Portugal Home Base(s)

There might be a couple of fallacies in your thinking: There is no way individuals, especially on their first time out of the box, can cover as much ground as a tour - - there's too much timing, too much coordination, too much knowledge about what time you have to leave here in order to be there, too much head-of-line priority, etc. Overnights on a tour are selected to allow all of the above. A tour has to have a little something for everybody, reflects the organizer's priorities, and misses some of the best. By using only one source for an idea of what's important, you've limited your knowledge. By trying to duplicate the spots on a tour with day trips, you've chunked the flow of multiple stops and given up looking time for transit time. So, the answer is a big, hearty 'NO'. Since I had no idea what Mr Steves' tour entailed, I typed all of the above in the blind. I just looked and see no reason to change anything. What I did see was two places I haven't been (but elected not to visit) and one that I've never heard of (but sounds interesting). What I didn't see was a slew of places that I've been that weren't on the tour and, for me, would trump half of the places that were. What you might want to do is chunk out some money for the Michelin Green Guide for Portugal. It comprehensively lists just about everything. It has a ranking system both in the text and on the planning map, that is about as impartial as you can get, but if some categories are of no interest, you can just ignore them. With this scoundrel in hand, you can develop your own clusters and stick in your overnight nodes. Here's a rail map: Map The rest has to be done by bus.

Thank you for your quick reply. We've followed the two-week trip itineraries in Rick's guidebooks before and have never had a problem but that isn't to say his recommendations for Portugal are tried and true...I have no idea if the suggested intineraries are the same as tours or not; I've never looked into it. (A copy of the intinerary is on this website at http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/port/portitin.htm) At any rate, I appreciate your input. Thanks.

Okay, I'd looked at the wrong scoop. The new information is worse for your idea of just a few over-night stops since it goes all the way down into the coastal Algarve. Public transoprtation might make it a bit harder than using a car. We could quibble for years over what's along the track and what isn't. I'm not about to beat our host over the head. If you've liked Mr Steves' ideas in the past, you're going to like them in Portugal.

Ed, Thanks so much for the link to Portugal train maps. I will be there in Sept 2013. Was a bit dismayed to see your opinion of following one person's idea of must see's. But as I am a newbie to traveling solo I like to go with RS and then venture out on my own at the end of the tour. Your tips have been really helpful on that count. Thanks!

Rick's opinions are just that - his opinions, not gospel. I like to start with his suggestions, but do research from other sources and modify them according to what interests me. And I find his itineraries much too busy, with too much jumping around, as you say. Rail works well in Portugal - if a train goes to the place you are interested in. As you now know, the rail map is limited. And check travel times carefully before paying a premium for "high speed service." When I was there (and this was 11 years ago and so may now be different), the "faster" trains (Alfa Pendular) were only a bit faster, and the extra cost wasn't worth it.

I kind of barged in on Dawn's thread. Sorry if I caused any confusion. I am going to Portugal too so am reading all the Portugal threads. Not sure I should have asked my own question on someone else's thread. I posted my own question on Spare Time in Portugal. I think I'm getting the hang of this. Thank you for the tips.

No offense taken! I hope you received helpful information. We did end up with a home base in Lisbon, Coimbra and Port and we're pretty confident that between the trains and buses, we'll get to see all the sights that are important to us. We rely heavily on Rick Steves guidebooks when we travel in Europe and while I can't say we never get lost, we have a high level in confidence in what is recommended. I wish you safe travels and I hope you enjoy your trip to Portugal!