Please sign in to post.
Holiday Sale! Save 20% Storewide!

Late February, Early March Trip

Posted by (Eastern Iowa, USA) on

We are heading to Portugal for just over two weeks the last week of February and the first week of March roughly. We have been to Europe in this time frame, sticking mainly to cities, so know what to expect for weather, but was wondering about some of the more rural areas and smaller towns of Portugal, and if maybe they may not be quite wound up yet for the tourist season.

Porto and Lisbon will occupy most of our time, we will also be in Loule in the Algarve for Carnival, but plan on having a rental car and plan to hit some towns on the trips between. Had planned on some time in the Duoro Valley, but have seen several reports that it is somewhat bleak at that time (landscape still coming out of winter, boats not running, etc.).

Any thoughts/experiences of traveling at that time would be appreciated.

Posted by
1586 posts

Paul you can make stops in towns like Coimbra, Evora, Madeira, Cascais, and Obidos during your two weeks exploring Portugal.

Posted by
1826 posts

The only area that would see some things closed would be the Algarve. And, the larger cities in the Algarve will be up and running. My first trip to the Algarve was the last two weeks in February. There were some rainy says, but also days with sunshine and warm temperatures. I ate lunch outside several times.
Evora and Coimbra are great smaller cities. Sintra will be at its least crowded, but that’s not saying a lot. Cascais is great during February when it’s not raining. There are next to zero tourists, the skies are so blue and the surf is up. Nazaré, might possibly have monster waves during that time.

Posted by
28247 posts

The only Madeira I'm aware of in Portugal is the incredibly beautiful island way out in the Atlantic. You'd have to fly to get there, and it's the sort of place you'd want to spend a good bit of time; I'd recommend a minimum of 5 nights. It would be challenging to visit Madeira on a first trip to Portugal of about 2 weeks because there's a lot to see on the mainland as well--without having to deal with airports.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.