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Need help tweaking our itinerary-May day impact

Posted by on

Hi
My husband and I are planning a trip to Portugal in late April/early May and are at an impasse with our itinerary. We arrive mid-afternoon and plan to stay 4 nights in Lisbon (side trip to Sintra and Cascais), and then head by car to 1 night in Evora and 2 nights in Alcobaca. Our full day in Alcobaca will be May Day.

I think we should head the following day to Porto for 4 days with a stop at Coimbra along the way. That way we will have time in Porto to do a Douro River Cruise and take a side trip to Guimarães. My husband thinks that we should spend 1 night in Coimbra-he is especially concerned that much of what we want to see around Alcobaca (Obidos, Batalha, Nazare, etc) will be limited due to May Day. We will fly out of Porto.

Do you have any insights that will help us make our decision! Thanks in advance!!
Margi

Posted by
11156 posts

Obidos is a small town that exisits for tourism, Batalha is a large religious complex, and Nazare is a beach town with restaurants and views. Hopefully someone else here has more knowledge of the effects of May 1 holiday but I wouldn’t think any of those you mention would be affected by it.

Posted by
1669 posts

There will be closings of banks, service offices, etc. And, some of the smaller stores or restaurants might close, but any big tourist attractions will be open.
That said, depending on why you are going to Nazaré, there is little to see. The monster waves that occur happen in the winter. And, if you only have time for one monastery, go for Alcobaça rather than Batalha - just my opinion. But, they are similar even though built for different reasons.

And, bear in mind the driving times you get off google maps, etc. is significantly shorter than it will actually be.

Posted by
480 posts

Hi Margi

I've been in Portugal twice in the last 4 years for May Day. I don't remember it interfering either time with anything we wanted to see as a tourist. In fact there was a parade in Nazare that was great to see.

The second time it fell as a long weekend, however, and things were definitely busier. You should definitely book your accommodations ahead of time too for that day/weekend.

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