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Tours in Porto, Lisbon, and Sintra

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I will have two full days and change in Porto and four full days and change in Lisbon, no car, traveling with my 13 year old son. All in late March. I generally like to do some tours to get some history and lay of the land. For Porto because I have less time, I am having a hard time figuring out what to do. If I do a full day tour in the city and a full day in Douro Valley, then the only roaming around time we have is the day we arrive, or potentially the morning of the day we take the train to Lisbon. For Lisbon, I'm a little less concerned, but I'd like a day in Sintra, and a day or a half day in Lisbon. A few questions:

  1. Is it a mistake to do two full day tours while I am in Porto? (If I do, we only have the evenings and the afternoon of the day we land free.) Should I do a half day in Porto and a full day in the valley instead? Or skip the valley entirely? As the valley tour is wine-focused, it may not be as interesting for my son, but I would be into it!

  2. For Sintra, some of the tours try to cram in Cascais and Cabo da Roca ... seemingly maybe at the expense of some of the sights in Sintra itself. Cascais looked beautiful but a little boring and Cabo da Roca seemed not super interesting. Would you advise just totally focusing on Sintra, or am I missing something?

  3. Is there a specific area I could get to for a day trip/tour from Lisbon or Porto that I should be considering? I know we are totally skipping the Algarve. Just not enough time/wrong time of year/of less interest.

Open to other suggestions ... we may try a short tuk tuk ride while we are there, but it doesn't necessarily sound comfortable enough to do an extended tour in, but again, if I am wrong, feel free to yell at me! Thank you!

Posted by
954 posts

Sounds like a wonderful trip for you and your son. My husband and I just returned from Portugal at the end of October and took a number of tours. Without knowing your interests or those of your son’s, I will make some recommendations based on what might be interesting for you and a teenager.

  1. Porto recommendations. I would highly recommend taking a walking tour. Porto is a wonderful city and benefits from a knowledgeable guide showing you the hidden gems. We took the Sandeman free tour and loved our guide and the multi-cultural group on the tour. I would not recommend a day tour of the Douro Valley. These are primarily around wine. While we loved our tour, I am not sure your son would find it interesting.
  2. Sintra: I explored taking tours and decided that I would like more time in Sintra than a tour would allow. It was a good decision primarily because the weather was miserable and we were glad we were not tied to a tour. Sintra is easy to do on your own. If the weather is good, it can be a fun time for you and your son.
  3. Lisbon tours. I love our Eating Europe Tuk Tuk Food Tour. We had an hour of Tuk Tuk (which is more than enough time), plus we ate at some small local establishments, primarily in the Alfama. This tour also showed some of the really cool street art and that might be of interest to your son. I would recommend that you have dinner at a Fado restaurant one evening.

If you and your son are interested in Harry Potter, then there are some fun sights to visit in Porto and then potentially a day trip to Coimbra. If you like Roman history, then a day trip to Evora could be interesting. Evora also as the bone chapel.

If you have specific questions on tours, where to stay, eat, eat. Happy to help.

Posted by
270 posts

In Porto we use the Hop On Hop Off Yellow Tourist Bus, it goes to the attractions, we get off ,visit at our own pace and then get on to the next attraction.

We buy the multi day ticket so we're not rushed.
Also a plus for us is that the bus runs it's route on a loop , no chance of getting lost.
https://www.yellowbustours.com/en/porto

Posted by
148 posts

@SandyO - more excellent advice from you! We are very interested in Roman history. Evora is a bit far, but we do so far have some unscheduled days in Lisbon, so I am going to pencil it in. I may cave on the Douro Valley. My son does not need to be constantly entertained, so I think he could manage, but it does sound like a long day without a lot of highlights for him, even if we fit in a river boat. I guess I can get port elsewhere too.

Posted by
1935 posts

I recently retuned from Lisbon and loved it

Sintra is easy to get to by train. Then there is a bus that will take you to the top. I did not take it because Sintra was so crowded when I was there late October that I did not want to deal with the bus. Sintra will probably be less crowded in March. (maybe)

You might consider a day at Belem. There is a huge very old monastery that is beautiful from the outside. The line was so long that I did not try to get in but there is a lot to see and do in Belem. There is a Nautical Museum about navigation. I think this might interest your son. I did not go in but the lines were very short.

There is also a planetarium in Belem very close to the Nautical Museum. It appeared to be closed when I was there. It might only be open at night.

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