Best Portugal Itinerary for a Teenager

Posted by prredogs on 02/23/19 11:14 PM

Hi. I will be taking my 16 year old daughter on a Portugal volunteer humanitarian trip (with Habitat for Humanity) in July where we will be building a home for a family in need near Braga. The build will be about a week. We have a day before and after the build in Porto to explore. After that we will have 4-6 days (depending on best flight options) to peruse elsewhere in Portugal. We will most likely be flying into Lisbon (from the US maybe through Canada) so will definitely plan to spend some time there but how much depends on feedback I receive.

It is the first time to Portugal for both of us, so with the time that we have, I am looking for input from you other travel experts on what the biggest bang for my buck would be to give my teenage daughter the best experience. She is not interested in museums, history tours, or the peaceful serenity of the Douro Valley (one because she wouldn't be partaking in port/wine tours and two because she wants to use the time she has to see other areas of interest). She is interested in beautiful and spectacular scenery and landscapes (like the rock formations, grottoes and beaches in Praia do Camilo) but also in areas like Alfama in Lisbon. She wants to be part of the action and I want her to have some true cultural experiences.

We would most likely be taking the train between destinations. Based on all of this, what would be your recommendations? Thank you so much for your input!
Rhonda

Posted by Andrew H.

Portland, Oregon

02/23/19 11:34 PM

5687 posts

I was in Portugal last year for nine nights. I flew into Lisbon out of Porto - perhaps you could try to do the same (fly "open jaw" or multi-city, not two one-way tickets). I took the train and bus everywhere, and that worked great for me, but honestly you might rent a car as you leave Lisbon and drop it in Porto when you get there and stop in between e.g. along the coast. I've heard from multiple sources that driving in Portugal is easy outside of the cities.

If you wanted to stop in say Nazare along the coast, without driving, you your best bet from Lisbon is an express bus. And if you were to go on from there say to Porto, again a bus might be better (trains from there to Porto might work, but you have to get to the train station which is not directly in Nazare, a local bus or taxi ride out there). Anyway, Nazare is a well-known beach town (an old favorite of Rick Steves's - you see him gushing about it in one of his early PBS travel shows), and it will probably be busy in the summer, but I loved it when I was there in May. Many people visit the nearby town of Obidos, but it sounded super touristy so I skipped it.

If you skip Nazare and/or Obidos, the train from Lisbon to Porto works pretty well, though you need to change a few times right at both cities to get to the city centers, because the high speed trains don't go directly to the central train stations.

On the way north, I also stopped in the lovely town of Tomar - maybe your daughter would be bored by it - and the sleepy university town of Coimbra, which has a unique old university at the top of the hill at the center of town. Not sure if she would find that interesting (maybe not much college vibe there in the summer). There are some Roman ruins nearby - I didn't see them.

Posted by geovagriffith

02/24/19 02:16 AM

8322 posts

I traveled with my kids all over Europe. At 16 treat them like an adult.

If scenery is what you want, then make sure you do the Douro Valley. We did a 7 day cruise and it was wonderful.

You can take a day cruise from Porto or take the train that goes up the north bank of the river.

Navarre is scenic.

Posted by prredogs OP

03/03/19 12:31 AM

2 posts

Thank you Andrew H and geovagriffith for you input. I was actually thinking of skipping Douro Valley because I think it would be too slow of a pace for my daughter. She wants to be part of the action which is why I definitely want to hit Lisbon. I am on the fence about the Algarve. I know it is very touristy and busy that time of year but thinking it might be more her speed. I know the rock formations and beautiful beaches by Camilo Beach were a draw for her when she was looking at pictures. Just not sure with the amount of days we have if it is worth the trek.