My family and I (kids are 18 and 16) booked and inexpensive flight to Lisbon the first week of August... I know, it's not the ideal time but it was when I was able to get away from work. We have 11 days between flights. I'd LOVE some suggestions on 1) how long should we plan to stay in Portugal? and 2) another country to visit while we're in Europe. Trains are available into Spain (which was our original idea) but we are concerned because we've been reading the warnings about August travel! We don't mind flying to a second location (flights seem reasonable) but not sure where to go. Italy is an option but I'm not sure it's better. If it makes sense to stay in Portugal the entire trip, we're open to that as well. Any suggestions or ideas for us? THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
Posted by
North Carolina
2448 posts
If you have 11 days, you could happily spend them all in Portugal. You might want to look at the itinerary for the Rick Steves 12-day Heart of Portugal tour for some ideas, as well as guidebooks, and this Forum. Use Rome2rio.com or a similar site to check on what's accessible by public transportation.
Posted by
119 posts
It would be helpful to know more about your interests and budget.
I'm my opinion, Portugal has more than enough attractions for a two week visit. You might consider an apartment rental in either Lisbon or Cascais for the whole time. There are good beaches in the Lisbon area, and many things to see including a number of good day trips out of the city.
You can also get inexpensive flights from Lisbon to various points in Western Europe, but if you decide to go that way, you should book them as soon as possible. Rick's website has a list of low-cost intra-europe airlines. Barcelona would be an attractive choice.