Advice on Itinerary for 30 day trip, please!!

Can you do open jaw & fly out of Porto to save backtracking? Check multi-city option on flights.
I think Cascais is easier as a day trip from Lisbon than Sintra, not sure you need a car there just after.
I’d add more time to the Douro valley to enjoy the unique & beautiful scenery all the way to Pinhao & perhaps visit some quintas. The Sandeman estate has stunning views. We stayed at Quinta Vallado just outside Peso da Regua, their wines & port are very good.

Hi Donna,
Wow! You’re fortunate to be able to travel for a month!

You’ll be visiting many places we didn’t get to on our 3 week trip but you’ll definitely be moving faster (with a car) than we did, since we relied on public transportation.

My suggestion would be to switch your itinerary a bit and leave Lisbon at the end of your trip.

Since you plan to fly in/out of Lisbon, you can start your trip in Sintra and end it in Lisbon. This is exactly what we did and I thought it worked great.

I’d also suggest visiting Cascais from Lisbon rather than from Sintra.

It’s an easy train ride from Lisbon and I believe the bus from Sintra takes longer.
Wait! I keep forgetting you’ll have car.

Enjoy your trip!

Edit to add...
I do hope you and your friends pack light!

I’ve not rented a car in Europe so don’t really know how much space there is in the trunk for all your luggage.

I agree that you should get an open jaw ticket. If that's not possible, you could take the train from Lisbon to Porto as soon as you land and more or less do your itinerary backwards. You could pick up your rental car when leaving Porto and return it in Lisbon or Sintra. You might add a night to Lamego, since you like scenery and wine tasting (take the night from Lisbon or Viana do Castelo?). Another option to Viana do Castelo is Ponte de Lima, which is closer to your daytrips; we loved the solar just outside of town (https://www.solaresdeportugal.pt/en/solares-de-portugal/35-paco-de-calheiros), which is very quiet and beautiful - might not be your thing if you like more activity. Don't miss the megalith tour in Evora (also, we loved the www.eboramegalithica.com tour and the Albergaria do Calvario hotel in Evora). Anyway, you will have a great trip. Portugal is fantastic.

The route looks solid overall, and you got good advice already. My two cents is that 5 nights in Viana do Castelo in April sounds generous - it is largely a beach town (albeit a pretty one), so I worry it'll be dead that early. Maybe stay closer to Peneda-Geres national park if the park interests you?
Also, Guimarães is an easy day trip from Porto by public transport.

Such great, helpful information from all of you!! I do not know why I didn't look into an open jaw ticket in the first place...we almost always do open jaw in Europe, or anywhere else for that matter. Thank you for reminding me to look into that!! Priscilla, yes, we are all fantastic LIGHT packers....do only 1 carry on per person for any trip of any length and have never needed more!! Cars in Europe are notorious for small trunks so we had to learn the concept of light packing years ago!! I revised the itinerary and have what seems to be a more sensible, better arranged, one WITH an open jaw ticket!! As for Cascais, we may or may not even go there. If we run out of things to see in Lisbon (haha...very unlikely!!), we may go then. We do try to avoid day trips to places where large bus tours go, and prefer to spend the night in those type of places, specifically to avoid the crowds and to absorb the true feeling of the place. I'm posting the amended itinerary for your thoughts and suggestions. Thank you all so much !!!

Portugal Itinerary

Lisbon.....6 nights
Day trip.... Cascais??
**Pick up rental car on departure
Sintra.....3 nights
Sesimbra...2 nights
Evora...4 nights
Day 1....Marvao, Castelo de Vide
Day 2....Elvas, Vila Vicosa, Monsaraz
Day 3....Estremoz, Arraiolos?, Almendres Cromlech

Tomar..4 nights
Day trips...Obidos, Batalha, Alcobaca, Castle Almoural
Coimbra...2 nights
*Stop in Aveiro on way to Lamego
Lamego (Douro Valley)...3 nights
Guimaraes...2 nights
Day trip...Braga

Viana do Castelo...3 nights
Day trips... Peneda Geres Nat'l Park, Ponte de Lima
*** Barcelos on way to Porto or day trip from Viana do Castelo??
**Drop rental car in Porto upon arrival
Porto....4 nights
Fly home

Regarding your question about Barcelos: I would just skip it altogether, it is pleasant enough but nothing too exciting (apparently has a large Thursday market but I wasn't there on a Thursday).
I like the new plan otherwise!

I don't think you want/need a car for Sintra. Much of it is walkable and taxis, Uber and tuktuks are pretty cheap. Driving would be difficult because of the steep hills, narrow roads and sharp turns, plus the very limited parking. Both Priscilla and I went directly to Sintra on landing in Lisbon. I took Uber to Lisbon to pick up my rental car.

I don't know anything about Sesimbra.

I wasn't overly impressed by Évora. I took a "tour" of a cork factory - it was very interesting and I learned a lot about one of Portugal's major industries but the tour it didn't actually go through the factory. I stayed there one night, if I'd been interested in the megaliths, 2 nights would have been better. I thought it was very touristy and its sights were just okay - except for the aquaduct. Évora is not really a good choice for your day trips. Google estimates 3.5 hours driving time for your Day 1 there. Add 25- 50% - while the speed limits are high, the actual driving conditions usually mean going a lot slower. [I say this having lived a few years in the Bay Area and driven many miles along the coast and in the mountains.] Maybe only do "Day 3" from here, then stay in Elvas.

I chose Elvas for two nights. I stopped in São Pedro do Corval (ceramics industry), Monsaraz and Vila Viçosa on the way from Évora. The next day I visited Castelo de Vide and Marvão. I liked Elvas a lot, it was easy to drive in/out of (unlike Evora - unless you're staying on the outside the historic center) and it was quiet and charming in the evenings.

I spent 3 nights in Tomar with the car. One day would be enough for me for its sights. Obidos, Batalha, Alcobaça are all barely 1/2 day trips. You could easily do more, though I would go to Batalha and Alcobaça on different days and would recommend Alcobaça first.

Consider spending 1-2 nights in Aveiro (it was one of my faves) and day tripping to the coast. I didn't think much of Lamego. Consider staying in a quinta in the Douro Valley instead.

I've been to Barcelos twice for the Thursday market, but both trips were a long time ago. Maybe ask for opinions locally about whether it is worthwhile. It used to be very lively, but you may well encounter other markets during your trip.

Thank you all!! Chani, nice to hear from you again..I think it was our Sicily trip where you were so helpful with tips!! And here you are again with the tips!! I hadn't thought of staying in Elvas, will look into that. By "Lamego" I actually was meaning "Douro Valley" and should have put that wording on itinerary. I am looking into quintas there....any recommendations? Perhaps we could return to Lisbon to pick up rental car after Sintra...that is a definite option, since we weren't planning to use it while in Sintra. We do like to visit the cities at the beginning though...get the 'hustle and bustle' first, then on to the more laid back small towns, hence Lisbon at the beginning. Sesimbra came highly recommended by several posters on TripAdvisor so was added. And since we aren't going to the Algarve, thought maybe we "needed' to visit Costa Del Sol!! It is perhaps removable!! I was trying to avoid moving every day or 2 since we prefer 3-4 nights in one place if possible. I do like the look of Aveiro....but not sure where to take nights from or if it is good for more than 1 night. Portugal,like Sicily, and unlike Italy and Spain, doesn't seem to lend itself to doing lots of day trips from a central base!!! Again, thank you for all information and thoughts.....anything further you can think of would be helpful as well!!

Donna, as long as you keep planning trips to places I've been to recently, I'm here for you :-)

I stayed at Quinta de Marrocos on the outskirts of Peso da Régua and absolutely loved it. It was recommend by Carolyn who stayed there last year. I was there for 2 nights, took the wine tour on one of them and had dinner there both nights. I wouldn't have changed any of it. The staff all spoke fluent English and were helpful and friendly. And their wines are great. It's right on the river and about 2 kms from the town.

Aveiro is only good for more than one full day if you plan to day-trip to the coast. The main sights (which I ended up nixing because there were things I preferred to see) are the Reserva Natural de las Dunas de San Jacinto and seaside village of Costa Nova. You may not even want a full day there. There are some lovely art deco buildings, lots of azulejos and some nice shops and restaurants, plus the obligatory canal ride, which is pretty interesting. I think a lot of people see it as a day trip from Porto.

I thought that day trips were a good way to go, the problem is only with the eastern part of the country which is sparsely populated. Roads in the coastal area were much easier and mostly faster. Do get a toll reader with your rental. I also prefer minimum 3N stays, but with a car it's easier. I pack a small bag for 3-4N and leave most of the stuff in the car. And while on the subject of cars/driving . . . I took a small cooler with a hard plastic insert in my checked bag. It was useful coming home since I put delicate objects in it. And on the road it was really nice to have ice cold drinks all day. I took my Garmin Nuvi (with updated Europe maps) and we had a few arguments (there was also profanity and name-calling), until I learned to [1] check a paper map and/or google maps and [2] ignore it on occasion. It took me all too long to learn that most TI's have a good Central Portugal map.

If you PM me your email, I will send you my itinerary as a word.doc

I don't remember "hustle/bustle" anywhere except the airport! My only flight option was R/T Lisbon, so I left Lisbon for last. The trains between Lisbon and Porto, with stops in Coimbra and Aveiro make it pretty easy to go from the north to the south. I planned a double loop, 3N in Sintra, 10N with a car through the east, Douro Valley, then south to Tomar and dropped the car in Lisbon and hopped on a train to Aveiro, Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon (total 22N/days - I had a late night flight home).

HI Chani, I sent you a PM with email. Thank you! I'll look into the Quinta you mentioned...perhaps stay there instead of Lamego?? I have no objection to day trips...in fact prefer using a base to do them from. My objection is to doing a day trip to a place that is overrun with tour groups. A whole different feel to a place that isn't packed with people....I just hate the crowds!! We loved Santorini, but hated it during the day!, glad to have stayed for 5 nights! Loved San Gimignano, again, hated it during the day!! Usually the day trips are to places not generally listed on tour itineraries if I can plan it that way. Do you suggest doing Aveiro as a day trip from Porto? I could add an additional night to our Porto stay and we could take the train, perhaps. I'd like to drop a day or 2 from trip if I can do it without sacrificing something special!! The trip has no expanded from 28 days to 33 days...a
bit more than we wanted to do!

Thanks for the heads up re the toll reader....I had heard about all the toll roads in Portugal. And the idea of the cooler is a good one, for sure. We always have a paper map (Michelin, usually)....the GPS is , as you said, sometimes argumentative, and sometimes very wrong!!! Other than the stay in Douro Valley at the Ouinta, do you have any other hotel recommendations?

Hi Donna. I'll try to answer/comment on some of your questions.

Updated itinerary - I day-tripped from Sintra to Cascais simply because I paid more than twice as much for a room in Lisbon as in Sintra. I liked it, especially because I got to meet and spend some time with Kathryn who lives there. She introduced me to vinho verde, which I drank often after that. Thank you Kathryn! Cascais was the only place I visited on the coast.

I was in Portugal from May 14 through June 5 and except for groups at a couple of sights (Belém at the end, Pena Palace at the beginning) I don't remember "hordes of tourists" anywhere. Since you're planning after Easter, from mid-April through mid-May, crowding shouldn't be more of an issue than it was for me.

You wrote: The trip has now expanded from 28 days to 33 days . . . LOL, that's how most of my trips are planned . . . I start out with 10-14 days, end up with 22-24 days. That's about my limit for a European trip, but it's easier for me to get to Europe. When I have to fly long-haul, my trips are 4.5 weeks at least.

Hi again, Chani! That is a good reason to visit Cascais from Sintra! It looks like an easy bus/car/Uber ride from Sintra and we may decide to do it that way, rather than from Lisbon. From what I've gathered, Lisbon has a lot to do and see so we may not want to take a day away from there. Of course, we may be busy with Sintra and decide not to do a day trip from there either! Cascais is one of those "Let's see how it all works out when we get to that point" sort of places. Haha...I laughed when I saw your mention of adding days to trips!! That is so ME!! Every single trip to Europe, and also to South Pacific, and sometimes even within the US, I start out with a limit and it just sort of "grows"!! But it all works out well....we get to visit more and spend more time exploring!!! Our upcoming return to Australia started out as a 6 week trip is now 2 months plus 4 days!!! And we've been there 2 previous times for 6 weeks each time!! Yes, I envy you the relative easy travel time to Europe....although that's one of my excuses for lengthening the trip....plane fare is the same for 2 weeks or 4 weeks or even 6 weeks so we might as well stay longer!! Enjoy your next trip....and thank you again for all your incredible insights and tips!!!