We are in the process of booking our flights and looking at flying open jaw from NYC to Porto, then back to NYC from Fago. Seeing Porto, Lisbon (Sintra day trip) and spending some days at the beach/hiking in Algarve is important to us (I know many say to skip Algarve but we love the beach and need some relaxation time after exploring the other parts of the country).
My questions are, we leave July 2 (overnight flight) and head back to NYC July 14 or 15 (whichever is cheaper when we actually book the ticket), so that gives us 11-12 days- How many days should we spend in Porto/Lisbon/Algarve? Is there time to do Duoro Valley (is there other wine there besides Port wine)?
Should we do Nazaré and Coimbra and limit some time in Lisbon/Porto?
We are open to renting a car if that makes getting around easier. We will likely try to do Airbnb’s, and need to keep in mind we will have our luggage with us (which made me unsure of Coimbra enroute to Lisbon from Porto since they don’t have luggage lockers if we took public transportation).
I should add we are not museum people.
What’s a good home base for Algarve-Lagos?
Thank you