Two weeks in mid-April?

I don't know how much this will help, but we spent 5 nights in Lisbon last April, and the weather/temperatures were perfect for sightseeing. We didn't have any rain, and the temps were in the 60's and 70's. Are you planning on spending some time in Lisbon? Based on my research when i was planning the trip, I think southern Portugal would be fine, but weather in Porto can be cool and rainy.

Thank you so much for the reply! Yes, I am just barely starting to put together an itinerary, but I was thinking we'd spend some time in Lisbon before heading south. Were there any sights/activities in Lisbon that you particularly enjoyed? Thanks again!

How many days on the ground would you have excluding your arrival and departure days? Sounds like 12-13?

You are travelling during European school holidays for Easter, so places will be busy.

You can readily fly to Madeira from Lisbon. Presumably you would want 4 full days there? You need to exercise some caution, as Funchal airport often gets closed for a day or 2 if it’s too windy, which it can be at that time of year.

Depending on what you decide about Madeira will obviously influence what you can cover in mainland Portugal. Lisbon is worth 5 days with day trips to Cascais and Sintra. Evora is charming and worth at least 1 night. The area around Comporta is good for walks as is Castro Verde and Ourique.

I visited the Algarve last March/April and the weather was warm, but not hot enough to sit on the beach, but it had been an unusually cold and wet winter and spring. We had some rain.

We saw a lot in Lisbon. Some favorites are the Gulbenkian Museum. We loved it! There are 2 buildings: the main building houses impressionist and romantic paintings, ceramics from China, Egyptian statues, etc. Although I am not a fan of modern art, we really enjoyed their modern art collection, housed in a separate building.

Another favorite is the Sao Jorge castle and wandering the Alfama. We followed Rick's self-guided walk through the Alfama and got away from the tourist crowds.

We loved the Jeronimos Monastery in Belem. Also took the elevator to the top of the Discoveries Monument for spectacular views. many people go to the Belem Tower for views, but there are always long lines. No lines at the Discoveries Monument.

Also visited the Coach Museum, Sao Roque Church, and Mosteiro De Sao Vicente De Fora for its beautiful tiles.

We did take a bus tour to Sintra for a day. We don't usually do group tours, but this was the end of a 3-week vacation, and we were tired, so decided to see Sintra the easy way.

Do you have any guidebooks? I used Rick's book and Fodors. I've also used Rough Guides and Michelin Green Guides for other trips.

April is really a transition month and can be warm and sunny but also can have rain. The good news about rain (in the Lisbon area at least) is that it’s rarely an all day event. If Easter falls when you would be here, be aware it will be much more busy. You would need to book accomodations for that time period quite a bit ahead of time.

I personally wouldn’t try to fit in Madeira but I don’t like rushing around when I travel. You can easily fill much more than your allotted time on the mainland - especially if you want to explore some of the smaller towns and Alentejo.