Portugal Two weeks, mid-December, 2021

Posted by barry on 10/22/21 03:09 PM

First trip to Portugal (12-17 days, flights not booked yet); a few quick questions for December travel:

Lisbon, Porto, Faro - too much to cover? If yes, suggestions/limits?
We have driven/trained through other parts of Europe - how does Portugal compare to other parts of Europe for getting around?
This is our first trip back to Europe since COVID - prior to COVID, we tended towards AirB&Bs, occasionally non-chain hotels; almost never chain hotels. What are people's thoughts and experiences?

Thank you in advance!

Posted by Jennifer

Tunbridge Wells

10/22/21 03:37 PM

6113 posts

Forget Faro and the Algarve in December and in your timeframe. Faro is a functional working city - the interesting old town could fill a couple of hours but it’s not the place to be based on the Algarve. The Algarve is all about beaches and golf and December isn’t the best time for these activities. You need a car for the Algarve, but there’s a good train service from Lisbon to the Algarve and to Porto.

Your timescale would suit 5-6 days in Lisbon including a day trip to Cascais. Add another day if you want to see Sintra.

Then hire a car and cover some of the interesting towns north - possibly an overnight stay in Evora then a couple of hours in Obidos and visit Alcobaca, Batalha, Fatima, Santarem, Tomar, Coimbra (worth 2 days here) and Aveiro en route to Porto. You need at least a full day for Porto and another for the Douro.

Ideally fly back from Porto to avoid spending a day back tracking to Lisbon.

Posted by Janis

WA State

10/22/21 04:28 PM

3961 posts

I like Jennifer’s recommendations. I agree to omit Algarve. I can’t comment on Dec. travel. We were there in the month of September. We spent a night in Evora, 2N in Coimbra and did the day trips mentioned by Jennifer. (See itinerary for RS Portugal Tour as an example of our time in Portugal). On our own we did a great day Tour to Sintra/Cascais with- Edited to add. https://lisbonriders.com/ Small, comfortable van, knowledgeable and personable guide (Manuel). Great day!

Posted by kathrynj

Cascais, Portugal

10/23/21 06:43 AM

1669 posts

I agree with the others about the Algarve. Skip it this time. The other suggestions have been good also.

Regarding travel in December. It will likely be cool and rainy for at least part of the time. But, winter also has glorious sunny days warm enough to eat outside. The tourism is down other than right around Christmas so your timing is good.

Getting around in Portugal is pretty easy. The trains are inexpensive but not as plush as other European countries. Driving out side of Lisbon and Porto is easy. The toll roads are expensive which makes them sparsely utilized.

I started traveling again during the summer and have rented apartments and stayed in hotels. I’ve found all the options to be taking extra measures and haven’t felt at risk.