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Suggestions for 22-day stay in Portugal.

Hi everyone,
We will be in Portugal from Oct. 2 to Oct. 22 this fall. I'd love some suggestions concerning our itinerary. We will be flying from Vancouver, B.C. to Lisbon. We have our Lisbon hotel booked for 5 nights (I usually get slammed by jet lag and it takes me 2-3 days to find out how to sleep again). We plan to do a day trip to Sintra. I would also like to see Cascais and Estoril and imagine that we can get to them by train or bus. I would like to take a private guided tour of Lisbon for a day to give us a feel about the city but have no information yet about how to do that. We will be renting a car as we leave Lisbon. Originally we planned to spend some days around Evora but now we are thinking of concentrating more of our time seeing the Douro Valley and Porto. We are thinking of spending 5 nights in Porto, after perhaps turning in the car when we arrive and taking the train back to Lisbon for the flight home. Lisbon for a total of 6 nights and Porto for 5 nights means that there are 9 nights remaining for us. There is so much I want to see between Lisbon and Porto but I really want to get north to drive the road from Regua to Pinhao before heading down to Porto. I would like to have 2 full days to explore the area around these two towns. Does anyone have a good suggestion of a place to use as a base camp for 3 nights? I would also love to hear from someone who has driven down the Douro to Porto.
Does anyone have a suggestion of where we could stay between Lisbon & Regua/Pinhao and do day trips from there to see some of the Silver Coast-Obidos-Alcobaca-Fatima-Coimbra-Other? I would prefer to be in one place and drive rather then moving to new lodgings. Perhaps 2 stops on the way to the Douro Valley would be best and afford us the opportunity to see a few sights at a leisurely pace.
This is has gone on long enough. Thank you in advance for any! suggestions. I do love our forum here.
FirIslander

Posted by
395 posts

Our trip is Sep 20 - Oct 11.
Lisboa (5 nights), Coimbra (4), Aveiro (3), Porto (5), Lisboa (4).
Trains, no cars. Love trains. Love walking. Can't park a car in 3 of the 4 cities anyway.
AirB&B. No hotels. Seem to be less money and they have washer/dryers.

I read Yelp reviews every day for Lisboa and Porto. Love to eat. Also read TripAdvisor.
Using Planapple.com to save info.

In Lisboa: 3 different day trips- Sintra, Belem, 28E (I love trams)
Coimbra: day trip to Conimbraga.
Porto: Douro River train trip. Tua (the dam), Regua (Museau do Douro, late lunch), Lamego (the stairs).
Aviero for down time.

Learning Portugues ar Memrise.com . Expect ot have 150 hours in when I get on the plane.

Posted by
1654 posts

It's an easy train ride from Lisbon to Cascais and Estoril. Take the train from the Cais do Sodre train station/metro stop. Cascais is the last stop so you can't miss it. Estoril is third from last stop. If you decide to come this way, I can give you some ideas of how to spend the day.

Regarding a walking tour in Lisbon - Your Friend in Lisbon does a great orientation walking tour. I did a tour with them on my scouting trip before moving here and have never regretted the money spent. They show you the 'secret' ways to help navigate the hills, give you a great history lesson and generally help you get oriented to Lisbon.

I also stayed a week in São Martinho do Porto on the silver coast during that scouting trip. From there, we did day trips to many of the places you mention.

Lastly, the small towns in the Douro are very small towns. The big draw in that area are the wineries and quintas. I don't know that Régua and Pinhao will fill two days but you could spend many days touring wineries.

Posted by
1499 posts

In response to your previous question I recommended Pinhao as a town to stay in the Douro Valley. If you do stay in Pinhao and have extra time you may be interested in seeing the pre-historic rock art at Foz Coa, about a 1.5 hour drive from Pinhao. You must reserve in advance as only 8 people may visit at one time and it involves a jeep ride from the museum. We found it well worth the drive, very informative, and something very different from the wineries.

From Lisbon to Regua/Pinhao you could stay at Nazare and Coimbra. From Lisbon you can stop at Obidos on the way to Nazare. This is a beach town with great views of the sea where you can relax after your day trips. In October many of the Silver Coast beach towns will be deserted but Nazare has many restaurants and some sights which can occupy you after your day trips. From Nazare you can visit Alcobaca and Fatima both of which are fairly close. You might also add Tomar and Batalha which are in the same area and also worth visiting. From Nazare you could stay in Coimbra, which is closer to Regua/Pinhao. On your way to Coimbra from Nazare you can visit the Roman ruins of Conimbriga if that interests you. On your drive from Coimbra to R/P you might stop at the beautiful town of Lamego. You can google these locations to see pictures which can help you decide if any are worth your time.

I hope this is not too much information and that it will be of some help.

Posted by
94 posts

Thank you very much for the replies. kathrynj, thank you for the specific train information reguarding getting out to see Cascais and Estoril. That is just the information I love getting. Also, thank you for mentioning São Martinho do Porto, I was unfamiliar with it and it is in exactly the location I would like to stay for some days (3 nights) before moving on toward Quinta de Tourais where we now have a reservation. I am considering making reservations at Hotel Palace do Capitão there in São Martinho do Porto. Do you have any other lodging recommendations in this area?
I am also going to look up Your Friend in Lisbon for that orientation tour.
Thank you again for your help.
FirIslander

Posted by
94 posts

Carol, thank you for your information and suggestions. I am now going to look into staying 3 nights in or around Coimbra and thanks to you I am excited to see the ruins in Conimbriga. I was unaware of them before. And, Quinta de Tourais (where we will be staying) is in Lamego, so we will be able to see that town as you suggested.
Do you have any suggestions for lodging in Coimbra?
Thanks you again for all your help, it is wonderful.
FirIslander

Posted by
1499 posts

Sorry but I don't have any recommendation for a place to stay in Coimbra. We stayed in a small family run B&B years ago but while it was ok, it's not a place I would recommend. We usually find our hotels through booking.com so you might check there if you don't get any recommendations from anyone else here. We have been to Portugal many times and always seem to discover more to see. I hope you have a wonderful trip and that you will want to return!

Posted by
1654 posts

Regarding lodging in São Martinho - we rented an apartment for a week, so don't have any hotel recommendations.. Another poster mentioned booking.com. When I use hotels instead of apartments, that's the website I use, too. I like having the ratings and reviews to help me make a decision.
Have fun with your planning.

Posted by
1499 posts

Just as an FYI - booking.com also lists some apartments and we have rented several through them in various countries over the past few years.

Posted by
7595 posts

We did a wonderful 7 day cruise on the Douro River. Also, we spent two nights in Porto at the InPatio Guesthouse. It is centrally located near the river and restaurants. It is simply the best B & B that we have ever visited.

Our cruise was with an American Company, but Douro Azul is the local Portuguese company.