Travelers:
2- 4 couples, active, aged 60-70
Arrive Lisbon airport in the morning & travel to Sintra.
2 nights in Sintra.
Train/Uber/Taxi back to Lisbon (3 nights)
Evora 1 night
2 nights Tomar/Alcobaca/Batalha area
2 nights Coimbra
2 nights Douro (river cruise one day)
1 or 2 nights in Porto
Would get a car on way our of Lisbon & return it in Porto upon arrival.
We want to see the country, but not feel rushed but also don't want to linger longer than is necessary.
Thank You!
Looks good, but I loved Porto and would stay at least 2 nights. If you could swing it, try to stay 4 nights in Lisbon and 3-4 in Porto. There is a lot to enjoy. Driving in Portugal is easy outside of Porto and Lisbon.
Thank You!
That’s a lot of 1-2 night stays which means you will be really rushing around and spending way too much time moving from place/hotel to place.
You could day trip to Evora and add another night or two to Lisbon.
With two nights in Tomar that means seeing all three places you mention in one day. It’s possible but not enjoyable. Each of the three monuments will take a couple of hours and driving on the smaller roads is easy but can be time consuming. And, while Alcobaça and Batalha have different histories, they are really fairly similar . Alcobaça is my favorite. Coimbra is lovely but could be done in a day trip if you arrive early.
You might want to turn your car in in Coimbra and take the train the rest of the way to Porto. I would spend all the nights in Porto and day trip to the Douro. The person driving wouldn’t get to really enjoy the scenery and there are many good tour companies for a day tour to the Douro.
And, lingering to enjoy long lunches and savoring the wine is a lot of what Portugal is all about. I don’t think you will get that ambiance with your current itinerary.
Thank you Kathryn!
You may get more useful advice if you state your interests and goals for your trip. You are planning to move around much more than I would like. You could easily spend the entire time in the Lisbon area, or split your trip between Porto and Lisbon. You might consider an open jaw ticket, flying into Lisbon and out of Porto. In my opinion, Portugal is not the best choice for a "see everything" trip. Most travelers find that the enjoy the country the most when they go deeper in a few locations rather than hitting many of the famous sites.
Thank you! We do plan to fly open jaw, into Lisbon and out of Porto. We usually enjoy the quit towns and charming villages and not the hustle noise of larger cities. A few walled cities, several cathedrals, castles or palaces would be nice along with the terraced vineyards along the Duoro.
