please help with 3 week itinerary

Posted by Susan (Kamloops, BC, Canada) on 04/06/25 12:55 AM

Hello,

We are planning our 2nd trip to Portugal and will fly into Lisbon on Oct 28 and fly out of Lisbon on Nov 17.

We have already visited Lison, the Porto area, Aveiro, Obidos, Fatima, Coimbra, Tomar and some of the Algarve (Olhao, Lagos & Sagres).

In this upcoming trip we plan to concentrate on Lisbon, the Algarve and the area around Evora. We plan to use mostly public transport for the first half of the trip (except for renting a car 2 days while in Albufeiria), then pick up a rental car for the 2nd half.

Question re Nov 1 : since it's All Saints Day, will there be fewer trains running? I imagine trains might be more crowded than usual on this holiday.

Oct 28 arrive Lisbon
Nov 1 train from Lisbon to Faro; overnight in Faro (we have visited Faro in a previous trip)
Nov 2 Albufeira
Nov 3 Albufeiria : train day trip to Ferragudo
Nov 4 Albufeira: Viator half day trip to Benagil caves
Nov 5 : Albufeiria; : day trips to Silves
Nov 6 Tavira
Nov 7 Tavira
Nov 8 Tavira : day trip by train to Vila Real de S Antonio (ferry across Spanish border)
Nov 9 Tavira : rent bikes for a half day trip to Santa Luzia
Nov 10 train to Evora
Nov 11 to 15 Evora, rent car for day trips to Evoramonte, Estremoz, and other towns
Nov 16 drive to Lisbon & drop off rental car; overnight in Lisbon
Nov 17 ; fly home from Lisbon

Mostly, we would like feedback on logistics in terms of which routing makes more sense. We would prefer to take public transport in the southern regions and save the expense of a rental car for the region around Evora since the mountainous/hilltop towns seem to be easier to access by car. Also appreciate suggestions for accommodations and restaurants.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Posted by funpig

Vancouver, BC, Canada

04/12/25 05:52 AM

1470 posts

Susan

What is the reason for spending 1 night in Faro? Why not go straight to stay in Albufiera and maybe stop in Faro on the way to Tavira?
Have you looked at the cost of renting a car in Evora and dropping off in Lisbon? I like using Zest in Portugal and they did not have any available cars in Evora for your dates. I had to use Expedia; for Nov 11-16 Evora pickup and Lisbon drop off, the cost of the 5-day rental was about CAD$360-600. Whenever you drop off in a different city, there is a pretty expensive one way drop off fee. Maybe you can do some more searches and find a better deal.
On the other hand, have you considered just renting the car when you leave Lisbon on November 1 and keep it for the rest of the trip until you drop it off back in Lisbon on November 16? When I did that search on Zest, a rental car for those 15 days was only about CAD$236-$260! You would save on the cost of trains and the transfers to and from train stations and you would have the convenience of being able to drive everywhere in the Algarve and around Evora. I would estimate that you would probably spend about CAD$60 in tolls over those 16 days, plus the cost of gas for about 750 km. Portugal is very easy to drive once you get out of Lisbon.
We used RentalValley.com to find our vacation rentals. We stayed in a condo which had free parking. Prices were very reasonable after the high season ends in August. RV is very easy to deal with and they have a great cancellation policy.
BTW, maybe it is just me but I found there was a lot of sameness in the food throughout Portugal. The one restaurant that was truly memorable for me was O Gandim in Evora.

Good luck.