Hello, we will arrive in Lisbon on 3/31 and meet friends in Porto for a few days on 6/4 (for wine/port tasting, Douro Valley, etc.) and then head to Coimbra and Lisbon (going home from Lisbon 6/11). Where and how should we spend the 4 days before meeting our friends in Porto? We live near the beach in FL so will skip the Algarve. Should we stay in the Alentejo/Evora area? Or is there enough to do in the north without duplicating our days in Porto, such as an overnight at a wine estate? Or just take day trips from Lisbon? We will not have a car but are very open to hiring drivers. Love this forum and appreciate your suggestions.
Posted by
11136 posts
Evora, Obidos and cathedrals of Alcobaça and Bathalha all deserve to be visited and are included on most travelers itineraries. A car would give you the freedom to see these sites. To me it would be a shame to visit Portugal while omitting these sites.
Posted by
755 posts
Is there an error in the dates on your post? Nevertheless, Coimbra, Evora, Obidos, and Sintra are well worth visiting, which we did using public transportation.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Rachele, thanks for catching my the error - we arrive in Lisbon 5/31. Where was your home base when you visited these places? I'm also toying with the idea of renting a car in Lisbon for the 4 days and returning it to Porto.
Posted by
755 posts
dhammond - We took the train/bus to all the destinations I mentioned and spent a couple of nights in each. But if you only have four nights, you might want to just stay in Lisbon.
Posted by
46 posts
We're going to be first time visitors to Portugal in May, so have no direct point of reference for recommendations or suggestions beyond what we are (and have been) planning to do. By example, from our base in Lisbon, we'll be day tripping to Sintra. Once we leave Lisbon to head north, where we will then base in Coimbra, we are stopping at Batalha for the monastery, and may also visit Conimbriga, which is known for its Roman ruins. We then head to Porto for a few nights, where we plan to also visit nearby Aveiro. After that we leave Portugal and continue on our road trip into Northern Spain and through Basque Country.
As a related aside, we're Floridians too, and also live very near the beach, so we understand where you're coming from. But boy doesn't the Algarve look beautiful. Perhaps on a return trip. :)
Have safe and fun travels!