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Early 30's couple summer week in Portugal Itinerary - need advice

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Hi All,

My wife and I are planning an anniversary trip to Portugal for about 8 days in mid August of 2018 and were looking for some more of the great advice I’ve found by using the ‘search’ portion. Know it’s a bit late planning-wise but we both just got clearance from work and are trying out best to make it happen. Just a bit about ourselves, we’re early 30’s and without kids. We’re typically pretty up-tempo travelers and like being on the move. We’re not so much into museums other than just for a quick visit but are moreso interested in good food, pretty sights and experiencing a bit of the night life from a local perspective. As far as pricing etc of travel, we definitely do like deals but are fortunate enough to be in a position where spending a bit of money isn’t too big of an issue. Now you know our life stories, was wondering if anyone could critique our itinerary for our time there! We will be arriving late at night into Porto on Saturday August 4th and flying out am of Monday August 13th. Itinerary is as follows:

08/04 - Arrive into Porto late, sleep
08/05 - Explore Porto
08/06 - Explore Porto
08/07 - Explore Porto
08/08 - Early am train to Lisbon, rent car in Lisbon and drive to Algarve, spend pm exploring after afternoon rest
08/09 - Explore Algarve (caves, beaches etc.)
08/10 - Early am drive back to Lisbon, explore in pm after afternoon rest
08/11 - Explore Lisbon
08/12 - Explore Lisbon
08/13 - Fly home

If the above sounds reasonable, would you also be willing to comment on 1) Day trips from Porto or Lisbon, if reasonable [friends have mentioned Douro, Sintra and Coimbra], and 2) Where to stay in the Algarve [Lagos vs Albufeira]

Thanks, sorry for the long message and thanks for your upcoming responses!

Posted by
1666 posts

Even if you are young and like to be on the move, driving all the way to the Algarve and back for two nights is a waste of your precious time, IMO. Yes, the rock formations are very nice, but there are beaches and some rock formations between Lisbon and Porto for your beach fix.
Without the Algarve, you would potentially have time for Coimbra, Evora or the beaches closer to Lisbon. Both Coimbra and Evora are more ‘Portugal’ than the Algarve..
A day trip to the Douro is definitely worth your time. The views are spectacular and the wine amazing. There are numerous companies that do small van trips or, if money isn’t an issue, a private tour would be great.
If you must do the Algarve, Lagos is the best place to stay with great rock formations close to town.
And, staying in Lisbon another night would give you more time to experience the night life - which is great - from what I hear. I’m not young so don’t have first hand experience...

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks so much for your response! I think I will go ahead and split our time between Porto and Lisbon with day trips to during each. Any recommendations regarding picturesque rock formations closer to Lisbon? And would you recommend renting a car?

Thanks!

Posted by
1666 posts

The beaches of Sintra are your best bet for rock formations. Praia da Ursa is the first one I think of. If you google beaches Sintra, you can get more info. Again, they aren’t as spectacular as the Algarve, but are very nice and those beaches aren’t as crowded as the ones closer to Lisbon.
You likely will need a car to access the Sintra beaches, but you could train to Sintra before renting or even train to Cascais then drive from here. You don’t want a car in Lisbon and driving in town in Sintra is a real mess, as they have recently made some of the streets pedestrian only and have created big headaches for drivers.
You might want to reserve your car early since it will be August and high tourist season.

Posted by
7661 posts

We loved Porto and the Douro Valley. We did a wonderful 7 day river cruise on the Douro that I highly recommend.

You have four nights there. You can see the city in one day if you want. We found a wonderful B&B, The InPatio Guesthouse, at a great location.

Never been to the Algarve, since we live on an island in South Georgia with a beach, we never go to the beach on vacation.
You are missing a lot, skipping Obidos, Sintra, Coimbra and Cascais when you go from Porto to Lisbon.

Posted by
28 posts

My wife and I (late 30's) did 10 days in Portugal last September. We split it 5 in Lisbon and then 5 in Algarve. While in Lisbon we took day trips to Sintra and even took the train to just spend the day in Porto. We loved Lisbon, the food, the cafes, nightlife, exploring the neighborhoods. I recommend booking a private sailing trip on the river for sunset. My wife and I love to sail and we had a blast exploring the waterfront at sunset on a 50 foot sailboat! WE then rented a car and drove to Algarve. Algarve was beautiful, the beaches were just what we needed to kick back and relax. We also took a couple of day trip to Sagres and Lagos and did the cave tours which were also amazing. Wherever you end up I'm sure you'll have a blast!

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