Internet Access in Rural Portugal

The www in web addresses stands for worldwide web, right? So I should be able to get internet access from anywhere, right? Not quite. Or at least not without a few adventures along the way.

I’ve just returned from three weeks in Portugal, most of it in rural areas, some of it in very rural areas indeed. I had expected that my lodgings in properties under the Solares de Portugal program might not have access for guests. These are, after all, private homes, however grand they may be. But surely internet cafes…

Things began well, in Lisbon, where my hotel, the NH Hotel Parque, offered 15 minutes of free access and then charged 5 Euros for each subsequent 15 minutes. Expensive, yes, but available. The next two nights were in one of Portugal’s Pousadas, in the small town of Belmonte. They would have internet access for guests in two weeks, but the systems were not hooked up yet. The manager was sweet, though and offered me the use of her office to check my email.

In the Algarve there were internet cafes in one of the towns I stayed in, but they were packed. In Tavira, I discovered WiFi in the public market, along with plenty of tables to sit at. Success!

Then I went to the Alentejo, staying a night in another pousada. They, too, would have internet for guests in two weeks, and there was an internet point in the next town, but that meant driving there at night. I moved on to a lovely inn way out in the country, where I expected no connection, and was delighted to find it available at 5 Euros an hour. But when I tried to use it, nothing happened. As puzzled as I, the innkeepers reported that they had no service either.

The town of Estremoz was close by, so I went to the public library. Their access was not in service that morning, so I went to a public internet point across the big plaza. On the door was a sign saying that Internet service would not be available that day or the next. Our host at the lovely inn in Borba explained that that the entire system for that area – one carrier – was closed down for a change-over. By the next afternoon it was working and we went to Borba’s large public access point where we caught up – free.

The next night we were in a remote mountain village, where the manor house had dreamy rooms, ultra-modern bathrooms and a lovely breakfast, but no internet. Then we went to Amarante for the day -- and to our delight found city-wide wifi. But it required a password. The only places a visitor could get the password were at the Town Hall, Tourist Office (both closed on Saturday) or their hotel. We were not staying there, so forget that.

The next day was Sunday, when everything was closed. On Monday were had a long day of driving through remote mountain towns without even a café where we could have lunch, let alone internet.

Tuesday was May 1, a holiday, when everything was closed. And so it went, for three weeks. Everyone was very nice and very helpful, and I do realize that had my language skills in Portuguese been greater I would have had better luck. When the same problems occurred in rural Spain or Italy, I am more resourceful because I speak the languages better.