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Sagres, Lisbon, Porto in 10 days, with kid in tow

Posted by (NY) on

Husband, daughter, and I will be in Portugal for our first time, in two weeks. Looking for ideas or advice on our busy itinerary. Daughter is social/emotionally like an 8 year old, not much of a walker, mostly loves beach and pool, arts and crafts (hands on), loves a good playground, and this is her first time to Europe. I've tried to build in kid-friendly things, but also want husband and I to see and do things that we like too (this is NOT a Disney vacation!). Thanks for any tips and idea!

NY>Lisbon and transfer to Faro
Rent card, drive to Sagres
Stay at Martinhal Sagres (4 nights)
Explore Benagil Caves, maybe a day trip to Lagos, relax at pool and beaches near hotel

Drive to Lisbon
Turn in car
Stay in AirBnB near Praço do Comércio (3 nights)
Explore the surrounding area - what's close?
Booked a tuk tuk food tour through Eating Europe for 1st full day
Considering day trip to Sintra (to see the grounds at Pena, and explore the town of Sintra), but questioning this because it sounds like it's so crowded? Best to train or Uber/Bolt? Would like to have someone take us up to the top, as walking will be wrought with complaints.
Or could do day trip to Cascais? Or other ideas?

Train to Porto - high speed train
Stay in AirBnB near the puppet museum (4 nights)
Explore the surrounding area after we settle in - any must see/dos?
Booked a 2-hour tile painting class on 1st full day. What else should we see/do?
Day trip to Douro Valley (via train) on 2nd day - would do a short river boat tour while there, and ideally walk around, have lunch, maybe wine tasting at 1 winery, since this will not be interesting for our daughter
Final day - Ride the Gaia Cable Car to the bridge; walk along the Dom Luis I bridge to return to Porto

Return home: Porto>NY

Couple of logistical questions:
- What's the difference or benefit betw Uber and Bolt?
- I saw a note that perhaps the train betw Lisbon and Porto is not working at the moment. Please tell me that's not true...
- A friend and her family did a chocolate making class in Porto last summer, but I can't for the life of me find this online. Anyone have info?
- Any other ideas to make this fun and memorable, and maybe even interesting enough for her to want to see other parts of Europe in the future?

Thank you all!

Posted by
779 posts

I'm a bit confused. You said that you are staying in an AirBnB near Quinta da Regaleira. I thought that was in the Sintra area, 28 km outside of Lisbon. If that is true, then I suggest that you change your lodging to someplace in Lisbon, and day trip to Sintra if that appeals to you. Plenty to do in Lisbon and close by.

We used Uber in both Lisbon and Porto. It's pretty cheap and easy to use. Uber and Bolt are very similar and people on the forum use both. Some say Bolt is cheaper.

Regarding the train from Lisbon to Porto, have you looked at the official train website cp.pt? That's the only place that you should be using to get train schedules and tickets. Also note that there are four different train stations in Lisbon and three in Porto. You just need to look at a map to figure out which station to use.

There are two wineries within walking distance of the train station in Pinhão. I suggest that you make a reservation for a tour. Your daughter might find it interesting.

Posted by
8 posts

My. mistake, I was looking at multiple things when I wrote all that up! I've corrected it, but the AirBnB in Lisbon is near Praço do Comércio.

Will look at the train website, that's what I had originally looked at but I thought I saw a post in the forum about the train being down (perhaps that was an old post). Definitely need to identify closest train station for us to get to Porto.

And thank you, I had read that there are 2 wineries near the Pinhão train station, so I'll check to see if I can reserve a tour there. Thank you!

Posted by
1894 posts

Uber and Bolt are the same type of service. The same drivers drive for both. Uber app is a bit better. Bolt is usually a bit cheaper. I use both.

Sintra - and everywhere else - will be crowded the later part of June. But, Sintra will likely be more crowded than elsewhere. Walking around the grounds at Quinta de Regaleira will be less crowded than Pena and easier to get to.

I’ve heard nothing about train issues between Lisbon and Porto. As the other poster suggested, use the cp.pt website.
There is a nice park in Cascais, if you day trip here. Parque Marechal Carmona has lots of ducks and chickens that walk around amongst the visitors. Your daughter might enjoy it.

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