Portugal in October

I was in Portugal this last October but towards the end.

I took a cruise and went to Braga on a shore excursion on the 22nd of October, so I believe, I was only there for. a few hours and believe me it was not enough. I loved it.

Just from my few hours there, I would suggest at least one night if not two nights in Braga.

You probably know there are 80 churches in Braga. I went to a couple and they were magnificent. If you are there on a Sunday, most of the shops are going to be closed because the people are religious. Catholics.

Braga was very relaxed and not crowded.

I spent four nights in Lisbon and again it was not enough. It was very crowded and rained off and on every day.

I can recommend Be Poet Baxia hotel, a three star hotel, in Lisbon if you are looking for a hotel.

I am glad to answer any questions that you might have about Lisbon . Great city

When in Braga, do NOT miss Bom Jesus, a magnificent church on a small hill.

I was in the Algarve and Lisbon this past Nov and it was rainy on some days. However, October should be better.

Barkinpark

I was on a cruise and we ported in Oporto. I took a shore excursion to Braga but for some reason, all the excursions left over an hour late so something had to be eliminated because we still had to be back to the ship at a certain time.

And would you believe that Bom Jesus was what was eliminated. Not happy about that.

However we did get to go to the Cathedral of Braga and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro which is a place of pilgrimage and worship in the city of Braga.

djones

if you can, the above two places are not to be missed, if at all possible.

@bostonphil7: what a bumper. Let's save Bom Jesus for your next PT trip!

ok Barkinpark

I really feel like I have to redo the whole cruise because it was not enough time to see so much that I wished I could have seen.

But now I am working on my Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona next October

Happy travels!

Djones, It looks like you have 12 nights for travel in Portugal. So I suggest setting up how many nights to stay in each location. You don’t mention what is interesting to you or what you want to experience in Portugal so it is somewhat inefficient for us to suggest an itinerary. My likes maybe different from your likes. You haven’t traveled to Portugal before, so I would definitely allocate at least 4 nights to Lisbon. There is just so much to do there.

Since you are from Florida, I imagine you want a beach to lounge on and water to swim in. There are nice beaches in the Algarve but it is some distance from the other places you are interested in and the water might be colder than what you are familiar with. Depending on your interests, I would not travel to the Algarve for a short stay. Since other Forum members have given you info on Braga and Evora and I have not been to either town, I won’t comment.

Coimbra is a wonderful university town and if you like Roman ruins, a day trip to Conimbriga was a good allocation of time. I devoted a half day to Conimbriga, taking a bus from Coimbra. Porto is a great old city with many parks and lovely river walks. if you like wine, Porto offers a chance to take in the many port houses located across the river (easily done in 4-5 hours). When I was there in mid-October, the English speaking tours were sold out, so if a tour is what you want, I would book it at least a day or two ahead of time.

I’ve traveled to Portugal twice. Once was in the late Spring in 2015 and once in early to mid-October (similar to your timing) this year. I’m from a temperate climate (Seattle) and am not tolerant of temps in the high 80’s-90’s. The temps in Lisbon and Coimbra were in the 90’s; Porto and the Douro Valley were cooler with some rain. Weather is hard to predict but I believe the temps everywhere have been trending higher than years past. I did not rent a car so I booked a couple of day tours out of Lisbon to Obidos, Nazare, and Fatima and Sintra. YMMV - you didn’t mention if you plan to rent a car.

3 nights-Porto to Douro Valley
2 nights-Braga
2 nights-Coimbra
5 nights-Lisbon with day trips to Sintra, Tomar, Nazare and Batalha OR a full day for Evora

Have a wonderful trip. I love Portugal.

I've been to Portugal twice and loved it. The first time was 40 years ago, and I think it was in Oct. Took the train to Lisbon from Madrid. No need for a car in Lisbon, as everything I was interested in was doable by public transportation. Besides, it's fun to use the funiculars, walk on the mosaic-type sidewalks and see the tiled walls of the buildings. Lisbon is well worth 3-5 days. I did a day trip to Nazare', which at the time was a charming fishing village; I got many photos of the fishing boats, fisherfolk and their way of life, plus a good meal for next to nothing. Unfortunately, I read that Nazare' is loaded with tourists these days, and high-rise hotels and condos have spoiled the ambience, but you should do your own research.

The second time was in 1995, again in Sept or Oct. I think I only had 4-5 days in country, since my main focus was Spain, but with a car I could do a lot. Without the Internet for trip planning, I went to a number of towns that are now firmly on many tour companies' route, so I guess I chose well: Aveiro, with the painted fishing boats; the monastery at Batalha; Tomar for the Templar Convento de Cristo & buildings and Portugal's oldest synagogue (with some interesting architectural features); Obidos (walled city; be careful driving through the narrow town gate!); Evora (Roman temple and aqueduct); the Roman villa at Conimbriga (mosaic floors and my intro to lantana flowers) and other towns whose names I've forgotten. Spent a night at a pretty quinta outside Evora (name provided on request), run by a very nice young couple. She actually refunded part of my night's stay because she said she'd given me an incorrect price! From there I went to one of those white, hilltop villages and had a classic Portuguese dinner of clams with pork.

Weather was good on both trips. I've read that in Sept-Oct the weather is still decent, if cool, and everything much less crowded.

So, as long as I'm here--I'm planning a trip to Portugal in Sept or Oct 2024 or 2025. A Douro River cruise, followed by about 2 weeks around the country. Still working out the details. Any preference for Sept vs. Oct, weather-wise? We'd wanted to do Viking's cruise (having had to cancel 2 years ago during the pandemic), but the only date left for 2024 is late Oct, and I'm afraid of getting into bad weather in Nov. We looked at their 2025 Oct Douro cruises, but the price has almost doubled from the trip we'd booked for 2021 byt didn't go on.

Has anyone had experience with Avalon Waterways? Particularly their Douro cruise? The price is significantly lower than Viking's trip (partially-different itinerary as well), but I've read mixed reviews about their customer service (when folks have had issues that needed resolving).

Obrigada!