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Planned Portugal Itinerary - Mid August

My wife and I (mid 30s, enjoy good food and going to bars, as well lively neighborhoods) are flying in and out Lisbon in mid August from the US. We will only take trains. We'd like to spend a half day at beach too. How does this itinerary sound?

Arrive on Sunday morning/Day 1: Lisbon
Day 2: Lisbon
Day 3: Lisbon (day trip to Sintra)
Day 4: Lisbon (Half day to Cascais)
Day 5: Porto
Day 6: Porto
Day 7: Porto
Day 8: Coimbra (it's a Sunday, is that a bad idea?)
Day 9: Take train from Coimbra to Oriente station (flight is at noon)

Another option would be to spend two days in Coimbra at the expense of one day in Lisbon and goto Figiera de Foz. Or we could go straight to Porto and then finish up in Lisbon.

Thoughts?

Posted by
6113 posts

If you think you can manage the journey to Porto on your first day, I would be tempted to start there, but this would be too much for me after a ling transatlantic flight.

Flying open jaw would be the most effective use of your time.

On your final day, you will need to stay in Lisbon the night before, as you will need to be at the airport at 9am and there is only one train from Coimbra that would get you there on time and if there is an issue with this, you may miss your flight. Far too much stress for the last day.

With the day trips you are planning from Lisbon (Cascais will be more than half a day), if you go to Coimbra, then you will be short changing Lisbon.

Posted by
80 posts

Hello rsantra,

I agree with the previous comment - if you could take a direct flight to Porto it would be much better because then you would only have to travel south, to Lisbon (you would save some precious time). I live in Porto area and it's an amazing city but some people may argue that you're missing out Lisbon since you only have one full day in Lisbon...

Coimbra is also a beautiful city and I think it won't be a problem if you go there on a Sunday since it's holiday season and many places are open for tourists ;) (if you manage to get your flight to Porto, then it wouldn't be a problem for sure ;)

Enjoy Portugal ;)