Late February itinerary for Portugal (7 days) - no car - should we skip the south of Portugal?

Yes, skip the south. You have so little time as it is so concentrate on Lisbon and Porto. Excellent day trips are Sintra, Evora and Coimbra. I have never heard the Algarve called a "must see."

The Algarve is not a “must see”, particularly in February when some places will be closed for the winter. You need 2 weeks to make it worthwhile to visit the Algarve plus Lisbon and Porto unless you want to spend more time in transit than actually visiting places.

Sintra, Cascais or Evora are all better uses of your time than the Algarve.

Rick Steve's lists Lisbon and the Algarve areas as must-see but I don't think he was talking about in February...

I figured 2 nights in Porto mid-week, otherwise stay in Lisbon either in the same hotel (so we can leave some things in a storage area during our Porto trip) or split it and stay in one hotel for 3 nights, then 2 nights Porto and a different hotel/area for 3 nights. Open to ideas! - Thanks so much for your replies, that simplifies things quite a bit.

I would skip the south. If you are looking for a coastal experience, there are lots of options between Lisbon and Porto - such as Nazare (which Rick recommends) and Sao Martinho do Porto (which he doesn't) Either make a really good base for day trips to Obidos, Alcobaca etc

Jean,
Since you’re flying R/T to Lisbon, I’d suggest you consider spending a few nights in Sintra upon your arrival, and leaving Lisbon till the end of the trip.

You may get some ideas from our trip report here: Our trip in progress...Sintra

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Jeanmarie,

First, since you're in NYC, keep an eye on this board for our next live Travel Group meeting, in November. We meet on a Sunday at Panera Bread on 5th Avenue between 39th and 40th Streets. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings

Second, when you say you've read the Algarve is a "can't miss":

1) Not all of us agree with Rick's suggestions or priorities. In particular, the Algarve gets a lot less love on this website than it does from some other sources.
2) Even people who like the Algarve at certain times of the year don't like it in February.
3) With only 7 days, you will have to be brutally selective. You just don't have time to see northern, central, and southern Portugal. So, pick one or at most two of the three.

It sounds like you've already booked your airfare. If not, look into flying into Porto and out of Lisbon, or vice versa. Particularly on a short trip, this saves precious time. To find these fares, use the "multi city" or "multiple destinations" option on airline websites, Google Flights, Kayak, etc. Two one-way flights are usually much more expensive than a multi-city flight all on one ticket.

I am curious for more specifics on why people are so down on Algarve in February. I'm curious because like Jeanmarine we are planning a February trip to Portugal. My understand is that the average temperature in Lagos is about 5 degrees warmer in the south as compared to Porto. We're intrigued by the interesting rock formations along the beaches and to see the most southeastern point in Europe that was once considered the end of the world. Are we missing something?

OP here. I sense the reason for the "skip the Algarve" advice is that so much is closed in the off season, that there's less to see and do. we aren't going there, based on the advice on this thread. I think there's so much do around Lisbon and Sintra, and Porto, that the 6 hours round trip to/from the Algarve is more than we need sans car. I already decided we'll do 3 hours each way to Porto and back to Lisbon, because the flights into Porto and out of Lisbon cost more, on airlines I like less, at strange times, versus using Lisbon as a home base.

The Algarve is my default summer beach location. I have been a couple of times in March, which tends to be milder and drier than February. Obviously being further south than Porto, it will be warmer - 16 vs 14 degrees average daytime temperatures.

There is more to see in Lisbon and Porto if the weather is inclement than in the Algarve, which is all about the outdoors. It rains on average 14 days a month in February, some of which can be torrential if March rains are anything to go by.

The best beaches to see the cliff formations are not in Lagos but north of Vila do Bispo, around Carrapateira and Bordeira. Zambujeira do Mar, closer to Lisbon is another great place for rock formations, but I haven’t been at that time of year and being a smaller place, it maybe closed up for the winter.

Sagres and the Cabo de Sao Vicente are ok to tick the box to say you have been there, but there are many, many places in Portugal that are more interesting and less bleak.