Is Guimaraes worth a two-night stay after Porto, before heading back south?

We visited Portugal on the RS Tour in 2016. I can’t comment on Guimaraes, but can recommend Porto & the lovely Douro Valley. We stayed at the Vintage House in Douro. It was our favorite hotel on the tour. It boasts a magnificent view of the tiered vineyards & winding Douro River. We also visited Tomar, & lunch in Nazare. We spent 2 nights in Obidos. Keep in mind that Obidos is inundated with tourists during the day. We enjoyed early am or eve. after the mass of people left. We also enjoyed our time in Evora & Coimbra. So many interesting stops along the way, in addition to the kind people of Portugal.

Hi
In Guimaraes we visited the castle where Portugal was born (it is written on the city wall by the main tree lined street). Also the small chapel with the graves of the first knights of the realm and the statue of the first king. The palace of the Portuguese royal family (Bragancas). Also visited a old church by the main street and a gondola that took us to a hill with a modern chapel and a great view of the area.
We walked between the castle and the main city area along narrow streets which was interesting and ate at local cafes and family restaurants.
We also visited Braga which is less than an hour away (north) and has a number of interesting religious sites.
We enjoyed our visit and which was a positive experience.
Happy travels

Depends on your interests. The historic center of Guimaraes is delightful for wandering on foot. If you are looking for a relaxed, culturally oriented experience, Guimaraes is a good choice, and has a lot more to offer than Obidos.

We traveled north from Lisbon staying in many towns and villages throughout Portugal. When we got to the north we headed to Guimares for several days while exploring the Minho region that borders Galicia, Spain. I would give it two nights at a minimum. We loved that city and area of Portugal. We turned in our car before arriving in Porto. All of Portugal was wonderful but we especially enjoyed the Minho. We stayed in a Pousada in the downtown area of Guimares but unfortunately it is gone. There is another Pousada outside of Guimares. And you can visit Santiago de Compostela in Galicia from there.

Hello- Stayed for 3 nights last November with my 2 daughters, 20's, and had a great time. Stayed in the historic district, with one day heading up to Ponte de Lima, and then up to Valenca on the border with Spain. We took back roads and were able to stumble across some neat Roman Bridges. There was a nice collection of vendors along the river banks in Ponte de Lima, it is on the Camina route and there is a nice statue on the bridge, and metal Roman soldiers performing a river crossing. Well worth a stop.

We only stopped in Tomar to visit the convent, which is amazing. If you don't mind heights, check out the aqueduct that provided the water, it's maybe 12-14kms out of town? But you can climb up and walk across it, maybe 75' or so above the small valley it crosses, no guard rails, just a great experience. Free, we had the place to ourselves. We had our share of rain but most places we visited were deserted. Had a few 'private tours' of castles and archeology museum. And people seemed really happy to see us. For lunch/dinner, stop in to some random restaurant. A lot have a special of the day, a soup/main dish/desert/beer or wine, for 8 euro. It was always good.

Stayed 2 nights in Viseu which we also enjoyed.

I didn't see when you were planning on going, but I went another time in April with oldest daughter, and the Zezere glacier and the Sierra de Estrala region was also a lot of fun. These small villages are great for exploring, all kinda unique; from wall castle cities in high rock hills, to old roman crossing on a river. Perfect reason for having a car.

We were slated to go back a few weeks back and that one of course got canceled. Look at calendar for November 2021 and Evora will be on the list.

Thanks so much for your input, especially regarding the area north of Porto which Rick doesn't mention much. We will stay in Lisbon for a bit, train to Porto, rent a car upon leaving Porto and explore the Minho with your recommendations. I am inclined to skip Obidos and Nazare now after many opinions in that regard. Although it is early planning on my part, and who knows when travel will be again possible or worthwhile, we are retired and can build in as much time as we want. Culture, history, fabulous food and wine, beautiful views are what motivates us as travelers. I saw a photo a local posted of Guimaraes which led me to think about venturing north, rather than even thinking about doing the Algarve, as we are not particularly beach tourists. I like the idea of staying in Tomar for a few nights and doing a day trip or two, then to Evora for a few, turn in the car and train to Sintra for a two nighter, then on to the airport and head somewhere else. Probably Seville. maybe 18 nights in Portugal?

Concur on Obidos, we stayed 2 nights the first trip, and it was neat after all the day tourist leave, but not during the day with all the day tours stopping. Vantage River Cruise was there with 2 busloads, they stop when busing from Lisbon to the cruise portion in Porto.

Good idea on Sintra, cars are verboten in the city center and the train or uber make it easy. Really enjoyed the gardens of Monserrate and the Palace. https://www.sintra-portugal.com/Attractions/Palacio-Monserrate-sintra.html

If you want to try something different, there is a place you can rent either a little electric 2 person vehicle, or we rented a little jeep, built on a 'Mr Bean' Mini car platform, so we could seat 4. You follow a programmed tour on a gps that takes you to the various mansions, there are a couple of routes, including one the goes out to the lighthouse on the westernmost part of Europe (according to the audio that comes on at every point of interest you stop at. What's nice is that you can park the little things easily, as some of these place get real crowded, and stay however you long want.

Whenever you go, you'll have a great time. We found some nice apartments on air B&B, and nice affordable lodging everywhere.

I love the idea of a little electric car, my husband would really enjoy that and we could go farther than our legs could take us. any more info you have on that i will file away to look at!

Yes, here is the link.

http://lastours.pt/las-tours-sintra-en/

http://lastours.pt/gps-system/ This page has a picture of the electric one.

I just received a quick email back from them, as I didn't see the jeeps still available. They quickly replied that they are, along with the electric ones.

They set up a link between the vehicle gps and their shop, which is right next to the train station. When you're driving you follow the tour you've selected, they are all loops, as a lot of the roads are one way. They also track you and can reach out if they see you've wandered off route and need help. The electric vehicles you are seated one behind the other.

We didn't go into Pena palace but toured the grounds. One trip I got tired of waiting for first bus of day and hiked up to the Moors castle. It's steep, but you wind through a bunch of gardens, so not completely miserable, but only with good knees. Or bus up/walk down, bus round trip. Lots of options. Just hit Pena first thing if you go, as this is the busiest of the palaces.

Quinta da Regaliera you can walk to if you're staying right in the historic district, which I recommend.
The gardens are full of all sorts of nooks and crannies, caves, initiation wells...pretty hard to describe. Youtube will have tons of videos, it pretty special.

The walk up to the town from the railroad station, the road has wide sidewalks as you wind up to town. There is a neat art display, with different statues placed every 40-50'? or so allow the entire route into town. Vendors will have jewelry and other boubles out for sale. Makes the walk go easier.

I did a convoluted route, partly rental car, that worked really well for me. After 3N in Sintra (tuktuk to/from Pena Palace, walked everywhere else) I rented a car in Lisbon. One night in Evora was enough, then 2 in Elvas (loved it), and 2 in Castelo Rodrigo (loved it even more). When you're not on the tollroads, driving is slow - about 50% more than any estimate - but there are lots of small towns to visit. Even at my slow place I usually got to 3 every day. I do enjoy driving and dislike changing hotels, so the 2N stays were better for me. Then I spent 2 wonderful nights at a quinta on the Douro, just outside Regua. I daytripped to Guimaraes from there and a few hours were enough for me. I then looped south to Tomar for 3N. I used it as a base to visit Obidos and Navarre (neither was worth the time), and the monasteries at Alcobaca and Batalha (well worth seeing both). I didn't enjoy Tomar as much as other towns I stayed in but it was an excellent base with the car. The most fun thing I did in Tomar was dinner at Taverna Antiqua - a 15th century dining experience - priceless and the food was excellent and it wasn't expensive. Then I returned the car in Lisbon (to avoid a huge drop-off charge) and took the train to Aveiro 1N (really liked it), Porto 3N (great place to visit), Coimbra 2N and finally LIsbon 5N.

In planning, I decided that Evora was not suitable for day trips. I was glad I did. Driving in/out of the historic center was a real pain and in the evening I wandered from one retaurant to another before ending up at a wine bar and a satisfying meal on local cheeses, olives, bread and wine. The eastern part of the country is very interesting and scenic, really only doable by car and sadly, not included in the RS guide). I might have enjoyed Obidos if I hadn't been to several other fortress hill towns, that frankly were more interesting and not touristy. Obidos is super touristy. Carolyn from Utah posted this excellent trip report which I used in my trip planning and her recommendations for lodging and meals were great.

I really didn't want my trip to be more than 3 weeks - in the end I had the better part of 23 days and left out many places. In hindsight he only change I'd make without a longer trip is to skip Obidos/Navarre, and either cut my time in Tomar or visit some other coastal town. I would have liked to stay longer in the Douro valley and see more of the north with the car, and maybe another day or two in Porto. I'm not a beach person, so I skipped the Algarve. Nothing I've read or seen has made me wish I'd found time for that area.

Besides the RS guide I used Lonely Planet and both were very good resources and there wasn't much duplication.

One of my future trips will be to northwestern Spain and I will undoubtedly tack on northern Portugal as well.

Wow Chani, I am so glad you posted. I usually look for your comments when I browse the forum as I find your suggestions very helpful. I am curious what you loved most about Elvas and Castelo Rodrigo. We were originally (last April) planning on staying in Evora for 5N, after a friend went and stayed a week there, but I am becoming increasingly intrigued with the north and east. I am a planner, however, and I like to know where I will be staying each night. I have bookmarked the post you suggested and will also look at the Julie Dawn Fox site. WE are getting older, and this plague has really thrown us all. So many places to see, so little time.

Hi Carole, and thanks for the compliment 😎

In Elvas I stayed at Hotel São João de Deus which is just inside the entrance to this charming walled town. They have a parking lot so it was easy to get in and out for day tripping. The town itself was interesting during the day and really romantic after dark, easy to walk everywhere. There are several good restaurants as well.

In Castelo Rodrigo I stayed at the place Carolyn had stayed at and arranged for the guided night tour of the rock art she described. Castelo Rodrigo is tiny walled fortress town on a remote hilltop, with wonderful views and in the evenings it is incredibly peaceful and quiet. One evening I had an excellent dinner there.

I'm also a planner. I had all my lodgings booked before I left, as well as the rock art tour and a cork factory tour just outside Evora (Carolyn again). The places that offered meals were very accommodating, I was able to decide a day in advance if I wanted dinner (and there were choices). I was glad I booked some 4months in advance. As the trip grew nearer, hotel rates increased in Lisbon, and the place I really wanted in Porto was already full. OTOH the price of the rental car dropped a lot as my travel date got closer. I used Europcar, and cancelled and rebooked several times. My final booking about 2 weeks out, after that prices were steady.

Chani, what was the drop off charge for a one-way? I was really hoping to avoid that extra trip into lisbon. They usually don't tell you what that charge is until you are already into the process a bit.

When in the Porto area, don't forget to visit the stunning Bom Jesus de Braga! It's absolutely (and literally) breathtaking to ascend those beautiful Baroque zic zac steps. A commuter train takes you from Porto's main station to Braga, from where you have to take a bus to Bom Jesus. I didn't rent a car and thus am not sure if it's a good idea. Braga is the third largest city in the country and I guess that parking, as in any major EU cities, may be difficult.

Some travel websites advocate bundling Guimaraes with Braga as a day trip from Porto. I tried to do this but failed because the timing of the connecting bus was inconvenient. So, I didn't make it to Guimaraes at all. What I heard was that Guimaraes is very small and you don't need a lot of time to see it.

I wouldn’t drop visiting Nazarre, stop and have a beachfront seafood lunch there. Then move on..
We made one mistake when planning our trip to Portugal. We booked the Pousada in Obidos, a castle. It was a very nice place to stay but Obidos was very touristy and small. Not a good choice for a base.

I figure we could include Nazare, perhaps for lunch, as part of one of our day trips from Tomar. Maybe Batalha and Nazare.

Roving Carol- The drop off charge if you pick up in Lisbon and drop off in Porto wasn't bad, maybe $50?
Easy to fly out of Porto, we stayed the previous 3 nights in Guimaraes, I'm usually nervous about not staying closer to where we're flying from, but it's not a bad drive. It was something like 25 minutes to the airport from Porto or 55 from Guimaraes.

We stayed in Lisbon prior to getting a car and picking up the car downtown was a little cheaper and super easy. The rental location was in Hotel off Avenue de Liberdade and it was just a few miles and you were on the highway.

Chiani- Thanks for the comments on Alentejo region. Spouse/I have booked points tickets for November 2021, 21 nights and plan on spending maybe 9 nights in this region.

When you were in Elvas, did you make it to Badajoz, just over the border? I was actually thinking of spending a few nights there and daytripping back to ELvas. Was Evora 'worth' more than one night? I was thinking something like 3 nights Evora, 3 n Elvas/Badajoz, 3 nights Castelo de Vide. One of the reasons to spend so much time in this area is to hopefully dodge some of the rain that is more prevalent up north. We got a little wet November 2019.

I see the other thread pretty much covered my question, so thanks again.

bdokeefe - that was my question on an earlier (or later?) thread, and I decided to head to Caceres instead, with a quick side trip to Trujillo (20 minutes) for good atmosphere, food, and history. You are going in November? I am hoping to go this year as well, but have nothing planned yet other than credits for my cancelled trip. So much depends on so much. Good luck with yours!!