RobC,
I just returned 5 days ago from the RS Portugal tour. I loved Portugal!!! Our outstanding tour guide was Cristina Duarte, who is on the RS Portugal podcasts and I think on his Portugal program.
Comments:
-Each person's preferences are different. I personally do not like big crowds, and for that reason I chose not to see Sintra before the tour began. Instead I saw the Castelo de Sao Jorge in Lisbon then walked down through the Alfama neighborhood, which left the afternoon for doing other things.
-Lisbon Tile museum - if this is of interest to you, it's well worth going. I doubt there's another museum like it anywhere. I went by local bus, but my fellow tour members rode taxis there....then said they returned by taxi (getting a ride when taxis dropped off passengers at the museum).
-Lisbon has become popular with tourists, but I still found it far less touristed than, say, Rome in the summer. The biggest touristy places are:
a. Tram 28 - Having read how long the lines are for Tram 28, I rode Tram 12 instead. I got on Tram 12 at its starting point at Martin Moniz. This stop is also the starting point for Tram 28. I heard a woman say she'd been in line an hour to get on Tram 28. I was able to go to the front of all the people waiting bc no one else was waiting for Tram 12. There was a helpful transit employee at the Martin Moniz stop, and he advised me that Tram 12 is not currently doing its normal circular route bc tram lines are torn up around Comercio; that was OK with me; I rode for about 15 minutes then got off. My RS tour guide's opinion was that the Tram 28 experience is overrated. I didn't hear anyone on our tour talk about riding Tram 28.
b. Elevator Santa Justa - long line to go up. I think it's fun to see and take a photo of it, but I chose not to wait in line and go up it. (In contrast, I really enjoyed riding the Funicular Gloria (with no wait) to see the São Pedro de Alcântara Miradouro (overlook))
c. Jeronimos Monastery in Belem - our tour guide said it's the most popular tourist site in Lisbon, but I do think it's very much worth seeing. Recommend you get there as early as possible.
-It is lovely to stroll Lisbon's Avenida de Liberdade
Douro Valley - I have never made a priority of visiting wine regions. However, the Douro Valley has lovely scenery, which I enjoyed immensely.
Coimbra - the sections of the University which were once a royal palace are stunning. The library is opulent and so worth seeing even for the 10 minutes permitted. Due to rain, didn't see the botanical gardens.
Nazare - our tour group had several hours on our own at Nazare. I (and others) thought it was overrated; we agreed it was the one stop we'd have deducted from the tour. Lots of touristy shops and restaurants along the waterfront. Also...the funicular to Sitio was not running. The tour addressed this problem by the tour bus driving us to Sitio; we had 30 min. of free time, then some of us rode the tour bus down to Nazare whereas others walked down the steps. Maybe there's a local bus connecting Nazare and Sitio. If you want to go to Nazare and Sitio, I recommend you research whether the funicular is not operating all summer/whether there's a local bus.
Porto - My time there was shortened bc I left the tour a day early to return home for a family wedding. Still, I think I can fairly say I enjoyed it but prefer Lisbon. I had 2 pretty hair raising taxi rides there. Also, be prepared for alot of construction. I have friends who visited Portugal on their own with a rental car in 2022; they had told me driving in/out of Porto was a challenge (even though they didn't use their car while in Porto). When I saw them today, the first thing I said was, "I can't believe you drove in Porto!!!" So, if for example you consider renting a car in Porto to drive to the Douro Valley, I'd recommend picking up the car at the airport and avoiding driving in Porto itself at all costs.
