Hi Gents,
Never done this trip before, I hear things about the Tolls in Spain and Portugal and a mine field in Portugal. Can anyone enlighten me and what is the best way for the road Tolls.
Thanks for your help in advants
Cheers Welly
Which ones, France Spain and Portugal similar systems, Most can be done with credit card if you dont have a toll tag,
Credit card at the toll booths. Or cash.
Or take the scenic route on the nationals. Cheaper fuel and better views. And no tolls.
or
hop on the portsmouth-bilbao ferry and spend the entire journey in a alcoholic daze… 
I have 2 tags on the car windscreen as I drive to our house near Malaga twice a year, they are from www. saneftolling.co.uk , they charge my bank account the cost of the tolls , no messing about in queues just straight through the Telepayage lane at 30 mph Edit to add : apparently you are meant to pay tolls at the Post Office in Portugal , when I came through from Seville one time (before I had the Spain / Portugal tag ) I went into the automatic lane paid 5 Euros and carried on , had 2 nights in Portugal and left at Villa Formosa expecting to pay again , nothing ,so if we go back that way again I will remove the tag so I dont get charged !!.
Don’t worry about the tolls, cash or credit cards, should do
Where there are toll in Spain and France they’ll be done in Peages, no problems except in a RHD vehicle you’ll long arms or a passenger. 
there are 2 types of tolls in Portugal, one type is peages the other is done by gantries, not far after the border you’ll see a sign directing foreign vehicles into an area to register for the tolls, I think it’s the first service area.
I’ve always had a toll box, so not needed to do it, but from what I’ve been told is they take your registration and payment details and off you go.
Or put sat nav into avoid tolls, then its the pretty route all the way, enjoying the countryside, we’ll you are on holiday, so why rush.
I heard something recently that saneftolling.com cover Spain, France and Portugal. I could be wrong but…
Have a look on their website, there is a small annual charge but for the amount of time saved it’s worth it.
I don’t know where your destination is in Portugal but if possible , get there by traveling on the north coast of Spain , known as Galicia and Asturias.
From the border at Hendaye in France, a quaint seaside town.
Stunning views from San Sebastian in Spain towards Bilbao /Santander to Vigo.
The area of Portugal around Braganza/Guimares is lovely. Trans Montana region.
Be sure to take the boat ride in Porto inland river.
If seeing Lisbon, visit Praia de Guincho on the west side of Cascais.
Praia means beach.
The shopping mall outside Cascais has films in English.
For the toll ,watch for penalty fines for staying too long at the services as its timed on the toll ticket .
You are right DR, Saneftolling now do both and a fuel discount card comes with the Spain / Portugal one , I now have both tags.
Like Kerbut,I have sanef cards for France,Spain and Portugal.I wouldn’t say they save you anything but they are hugely convenient with a rhd car.Just drive through at 30kph without stopping.I make 3 or 4 round trips each year because I don’t like flying and to prevent me being arrested at the airport for kicking off about the most recent hoop to jump through.Plus you can put what you want in the boot.I use a lot of national roads,avoiding some tolls,because I recall them from they days before the motorways were built.In addition numerous places to eat drink or hotel with hypermarket selling cheaper fuel.
Well, this is an interesting little thread to find. Like Gidders, I hate the carry on at airports. I have done security work in a past life and I upset SWMBO every time we go through with my reaction to the supposed ‘security guards’.
But now, I have been banned from flying anyway by the quack.
So this coming summer we are doing a ‘Thelma and Louise’. We’re both retired now and have all the time in the world. She has a sister in Bergamo and I’ve always wanted to go Sicily. So we’re off in April with just an outward ferry booked. Going to ship from Hull-Rotterdam so the first few countries are not a problem. It’s when we get down to Switzerland I am unsure and Italy, of course. As I recall, Italy doesn’t take certain personal cards at the peages? I don’t really want to use the autoroutes in Italy planning on using the coast road from Genoa all the way down to Villa San Giovanni.
I believe I have to buy a permit for Switzerland and display it properly according to the AA.
This is liable to be a 4-6 week trip and the countries travelled could be (apart from the Benelux ones) Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. Spain and France, you ask? Well, she suggested going back up to Civitavecchia and getting the ferry to Barcelona via Sardinia. Then come back up through France as she wants to see the Millau Viaduct lol.
I will have a DKV card on this trip.
Any tips would be appreciated as this could be my last ‘hooray’ due to poor health and we want it to be a good 'un.
TheBear:
Well, this is an interesting little thread to find. Like Gidders, I hate the carry on at airports. I have done security work in a past life and I upset SWMBO every time we go through with my reaction to the supposed ‘security guards’.
But now, I have been banned from flying anyway by the quack.
So this coming summer we are doing a ‘Thelma and Louise’. We’re both retired now and have all the time in the world. She has a sister in Bergamo and I’ve always wanted to go Sicily. So we’re off in April with just an outward ferry booked. Going to ship from Hull-Rotterdam so the first few countries are not a problem. It’s when we get down to Switzerland I am unsure and Italy, of course. As I recall, Italy doesn’t take certain personal cards at the peages? I don’t really want to use the autoroutes in Italy planning on using the coast road from Genoa all the way down to Villa San Giovanni.
I believe I have to buy a permit for Switzerland and display it properly according to the AA.
This is liable to be a 4-6 week trip and the countries travelled could be (apart from the Benelux ones) Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. Spain and France, you ask? Well, she suggested going back up to Civitavecchia and getting the ferry to Barcelona via Sardinia. Then come back up through France as she wants to see the Millau Viaduct lol.
I will have a DKV card on this trip.
Any tips would be appreciated as this could be my last ‘hooray’ due to poor health and we want it to be a good 'un.
Looks like a nice tour of Europe, the Millau viaduct is amazing and the area around it is stunning.
For vehicles below 3.5t I believe you have to buy road tax for Switzerland, and put the sticker supplied on your car and one for a trailer if you have one.
I’ve used credit cards for Italian peages, but I don’t think they take DKV, but you can get a viacard instead.
Spain and France just peages, but some in Spain, especially round Barcelona won’t accept DKV cards.
I’ve used this website to get various vignettes and emission stickers for vehicles of all sizes, and you can get the toll boxes from them to save messing about in the peages.
Thanks for your help Guys.
Cheers Welly
For “The Bear”, I’ve always brought a vignette at the border for Swiss and it takes all of about 2 minutes and at Basel if it’s busy you actually get in a different lane and could even save a minute or two. If you can take your time driving over the Alps as spectacular is an understatement, for Bergamo the East side of Lake Como is all motorway and it’s toll free if I remember.
Cheers, Muckles and BB. Time is really irrelevant to us. Neither of us care how long it takes and we intend to see lots along the way. As my beastie is a Range Rover Sport V8, we’ll have the comfort and capacity so we won’t even ‘notice’ the climbs in the Alps. We are very much ‘I wonder where that road goes’ so it could be a lot of fun.
DKV is NOT accepted in Italy. Visa no problem.
For “The Bear”:
I’d suggest diverting from south Swiss across to the French A40 Autoroute Blanche. If you and your wife like bridges etc the section near Nantua is spectacular. Coming from the east you emerge from a long tunnel through a cliff face onto a viaduct looking down onto a green lake. Breathtaking. Then the climb up the “ski slope” towards the Blanc is impressive too. Park near the French entrance to the tunnel and it’s a level walk across to see the glacier there.
Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk
bigvern1:
DKV is NOT accepted in Italy. Visa no problem.
If your with dkv you need to get them to send you a dkv viacard. Then your all good.
Nothing better then flying into a peage only for it not to accept your fuel card of choice.
Some peages round bordeaux dont take shell cards either, bloody fuel wars.
Franglais:
For “The Bear”:
I’d suggest diverting from south Swiss across to the French A40 Autoroute Blanche. If you and your wife like bridges etc the section near Nantua is spectacular. Coming from the east you emerge from a long tunnel through a cliff face onto a viaduct looking down onto a green lake. Breathtaking. Then the climb up the “ski slope” towards the Blanc is impressive too. Park near the French entrance to the tunnel and it’s a level walk across to see the glacier there.Sent from my GT-S7275R using Tapatalk
Cheers Franglais but I’ve done the Blanc enough to last me a lifetime lol I’ve told her we may come back that way. One of my last trips to Italy saw me sat in Nantua for 5 days when I blew the engine lol