May 21-June 12 in and out of Lisbon airport.
We like to travel slower by staying places more days. Don’t need to see everything but just enjoy Portugal and the culture
I am considering landing and traveling away from Lisbon for the first stop at either Cascais Evora or Coimbra
I thought about renting a car but return prior to staying in Lisbon. Will the car make the trip easier? Will places we can get to and stop be worth the car?
So this is rough idea of trip 22 nights Hotels or airbnbs ? Or mix.
Evora 4-5 nights
Coimbra 4-5 nights
Porto 4-5 nights
Lisbon 6 nights
Other places considering
Alcabaca or cascais or nazare
Other ideas would be appreciated
And day trips to sintra Obidos the douro valley and a few more
Thanks
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
6572 posts
I’m partial to renting a car because it adds flexibility to stop at small out of the way places between lodging stops and you’re not dependent on train and bus schedules. Where you decide to go will determine which transportation method (rental car or public transportation) would be best.
Unless you’re taking day trips 4-5 nights in Coimbra, Porto, and Evora is probably too many. Alcobaca monastery is worthy of a couple hours, but there’s no reason to spend a night there. To me, Nazaré is worth a full day. It’s a typical beach town and will be very busy in May/June. Óbidos only needs a couple hours to see and will be overrun with tourists. With a rental car you could stop to visit it en route to or from Nazaré.
There are a number of things to see in the Braga area. Tomar is nice if you’re a Knights Templar fan. Near it is Almourol castle. We recently visited Fátima, Batalha monastery, Conimbriga Ruins, and Lamego’s Santuário de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios.
I will add that we started and ended in Madrid since renting a car there was substantially less than renting in Portugal.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
7569 posts
I thought about renting a car but return prior to staying in Lisbon. Will the car make the trip easier?
I think a car works well for Portugal, it will allow you to see more stops, spending a half day someplace like Obidos, then moving on. However, you will not want a car in Porto either, I would pickup in Lisbon, drop off in Porto. Take the train back to Lisbon.