Birthday trip in May/June

I should add that we were considering Carvoeiro as our base in the Algarve.

I have not been to Portugal so I can’t advise you on that. However, I would advise you not to drive on the day of arrival in Portugal. You will be jetlagged and driving jetlagged is like driving drunk. Please don’t do it.

Thanks, Mary. That's a valid point, although I have no trouble sleeping on planes and our flight is direct and overnight--10 pm departure from the east coast, 10 am arrival (5 am east-coast US time) in Lisbon, so I don't think it would be that terrible. We generally hit the ground running in Europe and make a full day without sleeping aside from going to bed a little bit earlier than normal in the evening.

We could certainly switch the Lisbon and Algarve days of the trip to avoid this, but then I wouldn't want to drive from the Algarve to the Douro Valley in one day -- we'd lose nearly 6 hours in a car.

There is public transportation from Lisbon to Carvoeiro, and a car rental ~3 miles north of Carvoeiro, so you could rent your car after you’ve had a couple of nights to acclimate in the Algarve.

Thanks, that's a great idea! Also hoping to hear thoughts on the itinerary itself--I do know there are so many different ways to get from point A to point B these days that that won't be an issue.

You certainly shouldn’t be driving after a long flight, particularly with mad Portuguese drivers on the road! Your drive time to the Algarve is far too optimistic - most times of day it’s going to take the best part of 4 hours on the rather tedious toll road (get a car with a transponder). Alternatively, taking the scenic route is a full day’s drive.

My thoughts on what is effectively a 9 day trip:

Personally, I wouldn’t try to cover so much ground in less than a full 2 weeks. I would opt for Lisbon plus either the Algarve or the Douro plus towns en route.

Carvoeiro is ok but is just another modern resort. If heading to the Algarve, I would head either for the eastern end (Tavira is charming and from here you can cover the towns towards the Spanish border) or the western end (Lagos, Burgau, Figueira or Alvor would be my destinations of choice). The western end is very windy and you may get blown off the beach, but there are the interesting rock formations - head to the beaches around Carrapateira for the best views. The beach in Tavira is out on the barrier island, so unless you drive to nearby Barril beach where you can walk, you will need to take the short 5 minute boat trip across the water.

If you want beach time, you don’t have to travel as far as the Algarve from Lisbon - the Silver Coast is good.

Where have you previously visited? Evora, Tomar, Alcobaca, Batalha and Obidos are all worth time exploring and further north - Coimbra, Aveira and Braga.

Check what you can legally do work wise with remote working. My understanding is that it isn’t permitted, but I could be wrong.

Thanks, Jennifer! To be clear: Any remote working, along with retirement, would be far in the future and has nothing to do with this trip, which is purely a holiday. Sorry for the confusion.

I appreciate your feedback. My sense, too, was that we should probably only focus on two of the three locations during the 9 days. We have been to Portugal twice: First was an 8-day trip split between Lisbon (plus Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cascais) and Porto (with a single-day excursion to the Douro Valley, which really made me want to get back for a few days), and the second was just a three-day stopover in Lisbon on the way to Spain for a marathon, so that one hardly counts.

Despite having been previously, we do want to spend some time in Lisbon on this trip, if only to discover some neighborhoods we haven't visited and see some of the surrounding towns. It sounds like we should focus on either Lisbon/surrounding areas and Douro, or Lisbon/surrounding areas and Algarve. We were curious about Algarve in late May/early June, because we thought it would be warm but not swarming with people like we have been told is the case in August. Thanks for the suggestion about the silver coast, though, that's a good one. We could also easily visit towns like Setubal, Sesimbra and Vila Nova de Milfontes without driving all the way to the Algarve. In any event, thank you for your tips on towns to visit in the Algarve: I'll save those and use them either on this trip or a future one.

I also am curious about all of the towns between Lisbon and Porto/Douro Valley to the north that you mention. Aveiro, Coimbra, the list goes on and on. We also would desperately like to get to Madeira but that is definitely for another time.

Bottom line: From the Lisbon area, it seems we need to decide whether to go south or north, but only one way! Thanks for helping us think this through!

Hi, all, thanks again for your thoughtful responses. We're planning on adjusting our itinerary to cut out the Algarve for this trip. We'll probably do a day trip or two from Lisbon, too. Does this seem more feasible to folks?

Tuesday, May 24: depart IAD 10:35 pm
Wednesday, May 25: arrive LIS 10:25 am
Thursday, May 26: Lisbon
Friday, May 27: Lisbon
Saturday, May 28: Lisbon
Sunday, May 29: Lisbon
Monday, May 30: drive north, stopping in some combination of Sao Martinho do Porto/Nazare/Coimbra/Aveiro--sleep in Aveiro (or sleep in Coimbra and see Aveiro the next morning)
Tuesday, May 31: drive to Douro Valley from either Coimbra/Aveiro, check-in hotel at 3 pm
Wednesday, June 1: Douro Valley
Thursday, June 2: Douro Valley
Friday, June 3: drive to Porto (1h15m), return car, enjoy day in Porto (maybe do the river cruise at sunset), sleep in Porto
Saturday, June 4: depart OPO to return to the US.

Hello dear travelers,
I wonder if driving from Porto to Douro Valley will be a good idea considering that we'll spend a night in Douro and drive the next day to Coimbra . We are ending in Lisbon and returning the car there. (not planing to drive in Lisbon).
Thank you

@mmonajatire - Hi! You would be more likely to get responses if you start your own post.