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8 Nights with Kids in March

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Hello! I'm finalizing plans for eight nights in Portugal in March with my husband and our 3 and 8 year old sons. The 8 year old is a seasoned traveler, but the pandemic has meant that the little guy doesn't have much experience. I spent 10 days in Portugal (Algarve, Lisbon, Coimbra) in 1998 and have great memories. I'm looking to have some plans, but not be too ambitious. The little guy still naps most days.

Fly overnight from the U.S. (Flight leaves at 11pm and I won't be surprised if one of my kids doesn't sleep.)

Day 1 - Check into Martinhal Chiado at 3pm. Nap, Easy dinner nearby. Nothing scheduled.

Day 2 - Kids spend the morning at the hotel kids' club, while husband and I wander like before we have kids. Pick up a few groceries. Lunch with family at Time Out, siesta, and then head up to the Castelo S. Jorge and dinner at Ramiro (reservations secured). Should be an easy first day.

Day 3 - Sintra. Train, 434 bus straight up to the Pena Palace, and everything else in flux. Babysitter back at the hotel so parents can go out for a quiet dinner. Maybe see a Fado show if we're still awake.

Day 4 - Unscheduled. Might need a low key day after Sintra. And if the weather is gorgeous, maybe Cascais.

Day 5 - Kids stay at the hotel kids' club. Parents to Belem. Lunch with family, siesta, and then ?? Perhaps wander Alfama or take the ferry across the river for dinner? Yes, I'm a bit sad about not taking the boys to Belem; but we will be able to see so much more without them, and not having to worry about the little one wandering off.

Day 6 - Pick up rental car at the airport and drive north toward our overnight near Lousa. There are so very many places to stop along the way. Obidos sounds like a perfect stop, but the chocolate festival starts the next day. So it may be already crowded with folks getting set up, but without the benefit of the festival. Other tempting stops are Tomar, the Mira de Aire caves, and the Bacalhoa Buddha Eden. With having to go to the airport for the car and wanting to get to Lousa before it gets dark (it's March!), we may only make one or two stops. Thoughts?

Day 7 - Conimbriga Roman Ruins for an hour, drive to Coimbra, wander, lunch, see the library (will make reservations). If the kids are up for it, see the Fado Ao Centro show at 6pm.

Day 8 - Not sure about this, but thinking Mata Nacional do Bussaco followed by a roast pig lunch. Then heading back toward Lousa and if time allows, going to see Talasnal, one of the schist villages. Is there a better day trip in nature with little kids from the Lousa area?

Day 9 - Drive back toward Lisbon, visit the aquarium, drop off rental car, 5pm flight home.

Okay, gotta help the 8 year old with his math homework. Your input and guidance are greatly appreciated!

Posted by
764 posts

I have never travelled in Portugal with kids this age, but mine did a couple of r/t to the Marshall Islands and Australia at that age, so I am a travel with/kids veteran. It seems like would like to pack a lot of places over a short period of time and many hours driving. The basic itinerary with a couple of selected stops seems ambitious for young kids. Obviously I don't know them, so take my views with a grain of salt. If you're using Google maps to help plan your daily activity, add another half again to drive times. If it's a 2 hour trip, probably closer to 3.

Good idea leaving the kids behind when you visit Belem. You'll enjoy it more for sure. On Sintra, please be sure to pack layers for you and the kids, and maybe an umbrella. Check the weather before you go. It's a micro-climate and can be totally different (colder, wetter, windier) than nearby Lisbon. The palace is fine, as is Moorish castle (and fun walk uphill through the forest) but I can't remember the last time I was so weather-induced miserable while travelling.

You're spot on with Obidos. We were there, accidentally, for a Renaissance festival and it was miserably chaotic. Now presumably the chocolate fans won't be 6 year olds carrying sharp wooden swords like those at our festival, but still, I'd avoid it like the plague. There's nothing good about 1000 extra people in a town that's 2 streets of crowds to begin with. Your 8 year old would probably like Tomar, and the stories of the knights, but I can't imagine a 3 year old there having any fun. I haven't been to schist village Talasnal, but if it's anywhere near the others, be ready for some white-knuckle driving. If it's nature and beauty you're after after Sintra, Buçaco forest is the jackpot. I hope you are aware that the "roast pig lunch", leitão assado inteiro, is actually a fully-intact suckling piglet served at the table looking exactly like a piglet -- snout, ears, tail included. I think the eyes were removed before cooking, but I can't remember for sure. It never thrilled me when I was expected to eat it (more times than I can count). Google images -- would it gross out you or your kids?

On your way home, the drive from Lousa to Lisbon is a couple hours, allow another 1 1/2 or two to drop off the car and get back to Lisbon, and for a 5 pm flight, you'd have to be at the airport no later than 3. What time are you leaving Lousa? How much time does that leave for the aquarium and lunch? I sound like Debbie Downer here, but I'd reevaluate the itinerary for how much you can reasonably accomplish in a manner that's worthwhile for you.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you. Great tips, especially about avoiding Obidos and remembering to bring layers for Sintra. We've scheduling it early so that we can move it back if weather dictates. I remember Sintra being pure magic; but I was there in the summer, traveling solo, and it wasn't that crowded. As far as Lisbon to Obidos, we may just drive straight through so that we can actually enjoy the rather lovely place we're staying at - it's a riverside house.

I'd hope to leave Lousa by 9am, so that we can be by the aquarium by 11:30am (it's a Sunday morning). I like being near the airport early on our travel day, and also like that the Aquarium is a weather-proof destination. Knowing my 3 year old, he won't be up for more than 2 hours at the aquarium, so we should be fine. Also, it's not a must-do for us, so if plans go sideways, that's okay. I went in 1998, and wasn't impressed. Which seems odd as it's supposed to be so great, but maybe I was having a sideways kinda day?

Here's another question for those who've been to Lisbon recently. Do we need dinner reservations? Or if we're not terribly particular, will we be able to walk and sit down at 7pm? After a long travel day, I don't want to ask my kids to wait to eat - and everyone will be happier if my kids aren't cranky.

THANK YOU

Posted by
764 posts

It depends on the restaurants, but especially for the more popular restaurants in the RS book, it's a good idea to have a reservation. Failing that, there are plenty of good places to eat, of course, in Lisbon without a reservation. Elsewhere, I'd ask your hotelier for recommendations -- kid friendly or not. You have my admiration for undertaking a holiday with your kids. Our travel was for work. I'm not sure I would have had the guts to actually take them on a vacation somewhere I really wanted to see.

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