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Stops between Porto and Lisbon

I am taking a tour that ends in Porto on April 11 and a second tour that starts in Lisbon on April 16. My sister lives in Porto, and I will spend some of that time with her, but she has warned that it's a lot of time to spend in Porto, and we will run out of things to do. (The tour also includes three nights in Porto.) I don't mind having some downtime between the two tours, but five extra days there seems like a lot.

So there are a few options, and I want to ask for some feedback on what to do for those five days.

  1. Do day trips from Porto, either solo or with my sister. (She doesn't have a car; renting would be an option, but train or bus would be preferable.) Possibilities: Coimbra, Aveiro, somewhere else?
  2. Leave Porto a day or two early and stay overnight somewhere between Porto and Lisbon. Same possibilities.
  3. Leave Porto a day or two early and go on to Lisbon. The second tour includes three nights in Lisbon, including a day trip to Sintra, and then two nights in Évora before continuing to southern Spain. I could have more time to explore Lisbon on my own, or I could do day trips from Lisbon. Same possibilities, and also would love to visit Óbidos, which seems easier to get to from Lisbon than from Porto.

What do you think?

Posted by
357 posts

Day trips from Porto ( if not included in your tour).
Braga accessible by train or bus.
Guimarães accessible by train or bus.
Another option: day cruise on the Douro river, upriver on the boat, overnight in Régua ( with visit to local winery) return by train.

On the way to Lisbon overnight in Coimbra.

In Lisbon ( besides the city itself) take the train to Cascais area beaches.

Posted by
4575 posts

We spent 10 days in Portugal in September that included 3 days in Porto which didn't give us any downtime. We had driven from Lisbon with stops in Obidos and Fatima. Fatima was OK, and we loooved Obidos. We made a day trip from Lisbon to Sintra and wished we'd spent the night so we could have an extra day. Loved the Moorish Castle, underwhelmed by Pena Palace. Here's my Trip Report if it helps. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-part-1-hills-and-castles-portugal