Itinerary Help

Sorry, but you are trying to cover far too much ground for your timescale.

Day 1 - you have 8 hours to kill whilst jet lagged waiting for your son’s flight, then c 3pm, you want to drive to Sintra whilst jet lagged (not recommended) c 40 minutes look round there then drive for another 75 minutes to Obidos? Stay in Lisbon and hire a car day 2 when you maybe in a more fit state to hit the road.

For a trip of effectively 6 days, you need to pick the Douro or the Algarve. The Algarve in June will be heaving with tourists and isn’t low key. If you want some beach time, opt for the coastline between Lisbon and Porto to cut down on the driving. Luz is a rather characterless modern resort.

No time in Porto?

Day 5 - a miserable day for all concerned stuck in a car all day in the heat trawling the length of the country, as your other post has identified. Evora and Coimbra are both places worth seeing, but neither are on a direct route from the Douro to the Algarve and are miles out of the way.

Day 8 - you need to be at the airport in Lisbon at 8am and you are sleeping the previous evening in Luz a 4+ hour drive away and you will have a car to return? Your last night needs to be in Lisbon.

Other issues you may face include finding a car large enough for 5 people plus enough luggage space and you are going to need 3 bedrooms, so apartments may work better than hotels.

I agree with Jennifer. You are trying to cram too many locations for such a short trip.
The northern and central parts of Portugal are much more interesting IMO than the Algarve. And, there are many beaches much closer to Lisbon for your beach fix.
Sintra requires an entire day if you want to see even 2 ( or possibly 3) palaces.

Óbidos has limited places to stay within the city walls. And there isn’t much to see outside of them. I would not suggest staying there overnight. Sintra would be much better for an overnight.
And, driving in Portugal, even on the toll roads, takes much longer than one would think.
Choosing two locations will make for a better trip. And, there is no way to make it from the Algarve for an 11:00 am flight.

The people set on the Algarve are likely to be disappointed in the actual experience. I cannot imagine a first trip to Portugal that essentially ignores Lisbon. The sleep-deprived/jetlagged arrival day doesn't count.

I would try one of the following itineraries. I agree with everyone that it will be more enjoyable to choose either Douro or Algarve.

Day 1 to 3 overnight in Lisbon or Sintra- see Sintra on Day 2 Don't pick up car until at least Day 3 or take train to
Day 4 Coimbra- get car here
Day 5 and 6 Douro
Day 7 drive back to Obidos - a fairly easy drive to Airport ( I notice it was said there were not many spots to stay, but we had good luck finding a spot. We got there mid afternoon, toured the town, enjoyed the peace and quiet after others left)
Day 8 fly home

OR:
Day 1 2 3 Lisbon/Sintra
Day 4 5 Luz
Day 6 7 Evora ( a lovely town, needs 2 nights, I think)
It is a bit longer drive to airport from Evora, but I think do-able. ( others please correct me if you think too far)

Sintra really needs a full day with some energy, and although you like smaller towns, Lisbon can have that feel if you get away a bit from the main busy area. There are many lovely spots to sit and snack etc. You could also train to Cascais for a day of beaching in option 1 as well.

Do you already have your flights? You can get flights out of Boston to Faro (which is the Algarve Region) via Tap Air, spend a couple of nights there, head up the coast towards Lisbon, spend a few nights there and then up to Porto for a couple of nights where one of the days you can schedule a day trip to Douro Valley and then fly home from Porto. The multi city route doesn't cost that much more than a BOS-LIS return flight, I think we got ours for maybe $30-35 extra.

Day 1- Arrive in Faro 10:15am, get a car rental, drive to Luz. Night 1 Luz.
Day 2-Beach day in around Luz. Night 2 Luz.
Day 3-Head to Lisbon (beach stops along the way). Night 1 Lisbon.
Day 4- Lisbon city exploring. Night 2 Lisbon.
Day 5- Sintra Day trip. Night 3 Lisbon.
Day 6- Head to Porto (stops along the way, Obidos, Averio). Night 1 Porto.
Day 7- Douro Valley Day trip. Night 2 Porto.
Day 8- Depart Porto to home.

Obviously, of course it's your trip and you'd alter it to what is important to your family. I have a trip planned with the above schedule, except we are staying in Lagos instead of Luz (they are actually close in location). Our must see spots were similar to yours, ours included Lagos, Lisbon, Sintra, Obidos and Douro Valley and that's how we came up with our itinerary. We are hoping in our journey from Lagos to Lisbon that we will makes some stops along the way at the amazing beaches and when we travel from Lisbon to Porto that we will be able to spend a little bit of time in both Obidos and Aveiro.

shabbiechic when are you travelling? We're going next July or August (flights not booked yet). We'll be in Portugal for 11-12 nights and I too am trying to figure out a logical way to visit Algarve (travelling with 3 teens), Lisbon and Porto. So many on other forums have said its impossible... I like your option of flying and am considering flying into Porto and out of Faro. Or flying into Lisbon, then Algarve and then out of Porto.

I guess I don't understand why everyone says its too much travel from one to another. It's only about six hours. Maybe its that living in Canada driving 6 hours is really not far ... just unsure if there's something else that makes the drive longer than I'm expecting ...

We have a few days longer than the OP but my thoughts are 5 nts Lisbon, 4 nts Algarve and 3 nts Porto ...

Joanne -

I have taken pause based on everyone's advice. So we added a day in Duoro and cut out overnight in Coimbra. So we will sleep night one in Obidos, nights 2-4 in Duoro and nights 5-7 in Luz.

I agree w/ you about the driving worry -- we live in New England -- a 4 hour drive is a monthly occurrence. And we have multiple drivers in the car so we can take turns. Didn't understand the concern about the heat? We are going in early June and will be in an air conditioned car. When we college toured w/ our kids we did long drives (4+ hours) every other day for 5 day stretches :) I single 6 hour drive in a new place -- w/ ability to stop and stroll around in new locations will be fine for our family.

Also had someone suggest that finding places to stay for family of 5 would be hard - but we found amazing and reasonably priced airbnbs everywhere we looked.

We shifted our trip as follows:
Day 1: Arrive and tour Lisbon and sleep in Obidos (we found a great airbnb right in the walled city)
Day 2: Tour at leisure as we make our way to Duoro Valley (possibly tour more in Obidos - and/or stop in Coimbra for lunch/touring or go direct to Duoro depending on energy level)
Day 3: Duoro Valley
Day 4: Duroro Valley
Day 5: Drive to Luz -- we have all day to drive - possibly stop in Evora for meal (we must check out of airbnb by 11am and can't check in at Luz until 4pm - we have time to kill - might as well drive and tour)
Day 6: Luz
Day 7: Luz
Day 8: Back to Lisbon and home

I have just returned from Portugal and visited all the places/areas suggested above. Instead of the Algarve and Luz, consider the Silver Coast between Lisbon and Porto and save yourself a ton of time (and money) We stayed in Nazare, which is a lively beach resort town with easy day trip options (Obidos, Alcobaca etc) Other amazing beach towns at Sao Martinho do Porto and Foz. The beaches are gorgeous and we preferred this part of Portugal to the heavily built up Algarve. 2 hours is plenty at Obidos. Don't miss Evora - we loved this town. Stop in Tomar to see the Knights Templar Covent of Christ - amazing! We found the people of Portugal to be very warm, friendly and helpful. English widely spoken. You will have a great trip no matter where you go!

Thanks Kathleen!