Group of 4 adults heading to Portugal in mid April. Flying into and out of Lisbon. Plan is to do Lisbon x 3 nights, Navare, Sintras, Fatima, Coimbra, Porto 3 nights?, then Tomar and Evoro and then down to Argave then back to Lisbon. We are picking up a rental car last day in Lisbon. Looking for the best itinerary for this trip. I am not including travel days in the 12 days we have there. We are not committed to this plan just want to see these places. What would be the best route.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
Twelve days isn’t enough to cover so much ground - you need nearer 3 weeks for your itinerary. Drop the Algarve and focus on the area between Lisbon and Porto.
You can easily fill 5 days in Lisbon including a day trip to Sintra (not Sintras). Hire a car and spend a night in Evora then have a base somewhere around Tomar/Caldas da Rainha/ Batalha to see the pretty towns in this area. Fatima was my least favourite. I spent 10 days in this area. Have an overnight stay in Coimbra if you want to see the Roman ruins.
If you want a coastal town, I prefer Sao Martinho over Nazare (your Navare?). Mid April isn’t going to be beach weather even in the Algarve.
Porto is compact and can be seen in a couple of days for the highlights.
Posted by
Calgary, AB, Canada
480 posts
As Jennifer said, you don't really have time to see all these places. And in particular you do not have time to see Sintra, Nazare, Fatima and Coimbra in one day on your way to Porto. Sintra alone has enough sites for 2 days and is busy.
With 12 nights I would do this:
Lisbon 4 nights, day trip to Sintra
Train to Porto 2-3 nights, could stop in Coimbra for the day, as the train goes right through.
Pick up car, drive to Tomar or Evora, -1 to 2 nights in each ( I'm not sure how many nights you have) could also stop in Nazare. You might also want to consider driving through Douro valley to get here, although I think that would be adding miles
Return to Lisbon for last night.