Hi all,
We are going to Portugal in October with 4 other people. The official tour will start in Porto for 3 nights and take us to the Duoro Valley, then Coimbra, Evora and we will end in Lisbon for 4 nights.
We want to take a few days at the beginning to get over jet lag and have a leisurely pace. Should we just hang around Lisbon and wander, eat and relax then take the train to Porto? Or should we go to a nearby beach and truly hang out?
Thoughts or suggestions?
thanks,
Janice
Consider staying in Sintra for a few nights to get over jet lag, and to visit the wonderful sites at a leisurely rate, instead of rushing your visit as a day trip from Lisbon.
You may also enjoy your time in Lisbon with a day trip to Cascais.
Here’s my trip report where you’ll find more details.
Enjoy your time in beautiful Portugal!
Why not just go to Porto? The beach at Matosinhos is great! Easy to walk, with a castle on the shore and parks all around and it's a 2 euro bus ride into the city center (go to the Mercado del Bolhao). I recommend the Four Points as a place to stay; fantastic location and staff. There's all kinds of places to eat within walking distance, or hit the deli counter in the supermarket just up the block and then go sit on the beach and watch the sun go down.
Porto probably won’t be very warm in October and the city gets quite a lot of rain so I wouldn’t plan on beach days.
If you wanted to relax Cascais would be a good choice. It’s on the beach but has plenty going on to enjoy at any time of year. It’s an easy train ride into Lisbon if you wanted to do something more.
I spent 5 days in Porto last October and it didn't rain at all. Temp was in the 70's; the water was warm and the sunsets fantastic. It was foggy/grey up in the Douro but that cleared by noon.
