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Feedback on Itinerary Please - 8 Nights, Early March

Posted by (New Orleans, Louisiana) on

Hi all! Thanks in advance for your advice. We've just started planning our first trip to Portugal and have so far booked our flights, but would love some feedback before booking hotels. I have a tendency to try to squeeze in too many things, but this looks like such a gorgeous and charming country, I really want to take some time just exploring the different towns/areas. We have nine days/eight nights.

Currently the plan is:

  • Arrive in Porto at 5:50 am on a Friday. (We have a quick, nonstop
    flight from NYC, so I'm not too worried about being exhausted.)

  • After landing in Porto, take train from Porto to Pinhao and stay in
    Pinhao Friday and Saturday nights. I would like to do a river boat
    tour and otherwise just relax, take in the scenery with some easy
    walking/hiking, maybe visit a winery.

  • Sunday head back to Porto and stay in Porto Sunday and Monday nights
    with both days focused on seeing Porto.

  • Tuesday take the train from Porto to Lisbon and spend four nights in
    Lisbon.

  • This puts us in Lisbon for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,
    then flying out of Lisbon on Saturday afternoon. I would like to
    spend a couple of days in Lisbon proper, but also a couple of days
    doing side trips while keeping the base in Lisbon. However, there
    seem to be so many options for day trips. Currently on my list are
    Sintra, Obidos, and Cascais as the top options.

I'm open to and appreciate any feedback on this plan. With that said, my main questions are:

  1. Does it make sense to land in Porto and then go directly to Pinhao for a couple days before coming back to Porto? It seemed like if we spent the first two days in Porto and then headed to Pinhao that the trip from Pinhao to Lisbon would be very long. But would love to get other opinions on that.

  2. Any advice on what side trips would be worth it from Lisbon? Should we do one trip to Sintra and one to Cascais, skipping Obidos? Or would it be worth it to combine Sintra and Cascais into one day and do Obidos another? Or should we be looking at other options entirely.

Thank you all for reading and giving your advice! I really appreciate it, as I'm so excited to be planning this trip!

Posted by
362 posts

Skip Cascais as March is off season for its beaches. Evora would be a better alternative.
Don't forget Belem in Lisbon.

Posted by
1665 posts

I agree with your thinking about the Pinhao and Porto portion of your trip.
For the Lisbon portion - one day trip is likely enough if you plan to visit Belem while there (you should).
Sintra is the logical choice but be prepared for crowds even in March. And, don’t try to do Sintra and Cascais in one day. Since the palaces are strung out in Sintra, visiting two in a day will still be a full day.

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