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12-day Itinerary suggestion family of 4, twin 19 year old daughters

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Hello! We are traveling to Portugal for the first time as a family in June. We fly in and out of Lisbon and will rent a car to tour the country. I am trying to figure out how much time to allow for each area. I am thinking:
3/4 nights in Lisbon.
Day trip to Sintra while in Lisbon.
Evora?
2/3 nights Nazare area -- open to staying other places and touring Obidos etc.
2/3 nights Coimbre and/or Duoro Valley
2 nights Porto
Drive back to Lisbon for 1 night or stay outside Lisbon. Our flights is at 2 pm so we could drive to the airport and drop the rental.

Does this make sense? Which areas are worth three nights, which are worth two? Do we need more than 3 nights in Lisbon on the front end?

I would love advice on great places to stay and which towns make the most sense as bases. We'd rather not do one night anywhere, just because it can get a bit hectic, especially with teens! We are looking for mid-range options if possible, but open to any suggestions!

Thanks so much!

Jenny

Posted by
1826 posts

I would definitely stay more nights in Lisbon. You can easily day trip to both Sintra and Evora from there.

I’m not a fan of Nazaré. If you are going for the giant waves, those occur in the winter. I like São Martinho do Porto. It’s close to Nazaré and not so over run with tourists. You can easily visit Obidos, Alcobaça and Batalha from there. And, Nazaré is quite close, if you need to see it. But, if you are only staying in this area to see Obidos, you can spend two hours there are your way to Coimbra.

Coimbra is good for a couple of nights. Be sure to visit Conimbriga, outside of town.

You can day trip from Porto to the Douro. As, I’m guessing your daughters aren’t into wine at this point.

Posted by
31 posts

Thank you! I will check out Sao Martinho instead. How many nights do you suggest for each Lisbon and Porto? And do you think we should stay in Lisbon the night before we leave? My only reluctance about staying in cities for longer is that we will have a rental car and I don't know about parking in the major cities. Do you know if that is an easy and not so expensive option?

Thanks again!

Posted by
31 posts

That's an interesting idea. Do you think it will be difficult and/or expensive to park in Porto? We were thinking we'd stay in Lisbon first and day trip to Sintra and tour Lisbon and get the car when we leave. So on day 4 or 5 of our trip. Where would you recommend staying outside of Lisbon and Porto? Thanks for your input!

Posted by
1826 posts

Use the train when you can. Parking Porto won’t be any easier than in Lisbon. You can easily pick up the car as you leave and arrive in the big cities. Spend your time in Lisbon, then pick up the car to drive to Porto, stopping along the way. Turn the car in when you arrive in Porto then train back to Lisbon. It will likely be cheaper to take the train than to pay the tolls between the two cities.

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