A few early planning questions

We traveled in October of 2019 and loved it. Weather was great. Went to Lisbon, Porto, and the south.

I'd stay away from the Easter weeks late April, 2025. Have a great trip!

I'm one of the people who thought there were too many churches/cloisters, but it really depends on your interests.
The weather in late March 2023 was good. I appreciated that is wasn't too warm.

I haven’t taken the tour, but after reading the itinerary can see where you’re coming from regarding churches. Last September, after visiting Alcobaça and Batalha monasteries, the Convent of Christ and the Sanctuary at Fátima plus a couple smaller chapels, we had seen enough churches and stopped visiting all religious sites. Once on the tour nothing says you have to visit all of them. Simply get a time to meet back up with the group and wander on your own for a couple hours.

There were no crowds to get into the main tourist places we visited. We didn’t go to Lisbon. The tour doesn’t visit the Convent of Christ in Tomar. The line to get in there was only a few people long. The most crowded places we visited were Viseu and Lamego because there were festivals. That made parking more difficult. The tour doesn’t go to them.

I haven’t taken the tour but am signed up for this September. The hotel in Lisbon is MyStory Hotel Figueira and the hotel in Porto is Grande Hotel do Porto. We haven’t yet received the list of all the hotels so don’t know where in the Duoro valley.
We chose our dates because most everything was sold out and 2 spaces opened up in September. Am fully expecting crowds!

We like to avoid winter and summer for the obvious weather reasons

Plus, tourism to Portugal has exploded in recent years whereas the main sites to visits have remain the same.

You can visualize the crowds starting early April through late September.

I took the tour starting Sept. 26, 2022. We had some hot weather during my trip and it was also very crowded in many places. I think that I would have preferred to travel a bit later (perhaps starting in mid October)

Our tour stayed at the Hotel Lisboa Plaza in Lisbon and Grande Hotel de Porto in Porto. In the Douro Valley, we stayed at the Vintage House Hotel in Pinhao.

Thanks all. Very helpful. Debating between time of year, and whether to do the tour, or to just do solo. Took my first ever tour this Spring - the 14 day Ireland tour. The Spring and Fall Portugal 2025 tours are filling fast.

Also, still thinking about this ... do you wish you had had more time in the Douro Valley? Thanks.

We were on the Heart of Portugal tour that began August 28th and ended September 8, 2024. For the most part, the weather was beautiful. We had one morning in Porto with a light rain, but then the sun quickly came out. I think our warmest day was in Evora, but none of the warm days were intolerable; I found all the days pleasant; evenings were cool. (That being said, I am from AZ, and there is nothing like the the heat here.) Yes, there are a lot of church/monastery visits on the tour, but they are all different and visiting churches wasn't all we did! In Lisbon, we stayed at the My Story Tejo Hotel and in Porto we stayed at the Grade Hotel do Porto. My favorite hotel was the Lamego Hotel and Life which was in the Douro Valley. This was our very first RS tour and we absolutely loved it. It won't be our last.

I don't do tours, but I was in the Algarve and Lisbon this past March and really enjoyed it. There were other people around, but not so many that it was a bother. I've heard Sintra is busy in March, but can't say from personal experience.

I was in Lisbon this past March and thought it was the perfect time. Not too hot and not crowded.

My trip report might give you some ideas if you decide to skip the tour and travel on your own.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/solo-in-lisbon-portugal-my-trip-report

The Lisbon half marathon is March 9, 2025 if you want to plan around that. I was there for the half marathon this year and did a day trip to get out of the city for the day.

I see that you did decide on the tour for March. Enjoy!!!