We've set an itinerary for Portugal in October - thoughts?

Why say in a hotel near the airport on arrival? Hop a cab and less than 20 minutes later you’ll be in Alfama. I would stick with your plan to visit Coimbra after Nazaré. There’s a lot to see in Porto, so don’t cut that a day short. You’ll regret it.

EDIT: why take the train to Coimbra to rent a car? Rent in Lisbon and drive to Nazaré. On the way, you could make stops in Obidos and Alcobaça driving from either Lisbon or Coimbra to your apartment is roughly the same distance/time. Then drive to Porto and drop the car there. Since you’ll be on the coast in Nazaré , I would visit Evora and not head to Cascais.

Hi Philip - I don't anticipate getting out of the airport until after midnight (assuming the flight is on time) and would rather spend 5 minutes in a taxi or shuttle and fall into bed at a hotel nearby, rather than 20-25 minutes in a taxi to Alfama. Plus we're staying in an apartment (through AirBnb) so asking the host to check us in at 12:30 am seems like it would be asking a bit much. Thanks for the thoughts on Coimbra/Porto - appreciate the confirmation :)

Philip, thanks for the additional suggestions. We're just finalizing the overall plan and renting a car in Lisbon and driving to Porto through all the towns we wanted to visit actually sounds like a pretty good idea - maybe we could even fit in a visit to Aveiro? Will have to look at the maps differently if we're driving...

When in Evora you MUST eat at Restaurant Botequim da Mouraria, R. Da Mouraria 16A. The place has only 10-12 seats at the counter but it had the best food of any restaurant I ate at in Portugal. You’ve got to get there early to avoid a wait. Not sure if they take reservations.

It was a very short taxi ride from Lisbon airport to downtown. Stay in Lisbon not at the airport. I agree, rent the car at Lisbon airport and drive north from there. We stayed in Lisbon, Evora, Obidos, Coimbra, Guimares, Porto. Stop in Obidos but don’t stay there. Good for an hour or two. Highly recommend Evora and Coimbra. Visited Nazaré, Aveiro, Alcobaça and Batalha.

Looks pretty reasonable. Everyone visits Sintra as a day trip, but for me it's worth couple of nights. Lisbon is good for three or four full days, not because there are so many sights that are that great (though there are a few), but it's just one of the nicest big cities in Europe in which to spend some time. Alcobaqa is a very worthy stop from Nazare too, and Tomar is an hour away.

We rented a car in Lisbon after staying in the city for a couple of days and going to Sintra for a day. Then drove to Nazare with a stop in Obidos along the way, then drove to Coimbra with a stop in Alcobaca and Conimbriga (marvelous Roman ruins there). On the return to Lisbon we stopped at a wonderful old castle on an island (Castelo de Almourol) on the way to Evora. In total this was 6-7 days. Be sure to find a cafe with fado singing in the Alfama region of Lisbon