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8 nights with 2 kids in late March - Algarve or Porto? Itinerary help please!

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Hello experts!

We’re planning a trip for 8 nights flying from NYC to Lisbon at the end of March. We have two kids - 6 and 2 and it’ll be our 1st time in Portugal (and 1st time in Europe for the kids).

Our original plan:
Lisbon - 3 nights
Monsaraz - 2 nights
Algarve - 2 nights
Lisbon - 1 night

We like good food and interesting places and lots of chilling. (My husband and I are architect and interior designer.) Since we’re going in March, we thought it would be nice to get some sun, and it wouldn’t crowded in Algarve with tons of tourists during that time.

But we’re into small scale, so Algarve is not looking so appealing as it seems overdeveloped and full of resorts. We also don’t golf. We’re considering a house rental in Silves (but it’s 30 mins to the beach) it staying at a hotel outside of Olhão. We wanted to see the cliffs and caves but I don’t know if the weather will be good and if it works for our 2 year old.

Should we scrap going to Algarve and check out Porto instead or elsewhere in the Douro Valley?

We’d appreciate any help as we’re going soon and we need to book accommodations ASAP!

Thank you so much!

Posted by
6113 posts

I have spent March the last two years on the Algarve, as generally the weather is better there than in England. That isn’t always the case, as some days, the weather was warmer in Scotland! There has been quite a lot of wind too. In the month, we hit the beach 3 days and those were all marginal.

You are trying to cover too much ground, especially with young children. Lisbon can occupy you for at least 4 full days plus there are day trips to Cascais and Sintra. If it were my trip with children, I would limit my stay to Lisbon and Porto/Douro. March isn’t the best time to visit the Douro, as the weather is usually colder and wetter in the north.

Posted by
1663 posts

I also think you are trying to cover too much ground, even if you didn’t have children in tow. With 8 nights, limiting yourself to two overnight places would be much better. Especially if you want to spend any time ‘chilling’.
And, March is not really beach weather, even though it’s possible to have some days when it’s warm enough to sit on a beach. The water would be extremely cold. There are some beach rock formations around Sintra. You didn’t mention renting a car, which would likely be necessary in the Algarve or seeing rocks close to Sintra.
I would suggest Lisbon, and if you really want to see more of the country, heading to Porto, Coimbra or Evora. From Evora you could visit Monsaraz. Evora would be a better overnight town. And, if you stayed long enough you would have time for the Megalith tour, which is pretty amazing. You could easily train from Lisbon to Evora then rent a car once there. You don’t want a car in Lisbon.

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