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7 days in Portugal any suggestions/critique

I am planning to travel to lovely Portugal sometime in August 3 week for 9 days ( 7 days whole, 2 travel).

I am thinking of the following itinerary: Any suggestions
Lisbon - 5 night, Sintra - 1 night
Fly in Lisbon, Fly out Lisbon
Day 1: Lisbon - sight see
Day 2: Sintra - sight see
Day 3: Sintra - sight see
Day 4: Day trip to Cascais
Day 5: Day trip to Estoril
Day 6: Day trip to Obidos
Day 7: Day trip to Evora

Posted by
11367 posts

Make sure to visit Belem area of Lisbon with Monument to the Discoveries and Monasterio Jeronimos. Day trips to Sintra , Obidos and Evora are possible.

Posted by
507 posts

Cascais and Estoril are walking distance from each other. Can train to one, walk by the beach to the other. I think you should use that extra day to sight see in Lisbon.

Posted by
65 posts

Thanks Suki and Lisa

Lisbon - 5 night, Sintra - 1 night
Fly in Lisbon, Fly out Lisbon
Day 1: Lisbon - sight see
Day 2: Lisbon - sight see
Day 3: Day trip to Sintra
Day 4: Day trip to Cascais /Estoril
Day 5: Day trip to Obidos
Day 6: Day trip to Evora
Day 7: Lisbon - sight see

Posted by
315 posts

See Hop on/off bus tour for northwest beaches from Sintra. Scotturb has a online view of common tourist routes. 5.50E ticket is one way hop on/off. Stop at old town Sintra, walk to QR and back. On at old town to next site, Castle or Palace. Last bus 2000+, do not let a individual tell you otherwise to scam you for money and a ride. Travel information in Sintra will make this clear.
We stayed 3 nights in Lisbon. My favorite three sites were the castle, Tram 28 and the escalators down and up to get to the castle area. Note the wait is over an hour for Tram 28. Hint: If you are willing to stand, the first stop for Tram 28 is less than 3 blocks and a young couple got immediately on. Do not sit in the front seats, the elderly utilize Tram 28 for transportation and are offered those seats.

The monument to the sea (Padrao dos Descobrimentos) is worth a visit if you have time for travel. Protect your valuables on the Tram to Belem. Bus from Belem to Lisbon was easy to access right after a good hamburger and pastry. The peddlers and tour buses are negatives for Belem.
To access Sintra sites first thing in the morning stay a night. It is dead at night! Young travelers, who were day tripping from Lisbon, were having a time trying to coordinate visits. Tourist bus and more tourist bus patrons starting @ 1000. See the recent post about Sintra. Moorish Castle and QR are my favorites. Immogen (is it one m or two) is a great eating establishment in Sintra.
Evora as a day trip. I know the tourist industry gives you this option, having spent 3 nights in the area I would not recommend this. I liked the cathedral, Cadaval family church (Complete blue tiles and there are bones in the cellar), Escoural cave paintings and exploring the funeral site (easy access if you walk from the university farm site, bumpy in a car).

Posted by
7866 posts

You need more than one day to see Lisbon, You can see Sintra in one day.

On the day you go to Obidos, try to visit Batila Cathedral.

Posted by
18 posts

Pickpocketing in Portugal
Before my husband and I left on our two-week trip to Portugal, we sat down and perused our guidebook. The obligatory warning in the section on Lisbon read: “…pickpockets galore prey on tourists, aiming for wallets, purses, and cameras. Congested areas are particularly hazardous.” However, as seasoned travelers, having visited many large cities and never having had any problems, we gave the advice the obligatory, “We’ll be careful.”
Ed owned a zippered pouch that he attached to his belt and hid inside the front of his pants for credit cards, money, passports – anything you wouldn’t want to lose in a foreign country. For some reason, he wasn’t using it the day we boarded the tramway in Lisbon to travel from our rental apartment in an area called Belem to the Rossio, or city center. Instead, he had his wallet in the usual location, back pocket buttoned, and his cash in a money clip in his front pocket. As we began boarding the tram, four or five young men, all laughing and jabbering in Portuguese, clustered around us, squishing us as we moved forward to the door. I hugged my purse close to the front of my body, making sure no one could mess with it without me knowing it. We boarded the bus and held onto posts for stability since all the seats were taken. Behind Ed I noticed a sign on the bus window written in both English and Portuguese. “Beware of Pickpockets,” it read in bright green letters. As the bus lurched forward, Ed slapped his hand on his back pocket.
He announced in a loud voice, “Someone’s taken my wallet.” The men who had bumped into us were standing close to us.
“Ed, it was these guys right here. The ones who bumped into us,” nodding my head in their direction.
Turning to them, he commanded loudly, “Give me my wallet back.”
They all looked at him with innocent faces. “No speak English,” and “You speak Portuguese?”
Knowing that their responses were diversions, Ed repeated, calmly, but still loud, “Look, I know one of you guys has my wallet. I want it back. Empty your pockets,” he pointed to their pockets.
They began removing items from their pockets, cell phones and wallets, holding them out toward us and all the while claiming in broken English that they didn’t have Ed’s wallet.
“See. Not your wallet, my wallet.” Then, adding for dramatic effect, “My wallet.”
During their pitch, suddenly, one of them broke away from the group and bolted to the back of the bus, looking down at something in his hand.
“That’s the guy who has my wallet, that curly haired guy,” Ed pointed to the back of the bus. Then in a loud voice he called out to him, “It won’t do you any good. There’s no money in it, I’m canceling the credit cards, and I’m calling the police.”

At that moment the tram bounced over to the curb, lurching as it slowed to a stop to unload passengers. The young men headed for the door. On their way out of the bus, one of them poked Ed on the forearm and pointed to the floor. Lying there, next to his foot, was his wallet! He picked it up, opened it and gave it a cursory look.
“Everything’s here.”
Later, on our way back to our rented apartment, we stopped at the kiosk where we had bought our tram tickets. A young woman who spoke excellent English was still there. We told her our story and that all the locals on the bus had either turned their heads during the incident to look out of the windows, or acted as if they couldn’t see us or hear us.
Passing her hand over her eyes, she sighed, “It’s sad. The people are blind to the problem.”
I told Ed later, “I have to admit, I was kinda’ worried that those guys might have attacked you.”
“Well,” he commented, “Pickpocketing is one thing; assault is another.” So true!

Posted by
12 posts

As to the OP and the "corrected" travel plan with Cascais and Estoril on the same day, looks fine.
Sintra in a day? Probably enough, yes. If you want to try something different, try Sesimbra for a great fish and seafood, and a visit to Parque Natural da Arrábida (Arrabida Natural Park) with a quick stop in Azeitão (very small village) for some Queijo de Azeitão (cheese), fine and exclusive wines like Moscatel (but also Periquita, etc.) and some delicacy (Tortas, Esses, Amores, Queijinhos).

As to the pickpocketing problem:

Yes, pickpocketing is a problem, especially in Lisbon and Porto when it comes to Portugal. No different from Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, etc. We have to live it this reality and unfortunately there's not much we can do about it, and even the police are somewhat limited by our own laws. Fortunately, things are changing and just a few days ago, in the beginning of May, a new group of law proposals (sorry, don't quite know the English technical term) were voted and approved so opportunity crimes like pickpocketing can be fought more efficiently. Pickpocketing increased by 12,1% from 2015 to 2016 and is somewhat associated with the increase in tourism. Also, a great obstacle to efficient crime fighting is the fact that a significant percentage of "our" pickpocketers are not Portuguese citizens. These people cruise Europe in groups and many of them even have steady jobs inside EU but come to Portugal during summer, Easter and Christmas for a "side-job" as a criminal.

But don't let pickpocketing be an obstacle to visiting Portugal. Portugal's not only Lisbon and Porto ad pickpocketers almost never go outside these two cities. It's not worth the effort, I guess. Portugal is a somewhat modest country in terms of its physical dimension; let's face it... it's really small :D Nevertheless, is amazingly broad in terms of regional specificities, local gastronomy, folklore, and even has a very diversified landscape. The contrasts between north and south or between coast and interior, are very strong.