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Portugal Itinerary

For our first trip to Portugal this is our 13-day tentative itinerary, in order of appearance:

  • depart US
    • 3 nights in Lisbon
    • 1 night in Sintra (?) or 4th night in Lisbon
    • 1 night in Evora
    • 1 night in Obidos
    • 2 nights in Coimbra
    • 2 nights in the Douro Valley (Pinhao, etc.)
    • 3 nights in Porto
  • return to US

We decided to skip southern Portugal and the Algarve region on this trip.
Does this seem reasonable? Please give us your feedback if we are missing some places or perhaps overstaying anywhere.

Thanks.

Posted by
28247 posts

Obidos is very small. It might be possible to avoid an overnight stop there, so you wouldn't have three one-nighters in a row. The packing up and changing hotels bit gets old.

Posted by
5 posts

Should we skip our overnight in Obidos and head to Nazare for two nights?
We could move Evora up a day, or skip it altogether. Is Coimbra worth two nights?

Posted by
28247 posts

I haven't been to Nazare, but I believe it's rather small, and I've read that it is quite touristy now and has lost much of its charm. Obviously, that's second-hand information, but it doesn't sound like the sort of place I would want to spend even one night, much less two. Note, though, that I have no interest whatsoever in beaches.

Coimbra is a city of some size, and I think two nights there is fine.

As for Evora, I can only say that I've always wanted to go there but haven't made it yet.

Posted by
221 posts

My wife and I visited all of these stops last June, with the exception of Coimbra. We went to Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon by train, and found it very easy to do- I prefer that to a one night stand, especially with all the nighttime activity available in Lisbon. As was mentioned previously, Obidos can be seen in a few hours. It is possible as a break in the long drive from Evora to Coimbra- that is, assuming you are driving. As for Nazare, I would recommend it only if you want to spend time on the beach. Otherwise, it does not add anything to your experience that you won't be getting elsewhere. We spent two nights there as a base from which to visit Obidos, Batalha and the like. Also, we only booked a room in Nazare one day in advance, from Pinhao, once we knew the weather forecast was good. I think spending the first four days in Lisbon, and the last five in Pinhao and Porto will make for a great trip. In between, I'd suggest two two-night stops, selected from Evora, Coimbra and the Obidos/Nazare area.

Posted by
1824 posts

I agree with the others about spending another night in Lisbon and do Sintra as a day trip. There are others that really like Sintra but I'm not at all fond of the town part of the city so wouldn't care to spend the night there. And, it's so easy to train from Lisbon. Be sure to get an early start, though, as it is crowded most of the time.
I also agree that Óbidos is worth a couple of hours but not much more. It could easily be a stop on your way to Coimbra. And, I was very unimpressed with Nazaré. But, I love Evora. I spent two nights last summer and did a day trip last month and still would like to go back. One of my favorite things was a Megalith tour. It is run by an archeologist and was amazing. It's worth spending a second night just to do this tour.

Be sure to plan some down time during your trip. Spending several hours eating lunch or just drinking coffee or wine at a miradouro in Lisbon or on the riverfront in Porto is such a pleasure. To me, it's one of the big things that makes Portugal so enjoyable!