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Portugal - 2 week honeymoon itinerary - Looking for feedback

Posted by on

Hello.

We are a Canadian couple planning our 2 week honeymoon in Portugal, and wanted to list our rough itinerary to see if people had feedback or recommendations.

We likely want a balance of having a few places booked ahead of time and then also be flexible at times. Also will look for a balance between cities and rural or nature settings.

We are arriving end of September, and have a moderate budget ($100 CAD/night max for accommodation).

Okay, here goes...

  1. We are arriving in Lisbon at noon, and will take a train to Sintra right away.

  2. Sintra - Will spend that first half day and the next full day in Sintra (2 nights).

Would love to be able to go for an early morning surf (Praia Grande) on our full day, before we head to the major attractions. Is this realistic?

  1. Porto - (3rd & 4th Day) - From Sintra we will head back to Lisbon and jump on a train to Porto. Will plan to spend 2 nights in Porto before we pick up our car rental.

  2. Geres (5th & 6th day) - from Porto we will head towards Geres in our rental car. Debating between staying at Nomad Planets or a AirBNB in Carvalheira?

  3. Douro Valley (7th & 8th day) - From Geres we will continue to drive the Douro Valley, staying near Pinhao for a day or two. Any recommendations for this drive from Geres to Douro Valley and where to stay?

  4. Serra da Estrela (9th day) - From Douro Valley we will head to Serra da Estrela maybe staying near Linhares? Haven't researched this area much yet.

  5. Parque Natural da Serra de S. Mamede (Marvao) (10th day) - Will continue heading south maybe staying near Marvao?

  6. Alentejano (11th to 14th day) - Want to spend 3-4 nights on the Alentejano coast (maybe Zambujeira do Mar), before heading back to Lisbon

  7. Lisbon (15th & 16th day) - Will drop off our rental car and spend our last two nights partying in Lisbon.

So I know it probably seems like a lot. Looking for recommendations on alternate routes, places to skip, or places to add.

Thanks!

Posted by
106 posts

I highly recommend Residencial Florescente as a hotel to stay at in Lisbon. It's very centrally located. There is a metro station that is a 5 minute walk away, but you can easily walk to most attractions in central Lisbon. The hotel is located on a pedestrian street with lots of cafes right at your fingertips. The hotel staff is fantastic. Breakfast is included. We just stayed there and paid 100 euro per night for their "superior room".

You may want more than 2 nights in Lisbon. We stayed 3 nights and wished we would have had more. Going to Belem (which is something you want to see) takes up a whole day in and of itself.

We did a riverboat cruise of the Douro River and stayed in Pinhao a couple of nights. Honestly, you could probably cut this back to 1 night. Pinhoa itself is a tiny village. Unless you have specific wineries that you want to visit that you think will take up your time, I would suggest less time there.

We also were in Porto and really enjoyed our time there. You'll want one day to explore the city of Porto, and one day to stay on the Gaia side and visit the port cellars.

Just one more word of caution for getting in Sintra that first day. When we arrived in Lisbon, it took FOREVER for our luggage to come out. Over an hour. I'm not sure if that is common, or if we just caught a time that was very busy, but it appeared that everyone was waiting for luggage a very long time.

Posted by
1824 posts

Remember - staying two nights in a destination really only gives you one day. You are moving way too often IMO. I definitely understand the wish to see as much as you can, but if you cut down your destinations to (ideally 3) no more than 4, you can slow down and really enjoy what you are seeing.

I echo the other poster in that you need more than 2 nights in Lisbon. 4-5 isn't too many. And, you can easily see Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon. As for surfing - Carcavelos beach (on the commuter train line from Cais do Sodre) has surfing and you can get there without a car.

If you haven't booked flights, you could fly into Porto and out of Lisbon. i would cut down your rural destinations to one - and stay longer. You also don't mention what time of year you will be here. That might impact some of the places you want to see (at least a little).

Posted by
6113 posts

I would cut down the number of places that you are staying in. Ideally, you need at least another day in Lisbon. I would be tempted to drop Zambujeira, as it's geographically remote from your other destinations and there isn't much to do there if the weather isn't great, which late September/early October is highly possible.

You can easily cover Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon, rather than staying there.

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