First time to tour around Portugal

Why not go straight to Sintra on Saturday? Then spend your night in Lisbon and rent the car there, drive to Evora.

Tomar was a great place for me to base to see the area (Obidos, Batalha, Alcobaca, Nazare). I didn't think there was much to see/do in Tomar itself. Nazare was the one place I went on a 3.5 week trip that I wish I'd skipped - should have chosen a charming fishing village instead. I spent 2 nights in Coimbra (without a car) arriving late in the day and leaving early in the morning. I thought one full day was just enough there and I spent an extra 2 hours at the University because it was graduation day (lucked out).

Try to plan so you don't split your time in Porto. For instance if you keep the car, you could go to Coimbra and the Douro Valley, then drop the car at the Porto airport and train to Porto.

Thank you for your reply. I had found your comment about basing in Tomar (and skipping Nazare) and that really sounds like a good plan. I think we'll rent a car before we leave Evora, then return it when we arrive in Coimbra (I'd thought to return in Tomar but I think driving to Coimbra will work fine).

I'm going to consider going straight to Sintra and we might do that (but skip Lisbon this time since we have had a couple of days there before). Might consider renting the car in Lisbon, though since you have to go back through there anyway.

I have seen posts about driving to the Douro Valley, but we really want to take the train up-river to Pinhao (and boat trip to Tua) and boat back to Porto from Regua. I haven't figured out a way to not split the Porto time without having a late day on our last day (arriving airport hotel around 8:00 pm and leave at 3:00 a.m. to fly home - just sounds too hectic). Right now I have a place reserved in Porto where we can leave our large case while we go to the Douro Valley and return to the same place for our last day, making it more of an extended day trip with an overnight (waiting to see 2020 boat schedules in January).

I appreciate the advice. We don't usually try to see a place in just 2 1/2 weeks but that's what I have available (working around a frequent flyer award ticket home). Lots of ideas to ponder.

Thanks

I spent 3.5 weeks and didn't get everywhere I wanted to. And after being there, I added more places to my "wanna see next time" list.

If you stay in Tomar, check out Taverna Antiqua for dinner one evening. It was a special, fun 15th century experience and the food was good.

I also recommend the fado performance in Coimbra at the end of the RS walking tour.

I think we'll rent a car before we leave Evora, then return it when we
arrive in Coimbra

I am planning a 24 night trip to Portugal hitting some of the same locations as you are. We need an automatic so are renting at LIS. I did check rental in Evora but found the cost prohibitively expensive from that location. Might not matter if you are Ok with a manual- but you might want to check rates first.
We use AutoEurope.

Also dropping off on a Sunday might not be possible. Most places are closed, only open til noon on Saturday

Hi Kahtrav
As you would prefer longer stays, I'd suggest 3 nights in Sintra as well. You then could easily train back for a day in Lisbon. You can pick up a rental car in Sintra, and that would save a fair amount of time trying to Evora. We spent 3 nights in Evora and travelled around the Alentejo a bit on the 3rd day, taking in Vila Vicosa.

I would pick either Tomar or Sao Martinho. as a home base. I don't think you need both. I would try to just drop the car in Coimbra, again to save yourself some time.

More revisions:

Alternate without Lisbon
Sintra (2 nts) – one full day + a.m.
Pena Palace, then train/bus to Evora (2 nts) – one day + a.m. Evora
Pick up car – megaliths and to Tomar (3 nts) – one day Tomar, one day other villages recommended in RS
To Coimbra (return car) (3 nts) – 2 + days Coimbra
Aviero (1 nt)
Pinhao (1 nt) - train (change in Campanha), then boat ride to Tua
Regua (1 nt) - train to Pochino, then back to Regua (just for scenery)
Day long boat to Porto (5 nts)
Early to airport

If I cut Coimbra to 2 nights, I could add a day to either Sintra or Evora, Tomar, or Aviero - or should I leave it as is. I think I'm getting closer to having this pretty set so I can firm up my reservations.

Thanks for the help - I'm sure it will be a great adventure.

Kahtrav
Colorado

I started in Sintra, then took Uber to Lisbon Oriente to pick up a car and drive to Evora. I determined that it was about the same distance, time and cost to go to Oriente or LIS. I used EuropCar and the price was better from Oriente. I had no trouble driving out of Lisbon. BTW, keep checking rental rates. I made a reservation at a good rate about 4 months in advance. When I happened to check a couple months later, prices had dropped and I rebooked. Did it again 3-4 weeks before departure. At the beginning, renting from LIS was significantly cheaper, in the end Oriente was a few euros less. I also figured that there might be wait time renting at the airport.

Sintra - getting there from LIS was a pain. I took the metro, then train to Sintra, then taxi to my hotel near the National Palace. Oriente station is not user-friendly at all. It's a 10-15 minute walk from the train station in Sintra to the center but it's nearly all cobbled walkways, so walking with wheeled suitcases will be unpleasant and time-consuming. That's why I recommend taking Uber to Lisbon (train or airport) and getting a car there. I like your idea of cutting a night from Coimbra. I got there late afternoon, left right after breakfast and didn't feel like I'd missed anything. I would add it to Sintra. There are enough sights to fill two days or you could day trip by bus or Uber to Cascais. Maybe bus there and Uber back. BTW Sintra is very picturesque, more so than most of the other towns I visited.

Tomar- there's not really a lot to see in the town itself, but since you'll have the car you always have the option to do another day trip.

Car - rent a toll reader with the car. It will allow you to drive through the toll plazas at about 50 kph (30-35 mph) rather than stopping and fishing for change or whatever. Use the toll roads, it's not overly expensive and it's faster and easier driving. When you aren't on a toll road, you are probably going to be on a narrow 2-lane road without shoulders. The driving isn't difficult, but it is slower (as much as 50% more than what google maps or GPS calculates). While locals drive at the limit, I didn't dare to most of the time. Take GPS. I used a combination of GPS, google maps (didn't use a lot of data) and wish I'd picked up a road map long before I did. The TI's had a pretty good map of central Portugal that was quite useful, once I had it.

Be sure to try the "green wine" and ginjinha.

You’ve gotten great suggestions already, but I’ll add a few more. We loved Coimbra! The Machado Castro Museum, near the university is worth a visit - Roman ruins under the former Bishop’s palace. And lovely views from its cafe. We also found locals to drive faster than we wished to on winding roads, so frequently pulled over for them to pass. Otherwise, Google Maps worked well (with occasional missed turns). I had a paper map but didn’t use it.