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Portugal late November (Thanksgiving)?

Posted by (Chicago) on

We're thinking about places to go over Thanksgiving, and were wondering if Portugal would fit the bill, as Portugal has always been on my list.

Trip would be 7 days, so I was thinking Porto (3 days) and Lisbon (3 days). We'd hire a car b/w Porto and Lisbon and tour something in between. While in Lisbon we'd make a day trip to Sintra. Based on research it looks like weather would be @ 60F/15C on the coast and maybe a little wet.

Questions for the forum:

Is this still a decent time to visit these cities?
Are we spending enough time in each place?
Other ideas for an itinerary in the region?

Thank you,
Howard

Posted by
7312 posts

When you say 7 days, how many nights in Portugal is that? (not counting the night on the plane)
I'll assume 7 nights (leaving on a Saturday, coming back on the Sunday).
If 7 nights, then you could spend 3 nights in Porto and 4 in Lisbon. I would take the train between the two cities, it is easy and you do not have much time to see anything en route anyway - best to maximize your time in Porto and Lisbon.

If only 6 nights, then I would either spend just 2 nights in Porto (a bit short to my liking, but you need those 3 full days in Lisbon if you want to go to Sintra), or simply spend the whole time in Lisbon and add another day trip, such as Evora.

Posted by
1826 posts

I agree that a better way to spend your time would be in Porto and Lisbon and taking the train between. With such a short amount of time, you can barely do the two cities justice IMO. If you book your train tickets ahead of time, it is amazingly inexpensive.

If you want to see outside of the two main cities, there are Douro valley day trips, Braga or Guimaraes in Porto. Outside of Lisbon is Sintra, Evora and even Cascais if you want a beach fix.

The weather around Thanksgiving is fairly warm but there is a bit of rain that time of the year. I think it’s a good time to visit as the tourist numbers are down and the sunny days are wonderful.

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