ask it how guests’ cars get in before you drive there.

The rest of the centre is open, but the old town is steep and narrow. In practice you park and walk.

Parking in Porto

Street parking in zones I to IV is paid on weekdays 09:00 to 19:00, and zone I also on Saturdays 11:00 to 16:00 [10]. The maximum stay is between 2 and 10 hours depending on the street; check the sign [10]. Zone I is the dearest: in the council’s table an hour costs €1.20 there and €0.40 in zones III and IV, and zones II and III have a day ticket [10]. Pay at the machine or with the Telpark or Via Verde app [10].

For a week in the city, a garage space at the accommodation, or a hire only for the days you leave Porto, usually works out better.

The Douro valley by car

A car opens up what the train cannot reach: viewpoints such as São Leonardo de Galafura above Régua and quintas away from the Régua and Pinhão stations. The usual route east from Porto is the A4, with electronic gantries on the Grande Porto stretch [6]; further east the A4 Transmontana stretch with the Marão tunnel, and the A24, have been toll-free since 2025 [7]. The device in a hire car handles the rest.

Two cautions. The legal alcohol limit is 0.5 g/l, and 0.2 g/l for drivers still in their probationary period [12], which does not sit well with a day of wine tastings: one driver stays sober, or take a tour. And the valley roads are narrow and winding, so allow more time than the map suggests.

Train, boat or a night on a quinta instead: the Douro valley from Porto.

Planning a loop through the country by car: Portugal road trip.

Child seats and licences

• Child seats. Under Article 55 of the Código da Estrada, children under 12 and shorter than 135 cm must use an approved child seat, normally in the back; a child under 3 may sit in front only in a rear-facing seat with the airbag off. The fine is €120 to €600 per child [11][17]. Book seats with the car and check the type, or bring your own.
• EU licences are valid as they are. UK drivers can drive in Portugal on a photocard licence for up to 185 days without an international driving permit; GOV.UK adds that you should check whether the hire company asks for one [13].
• US drivers. The State Department says a US licence is valid in Portugal for up to six months and points to AAA for an IDP [14]. Hire companies can be stricter: ask before you book.

Do you need a car at all?

For Porto, no. Metro line E runs from the terminal [15] about every 15 minutes from 07:00 to 20:00 and every 20 to 30 minutes early and late (Metro do Porto timetable from 7 September 2026) [18], and reaches the centre in about 30 minutes, trains reach Braga and Guimarães in about an hour, and the Douro line runs to Régua and Pinhão. Line by line, with 2026 fares: getting around Porto. Trips that work by train: day trips from Porto; with children: Porto with kids.

A car helps for the Douro quintas and viewpoints, and for hopping between the beaches north of Matosinhos. The common pattern is the metro into the city and a car for two or three days out of it. Driving on to Lisbon? Lisbon airport car hire covers the bridges and the ZER there.

Sources

Numbered references match the source list on this page. Read on 10 October 2026 unless stated.

1. Porto Airport: Car rental
2. Guerin: Alugar carro sem cartão de crédito, read 9 October 2026
3. MoneySavingExpert: How to book cheap car hire
4. Decreto-Lei n.º 84-C/2022, art. 27.º
5. Hertz Portugal: Via Verde obrigatória para alugar um carro
6. Portugal Tolls
7. ANTRAM: Fim das portagens nas ex-SCUT
8. Porto City Council, Mobilidade: FAQ
9. Porto City Council: Zonas de Acesso Automóvel Condicionado
10. Porto City Council: Paid street parking
11. Código da Estrada, art. 55.º, read 9 October 2026
12. Código da Estrada, art. 81.º
13. GOV.UK: International driving permit
14. U.S. Department of State: Portugal, read 9 October 2026
15. Porto Airport: Public transportation, read 9 October 2026
16. Diário da República: Decreto-Lei n.º 84-C/2022, art. 27.º, read 11 October 2026
17. Diário da República: Código da Estrada, art. 55.º (consolidated), read 11 October 2026
18. Metro do Porto: Horários and Frequências, valid from 7 September 2026, read 10 October 2026