Plan on spending 5 nights in Porto with possibly 1 additional night in Douro Valley. The next 3-5 days thinking of Aveiro/Costa Nova, Coimbra, Tomar, Nazare, Fatima, Obidos and Peniche before we head south towards Evora and Lisbon. Are two nights in Coimbra and maybe 3 in Tomar a good idea or is there one location best to see all of these or possibly break it up into 3 different locations and which 3? First time visitor with too many choices! We plan on renting a car at the end of the Porto stay.
Posted by
Edmonds, Wa
27 posts
I stayed 3 nights in Tomar on a trip to Portugal in 2023 and loved it. Great base for day trips and the town itself was charming with several good restaurants.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
2087 posts
My choices of the ones you mention would be Coimbra and Tomar. Another possibility is Sao Martinho do Porto. It’s along the coast and Obidos, Peniche, Nazaré, Alcobaça and Batalha are easy day trips from there. I’ve stayed there three times and traveled around the Silver Coast area. Caldas da Rainha is also popular, as is Ericeira.
Obviously, you are spoiled for choice. If you stay in Coimbra a night or two (2 is optimum IMO), don’t miss Conimbriga close by. It’s a the remains of a Roman settlement with lovely intact mosaic floors.
Driving is easy in the entire area.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Sao Martinho do Porto looks lovely, I may need to add that to the list!
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8840 posts
I agree with kathrynj. We spent two night in Coimbra and that was sufficient. We did spend four nights in Tomar. From it we took day trips to Batahla monastery, Fátima, and Almourol castle. We stopped at Conimbriga between Coimbra and Tomar, and Alcobaca monastery between Tomar and Óbidos. We were unimpressed with Aveiro and only spent a couple hours there on our way up to Porto. Even though it is a typical beach town, we enjoyed Nazaré.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
18234 posts
Aveiro can be visited from Porto by train. Just about 30 min and you need just a few hours for Aveiro.
Aveiro can also be visited from Coimbra, if you stay in Coimbra multiple nights (Aveiro is half way between Porto and Coimbra). But so far it appears that you are staying in Porto for the largest amount of nights.