Portugal in June 2026

Not sure about your interests.
Frankly, the places you list have more than enough to keep you interested.
Except for Lagos - long way south, not much of interest.

So easy to get from Lisbon to Lagos!

Download the Omio app, look at the schedule and purchase tickets there.

I chose to take a bus—cheaper and it runs more often than the train. At the top of the page you need to choose train or bu by hitting the snall symbol.

I was in the same boat as you-.so little time to prepare. Rick’s book covers the main things in Lagos.

Haven’t actually been to Portugal yet- planned 2 trips that both had to be canceled. We will get there eventually, I hope!

You will need to book lodging asap- be willing to alter itinerary according to what is available.

If I had 14 nights I would choose 4 places, maybe 5 at most. Location changes take time.
Not sure Lagos would make the cut- it would require some long travel days no matter where in itinerary you slot it.

A 3 night stay is basically 2 full days in that location.

Fly in to Lisbon- what time do you arrive?
Go directly to Sintra- book whatever sights you need here for second day.
Sintra 2 or 3 nights
Lisbon 3 or 4 nights
Lagos 3?
Coimbra 2 nights
Porto 3 nights
What time do you depart?

Others here can help you with train info, venue booking, etc.
Would you consider renting a car for part of the trip?

At a Glance here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal

I would take Lagos off your list. Pretty much all about beaches and there are lots of beaches closer to Lisbon. The other four places look good. Lagos is also difficult without a car IMO. The others work well without one.

I would encourage you to book accommodations asap, being so late getting started.

Congratulations on your first visit to Portugal. We went in 2023 and 2025 and plan to go back in 2027. For 14 nights, you may want to focus your trip on Lisbon, Sintra, Coimbra, and Porto as they are all easy to get to with public transportation.

To help you in your planning, the Rick Steves Portugal book is a valuable resource. In terms of time in each destination, it depends on how much time you want in transit time. As a rule of thumb, I allow 1/2 day to transfer from location to location. With 14 days, you can easily start your trip with 2 nights in Sintra, then 5 nights Lisbon, 2 nights Coimbra, and 5 nights Porto. This schedule allows you to have an additional day trip from Lisbon and one from Porto.

As where to stay, in Lisbon, if you don't want to walk a lot of hills, Baixa is a flat area with a wide-variety of hotel options. We opted to stay at the edge of Chiado and Barrio Alto (love the area). Our go-to-place is Chiado Arty Flats. It is an aparthotel that has front desk open during the day and early evening, free breakfast everyday (which is amazing), and daily housekeeping. It is located near public transportation and the most wonderful miradouro. If has options to have all of you in one room if that is what you desire.

For Coimbra, we have stayed near the University at Sapientia Boutique Hotel which had a very large room, amazing restaurant, and lovely outdoor patio. The only drawback is that if you stay near the University, you have a lot of walking up and down hills to eat. The last time we stayed near the center of town at Hotel Oslo. Nice hotel, large room and wonderful roof top desk. Very noisy if you face the street. You still need to climb some hills for dinner, but it is not as much as Sapientia. If I had to go again, I would choose Sapientia. I liked it more and since we spent most of the time near the University, it was a better choice. For my husband, he liked the Hotel Oslo better primarily due to a flatter area.

Porto, the first time we stayed at Porto A.S. 1829 Hotel which is located near the central shopping area and is a short walk down to the water. The hotel was nice, but on a busy square, so very noisy. The second time in 2025, we stayed at Vitoria's Terrace Apartments and I loved it. For 4-5 nights, it was so nice to have a large apartment (that can accommodate 3 people). We had an amazing view of the Douro River. The owners are amazing, helping us with reservations and travel plans. The big drawback with this location is that it is near Clergos Tower, so it is more a of walk up and down hills.

A couple of notes:

• Book hotels early, especially for any Rick Steves recommended hotels. When we went to Portugal in 2023 almost all his recommended hotels were booked 6 months in advanced.
• Consider your physical requirements when booking hotels as all three cities have a lot of hills. If it happens to rain, going up and down those hills can be more of a challenge.

The high speed train from Lisbon to Porto is great, but be sure to visit Sintra and Obidos on day trip from Lisbon.
Consider taking a cruise up the Douro River Valley, it is amazing. If you don't do a cruise, take the train up the valley (tracks run on the north side of the river) to Regua and/or Pinhao.

The Douro Valley and Porto are much more interesting than the Algarve. (my opinion)

So, welcome the beautiful country of Portugal!

You’ll be absolutely fine without a car, Portugal is very easy by train and bus.
Lisbon, Sintra, Coimbra and Porto are all well connected by train, so that part is straightforward. Sintra is just a quick day trip from Lisbon, and Coimbra sits nicely on the way to Porto.
Lagos is doable too, but it’s the only leg that’s a bit longer, about 3-4 hours by train from Lisbon, still comfortable but you’ll want to plan that day a bit.
With 14 nights you have a great amount of time, I’d just keep a relaxed flow:

• Lisbon (with Sintra) to Lagos (Algarve) to Coimbra to Porto.
• As for extras, I’d maybe add Óbidos (easy stop near Lisbon) or Braga/Guimarães when you’re up north, both really worth it.

Big picture: very easy trip logistically, no car needed