Fly-Drive Touring Holidays
in Spain and Portugal

We don't include flights but there are excellent links to most areas of Spain and Portugal, many of which with great value, low-cost carriers. Our expert team keep up to date with new developments and we are always more than happy to advise.

Our tours are designed to take advantage of direct flights from the UK and you'll find helpful guidance on applicable routes in the 'Travel' section of each itinerary.

If you don't find links from your preferred airport or are travelling from further afield please don't hesitate to call. There may be alternative links or we might be able to adapt the route to suit your preferences.

Generally we advise that you wait for our proposal before booking flights, we check availability for every quote so you can then book your travel with full peace of mind.

Renting a car in Spain or Portugal is quite straightforward, and with our years of experience we can help to make the whole process a lot smoother.

One of the first things to consider is choosing the right vehicle for your trip, and we’re more than happy to advise. If you’ll be driving through narrow historic city streets or small coastal towns, an economy compact car will make parking and manoeuvring much easier. For longer road trips, especially with family, luggage or walking gear, a larger vehicle, an estate car or an SUV may be more comfortable.

Worth considering too is whether you need the car for the entirety of the trip. Generally, where the itinerary begins or ends in a major city we don’t include the rental car for the days spent in the city, thus avoiding the hassle of city driving and making significant savings to boot!

It’s also important to use a reputable car hire supplier, the cheapest option isn’t always the best, and we only use the more reputable international and local companies to ensure the very best experience and ensure the smooth running of your trip.

No matter which company you choose, it’s important to check there are no hidden extras before booking. Though some costs (extra driver, GPS, child seats etc) can only be paid at pick-up we will clearly detail those charges, right from the initial quotation.

Insurance excess values have risen significantly in recent years and whilst you can waiver this at pick-up we recommend taking third-party excess cover before travel. Excess amounts will be fully detailed in your quote and please talk to us if in any doubt on this matter.

Finally, though we do our best to minimise them, there are potential pitfalls to be aware of when hiring a car – see our guide to Avoiding Problems with Holiday Car Rental to make sure you’re ahead of the game!

One-way, or point-to-point, car rentals - where you pick up a vehicle in one location and return it in another - can be a marvellous option to discover a swathe of the country without having to retrace your footsteps.

Follow the Camino de Santiago from Bilbao to Santiago, trace the Cami de Ronda which runs the entire length of Catalonia from the Costa Brava to Costa Dorada via Barcelona, fly into Lisboa and back from Porto and discover the secrets of Centro de Portugal or fly down to north Spain and back from Sevilla and travel the truly epic Via de Plata.

Extra fees normally are applicable, but these will be fully detailed in your quote and usually represent good value considering the convenience of the facility – and the petrol and toll fees saved by not having to circle back. Additionally, should the route be city-to-city – for example our Cities of Portugal tour - significant savings can be made (in stress as well as euros) by picking up upon leaving the first city and dropping off on arrival at the destination.

A cross-border road-trip between Spain and Portugal is a wonderful way to explore two countries in one trip, a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the culture, gastronomy and varying landscapes - but there here are a few key points to keep in mind…

Whilst sometimes possible, it is usually prohibitively expensive to pick up the car in one country and drop-off in another. Our Cross-border Tours are designed with this in mind – always returning to the country of origin. 

Cross-border travel during the rental period is generally allowed though it does incur an additional charge to extend the breakdown cover. Where appropriate – for tours in the Pyrenees and close to the Portuguese border as well as explicitly designed cross-border itineraries -  we take this into account when selecting the best car rental for you and the charges will be fully detailed in your proposal (along with any other local charges). 

Driving is generally quite civilised and traffic density is very low, compared to the UK.

In Spain and Portugal they drive on the right but otherwise the driving rules and conditions are very similar.

In Portugal there's an automatic toll system - you will be offered a transponder device at pick-up for a nominal charge which is then linked to your credit card which will be billed automatically in due course.

In Spain a V16 emergency light and reflective jackets will be provided. The light needs to be activated and placed on the roof of the car in case of breakdown (this replaces the previous warning triangle system from January 1st 2026.

A word about roundabouts

One difference to look out for is in the use of roundabouts which was recently clarified by the DGT basically the inner lane should only be used for overtaking (instead of , as habitually the case in the UK, using it to take the right turn). The safest bet is always to enter and stay in the outer, right-hand, lane irrespective of which exit you’ll be taking.