Please sign in to post.

Itinerary advice for next week

I fly last-minute standby to Europe several time per year and need help planning 10 days in Portugal next week. Fingers crossed, I fly into Lisbon this Wednesday and have a car for 10 nights before flying out of Lisbon.

What I have in order (edited 5/24):
- 3 nights Algarve... booked Lagos Avenida Hotel today (recommended in Rick Steve's Portugal)
- 2 nights Porto
- 1-2 nights Douro Valley
- 3-4 nights Lisbon (day trip to Sintra)

How does that look? Where should I stay in the Douro Valley?

Posted by
5687 posts

Three nights in Porto might not be too long if you do at least one day trip (Douro Valley?). I wound up having three nights there (I was meeting someone there the third night and flying home the next morning) and it was too many; I had planned a day trip out to the Douro Valley but it rained after the first night and I didn't see any point in day tripping out there in the rain. Porto is much smaller than Lisbon with less to see and do, especially in the rain.

How about "winging it" and just making your plans as you go? If you get antsy after a night in Porto, don't spend all three nights - just move on.

Coimbra is nice (not very touristy at all) but small. Nazare is a touristy beach town but I really loved it - only day tripped there, wish I had spent a night.

Posted by
1336 posts

I’m in Lisbon right now. Lovely city which is easily worthy 3-4 days. I’d err on the 4 day side if you are taking a day trip to Sintra. I only had about 1/2 day in Porto and was underwhelmed, but that may have been due to too many port wine tastings. :-P. From Porto we took a day trip to the Douro Valley. It’s a lovely but at time difficult (twisty) drive. If you are into wine, make reservations at Quinta Nova winery. Beautiful setting and our best meal yet. Warning, it is expensive. We did not stay in the Douro, but took a boat tour from the village of Pinhao, which looked like it could be a nice spot for a couple of nights. Last warning, the weather is predicted to be very hot next week. Upper 80’s.

Posted by
5 posts

It looks like Quinta Nova is booked, however I just found a place called Wine House Hotel (inside wine barrels) at Quinta da Pacheca. It looks amazing, just not sure if the location would make a good base-camp....

Posted by
7595 posts

We love Portugal and especially Porto and the Douro River Valley. We took a wonderful 7 day river cruise that included Salamanca, Spain.

Haven't been to the Algarve, we don't go to Europe to go to the beach.

Posted by
1570 posts

If you take a day trip to Sintra from Lisbon, then I recommend at least 4 nights in Lisbon. We were there for 5 nights, which included a day trip to Sintra, and there were a few things we didn't have time to see in Lisbon. Depending on your interests, there is a lot to see in Lisbon. Additionally, it's a wonderful city just for wandering and enjoying the miradouros.