In 1973 the Spanish railway company Renfe made a tv advert in which a father went on a work trip, and while saying goodbye to his sleeping children, they thought, “Dad come by train.” It was a way of transmitting the safety offered by the trains of that time compared to other means of transport.
Unfortunately, in the Oeste region of Portugal, we have railway infrastructure now that is still quite similar to that shown in the old advert. The poor condition does not offer much certainty or reasonable travel times and is the fallback option for most travelers. A much needed update of the infrastructure has been announced in 2021, to be ready in 2023, but it will retain travel times longer than by bus and is regarded with pessimism. We call upon the authorities at every level to act more boldly and expedite the enhancement of the current rudimentary infrastructure.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the most common option for those who come from Spain and Northern Europe is almost always the car, as there are good highways from most Spanish cities. The A8, which runs from North to South throughout the Oeste region, also offers reasonable prices and low traffic density. As it is a traditional highway, you pick up a ticket at specific entrance points and only pay at the toll booths located by the highway exits by credit card or cash. On the other hand, some highways, such as the A23, that cross the country diagonally from Guarda in the North to Torres Novas in the Center, require some extra knowledge, as they can only be paid electronically. The easiest way to pay is to register online the vehicle and a credit card on this official website and the card will be automatically charged as you pass under electronic gates at various points on the highway. It is also possible to buy pre-paid cards at highway service areas or CTT shops, or you can buy the pre-paid cards online. Finally, there are also machines to register the vehicle and the card, but only at the beginning of the four main highways (Vilar Formoso A23, Viana do Castelo A28, Vilareal de Santo Antonio A22, and Chaves A24).
For those who come from other countries, the plane also offers reasonable solutions. Both Lisbon airport, just over 45 minutes from most points in the region, and Porto in less than two hours offer many regular and low-cost flights to medium and long-range destinations. In high season, the queues at the rent-a-car desks of the airports are usually a nightmare and many people look for other options or alternative points to rent the vehicle but that story probably deserves its own post.
The more adventurous could think of solutions by helicopter, by small planes or by gyroplane, as the authors of this beautiful vídeo around the lagoa and the village of Óbidos did. For these, the offer is not very extensive. Still, it covers most of the region, with asphalt tracks in Torres Vedras, Fatima and Santarem and dirt tracks in Atouguia da Baleia, Óbidos and Lourinhã.
So, who knows, perhaps the best solution is to come by catamaran, à la Greta style, as there are plenty of docks, small bays and kilometers of pristine beaches for easy access.