Car hire in Lisbon does not have to be a nightmare. If you aim to hire a car from one of the car hire groups situated within the airport, you'll not go far wrong. The problem is identifying them via the online car rental sites. A time consuming task at best.

However long you're wanting to hire a car for - the hardest part of finding what you want is ... finding it. Which group to hire from versus price and/or availability of the type of car you’re looking to hire – all considerations. And let’s face, it you also want convenience included. Who wants to hire a car them find that on landing at the airport, they’ve got to trek around the city to collect it?

My advice is to bear in mind that you are better off collecting it from the airport. It’s far easier, especially if you don’t know Lisbon and not knowing where to go can involve a fair bit of stress. But – which car hire group to use? Personally I’ve used several – and some of my (visiting) family have used different ones again. First, let’s look at how to source the cheapest car hire service then we can have a look at which hire car groups are situated within Lisbon airport.

The best way of searching several companies at once is by way of a hire car aggregator. Any/all of these websites simply ‘scrape’ information relating to your search query from the car hire groups that fall into your designated categories. They aren’t necessarily going to return you the cheapest price but they will give you a ‘foundation price’.

Next, (assuming you’ve used several different ones by this stage) check against the direct sites that appear of your returned search. This way you are likely to see if there’s a price difference – often there is, even if it’s only a minor one. Don’t forget – aggregators charge a small fee for providing you with your results.

Once you’ve homed in on what you want, decide on whether that’s the price you want to pay. Remember, surfing can and does pay but – don’t pass up on a reasonably good price in order to try and slash it in half. You won’t. You’re more likely to lose out and end up paying more than you wanted. The key is to be sensible. A few tips that will help you grab the best car hire price:

• Initially, use aggregator sites

• Check against direct sites price wise

• Use several tabs – or windows – to compare one against the other

• The older you are, the lower the price will be

• Check on additional drivers – included or not?

• Do look closely at the insurance details – sometimes you’re better to pay a little extra for fully comprehensive insurance. Lisbon drivers are not slow coaches!

• Check collision damage and loss waivers – some are a little bit high on closer inspection

• If you require child safety seats – again check the price/what’s included

• Compare the cost of ‘unlimited mileage’ against returning the car with a full tank of fuel. I always opt for unlimited mileage – it’s always been the cheaper option

• This is a common oversight – the boot space. Maybe you only need a four seater but how much luggage are the four cars’ occupants going to be bringing? Boot space is very much at a premium in smaller cars. Don’t end up standing staring at a boot made for two suitcases when you’ve brought the kitchen sink!

• The less flashy the car – the less you’ll pay. Pure math. It’s only for getting you from A to B – so don’t inflate the price by wanting what you don’t need

• Consider booking your hire car when you book your flights. Many operators give a discount

• Finally – you can always contact the company direct and haggle. Sometimes it does pay to do so

Car hire aggregators:

• Travel supermarket (.com)
• Car rentals (co.uk)
• Car rental hire (co.uk)
• Any car hire (.com
• Economy car hire (.com)
• Car hire search (co.uk)
• Easy car (.com)
• Kayak (.com)

These are but a few that I use – there are many more on the internet. Any of the above will suffice or just search ‘car hire’ ‘car rental’ ‘hire car’ via google.

And so – that’s the basics of hiring the car covered. Now which car hire group to hire from? Lisbon airport contains quite a few. Auto Jardim, Avis, Europcar, Álamo/National, Hertz, A A Castanheira, Budget. I have previously used Hertz and Europcar. My family has used Budget, Avis and Europcar.

My personal recommendation is Europcar. I’ve used them to hire a car here as well as over in the UK. They are better (pricewise) if you book flights/car hire together. The service provision is prompt and efficient. The cars have always been as described and immaculately clean. The staff that I’ve met or spoken to via the telephone have always been competent, helpful and polite.

Further, I was overcharged (accidentally) on one occasion. I didn’t realise the mistake until I was back in Lisbon. I had to visit an office here to deal with the problem. In short, my money was returned plus compensation for my ‘trouble’. For my trouble, I was repaid half of the cost of the week’s car hire plus the extra I’d paid for unlimited mileage and fully comprehensive insurance.

On a final note, what I’d like to say is this: do you really need to hire a car at all? Lisbon is awash with public transport, not to mention hail and stop taxis. You can travel just as quickly to the beaches and surrounding areas via train and bus. It’s also cheap and very very efficient. There is also the hassle of finding somewhere to park. Further Lisbon is notoriously difficult to negotiate, in terms of driving around and looking for the various tourist spots and attractions. And don’t get me started on the Lisboettas’ driving abilities …

In short – if you do decide to car hire, aim for one of the groups that can be found within the airport. Second – search using the tips. And third – enjoy your holiday!