Thoughts on high-level 2 week Itinerary to Portugal – Mid May

Posted by rahas530 on 12/16/24 01:52 AM

Hi,

I am planning our first trip to Portugal (including the Azores) next year in mid May and would love some feedback on it. I haven't booked anything yet so there is flexibility to move things around.

Some context - we are a couple travelling from the US in mid May for 14 to 17 days. In terms of interests, we are nature enthusiasts and love scenic, breathtaking views, hiking (beginner to medium level), bird watching and whale and marine wildlife watching tours. We enjoy big cities (enjoy historical architecture/sites, local culture and good food) but prefer to spend less time in them. We don’t swim so beaches/natural pools might be pitstops on our trip but likely wont be a big part of our itinerary. Don’t drink so same case with vineyards. We plan to rent a car during our trip.

Here is the breakdown of our high level itinerary:

Day 1: Fly to Lisbon from NYC (stay 2 nights in Lisbon or 1 full day)

Day 2: Sleep in Lisbon

Day 3: Fly to Madeira (stay 3 nights)

Day 4: Sleep in Madeira

Day 5: Sleep in Madeira

- Question: Are 3 full days less for Madeira?

Day 6: Fly to Sao Miguel (stay for 4 nights)

Day 7: Sleep in Sao Miguel

Day 8: Sleep in Sao Miguel

Day 9: Sleep in Sao Miguel

Question: Are 4 days too few for Sao Miguel? We plan to take a whale watching tour so will probably lose a day.

Day 10: Fly to Porto (Stay for 2 nights)

Day 11: Sleep in Porto

Question: Are 2 days too many for Porto?

Day 12: Drive to Coimbra and stay overnight there

Day 13: Drive to Obidos stopping at Nazare on the way. Stay for 1 night in Obidos.

Day 14: Drive to Sintra next morning and stay the night

Day 15: Drive to Cascais the next day stopping at Cape Roca and stay the night at Cascais

Day 16: Take the train from Cascais to Lisbon. Spend the night in Lisbon.

Day 17: Fly back to NYC

I feel this may be an ambitious itinerary but doable. Having said that, open to any recommendations on what to include/remove to better match our interests and streamline from a logistical sense. Overall, prefer to spend 60% of the trip in the Azores so need guidance on where to include more days and where to cut from the cities. Thanks in advance!

Posted by Carl

Rhode Island, USA

12/17/24 01:45 AM

488 posts

I have visited all the places you want to visit, including Madeira (only once), many times. All of these destinations can keep you busy for much more than the days you are giving them, depending on your likes. Here is my recommended itinerary, in logical order to minimize a lot of potential grief...

Fly NYC to Sao Miguel-fly to Madeira-fly to Porto-drive to Coimbra-drive to Obidos in late afternoon-drive to Sitio (overlooks Nazare)-drive to Cabo da Roca-drive to Sintra-drive to Cascais-drive to Lisbon to drop off car-fly to NYC. The overnights will be per your upcoming research.

Your posted itinerary is disjointed and with so many flights, could get complicated with the weather. You just never know what the wind conditions will be in Sao Miguel and Madeira. It is not unheard of that flights get diverted or cancelled over a long period of time.

Trust me when I say that you could easily fill the entire trip just in the Azores on the island of Sao Miguel only. Or, visit one or two Azores islands and add Madeira for a 2-week + trip. The same applies to the mainland. Many weeks could keep you enthralled, just with your list. If you are intent with your idea to include some islands and many places on the mainland, it will be an exhausting 2 weeks with the inevitable logistics.

If you have not thoroughly researched all of these destinations, do so BEFORE making any reservations. This way you can see what fits in your available time frame of days needed for each location. Please know that the major religious feast of the year in Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, will be held Friday May 23-Wednesday May 28. It is called Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres. Sunday, May 25, is the optimal day to be there when the procession takes place.

I have you covered with Azores research, as the first 52 page of my Azores guidebook (totally free to read) cover all the logistical planning needed for these island. The link to it is in the post written by the webmaster, at the top of this Portugal forum. There is no obligation to purchase my guidebook. A Madeira website is also included in those free pages. It will have just about all the information needed for Madeira, included very good visitor maps.

The mainland research is covered in Rick's Portugal book, of course.

Enjoy the planning!