[GribbleGribble]

Hi, new here blah blah blah...

My partner and I are in the process of moving to Portugal and were wondering whether we NEED a vehicle... Neither of us drive at present and ideally neither of us would like to drive in the near future, weight on our conscience, pollution, environment etc.

Will we regret not having a vehicle once we are relocated?

How practical are solutions such as horse and cart, hiring vehicle/driver as and when required etc?

We want to create a sustainable ecologically conscious life for ourselves and really don't know whether we want the responsibility of owning and relying on a polluting hunk of metal. Yes I know we can convert to run on biofuel or whatever but buying a vehicle then converting it would eat up so much of our already small budget.

Any advice greatly received

 

[canoeman]

I would say you would regret it, once your away from cities, regional towns and larger villages then public transport is infrequent to non-existent.
I understand the life style you'd like to live, but you still reguire some form of transport, bikes ok but not totally practical, if you really don't want to drive then how about a quad, whatever you decide good luck but whatever you do get your licences in UK, passing tests here are far more complicated and expensive

 

[travis2]

I suppose the answer depends on how remote the property is that you settle in.
Our village is a couple of Kms from Ansiao. There are no shops between us and Ansiao but we do get a number of mobile traders through the day so theoretically you could get by albeit with limited choice. Walking/cycling to the supermarket is an option but in the height of summer I'd rather you than me.
The simplest option would be a small runabout scooter - cheap to buy and economical to run. I haven't seen a donkey and trap for years in Portugal, the popular choice of the masses is the sit on tractor type vehicle which is basically an engine attached to a trailer.