Portugal is ideal for self-drive tours. It’s small and compact, with only a few large cities. The roads are well maintained with good signage. Although part of the European Union, prices here are lower than in most of the rest of Europe. Portugal’s towns and villages are not perfectly restored museums like many of the “most beautiful villages” in France and Italy; they are alive and bustling with open markets, laundry hanging outside windows, churches and town squares that are vibrant parts of the community not museums for tourists. Read more…