Portugal Itinerary for May

Lisbon is hilly. The Baixa area is the only flat area I saw, and where I stayed. You can find good places to eat everywhere!

The fast trains (AP, IC) will get you from Lisbon to Faro in 3-3.5 hours, to Lagos in 4 hrs. I don't know the Algarve. You may need a car there for sightseeing along the coast.

I didn't find driving particularly difficult but driving times can be longer than what google maps says. and traffic in/out of Lisbon can be miserable if you're in rush hour. GPS was essential for me.

When you say 3 days, I'm assuming you mean 3 nights. That is essentially 2 full days in each place. That means 1 full day for sights in Lisbon and in Porto, plus 1 full day for your day trip in each. Too fast-paced for me but I am definitely in the slow traveler category.

I’m only counting 9 nights, so staying in three places - none of them close together - will result in traveling from place to place rather than actually seeing any of them very well. Each of these moves will take most of the day by the time you check out and back in hotels, drive or make train schedules, etc.

I would strongly encourage you to pick two only with such a short time. There are beautiful beaches in the Lisbon area, some with rock formations. Admittedly, not as spectacular as the Algarve. There is also great hiking around Sintra.

Chiado or Baixa would be my recommendation for a hotel in Lisbon. Especially Chiado, has great restaurants in abundance.

If you must do the Algarve, driving is easy. Take the train rather than drive there as it would spare you driving in the Lisbon area, which you don’t want to do! And, my choice for where to stay in the Algarve is Lagos. A lot of the rock formations that are in many pictures are right outside Lagos.

All this said, I would choose to split your time between Porto and Lisbon with an extra day or two in Lisbon and skip the Algarve this time. I know how hard it is to forego seeing as much as possible in a trip. But, slowing down a bit will allow you to really appreciate this wonderful country.

I second everything that Kathryn says - unless you want to spend a huge proportion of your holiday in transit, drop the Algarve. It will take 9 hours to get from the Algarve to Porto. The one thing I disagree with Kathryn is the quality of the drivers in the Algarve - although the roads are generally good, I have seen many near misses on the roads due to some appalling driving such as overtaking on blind bends.

You will be short changing Lisbon with only 2 days there. Portuguese beaches don’t really have a festive environment. Some beaches have low key beach cafes, but most don’t.

Due to the prevailing winds, evenings in coastal Portugal are cool, particularly in fringe seasons, so you will need a sweater or cardigan.

Thank you for the replies. Yes, I did mean to spend 3 full days in each place. It is good to know there is a fast train to Lagos. I still want to visit the Algarve since I don't know when we will have the chance to visit this area again and we are not getting any younger. It also adds a little diversity to the trip. I will find a way to make it work. @ Jennifer , the 9 hour trip from Lagos to Porto, is it on the train or driving? Maybe we could find a halfway point to spend the night.

I have been perusing the Airbnb options in Lisbon and Lagos and they look quite attractive. The only thing is the no elevator options in Lisbon. We don't mind the stairs but with luggage, it could be difficult. We might have to use the RS strategy of traveling with a carryon.

We live on an island on the coast of Georgia and never do the beach overseas.

I am sure the Algarve is nice, but based on my research, it is mainly for going to the beach, which you can do in North America or the Caribbean.

We love Portugal.
Lisbon deserves three days by itself. Also, consider a day trip to Evora and another to Sintra.
Obidos and Bathila Cathedral on the way to Porto.

Porto is fabulous. Do two days for Porto and add more for the Douro Valley. Take a cruise and /or do the train that runs on the north side of the river.

The In Patio Guesthouse in Porto is a fabulous B&B. Don't miss it, book early it only has five rooms..

Option:
ARRIVAL Porto DEPART Faro by air. TRAIN Faro to Lisbon. TRAIN Lisbon to Porto.

Rental car is required in Algarve if you would like flexibility. Faro airport is probably has the most options. Consider drop off fee if you would like to drop it somewhere else. We rented from a local company in Lisbon for over a week to drop off in Faro with no extra fee except days in Spain. Transponder included.

Faro's sites are under rated by RS's followers. We enjoyed walking the old town, climbing the tower of the church to see where the Bishop resides, bones, food and people. We went to the blue tiled church too. A bit of hype and no pics allowed. Evora's blue tiled church was a better experience.

Burgau is about 2 hours from Faro on the toll road. Maybe, twice as long on the non toll road. A small community with a great beach and lodging with a balcony looking out over the beach. Cliffside walks either east or west to an upscale area or a non-upscale area.

Have to go now. There are beaches west of Sintra and south of Lisbon. Back later with experiences.

we did Similar trip in April. But we had 19 nights and it was not too much. I also think The Algarve's is a lot. You will be spending a lot of time going from one place to another,

We did Lisbon 5 nights, stayed in Alfama. A wonderful Airbnb.A lot of hills but we are closer to 60 than 50 and had no problem. We visited Sintra on our own by train and hop on bus.Also did two bike tours which were awesome.

Took the high speed train to Porto. Book early and save more than 50%. Stayed three days, Visited everything by walking. stayed in an awesome but a lot of steps Airbnb close to the train station.

rented a car and drove to the Douro Valley. stayed in Aricera, wonderful wonderful Airbnb called Outros Tempos. only one night our only regret we did not stay at least two.

the rest of our trip was travelling from Douro to Albuferia . If you have any questions let me know.

While busy, the following itinerary wouldn't be crazy assuming you successfully fly into Lisbon and out of Porto as planned :
- Lisbon 4 nights (3 really not enough if you want to go to Sintra)
- train to your chosen Algarve destination (3-4 hours), there are car rental options in Lagos, Albufeira and Faro at least. Stay 3 nights, May will be quiet.
- fly Faro to Porto, stay 3-4 nights (you can see the highlights of Porto in a full day at a stretch)

So 10 nights minimum.