My spouse and I will arrive in Lisbon and stay the first 3 nights and the last 2 there. We are looking for advice on where to visit outside of town for a few nights. We have looked at possibly Obidos, Nazare, and/or Coimbra. However, I have read many posts here that suggest only a few hours in these cities. Can someone suggest a better choice? We love the beach but not a crowd. Looking for quaint town accessible by bus or train.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
I was in Portugal last month. I visited Lisbon, Tomar, Coimbra, Nazare, and Porto (plus Sintra and Cascais as day trips from Lisbon.)
Tomar is quaint and accessible by train from Lisbon. I stopped there on the way north from Lisbon to Coimbra. I had only about four hours in Tomar - barely enough, though I wouldn't have needed a whole lot more time. The town isn't touristy at all and is more about charm, really, than much else. I loved it but at the same time wouldn't necessarily have wanted to spend a night.
Tomar isn't in Rick's Portugal book but will be next time - Rick just posted a video on Facebook today about Tomar and said he would be adding the town to his book's next addition.
I loved Nazare too. I would have loved at least a night there, but I wound up with only about four hours - just an impromptu day trip (by bus) from Coimbra. It's not an un-touristy place but I wouldn't call it crowded either - at least not in May when I was there. It clearly gets its share of tourists based on the businesses in town - clearly it's a tourist town. You don't mention when you'll be visiting Portugal but I'd guess Nazare is mobbed in the summer.
Coimbra also wasn't very touristy. It's a nice town, much bigger than Tomar but also not a whole lot to it. A night here would suffice. The highlight was the old university (which you can tour) on top of the hill.
If you want to try to do something like what I did, you could take a train to Coimbra but stop for a few hours in Tomar on the way. Spend the evening in Coimbra, tour the university the next morning, take a bus to Nazare and spend a night there. Take the bus back to Lisbon the next day.
Then again, I'd probably try to squeeze in a few nights in Porto - well, that is what I did with nine nights in Portugal (I flew into Lisbon out of Porto.) You could take a train directly to Porto upon arrival in Lisbon and then just work your way south and spend all your Lisbon nights together at the end, instead of splitting them up (though that ruins my suggestion of Tomar-Coimbra-Nazare). Lots of choices - probably no wrong answer. We all have different preferences.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
I assume that your 9 days means 8 nights of which 5 are already allocated, leaving 3 nights free?
Obidos is great for a couple of hours. Personally, I don’t care for Nazare, as I think there are better coastal destinations. Coimbra is a possibility, but I would suggest Porto. I too liked Tomar, but you don’t need 3 nights there. Another option would be Evora. You don’t really get “quaint” on the Portuguese coast, but you do get lots of modern development.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1669 posts
Porto, hands down, would be my choice if you have at least three nights - which is sounds like you do. Coimbra or Evora come in as my second choices. If you wanted to rent a car, you could visit Coimbra, Óbidos and Tomar but it sounds like you don’t plan to rent one. I do believe Coimbra has enough for two nights, especially if you take a walking tour of the town and university. Nazaré isn’t my favorite either. And, if you have any interest in Tomar, visit it on this trip because it will be overrun by American tourists after coming out in the next RS update on Portugal.