"How many miles should I plan on travelling each day?"
While we understand the urge to want to see everything really the best VW experiences are taken slowly and in small bite sized chunks. The best roads for our unique vehicles are up and down the coasts, select no tolls from google or your sat nav and learn to drive like 1974. Plan to do no more than 100 km per day for a relaxed holiday.
If you have not driven a VW camper before be prepared for a very different experience, the bus is slow, really slow, with a 50 HP motor and over 2 tonnes to move do not expect to make rapid progress, we are stepping back into another era and the winding highways of Portugal are the perfect place to experience this.
Time estimates in Google maps can frequently be doubled especially if there are hills involved, this catches people out and can make the last couple of days unpleasant and fraught, plan to turn back in plenty of time and enjoy the road home.
Tip: There are a LOT of hills in Portugal
It's not a slow car, it's a fast house
Driving a VW bus is also pretty exhausting especially on the types of road we all want to be on, there is no power steering and braking requires concentration and vigilance, any journey over 200km will be tiring and take up most of your day.
We do not permit the busses to go on the toll road system, the easiest way to kill a VW air cooled motor is high speed cruising in high temperatures with long hills. If you use the tolls we will be charged and this will be taken from your deposit with a handling charge, there are always roads that can be used instead of the toll roads.
If there is a route where a little toll road, for example crossing the Tagus bridge, is required, ensure that you pay in cash.
Take it easy adopt a different speed and way of thinking as you drive, let those with their Euro boxes go flying past, you are taking it easy, enjoying the road, travelling as much for the journey as the destination.