Itinerary: Nine Nights from Lisbon to Porto

Coimbra would be my choice if I only had time for one between Lisbon and Porto. If you want to visit other towns closer to Coimbra, a car would be the way to do it. However, with only 9 nights, I’m not certain I would stop in Coimbra other than a few hours on the trip between big cities. Five nights isn’t too long in Lisbon since you can do day trips to Sintra, or Cascais or Evora. And, Belem is a day trip on it’s own even though it’s really a part of Lisbon.

FYI - don’t plan to do Sintra and Cascais in one day. There are way too many sites in Sintra to cover in one day, so you will need to pick a couple. And, Evora makes a great day trip from Lisbon and is very easy on the train. Tomar and Alcobaça are more challenging as day trips from Lisbon since public transport isn’t as good as to Evora.

Thanks! I've also read this similar thread.

Sintra and Belem are givens. If we extend our Lisbon stay for more daytrips (instead of piecing things together en route to Porto), thoughts on Cascais vs Ericeira and Obidos vs Mafra? Could we pick one from each pair in a single daytrip without a car? Ericeira sounds like a good alternative to Nazare, and I'd imagine early April would be a good time to see Obidos.

We'd prioritize coastal ambiance and charming "walking around" villages over historical and/or religious sites.

P.S.: We might try to catch a Sporting match in Lisbon, which would also extend our time there.

The only one of the four you mention that is super easy is Cascais. It’s 40 minutes on the train from Cais do Sodré and the ride is quite nice with river/bay views in a lot of places. The others might be doable on a bus but not train. And, sorry but I’m not familiar with the bus to any of them.

Both Cascais and Ericeira have old towns but I’m very partial to Cascais (of course). Ericeira has surfing beaches right in town while surfing in Cascais is a few miles out of town at Guincho. You might want to look at pictures to see which you prefer. But, again, Cascais is hands down the easiest.

Mafra’s draw is the palace while the draw in Obidos is the town itself. April might be ok in Obidos as long as it’s not around Easter. Portugal is a favorite over the Easter school holiday for Spanish people.

Thank you for the advice. Based on further research, I think we will do the following (parentheses = overnight).

Since we are going north anyway, Obidos as a Lisbon daytrip seems inefficient--and Obidos would be difficult without a car (nowhere to keep luggage, indirect connection to Coimbra). Having a car would also allow us to see one other town, if time permits. But that plan would also take time away from Coimbra. So if anyone has advice, let me know! I doubt we would do Option C for the 6th, but added it just in case.

Sat 2nd (Lisbon): Sleepwalk through a neighborhood or two
Sun 3rd (Lisbon): Lisbon walks + sights; Sporting match at 16:00
Mon 4th (Lisbon): Sintra
Tue 5th (Lisbon): Belem; if we finish early, also Cascais

A - 6th (Coimbra): Rent car, Obidos, maybe one more town, finish day in Coimbra
B - 6th (Coimbra): Train to Coimbra w/half-day in Coimbra
C- 6th (Porto): Stow luggage w/ a few hours in Coimbra

Thu 7th (Porto): Half-day in Porto; full day if Option C
Fri 8th (Porto): Full day in Porto
Sat 9th (Porto): Porto and/or daytrip (probably Braga or Guimarães)
Sun 10th (Porto): Same as Sat 9th
Mon 11th: Depart OPO

Here is another thought after looking over your initial post.
On arrival at Lisbon airport, you could take a cab directly to Sintra and do your sleepwalking there on day 1. See a few easily walkable sights in town on that day and have a nice lunch/dinner. On day 2, get an early start and head for Sintra's popular tourist attractions. You will be able to see a couple of them before most of the day-trippers arrive from Lisbon. Then take train to Lisbon mid-afternoon on day 2 (or spend a 2nd night in Sintra). Leave the rest of the itinerary as you have it or make modifications as desired.

We did exactly the above when starting a tour of Portugal a few years ago. Took cab (lined up by our Sintra guesthouse) to Sintra from Lisbon airport. Stayed right in center of Sintra at Sintra 1012 Boutique Guesthouse. We ended up using that same cab service the entire next day (cost was relatively reasonable) to see all of Sintra's sights. Got a very early start on day 2 and saw a couple of the really popular sights before the crush of crowds.

I think you could skip Obidos given your time constraints. It was fun to see, but very crowded and touristy. The best part was seeing the castle from a distance.

Thanks again! We've decided on this.

• Lisbon: Sat-Wed (late-morning train to Coimbra)
• Coimbra: Wed-Thu (ditto to Porto)
• Porto: Thu-Sun (flight on Mon)

The Lisbon leg will include Belem and Sintra. The Porto leg will include one daytrip, likely to Braga or Guimarães.

Here's another question. We'd really like to see (a) coastal town and (b) rugged Atlantic coastline--more dramatic, the better. I know that Cascais satisfies (a). Would Boca do Inferno in Cascais satisfy (b), or is Boca da Roca much more dramatic and therefore (for us) worth the hassle? And related to that, if we fill an entire day in Sintra and/or Belem and therefore don't have time for anything else, could we find something similar while in Porto? I know about Foz, but am not sure if it's similar to Cascais and/or what the coastline there is like.

Yes Caiscais is a beach town as is Estoril. We walked between them on the beach. They were nice but your time would be used better elsewhere such as in a day trip to Evora.

We returned from our trip and wanted to share some thoughts. We loved Portugal and can't wait to return. Thank to everyone for the advice!

• We spent 4 nights in Lisbon, 1 night in Coimbra, and 4 nights in Porto.
• In hindsight, I would have shifted 1 night from Porto to Lisbon. Not because we liked Lisbon better, but because it has more to see once you include daytrips. We didn't get a chance to visit the coastal areas / towns near Lisbon, or take the ferry across the river.
• This is highly subjective, I didn't think Belem was an absolute must-see. It definitely has Lisbon's blockbuster sights, but we're not talking the Colosseum or Louvre. I still recommend it, but if someone feels obligated to see Belem at the expense of something else that sounds more interesting, I wouldn't regret skipping it.
• I now understand why people pay for a driver around Sintra ; ).
• Coimbra itself was fine, but the real highlight is the university. And not just the library--the chapel was even more stunning. It would be a long day, but I think you could make a daytrip of Coimbra en route from one city to the other (storing luggage is less of a pain than changing hotels).
• Porto was amazing. But it was also very crowded with tourists, and we felt 2 days in the historic center was enough (but we also didn't do any port tastings). To get away from the urban scene, we spent a day at the Serralves complex and then to the coast, where we walked for several hours from Castelo do Queijo to Foz. Especially on a nice weekend, that's a great local scene.

In general, I felt the Lisbon / Coimbra / Porto itinerary was a little city-heavy, but the logistics are so easy (which is why we did it). And the university is a unique "attraction" that we really enjoyed. So for a 9-night trip without a car, I'm not sure I'd change much. If Evora offers a smaller-town feel than Coimbra, then perhaps that would provide a better contrast to the big cities.

Thanks for posting the trip report! It's always good to hear what was good, what you would have changed and general impressions!
Hoping for 26 days in Portugal in Sept-Oct!