Thoughts on Car Hire v. Train from Porto to Lisbon (and which city to see in 3-4 hours if car?)

I would definitely advise taking the train from Porto to Lisbon. I can't really see the cost/benefit for hiring a driver for that distance considering the minimal amount of time you would have to visit a city on the way. You can get to Coimbra from either Porto or Lisbon on the train. Your day 2 or 4 could be a day trip to Coimbra and then take the train to Lisbon on day 5.

Don’t go to the expense of a driver. The train is so easy. And, you really could see a bit of either Coimbra or Aveiro from the train. The others, not so much.

Go Walks does a very nice walking tour in Coimbra that includes the university library. The biggest issue with stopping in Coimbra is baggage storage. A few years ago, it was practically nonexistent and I don’t have current info.

I'd definitely go with the train. The train Porto to Lisbon route is one of the best and easiest around. The car seems like an unnecessary expense, but it is a pleasant way to travel. I have used private drivers and driven myself all over Europe, but we like to visit places not easily visited by public transportation and we have disability issues. I think it depends on the style in which you like to travel.

I'm curious as to why you are including Lagos on this trip. Yes, you would need a car to get there. The beach won't be great. Do you have a specific reason to go? Family or friends perhaps? Maybe you could save it for another time.

Rather than driving to some of the destinations you mentioned, you could add a couple of days to Porto and/or Lisbon and day trip. Evora, Sintra and Coimbra are no problem by train from Lisbon. By train, even If you wanted to overnight in any of these towns, no problem. With your current draft plan, considering the time you need to pick up the car, drive to Evora, have lunch and drive to Lagos, you'd barely have a couple hours in Evora -- not much time to see it at all. From Porto, Aveiro is easy to reach by train.

Obidos won't work by train. By car, three or four hours in Obidos would certainly be enough, but IMHO, it is overrated. For this destination, it's the atmosphere you're after. On the up side, there will be fewer tourists in March-April, but if it's rainy or cool, it won't be fun or easy to walk around. And it won't be as pretty-all the bougainvillea won't be blooming. To me it was hardly worth the time it took to get there by car, too.

Thank you! This makes sense for seeing cities easily accessed by train (Coimbra, Aveiro) from either Porto or Lisbon. Tomar and Obidos seemed easier to access by car but I'll have to do more research to decide which sites are more of interest to us. Since it's our first time to Portugal I'm balancing the urge to see as much as possible, against wanting to absorb the feel of fewer places.

Thanks for your thoughts Wanderlust! We're including the Lagos area to experience and hopefully do some hiking along the beautiful and dramatic coast and to visit spots like the Benagil caves by boat if weather allows. In my pre-pandemic planning, the Algarve was included b/c I found a hotel there (in Almancil) where I could use up time-share points via Interval Intl (b/c of the resort inventory there) --- once I started researching the area more, I was drawn in by the natural beauty and it has stayed on my Portugal 'must see' list ever since, tho I've swapped the Almancil hotel with an airbnb in Lagos...