Portugal Wedding

Posted by westlaketraveler on 07/27/23 12:07 AM

My husband and I have flights to Lisbon arriving on Sept 26 from Ohio. We have a family wedding in Lisbon on Saturday, Sept 30. We have lodging for 6 nights, leaving on Monday, Oct 2 for Porto where we will stay 3 nights before returning home on Oct 5.
Musts on my list include a day tour to Sintra from Lisbon and a day trip to Douro Valley from Porto. I have been reading FaceBook posts on a site Travel Portugal and wondered if anyone has used them for tour guide recommendations. Wondering about a day tour in each city as well. Would enjoy Coimbra, but not sure we will have time. There is a boat trip in Lisbon the night before the wedding and the wedding is at 5 pm the next evening, so will probably just tour around Lisbon on our own those two days. Would appreciate any recommendations on our plans -
Day 1 tour on our own to acclimate to time change
Day 2 possible tour of city
Day 3 tour Sintra
Day 4 evening boat trip
Day 5 wedding
Day 6 Coimbra via train or tour, or just stay in Lisbon?
Day 7 train to Porto
Day 8 Tour Douro Valley
Day 9 tour of Porto
Day 10 flight home

Thank you so much. We are interested in the culture and the landscape of Portugal.

Posted by jules m

Twin Cities of MN

07/27/23 12:38 AM

6600 posts

I also followed Travel Portugal on Facebook. There are more people in that group than the Rick Steves Forum. I found the information there to be very helpful. In particular, there is a Pedro who is an administrator of the group and I would trust what he says, for sure. We are not ones to take tours, but if we did, I would trust that group, especially over something like Viator. We found it easy to get to Sintra independently from Lisbon.

If you are interested in Coimbra, you could do it on an overnight stop between Lisbon and Porto, on your own. However, I’m not sure you have enough time for it.

Julie Dawn Fox is another great source of information.

Posted by Suki

07/27/23 12:29 PM

11616 posts

Try to include Coimbra!

Posted by chale

07/28/23 02:50 AM

43 posts

MaiTai Tom has a blog site that has a great review of his trip to Portugal in 2022. His site is Travels with MaiTai Tom. He has beautiful photography and is a very entertaining writer.

Posted by westlaketraveler OP

08/25/23 04:37 PM

20 posts

Thank you for your responses. I am trying to decide on a Douro Valley tour right now - would like a semi-private with no more than 8 guests. We are looking for a tour for middle age, not a party tour. Enjoy the beauty of the area, history, winery or two, and delicious lunch overlooking the vineyards. Any recommendations appreciated.

Posted by Syd

Virginia

08/25/23 06:25 PM

127 posts

We had a car in the Duoro Valley so I can't comment on tours but if you can't find one that suits you I have another option. You could take the train to Pinhao. It is a small town but plenty of what you want. (We stayed there overnight). Wine tasting and lunch at Quinta de la Rosa (walking distance from the train/town). They do nice red and white table wines in addition to very nice Ports (especially their Ruby). We had one lunch and two dinners with them and it was the best food we had in Portugal. (Book ahead!) The other direction out of town is Quinta do Bomfim (also walkable) for a more traditional Port tasting- it is Symington so it is one of the large operations. (I think there may be other smaller vineyards nearby depending on how much walking you want to do- remember the land gets steep very fast). There are rabelo boat tours from the center of town that will take you further upstream for a great view of the beautiful vineyards.

If you are looking at tours from Porto, you might also look for ones from Regua or Pinhao, taking the train to meet up. It might give you more options (?)

and another vote for Coimbra ;) Check into booking to see the University library, it is spectacular.