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14 day trip in late April/early May 2025

Posted by on

Hi all!

First time posting and first time traveling to Portugal. My husband and I are seniors but active. We like eating local food, walking in interesting places, being in beautiful nature, local wines, the ocean, experiencing a different culture. We will do museums but this is not a primary focus. We will be using public transportation only and decided to skip the southern part of the country and stick to Lisbon - Porto area. We will fly into and out of Lisbon.

So far I'm planning these towns:
Lisbon
Sintra
Nazare
Coimbra
Doura Valley (we'd like to stay in a winery)
Porto

In what order would you advise going to these places? How long would you advise staying in each place? Am I missing anything you highly recommend? Thank you very much!

Posted by
6462 posts

I'm guessing from Minnesota, that flying in or out of Porto is cost prohibitive? It was for us. If its doable, I'd recommend flying into Lisbon and out of Porto, or the other way around.

Douro River valley can be a bit challenging without a car, but doable. We stayed at and highly recommend Quinta do Tedo. Its a working winery with BnB and wonderful restaurant. You will get a tour and tasting with a room reservation. We did meet another couple there and they did not have a car. They relied on a tour and I think Uber.

Your cities are doable, by train or bus. I think you could do your towns in the order you've listed them. You will likely need to look at a bus to get to Nazare and Coimbra and to Porto. To get from Porto back to Lisbon, you could do the train.

Posted by
1808 posts

Everything is doable besides Nazare by train. It’s a bit more off the beaten path and would require a bus. Plus, of the cities you mention, it’s the one I, personally, would leave off. You can easily train to a beach town from Lisbon and Nazare is a really just a beach town. If you are thinking of catching the giant waves, it’s the wrong time of the year. And, seeing them is a challenge even if it were the right time of the year.

Some people recommend staying overnight in Sintra - I’m not one of them. The easiest way to see Sintra is by a small van tour. Then you don’t have to deal with transport or parking. Coimbra is an easy stop between Lisbon and Porto.

A Quinta that I love is Quinta de la Rosa in Pinhao. You can easily take the train to Pinhao then taxi to the Quinta. They have a great tour of the winery plus a lovely restaurant on site. The views are spectacular as it’s right on the river. A couple of nights is about right at a Quinta. At least four in Lisbon and preferably more. Porto deserves at least three nights.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you everyone! If we leave off Nazare, is there a specific beach town you'd recommend that is easier to get to by train/Uber/etc? I don't care about the big wave specifically, just looking for a beach town for a couple of nights.

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