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Fall travel to Portugal

Posted by (Calgary, AB, Canada) on

I'd appreciate help with an itinerary for Portugal for October. Firstly is there likely to be much difference in weather if we went early October versus later? We'd like warm weather, but don't plan to beach.

This is our second trip, our first was April last year, and we did the southern part of the country, Lisbon, Sintra, Salema Tavira, Evora, Nazare and Obidos. Our favourites were probably Lisbon and Evora. This time we'd like to see the north a bit more, but will most likely still have to fly in and out of Lisbon.

We'd like 4-5 nights in Lisbon again, and would like to see Porto and Coimbra for sure. Wondering about Douro, would it be harvest time, and is that worth seeing. Would you stay in Braga or Guimares or consider day tripping there from Porto? We were planning mostly public transit, but are open to renting a car.

Posted by
11185 posts

We stayed in Guimares and recommend a few days there. You can easily explore the rest of the Minho region from there.

Posted by
1681 posts

I think the Douro is definitely worth seeing. You might catch the harvest if you come in early October. Last fall, the harvest was around the end of September - in the Lisboa and Alentejo regions. It might be a bit later in the Douro. Of course, the harvest can vary a bit depending on weather during the growing season.

Regarding weather in the early vs. later parts of October. I've been here in October the last two years. The biggest potential issue in later October is the increased likelihood of rain. It really doesn't get cold until later in November - at least the last two years.

Posted by
119 posts

If you are going to the far north, early October will probably have better weather than late in October.

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