My friends and I will be first-time visitors to Portugal. There will be five of us. We are able to have an up to 11-day vacation. We do not want to rent a car and drive. That is definite.
Would you please comment on the following?
Fly to Lisbon, spend Days 1, 2, 3 and 4 based in Lisbon. Include visit to Belem. One of the days will focus on a daytrip to Sintra.
Day 5, hire driver with van, visit Nazare, Batalha, end in Coimbra where we'd spend the night. Any other stops along the way that day?
Day 6, at some point, take a train from Coimbra to Porto.
Days 7-10, Porto, probably including a river cruise and/or winery tour (4 full days based in Porto).
Day 11, fly home.
Posted by
Austin, TX
1925 posts
I can respond some.
In October, I spent four nights in Lisbon and it was not enough but it was the best that I could do. Wonderful city.
Yes, to Sintra and Belem both.
I was on a cruise and we ported in Porto.. I chose an excursion to Braga. and I loved Braga. It is a beautiful small and peaceful community with 80 churches. Some of the churches are magnificent. You might keep Braga in mind as an excursion from Porto.
UPDATE. You have a typo in your title. It says May 2023. It should be May 2024
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
676 posts
We spent the night in Coimbra, then took the train to Porto the next day. While in Coimbra we walked around a lot and hiked up to the University, and we also did a side tour to the Roman ruins in Conimbriga. Coimbra is a delightful place!
We didn't drive while in Portugal. Our trip was similar to yours; we hired a private driver for some days and took public transportation for others.
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
882 posts
Add a day in Lisbon (maybe a day trip to Evora) and deduct a day in Porto.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1676 posts
Drop Nazare and add Alcobaca or Tomar. Nazaré is just a beach town and not the most attractive one. If you are thinking you can see the giant waves, those only happen in the winter and can’t be predicted very far out.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
So with the excellent information I've received, here is the revised draft:
Fly to Lisbon, spend Days 1 (arrival day), 2, 3 and 4 based in Lisbon. Include visit to Belem. One of the days will focus on a daytrip to Sintra.
Day 5, hire driver with van, visit Tomar, end in Coimbra where we'd spend the night. I'd very much wanted to have a short visit to Batalha, but the map tells me it's a detour if we want to see Tomar, which several of you have recommended.
Day 6 See Coimbra and a second overnight there.
Days 7-10, Train to Porto, stay in Porto 4 nights, include a daytrip to wineries and/or Douro Valley
Day 11, fly home.