Hello good people
We are four adults in the planning stages of our first trip to Portugal. We plan to arrive mid September
We have a rough draft so far:
4 nights in Lisbon-time to explore the many neighborhoods in Lisbon along with a day trip to Sintra and Cascais. We plan to visit these sites using public transportation from Lisbon.
When we leave Lisbon, our plan is to rent a car and go to Evora and spend one night.
From Evora, we are planning to drive to Ciombra, stopping in Tomar, then 2 nights in Coimbra
From Coimbra we are planning on driving to Porto for 3 nights. Our plans are to visit Bragas, Guimaraes and take a Douri Valley cruise.
How does this look? Do we need a car in Porto to visit Bragas & Guimaraes?
Thank you in advance
Susan
Posted by
18 posts
we're doing a few similar thing as you this October.
from Porto, we are taking the train to Pinhao in the Douro valley, then a boat tour for a few hours from Pinhao to Tua (i think)
also from Porto, we are taking the train to Guimaraes and renting the car there instead of having to drive out of Porto. then we go up to Peneda Geres Park for 2 nites.
i have a recent post about restaurants in the smaller towns we are visiting.
have fun!
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1665 posts
You seem to be trying to cover too many places in your short time here, IMO. Four days in Lisbon is about right but trying to see Sintra and Cascais in one day isn’t really doable. Seeing two of the sites in Sintra with lunch is a pretty full day. And, anything less than three days in Lisbon isn’t enough.
Driving to Evora for just one night will not really give you time to enjoy Evora. I would suggest dropping either Evora or Coimbra and spending your nights in just one of these towns. There is plenty to fill two days in either place, especially if you do a Megalith tour in Evora (amazing) or try to see Coninbraga which is also pretty great.
And, three nights in Porto doesn’t give you time for day trips to Braga and Guimarães. I just spent 5 nights in Porto with no day trips except to Matosinhos and didn’t run out of things to do.
I would suggest not having a car in either Lisbon or Porto. There are tour companies that do day trips or you can easily train to Braga or Guimarães.
Slowing down and not rushing from place to place will greatly enhance your enjoyment of the trip IMO, but I definitely understand wanting to see as much as you can.
Posted by
Porto, Portugal
80 posts
Hello mztish,
It's great you're coming to Portugal ;)
I agree with some parts of the previous comments. Since you're heading north, you could drop Évora (for another time) and visit Tomar and then Coimbra. Tomar is a very beautiful town and you can spend at least a morning and part of the afternoon there visiting the historic centre and the wonderful castle and convent of Christ.
A day trip to Sintra and Cascais won't definitely work since there is a lot of things to see and places to visit - I consider Sintra one of the most beautiful towns in Portugal even though it's too touristy for my taste... You'd need at least one whole day there ;)
You won't need a car to go to Guimarães and/or Braga - you can easily take the train in São Bento or Campanhã train stations ;) I think you should choose only one of these two since you'll need at least two days to enjoy part of Porto (at least the historic centre) without rushing things...
Enjoy Portugal ;)
Posted by
OP
California
21 posts
Thank you all for your insight. We are still in the planning stages so this information is very helpful!
From Lisbon, we were planning a day trip to Sintra and another day trip to Cascais with two days to explore Lisbon neighborhoods. How does that sound?
If we add a night in Evora, that shoild make the visit more enjoyable and less rushed. Then when we leave Evora, rent a car, spend a day in Tomar, continue to Coimbra for two nights to have time to explore Coimbra & Tomar without rushing...or is that still too rushed?
Then drop the car in Coimbra and continue to Porto. Perhaps add one more nigth in Porto? that would make it 4 nights. we do want to see as much as we can and also have time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Will adding two nights for a total of 12 accomplish this goal?
Thank you in advance!