Trip itinerary help please

A car rental sometimes costs the same for 5, 6, or 7 days, so booking two separately doesn't necessarily save money. I've seen this especially if booking with Europcar through Auto Europe. You could take the train to Porto and see the city first, then pick up the car for the rest of your smaller town exploration, north to south. Train tickets are also relatively cheap, so the decision is more about your preferred travel style.

Thank you Laura. I have heard some say that there is more interesting places to visit north of Lisbon than south. You agree with that?

Joe

The south (Algarve) is all about beaches and golf. It has seen extensive development over the last 40 years, so there are no scenic towns left compared to other regions of Portugal, so if this is an interest, I would stay further north. Getting from Porto to the Algarve will take the best part of a day door to door.

With 11 days (will day 1 be lost to jet lag?), you could stay in Lisbon then take the train to Porto and visit the Douro and then drive back south via Aveiro, Coimbra and Tomar with a couple of nights in Evora before heading back to Lisbon.

With only 11 days, I would skip the Algarve. As Jennifer said, it’s really just about beaches and golf courses - at least for the most part. You can easily spend your time in Lisbon, Porto and maybe in between. But, you can easily stay busy with just two bases - Lisbon and Porto. Day trips to the Douro from Porto and Evora and Sintra from Lisbon will give you a good introduction to the country and not feel so rushed.
And, this would avoid renting a car altogether.

Lisbon
Sintra
Obidos
Navarre
Porto

Thanks for all for your advice. So it looks like we will be landing at Porto from USA and departing from Lisbon...so this is good. We arrive Porto on Monday 9/24 and depart Lisbon on Thursday, 10/4. So that is 10 nights in Portugal. I think we will do day trips via train, etc and not rent a car. So with this in mind, would you suggest splitting the time 5 days each between the two bases? And however you would split it, what would you suggest we do with the time in each? Thanks again!!
Best,
Joe

Many thanks for all the help. Here is what we are thinking...please feel free to pick it apart and comment!

Mon. Sep. 24 Arrive Porto from USA at 10:30 AM - crash and maybe go our for dinner and walk after nap
Tues. Sep. 25 - Porto sights
Wed. Sep. 26 - Duoro Valley and river cruise day trip
Thurs. Sep. 27 - Guimares day trip
Fri. Sep. 28 - Braga or Amarante day trip????

Sat. Sep. 29 - AM train to Coimbra then PM trip to Lisbon from Coimbra
Sun. Sep. 30 - Lisbon sights
Mon. Oct. 1 - Day trip to Sintra
Tues. Oct. 2- Day trip to Evora
Wed. Oct. 3 - Liston sights
Thurs. Oct. 4 - AM flight back to USA

Here are some questions:
1) With only one full day in Porto and maybe part of our arrival day, are we shortchanging Porto itself? What are the must sees in Porto? We don't care about museums...we like castles, fortresses, landscapes, gardens, historic places
2) With two full days in Lisbon, what are the must sees? Our likes are above.
3) Any other suggestions to improve the above?

Thanks and best!
Joe

FYI, in May I did a similar trip (nine nights in Portugal) in reverse from what you are planning: fly into Lisbon, fly out of Porto. I used the train and bus to get everywhere.

I had four nights in Lisbon, two nights in Coimbra, and three nights in Porto. I did day trips to Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon. I stopped in Tomar for a few hours as a train detour heading north between Lisbon and Coimbra. I did a day trip to Nazare from Coimbra by bus. Tomar and Nazare were both gems - and I wish I could have spent a night in Nazare especially vs. the second night in Coimbra.

Lisbon and Porto were both super touristy. I did like having one night in Coimbra, though, because it was something different and not super touristy like Lisbon and Porto were. Tomar wasn't touristy at all, either. Nazare had the usual "beach tourism" that I found didn't detract from its charm. Porto is charming especially along the water (but also lots of tourists there now), but there isn't a ton to do, really, so you wouldn't necessarily need a ton of time in Porto. I preferred Lisbon, actually. I had planned one whole day to day trip out to the Douro valley from Porto but it rained the day I had planned to go, so I didn't bother. Otherwise, two nights there would have been plenty for me.

A few hours in Coimbra makes sense, but be prepared for the detour needed to get to the little Coimbra train station (the through trains stop only at the bigger Coimbra-B station, and you have to get a spur train from there). In fact, you might look for a direct regional train from Porto Campanha to Coimbra without the change at Coimbra-B. I found that the regional trains I took in this area were not very crowded and more comfortable than the IC trains (I could spread out and not be crammed in a seat next to someone). Even though the regional trains stop at every station, they won't require a 20-30 minute layover at Coimbra-B so won't be much slower - but should be cheaper, plus you won't need to reserve in advance. For the train on to Lisbon from Coimbra-B would probably want an IC or AP train, though.

Also figure out how to store bags in Coimbra - there's no official luggage storage that I'm aware of. You might look for a cafe or hotel; there's a hotel right across the street from Coimbra station that might hold your luggage for you for a few hours. I managed to do that in Tomar.

My family is currently planning our 8 day Portugal trip in June 2019. Loved reading everyone's helpful tips. Can folks give my itinerary a review?

My husband and I are traveling w/ three college age kids. We prefer low tourist out in the country locations -- pretty views and quiet cafe over busy cities and loud spots. Like Joe we are more interested in scenic towns than museums.

Day 1 - Arrive in Lisbon at 6am (oldest son's flight gets in at 2pm): We plan to tour Lisbon while waiting for son's 2pm flight. I had read that we can store luggage at Lisbon airport? Anyone done that? Go to Sintra and drive to Obidos. Stay over in Obidos.

Day 2: Tour Obidos and Tomar then stay over in Coimbra.

Day 3: Tour Coimbra and Lamego then stay over in Douro.

Day 4: Relax at airbnb in Douro.

Day 5: Long drive to Luz in Algarve -- stopping in Evora for 2-3 hours to stretch legs and eat

Day 6: Beach day in/around Luz

Day 7: Beach day in/around Luz

Day 8: Back to Lisbon for 11am flight home.

Where am I going right? wrong? What would you add/delete? And for the towns I picked -- do you have favorite spots to check out? restaurants?

Thanks,

Kelly

Kelly, you should start your own thread. I know on some forums that's discouraged, but here it keeps things from getting confused. It also means that when people answer you, you'll be notified, instead of gocardsjoeh!