Hello, All! I hope that everyone is doing well today. This past September my husband and I took a roadtrip thru Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro. It was so enjoyable that we're inspired to do a roadtrip thru Portugal in May 2022. The trip can be 3 to 4 weeks and we're planning for a fairly relaxing pace.
Fly ATL to LIS - pick up rental car after Lisbon stay
Days 1-5 - Lisbon (4 nights); enjoy Lisbon and visit Cascais
Days 5-9 - Lagos (4 nights); visit Sagres, Salema, Tivira...
Days 9-11 - Evora (2 nights); visit Monsaraz, Elvas...
Days 11-13 - Obidos (2 nights); visit Nazare, Batalha, Fatima, Alcobaca, Tomar
Days 13-15 - Coimbra (2 nights)
Days 15-17 - Douro Valley (2 nights)
Day 17-18 - Guimaraes (1 night); visit Braga
Days 18-21 - Porto (3 nights)
Days 21-23 - Sintra (2 nights)
Fly LIS to ATL - drop off rental car at airport
That itinerary works very well, I believe, but I'm certainly open to tweaking it! Some of the places we'll see are en route to our overnight stays. I'm wondering about adding a night in Monsanto after our stay in Evora. If so, the trip would look like Evora > Monsanto > Douro Valley > Guimaraes > Porto, etc. My husband and I like scenic drives in mountains and valleys and visiting quaint locations along the way! It looks like the drive from Evora to Monsanto, then from Monsanto to the Douro Vally, could be very scenic, albeit long. Maybe too long, all things considered. Would you kindly share your thoughts on this itinerary and whether the addition of Monsanto (mainly for scenery in the area and a scenic drive to Pinhao) would make sense considering the trip as a whole? I would sincerely appreciate it.