BUDGET Car Rental at Lisbon Airport

Budget car hire at Lisbon Airport can be contacted via the company's website at www.budget.com or via www.budgetportugal.com.

It is also possible to contact the service team in the arrivals hall by telephoning on +351 2199 42402. The car rental desk is open daily from 7.00 am to midnight.

Budget is just one of many hire car companies at Lisbon Airport.

The Oster Sub region has many interesting historic towns to offer. Alcobaça with its Cistercian monastery dating back to 1153 is a highlight of the region, boasting a gorgeous cloister and church which belong to the very best Gothic architecture Portugal has to offer. It is said that once some 999 monks haunted the long corridors and splendid rooms. The abbey church represents the largest of its kind in the entire country.

While the town itself is not of huge interest, the monastery will occupy visitors attention for several hours. A stroll up hill to the ancient castle ruins offers splendid views over the town and the monastery. If visiting on a Monday, the weekly market by the huge historic market building and the pretty public gardens are well worth exploring.

Parking is free at the large public car park just off the avenue rising above the monastery and up the hill, but in the town there are also free parking spaces close to the market and the gardens.

Just a 35 km drive north of Alcobaça a very different fortress awaits exploration at Leiria, a lovely historic town with cobbled streets, pretty gardens and graceful architecture surrounding attractive squares. In the evening, Leiria's student population transforms the little town into a vibrant place, where bars and restaurants suddenly fill up with a cosmopolitan crowd.

To the west of the town lie some beautiful beaches at Pinhal de Leiria, an enormous stretch of seven-hundred-year-old pine forest that was planted in the 14th century by King Dom Dinis, a forward thinking monarch who concerned himself with agricultural innovations.

Leiria is perfect as an overnight base for a visit to the Oeste sub region and its tourist towns Fatima, Batalha and Alcobaça.

Budget Lisbon Airport can provide Mini range vehicles like the 3-door Peugeot 107, which are perfect for city driving in Lisbon. Comfortable for up to 4 passengers, these cars feature manual transmission and air conditioning and are easy to drive, easy to park and economical in fuel consumption.

Economy 4-door vehicles from Budget include the VW Polo 1.2, a 5-door car with manual transmission and air conditioning that seats 5 passengers or the 5-door Renault Clio 1.2, which also seats 5 people. Not included in the rental fee are collision damage waiver, theft protection and personal accident insurance, which can be added at the time of booking for a daily rental fee. Included in the fee are unlimited kilometers.

More space for passengers and their luggage can be found with choices from Budget Lisbon Airport's Compact range. Station wagons like the Opel Astra 1.4 can seat 5 people in style and hold several pieces of luggage in the back.

For cruising along the Atlantic Ocean coastline there's nothing finer than a Compact convertible from Budget to blow the cobwebs out of the hair and catch some rays of sunshine. Convertibles like the Renault Megane are popular throughout the year and should be reserved well in advance of arrival at Lisbon's airport.

Full size passenger vans are ideal for longer journeys such as camping trips or for groups of travelers exploring this part of Portugal. The Mercedes Vito for example can seat up to 9 passengers and has room in the back for several large suitcases. Standard passenger vans include the Ford Galaxy 7-seater, which features manual transmission and air conditioning.

Fuel service options from Budget car hire Lisbon Airport can work out very much cheaper than buying a full tank of petrol from a regular gas or petrol station. Budget offers competitively prices fuel with all their vehicles.

For more information about Budget Lisbon Airport, please visit the company's website at www.budget.com, where bookings and enquiries can be made.