We're taking the Heart of Portugal in late September. We cold use some advice:
1) Anything not on the guided part of the trip that you found in your free time to be outstanding?
2) Anything we need to purchase tickets for in advance that is not included?
Thanks,
We took this tour two years ago and loved it. We were planning to visit Sintra during free time but we got rained out. Make sure to wear very comfortable shoes because of the tile walkways. I’ve never had a problem with my feet until I wore the wrong shoes on this trip. Also, be prepared for a lot of up hill walking if you can’t find the elevators, or use Bolt. Bolt is like Uber and I hear it’s a bit cheaper.
Take a tuk tut tour to get a good overview of Lisbon.
Some tour members visited the tile museum.
In Coimbra the botanical gardens are nice.
In Porto, visit Gaia and the port houses.
Popular places requiring tickets can be sold out so make sure to check their website for availability for time and date you plan to visit.
Again, wear comfortable shoes.
Any chance you will be on the September 18th tour? That’s when I’m going.
Sorry, no. We're on the tour starting 9/16.
Full disclosure, I have not taken the tour you’ll be on but have visited Lisbon several times on my own. Looking at what’s included and the itinerary description for the tour, I would suggest many of the sights that Diane did.
During the RS tour city walks, you will no doubt see some wall murals and also encounter the fancy McDonalds in Porto. The tour probably does not ride on any of the trams funiculars or elevators (Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra), but I do suggest doing that on your free time to experience the excitement and of navigating their very steep hills and narrow streets. It’s fun - be aware on Lisbon tram 28 though; sometimes pick pockets.
Along with the tile museum, check out the coach museum. I really liked viewing all the many fanciful horse buggies and coaches in Lisbon.
For Porto, if you will be going to the Gaia port houses, I suggest looking online for some of the more popular houses and book your English tour ahead. When I went in the later afternoon, the English tours were booked. Of course, you can visit the port houses and have tastings without a tour but if you are at all interested in port wine and how it becomes port, a tour is nice. I took the water taxi from Porto to Gaia but I believe you could walk across the Ponte Dom Luis I bridge. Coming back from Gaia, after disembarking the water taxi, I stood in line for the funicular that leaves from the Porto Ribeira area to arrive at the top of the steep hill, saving me some energy. Maybe this is TMI, but I wanted to give you some ideas on how to get around Lisbon and Porto.
Have fun on your tour - I wish I could live in Portugal.
