Do you have a few minutes to correct our 17 nights tour ?

When you go to Sintra it’s an easy route to tour the different villas built around it, very enjoyable but do google up the Well of Initiation, sounds somewhat suspect but it is a 90 foot deep dry “well” that has a beautiful spiral staircase down to the bottom mosaic floor, a short tunnel leads out from the bottom to another part of the gardens, just google up Well of Initiation Sintra to see where it is and get an idea. Sounds like a nice trip you have planned

Happy Sunday,
Thank you, very good suggestion.

I'll be in Portugal as well this summer for 3 weeks, following a lot of the same places as you guys. For Porto, I think 4 nights is the max. Even 3 might be enough, especially since you're planning 2 nights in the Duoro Valley. For hotels in Porto, look in the Ribeira neighborhood right on the river. The views from Vila Nova de Gaia are better (looking back at Porto on the hill) but it may be a bit far to go back and forth to the main sights which are north of the Ribeira.

I've never been to the Duoro Valley, so I can't comment on that part.

Two nights in Coimbra is probably perfect. On the way down from the Duoro Valley you might stop in Viseu since it's a straight shot to Coimbra. The old town is the best place to stay in Coimbra. There are good hotels in Coimbra right on the river as well. Also check out Conimbriga on the way out of Coimbra to Tomar.

Two nights in Tomar is good as well. You can check out Fatima, Batalha and Alcobaca.

In Sintra the town is so tiny there's not a lot of options of "which part" to stay in. Find the hotel that best suits your needs.

In Lisbon, I'd try to stay relatively near the center of the old town, called "Baixa". "Chiado" is also a good part of town with lots of restaurants. I think doing Cascais as a day trip is fine from Lisbon, especially if you only have 4 nights planned. I wouldn't break it up into 2 in Cascais and 2 in Lisbon.

The only thing I would add is your planned schedule is all on the well-beaten tourist path and will be packed with lots of other people doing exactly the same thing depending on when you're planning on going. If you really like to get off the beaten path, these destinations are not that. It's very close to the same itinerary that I'm doing, but since you made such a big point about getting off the path, that will only happen between some of these major tourist destinations if you decide to go exploring. For ideas about where you might go that isn't as touristy, I might try other resources like Lonely Planet that cover the entire country.

Hello Bill

Thank you very much for reading our program and I like your pointers.
Thanks!

My Portugal experience is not extensive, but I did see Coimbra and Lisbon (2017), and I can can say that for Coimbra, two nights are not too much -- maybe not "perfect," as mentioned above (another night might do), but no, not too much. I know there are one or two hotels in the medieval quarter, but I didn't stay in them, so I can't give a personal recommendation. I stayed at the Hotel Oslo, in the lower part of the town -- a standard, modern hotel (no old stones), but a very good example of one. The medieval center is probably a more "atmospheric" place to lodge, though the lower part of town is where you'll find a greater range of restaurants. (Coimbra spills down, and beyond a hill, with the historic center at the top.) And "Bill," above, is right; for someone who wanted to get "off the beaten path," you posted an itinerary that will usually keep you pretty solidly on it (with Sintra being "tourist central"). However, I did not find Coimbra to be too overtly "touristy," though my December visit may not have been a great time to evaluate this. (I didn't see Tomar, but I've read that it's very nice.)

While not "off the beaten path", you have plotted a good route!
My main question is Faro: do you have to fly out of there? Otherwise it is not worth it for just 1 night, and I would change the order of the trip slightly: go from Tomar to Sintra, then Comporta, finish in Lisbon (without the car!), and fly out of Lisbon.
Also, that way you avoid renting two cars (one for Porto-Lisbon and one for Comporta).

Comporta has a beautiful beach but little else. It is a good place to "chill", basically.

I would suggest a few changes to your schedule- first, I would stay in Porto for a maximum of 3 days-also, be aware that parking is very difficult in this city, especially if you are staying near the river in the Ribera section. I would recommend staying in the Douro Valley at least 2 nights-we stayed at the Quinta de Marocco(recommended in Steve’s book)- we found it very charming with lots of stones! Stay included a wine tour with port tastings. Coimbra was probably one of my favorite towns- we stayed at the Tivoli Hotel, which was very nice, but no stones! I would agree with the other poster who said staying for one night in Faro isn’t worth it- stay in one of the seaside towns going north to Lisbon. You want to stay 3-4 days in Lisbon- so much to do in this hilly city! We stayed in the Baixa area at a charming hotel called Lisbon Art Stay- Art Deco thru-out the hotel, wonderful and helpful staff, and an excellent restaurant in the hotel. I hope this is helpful- we stayed 3 weeks in this lovely country recently- don’t forget to try the Nata tarts at the local pastelairias!

Hello Faebus, balso & broekerd

Very appreciative of your great comments , will make the final version of our trip by the beginning of next week
(including your suggestions !) and post it to help other people.
As it looks like , my selection is not so "out of the beaten path". so if you have found a special place that you really liked , please, don't hesitate to mention. We want to thank you too for all your hotels recommendation which we definitely
will be using.

Once again, thanks for all your input.(s).