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Itinerary advice - 14 days in and out of Lisbon - April

Posted by (DC ) on

Hello,
I’ve seen wonderful advice on the forum and used it originally when I planned my trip to Portugal in June 2020, which unfortunately we had to postpone. Somewhat last minute we have finally decided that we can go and planning for end of April/ early May and I am trying to get my head around it all again, so helpful for any feedback :)

Currently planning to start and end in Lisbon (open jaw is not an option). 14 days is based on full travel availability (not travel days). Planning to stick to train for primary transportation but interested in arranged tours/ pickups for day trips as necessary. Traveling with one other person. We are fairly fast travelers and plan to do a lot of walking but not opposed to mixing in some relaxation. We enjoy seeing a city by foot perhaps even a hike and but also love good food and drinks.

Our general itinerary is 3-4 days in Lisbon >> 1 overnight in Combria en route to Porto >> 3 nights in Porto with day trip to Duoro>> back to Lisbon 3 days..but we have room for adding a few more days. So my main questions :
- Is Sinatra worth the day trip?
- Is Evora worth a day trip from Lisbon or better as an overnight?
- In 2 weeks is it enough time to do anything north of Porto? Is using Porto as a base for the Duoro recommended, or staying somewhere further in the valley?
- Are there any coastal towns that are easy to see and wroth a visit? I have seen multiple comments that suggest Nazare is not worth the overnight etc. Any alternative recommendations if time were to allow?

Thanks in advance!!

Posted by
11609 posts

Sintra is worth a day trip. Stay overnight in Evora.
North of Porto, visit Guimares, Braga.

Posted by
2689 posts

We are also going in April and so the day trips I’m listing are thoroughly researched and sorted, but keep in mind we still have the actual travel to do:)

For Sintra, I decided to use Lisbon Riders for transport and touring. They’ll pick us up in Lisbon and make sure we get to each site without having to walk or use public transit in Sintra. I’ve added one other site to that day and I can’t recall what it is as I type this. We looked at their group tours and then decided to book a private one as I wanted to stay out by the Sintra sites and skip Cascais. (Cost for group tour - 65 Euros a person vs. 250 Euros for a private tour)

We are also using Lisbon Riders to get to Batalha Monastery and Alcobaca monastery. We booked that one private as well because I didn’t want to go to Fatima, I think.

Look them up on TripAdvisor and you will see some pretty stellar reviews. Book sooner rather than later - they are showing a lot of bookings already scheduled.

https://lisbonriders.com/

Posted by
1715 posts

Since you have the time, I suggest spending a night or two in Sintra. There are lots of palaces to visit, and from what I have seen, they are all very different from each other. We visited Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon because that was all the time we had, but I wish we could have spent a night or two. It's beautiful and there is a lot to see. We took a guided tour for about 3/4 of a day. The tour included a visit to the Pena Palace, time for a light lunch, and then we went on to Cascais for a brief visit. I also recommend visiting Cascais. Our visit to Portugal was short but I would love to return some day. You will have a great trip, and we had perfect weather in April for sightseeing. Sunny and comfortable temps, not too hot.

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you so much for the feedback Valarie, Suki and kmkwoo, we will definitely keep Sintra in the agenda and maybe into Cascais and I will look into Guimares and Braga!

Posted by
374 posts

Hi
Since you mention Braga and Guimaraes, here's some info.

Braga
https://porto-north-portugal.com/braga-portugal-guide.html
Guimaraes
https://porto-north-portugal.com/guimaraes-portugal.html

I also suggest the Hop On Hop Off yellow bus for both cities.

Braga
https://www.yellowbustours.com/en/braga
Guimaraes
https://www.yellowbustours.com/en/guimaraes

You can use Porto as a base to explore the area, the Douro Valley, Viana do Castelo, Barcelos, Aveiro, etc, but you won't have time to see it all.
You'll have to choose which to keep and which to drop from your itinerary.

Happy travels

Posted by
1638 posts

Porto is a nice base for many side trips. Definitely do not miss Bom Jesus in Braga. You don't need to walk all the way up; there's is funicular that takes people up to the top.

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