considering visiting portugal for the first time for about 13 days

I would skip the Algarve and add those days, one to Coimbra and one to an overnight in Evora.

Agree. Skip the Algarve and half a day in Obidos is plenty.

I wouldn’t contemplate covering Porto down to the Algarve with a trip of less than 2.5-3 weeks. I agree with the others - drop the Algarve.

Add another night to Coimbra and another to Lisbon to allow you to space your day trips.

outside of Algarve, does everything else look good. Is there any place I"m missing that is highly recommended? And should i get rid of Obidos?

Are you recommending cutting out Algarve because their trip is only 14 days or because it is not as nice as its hyped up to be?

should i buy all the train tickets in advance to keep price low?
Here are the train rides I need:
porto to douro valley and back
porto to coimbra
coimbra to lisbon
lisbon to evora and back
lisbon to sintra and back
lisbon to obidos and back

Are they all cheaper in advance?

Thanks

well, trip is coming up in a couple of weeks. Anyone know which train tickets are much cheaper in advance and which I can just wait until day of?

Specifically:
Porto-Coimbra
Coimbra-Lisbon
Lisbon-Lagos

I fly out of Faro but I read Lagos to Faro is just a bus so don't have to buy that in advance.

All the connections you mention will be cheaper bought ahead. But, even without the discount, trains are very cheap (IMO) in Portugal.

I hope you are keeping up with the recent train strikes in Portugal. Hopefully, they will be over by the time you are here. But, they have been extensive for the entire month of April and we don’t know if they will continue into May. Check the cp.pt website for updates on the strikes.

Thanks so much for the reply Kathryn. I was aware there were train strikes in April but not of how extensive they are. Do you think i should hold off on buying train tickets for now until plans for May announced? Look into buses? Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks

You’re flying out of Faro, so maybe it would be a better plan to keep going in the same direction rather than going there first then going to Lisbon then back to the Algarve for your flight home You’re not giving yourself much time in Coimbra. You could skip it or perhaps skip Obidos (IMO cute but really overrated) and add that time to Coimbra. How about Porto, Coimbra, Lisbon, then Faro? It’s probably too late to change your flight, but if you can, I’d drop the algarve entirely and spread those days elsewhere. It’s not that convenient without a car and the primary reason for going for most people is the beach—is that your plan there? You’re also spending a lot of time on the train for just a two- week trip. Traveling in the same direction would save you a little time there.

that initial itinerary is no longer correct! I am doing the Porto->Coimbra->Lisbon->Faro move. I was initially going to skip Algarve since everyone here suggested that but the flights were like $100 cheaper out of Faro so I thought it would make sense even for a short period of time. For Coimbra, I had planned to go to Lisbon early in the morning but i could just take a later train and it will end up being almost 2 days in Coimbra. This is the current itinerary (flights are locked in, hotels are reserved but could be cancelled, no domestic transportation has been bought):

day 1 - fly into porto

day 2 - porto

day 3 - porto (possibly day trip to braga)

day 4 - porto (day trip douro valley)

day 5 - porto to coimbra - early train (as with all transportation, hope strikes get resolved)

day 6 - coimbra to lisbon - early train

day 7 - lisbon

day 8 - lisbon

day 9 - lisbon (sintra day trip)

day 10 - lisbon (evora day trip? obidos?)

day 11 - lisbon to lagos

day 12 - lagos

day 13 - flight out of faro

Hi,
Your latest version looks good, but if your flight is out of Faro, Lagos is not that close. Perhaps Tavira would be a better base for you.

Hi Balso, thanks for the reply!
I should have mentioned that day 12 i plan on sleeping in faro. So the current plan is to arrive to lagos day 11, (not sure what time yet). On Day 12 do a tour to benagil and/or ponta de piedade (can both be done in the same day?) and return and then in the evening take the bus to faro where i sleep and fly the next day. The reason I chose lagos is because tavira is on the other side.

does that seem doable?

Michael, I would hold off buying train tickets for now and do some research on buses. Flixbus and Gypsy are the main long distance buses.

When I researched out great trip to Portugal a few years ago, I am to the conclusion that the Algarve wasn't for me.

Sorry, but I lived in Europe for four years and never found a beach as nice as the ones in Florida or California.
Porto and the Douro Valley is wonderful, loved it.
You are right to schedule Evora, Obidos and Sintra. Also, consider Batilha Cathedral.

the problem is i have to fly out of faro anyway! it was surprisingly (to me at least) a lot cheaper than lisbon. I'm not interested in the beaches than in the caves anyway.

If I'd like to access Benagil cave on a kayak, where is a good place to stay? I'd like to make it to ponta da piedade also. Anyone have an idea if it's possible to do both within my time frame and how you would advise it?

I also visited Portugal a few months ago with my family for one week's trip. I didn't know much about Portugal and which places were worth visiting. So I hired a local tour and travel agency - [https://www.theroadbutler.com/][1], they took me to major tourist places in a week.
I have already visited all the places you mentioned. But I recommend adding the Douro Valley wine tour, the Roman temple in Evora, and the Porto bridge because these places are most attractive in Portugal.

1. You can taste various wines on the Duoro Valley wine tour.
2. The Templo de Diana, popularly known as the Roman Temple of Évora, is a component of the city's historic core, which UNESCO listed as a World Heritage Site.
3. A double-check metal bridge in Portugal is the Porto bridge, which connects the cities of Porto over the Douro River.

So I covered this country in a week, and my experience was enjoyable.

You have more than enough time in Porto (IMO). Tons of construction there right now, and was very crowded. We enjoyed LIsbon much more.

The train strikes are something to keep watching. You can still buy your train tickets as you planned, and if any of your trains are canceled due to the strike, CP will refund you. It is slightly cheaper to buy online in advance. We were inconvenienced due to the strikes on our recent trip. I would say stay flexible and keep watching CP's website. They release a weekly schedule of what trains will be running and which will be canceled.

Thanks for the replies!

Richardluies, I’m planning on doing an organized day tour to the Douro Valley which I assume will include wine since that’s one of the main draws so I’m looking forward to it. I also plan on going to Evora so I’m glad you recommended it. As a trip to and from Lisbon, how many hours would you say it needs? (all day trip vs half day trip). In Porto I’ll make sure to check out the bridge. I’m surprised though you didn’t mention anything about Lisbon!

Donnellyjen74, Right now I have 1.5 full days for Porto since I plan on going to Braga for half a day. Maybe I did schedule one too many days there. I didn’t know about the construction. I have 2.5 days for Lisbon so hopefully that will be “enough” (in quotes because for major cities nothing is ever truly enough for everything). If it’s only ‘slightly’ cheaper to buy online in advance, maybe I’ll just buy day of, not just because of the strike situation but the extra cost might be worth the freedom of deciding if I want an earlier or later train depending on how much I’m enjoying a place. Does that seem reasonable? Is there a chance that trains or buses might sell out?