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Advice on Portugal Itinerary

Hubby and I are spending the month of August in Portugal and walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela from Porto in the first half of the month. After the Camino, we will return to Porto and spend time visiting the Douro Valley and Central Portugal.

We've been to Lisbon and loved it, but are excluding it from this trip to make time for other places. I visited the eastern part of the Algarve 30 years ago and remember feeling it was an overly built up expat retiree haven, lacking in local charm. We prefer laid back beach towns and don't care for high rises at the beach-- unless it's a city beach like Miami or Barcelona. I can't imagine what the Algarve is like now although the area around Carvoeiro and Praia da Marinha look appealing. Anyway, my husband is a "merman" and will want to be near the sea as much as possible while I get in my historical & cultural sightseeing itinerary so I guess that means the Silver Coast for us. After Douro, Tomar, Sintra and other historical sites, he will have 3 days in Cascais to simply relax, enjoy the beach and wander at will.

Below is our itinerary. We selected lodging but always welcome suggestions, particularly charming places, near the sea and always with a pool (it's August)! We aren't looking to break any spending records, but budget isn't a big issue.

**3 nights - Porto - Boeira Garden Hotel - (I know it's not charming, but we like the idea of being away from the tourist hordes in the city in August as well as the large gardens & pool at this hotel).

**13 nights - Camino

**2 nights - Santiago de Compostela - Hotel Palacio del Carmen

After Camino, return to Porto (OPO) on morning Elsa bus and pick up rental car. Drive directly Douro Valley.

**2 nights - Douro Valley - Casa do Visconde de Chanceleiros (Relax at hotel, visit a couple of vineyards, and evening trip to Coa Valley Paleolithic site)

Leave mid morning for Tomar stopping in Alcobaca and Batalha along the way. Will there be time to visit either the Schist Villages or stop in Coimbra for lunch? We plan to arrive in Tomar between 4:00 and 5:00 pm.

**2 nights - Tomar - Either B&B Vista do Vale, Estalgem Santa Iria or Vila Galé. Any thoughts on those lodgings? Guided tour of Tomar & nearby sites through Knights Templar Tours first morning after arrival. Stopping in Óbidos and possibly some coastal towns on the way to our hotel near Sintra.

**2 nights - Sintra Area - Quinta Vale da Roca - Is this a good base for spending a full day or two half days touring Sintra (with a private guide) while leaving time to relax by the pool or go to the beach? We chose this hotel because it is closer to the beach, but would it be best to stay in the center of Sintra? Is there a small, charming beach town within an hour of Sintra that we should consider?

**3 nights - Cascais - Hotel Albatroz is booked (Considering Farol Hotel as an alternative).

Drop off rental car in Lisbon and fly out of Lisbon airport.

Posted by
1817 posts

I can address a couple of your items.
Alcobaca and Batalha are quite similar. I visited them both in one week and have difficulty remembering many differences. The schist villages are a bit difficult to get to. The roads are narrow and quite winding. I don’t think you have time to ‘stop’ by on your way to Tomar. If you do both Alcobaca and Batalha, you definitely do not. Coimbra really deserves more time than a lunch stop, IMO.

Stay with the Albatroz in Cascais. The location is better as it’s very close to the shopping/restaurant area of Cascais. I find the architecture much more attractive also as it’s in an old mansion/palace.

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you for your suggestions! My husband will appreciate eliminating one abbey/monastery from our itinerary!😉. He is also nervous on European narrow, winding roads, so without a lot of extra time, we will probably skip the schist villages.

Posted by
110 posts

If you had to choose between Alcobaca and Batalha, I would pick the latter. Batalha is right off the main highway, while getting to Alcobaca meant driving on a lot of slow speed roads and through small towns. The interiors were very similar. The exterior of Batalha was more impressive. That would save you time for Tomar, where Convento de Cristo was the highlight (at least for me).