We have booked our air tickets to Portugal for 13 days in Feb 2026. This is our first trip to Portugal.
We love paleontology (dinosaurs and other fossils/fossil remains), archaeology and geology (specifically rock hounding - looking for interesting semi precious stones). It looks like there are a lot of interesting possibilities, but many are in out of the way places. We figure renting a car is the only way to go if we want flexibility and freedom. It looks like the majority of these opportunities are in the central/northern part of Portugal.
Can anyone provide details of the 'must-sees' related to our interests? I know of the obvious places (Lourinhã and Monumento Natural das Pegadas de Dinossáurio and "Jurassic Beach"). We would love to comb the beaches for marine fossils (or surface collect rocks/fossils wherever that might be permitted).
How much time is needed to get to these locations, and where is a suitable place to spend the nights close to these attractions?
We want some time to unwind for a few days, in a lovely unhurried place, at the end of our vacation and thought we would end our time in the Algarve, but wonder if that will be too rushed. If so, is there another place that would offer us a similar experience?
Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks so much.