My daughter and I are coming to Portugal and Spain for her graduation present and I was wondering if this is too much too quick. We are arriving in Lisbon beginning of June and spending 3 days there and Sintra. Then we are heading to Obidos and staying in Nazere for two days. Then visiting Alcobaca and Batalha on the way to Obidos and staying there the night. The next day heading to Evora and spending the night there. Then next to Salema, spend the night there, visit Cape de Sagres, back to Salema for the night. The next day going to Lagos on the way to Sevilla. We left some time at the end of the trip to come back and see stuff we might not have seen. About three days or so. Does this seem doable. We are using buses the entire time and AirBnb.
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
It sounds like u are running from site to site.
U might consider slowing down abit.
Yes u may not see all the locations u list but u will savor them, which is worth alot, imo.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1666 posts
I totally agree with the previous poster. That's way too much traveling. If you are going to the Algarve, Nazare is really not worth your time IMO? Actually, it was one of my least favorite places on the Silver Coast. If you were to rent a car, you can easily drive from Obidos to Alcobaca and Batalha. However, if you visit Belem in Lisbon, it's very similar. I would suggest staying in Lisbon longer and doing day trips to Sintra and maybe Obidos.
Regarding the Algarve, Salema is very tiny with almost zero there. I was very disappointed I even took the extra ten minutes to drive there off the highway. Lagos is a large enough town to make it interesting with some amazing beaches and rock formations. Sagres is an easy drive from Lagos but I don't know about public transportation.
I definitely realize the temptation to try and see everything, but if you can force yourself to stay fewer places, you will enjoy your trip so much more, IMO. Rushing from place to place if you are on a tour so that someone else does a lot for you is doable - but not if you are navigating so many places on your own.
Posted by
Tunbridge Wells
6113 posts
I thought this was a form of driving torture in the form of a road trip, then the killer comment at the end about this being done by bus!! You must be two ladies with a lot of stamina. Public transport in Portugal is often slow, as this itinerary demonstrates.
Evora to Salema - by bus 6 hours 19 minutes, by train over 7 hours and driving 3 hours 18 minutes according to Rome2rio.com, which is a website that I suggest you consult for such a trip. Personally, I don't think Salema is worth such a journey. Sagres is an hour's visit if you can put up with the cold, near gale force winds for that long.
Your schedule includes far too many destinations. Luckily, it is before the schools break up for their summer break in Portugal. Accommodation bookings in Portugal are much higher than usual this year as people seek to find alternatives to Tunisia etc which are out of bounds, so try to stay in one destination longer if possible.
I recommend hiring a car, but don't take it into Spain as the one way drop fee will be high. Drop it at Faro and get the bus to Seville.
If you have to use public transport, scale back the number of changes. There is no need to visit Nazare and Salema, both of which are beach resorts. Salema is adding considerably to your journey time - stay in Lagos or better still, stay somewhere en route to Spain such as Tavira. Salema is very over-rated and there is none of the quaint fishing village left as it has been ruined by over development. Lagos town centre is charming.
Although Airbnb offers a variety of styles and prices of accommodation, there service fees are hefty, more so for short stays, which will add up over the days. Also look at booking.com.
Posted by
Porto - Portugal
233 posts
I would change the following:
- Lisbon 4 days instead of 3.
- Nazaré: why do you want to stay there? Although it's typical and nice, it's windy. The best of Nazaré are (besides de 7 skirts women allways use) their neighbours "Sítio" and "S. Martinho do Porto". But you see it all in one day. What I mean is not that the palces aren't nice, because they are, but you need more days to create a routine and enjoy what they have to offer. So if it was me, I would stay in Óbidos for the nigh, then visit Nazaré (and take the funicular to Sítio, a small place with great views, where a miracle happened a long time ago), Alcobaça - and maybe stay there for the nigh, as you are using public transports (the river had a course inside the Monastery so they can catch the fishes inside the kitchen), and next day Batalha (where a miracle did not happened because the arquitecht stayed there 3 days to prove Kind and the other the buiding roof was secure, but at the end he was dead although he proved the security of the place).
- From there, straight to Évora, staying two nights (that means one day).
- than form Évora to Spain (Mérida, Sevilha). Better roads. Going from Évora to Algarve, Sagre, and then Spain takes much longer, Keep an extra day ro two, to visit Algarve when coming back from Spain.
My advice above is just an opinion, and it is because you are taking public transport. If you had your own car, it would be different.
Helena