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Request for Itinerary feedback - 3N Sesimbra 2N Tomar 2N Evora 3N Lagos 3N Lisbon

Posted by (Denver, Colorado) on

Hello! I’m planning a trip to Portugal for Sept 2026. It’s me and Nick and will be our first time to Portugal, although fourth time to Europe. We both still work (boo!) so I have a max of 14-16 days which would include a couple days to recover after returning. I would appreciate if you kind folks could give me any feedback on my itinerary.

3N Sesimbra, 2N Tomar, 2N Evora, 3N Lagos, 3N Lisbon

This trip we’re targeting some beach time but also love seeing castles, ruins, cathedrals, and other cool historical things. Tomar is a must-see for the Knights Templar history. I’ve gone back and forth about dropping Evora since it seems like an outlier, but there are some dolmens nearby and that’s exactly what we love to see. For beach time, I am more of a sit and admire the ocean type of person, while Nick will want to swim (a lot) unless the water would be too cold at that time of year?

We’d rent a car at some point while in Sesimbra (wondering if that is an option, or if we’d need to go back to Lisbon proper to rent?). I am concerned about some of the drive times. We do fine on road trips, but I know I will need to pad the drive time estimates for things like parking, getting lost. I excel at getting lost! Haha! I am considering returning the car in Lagos (unless there is a large one-way drop off fee?) and training back to Lisbon.

Here is the general plan:

N1 – fly from Denver
N2 – Sesimbra, arrive Lisbon, taxi to Sesimbra (40 min)
N3 – Sesimbra
N4 – Sesimbra (pick up rental car on this day?)
N5 – Tomar (car, 110 mi, 2.5 hr) (stop in Obidos along the way?)
N6 – Tomar
N7 – Evora (car, 106 mi, 2.5 hr) (stop in Santarem along the way?)
N8 – Evora
N9 – Lagos (car, 155 mi, 3.5 hr)
N10 – Lagos
N11 – Lagos (drop off car)
N12 – Lisbon (4hr train, 11:00am-ish from Lagos, transfer in Tunes, arrive 3pm)
N13 – Lisbon
N14 – Lisbon
fly back to Denver

I could maybe add one more night. i looked really hard at trying to include Porto and Duoro Valley, but Lagos won out in the end. I think it's good to stay in this general area and leave Porto and north parts for another trip (hopefully!).

Thanks for taking a look and giving feedback, suggestions! :)
-Morgan

Posted by
1965 posts

If you want some beach time, there is no need to go all the way to Lagos. The Algarve area is really just about the beaches IMO. Since you want to do Tomar, you will be close to the Silver Coast area. There are a number of places with very nice beaches with not nearly as much driving.

And, the beaches are quite nice in the Sesimbra area. There may be a train at least part way to Sesimbra . I would check that out at cp.pt before spending the money for a taxi or uber. Uber is quite good in Portugal and less expensive than a taxi. I was underwhelmed with Santarem.

If you do Evora (which I really like), try to do a tour with Ebora Megalithica. They do a great job with the dolman and megaliths in the area.

In the Silver Coast area, there are also Alcobaca and Batalha - two lovely old monasteries that are worth a visit.

Auto Europe is great for car rentals. The site will tell you if Sesimbra has an office or two. I’m guessing it is possible.

Posted by
1542 posts

I agree with Kathryn in suggesting the beaches along the silver coast and it will save you more time if you don’t go all the way to the Algarve. As for Evora, please do double check with Ebora megalith to see if they are currently doing tours. when I was there this year, access to one of the main sites was cut off due to road damage and I was unable to take their tour. but the tour operator was very kind in setting me up with a personal tour by Taxi to some of the other megalithic sites. I ended up having a very nice time But it was a workaround. Please do check with Ebora megalithic to make sure that they are running the tours.

also, I will say, that Evora was very hot in September when I was there. 87°F I believe. Make sure you hydrate if you are out at these sites in the heat.

Posted by
212 posts

Thank you both for your replies. will definitely put in my notes to check with Ebora tours to make sure the dolmen site is open for when we hope to tour it.
Batalha was another town on my list and appears to be just 40 miles from Tomar. So many places to visit and so little time. :)
We could move the trip into October. I wonder if flights would be a little less at that time? I will have to check on if the water temperatures are very much less in early October versus September. I can't imagine it would drop too much, though, in just a couple of weeks.

Thank you again!

Posted by
1965 posts

Early October is usually glorious weather, a few fewer tourists and the water isn’t cooler than September since temps remain quite warm. This year, we are having our first cooler snap right now. I was still wearing shorts, short sleeve t shirts and flip flops in my house last week. Highs are still close to 70., but nights are quite cool.

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