Portugal 12 nights- 2 bases , thoughts? (Lisbon +?)

We were in Coimbra for two nights. We did really like it. We had planned on a day trip but it was raining heavily so we stayed put. We saw everything I think there was to see in a day and a half.

We have not been to Aveiro but I am not sure it is an all day destination.

Personally, I would go to Porto. There is more to see and easy to take the train for several nice day trips. We went to Guimaraes and considered Braga as well. Ideally we would gave gone to both. We spent four nights in Porto and could have spent more time.

Edit: I saw after I posted that you did not want to go to Porto. I think it is only other city in Portugal other than Lisbon that has enough there and with day trips for 5 or 6 nights. But perhaps others think else wise.

Thanks Beth- it isn't that I don't want to go to Porto, but I didn't think it made sense to make a trip from Lisbon to Porto, then back to Lison - originally I wanted to fly in to one of the cities, then out of the other, but I found a rountrip via miles that I just couldn't pass up.

I just found the high speed train between the two, and it isn't that much longer of a trip now that I look into it. I am trying to figure out what stations the high speed train stops at - to see how many times we would have to transfer between hotels in the two city centers.

Seconding Porto. We loved it, lots to do, fun stuff possibly for a 6-yr old (tuk-tuk tours, cable car in Gaia, "Harry Potter" bookstore, transportation museum, beautiful McDonalds, not far from the beach, etc). You might look at flights from Porto to Lisbon, I think TAP has hourly flights and they are pretty cheap.

I agree that Porto is a great option. It really is very easy on the train. I prefer leaving Lisbon from the Santa Apolónia station as it’s all on the ground floor. Oriente is the other option but it’s much larger, multi floors with escalators and elevators that always seem to be out when I’ve been there. Santa Apolónia is also closer to the downtown areas.

If you don’t want to go to Porto, you could rent a car and stay in one of the beach towns in the Silver Coast area. There are a lot of day trips such as Alcobaca and Batalha, Óbidos, Nazaré, Foz, etc. São Martinho do Porto is a cute town with a lovely horseshoe bay, perfect for young children. Driving in the area is quite easy.

Don’t be tempted to spend time in Evora during July due to the heat.

You would miss the amazing city of Porto and the VERY scenic Douro River Valley. Take a cruise up the river or take the train to Regua and/or Pinhao.