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Begin and end our trip this way?

Posted by on

Hello, All! Thanks to your help, I completed mine and my husband's May 2023 itinierary (and booked rooms) this past December. We tabled the final trip planning until recently and, as I renewed my research, I couldn't help but wonder if I wanted to begin, and end, my trip as I have it... now that I know a bit more. Since I have flexibility on the front and back end of the trip, I thought I'd briefly revisit that with you. (See itinierary below.) My questions are (1) Would it be just as easy to go straight from the Lisbon airport to lodging in Sintra and stay for two nights and reduce Lisbon to 3? Sintra seems like a good way to start the trip, too. (2) On our last full day, we plan to drive from Lagos to a hotel near the LIS airport, via the coast (or a mostly coastal route). The wildness (and somewhat remoteness) of that coast seems pretty special and I was thinking that drive, with stops, could be done in a nice leisurely day. However, as I've watched videos on the coast south of Lisbon I'm wondering if I've underestimated the drive and overestimated the leisure. Perhaps it would be nice to add a couple of nights someplace along that route?

Thanks for your feedback! I am always very appreciative.

Sincerely,
mcalico

Fly ATL to Lisbon
Lisbon (5 nights)
Coimbra (2 nights)
Porto (3 nights) - pick up rental car after Porto
Douro Valley (3 nights)
Tomar (2 nights)
Marvao (2 nights)
Evora (3 nights)
Lagos (4 nights)
Near Lisbon airport stay (1 night)

Posted by
7269 posts

Hi,
You could start with a few nights in Sintra which is indeed easy to reach from the airport, but it adds one more change of hotels, and Sintra is perfectly doable as a day trip from Lisbon. I would not change my plans.
As for driving back from Lagos to Lisbon, there is no coastal road. The N120 is as coastal as it gets and it does not give many ocean views. With a base in Lagos, you can easily treat the southwest coast (north of Carrapateira into Alentejo) as a day trip, and just drive the fastest route to Lisbon.

Posted by
1194 posts

Hi from Wisconsin,
I like your apparent leisurely pace.

If you aren't on one of the four lane highways, you aren't going anywhere fast. You go from 21st century design to the paved donkey paths of ages gone by. These secondary roads have development along them for miles out of any city center. People, cars, bikes, and 25 mph. Make sure when you get estimated drive times you adjust your start time so you are driving at 9AM their time or 13:00 and not 6PM our time which would mean midnight for them. Google maps default to the time you are looking at the map.

I would spend 4 days in Lisbon to start and add that day to the end of your trip...in Lisbon. We have found having a bit of time in our arrival/departure city is erases some regrets. You spend time in Lisbon, then go out and see the nation, meanwhile your brain is sifting through memories of Lisbon and you start thinking ," If I ever get back to Lisbon I will do this". well, lucky you, you have a day or parts of two days to do that.

I spent part of a day driving along the Duoro River valley. A major disappointment for vistas.

While I would not add a city to your trip...check out Viseu, not Pedro Viseu, but Viseu Viseu. It is off the tourist track. A very nice place with plenty of parks. It is between, kind of, Porto and Tomar. It is close enough to the Spanish border so a day trip can take you to several fortified cities.

A nice looking trip, do you have room for two more people? just kidding.

wayne iNWI

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