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Portugal Itinerary - 10 days - can I do it ??

Portugal Itinerary - 10 days - can I do it ??

Old Sep 16th, 2010, 03:31 PM
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Portugal Itinerary - 10 days - can I do it ??

Hi all,

My two teenage girls and I have 11 days to see Portugal. The following is our (ambitious) itinerary. I have left half the nights open, just because we may not end up where we intend. I want to be flexible. I have a few that are booked, but most can be changed...

Ideas, suggestions, comments ??

Day 1
Pick up car in Faro - Algarve area including Silves, Sagres & Cabo de Sao Vincente. Staying in Albufeira -Aparthotel Balaia Plaza
We will have been in the Algarve for 5 days, but won't have time to wander until this day (which I am calling day 1 as this is when we are "free"). Do not need to worry about jet lag, as we should be fine by this time !!

Day 2
Depart Albufeira early - Beja / Evora / Lisbon (arrive Lisbon by 7ish..) Staying 3 nights Lisbon - Telerooms
Total drive time = 4 hr 30 min (or skip Beja and Evora - straight to LIsbon for extra time in the city - 2 1/2 hrs driving in this case)

Day 3
Lisbon - Tour with We Hate Tourism Tours - 10 am - 12:30pm ISH !! http://wehatetourismtours.com/ Rest of day to explore Lisbon (have to ride on Tram 28)
No driving

Day 4
Lisbon area tour with We Hate Tourism Tours - 7 hours, so the whole day. We visit Sintra, Cabo da Roca, Guincho Beach, Cascais and Belém
No driving

Day 5
Depart Lisbon early - Evora (if not done on day 2) / Estremoz / Marvao / Castelo de Vide Stay in this area
Total drive time = 3 hr 36 min

Day 6
Almoural Castle / Mira d'Aire caves / Coimbra area overnight
Total drive time = 3hr 11 min

Day 7
Coimbra / Amarante / Porto
Total drive time = 2hr 43 min

Day 8
Porto area including Braga, Guimaraes and Vila Nova de Gaia
Total drive time = ?

Day 9
Porto / Barcelos (by 8 am) / Obidos. I REALLY want to get to the Barcelos market. This is a Thursday.... Trying to leave Barcelos by 12, as it is a 3 hr drive to Obidos. Overnight near / in Obidos - Don't want to miss Obidos
Total drive time = 3 hr 38 min

Day 10
Obidos area / Santarem / Faro Airport (to return car) overnight in Faro - Residencial Afonso III If I can get to Tavira, we'd like to......
Total drive time = 3hr 53min (Yes, we will be VERY tired !)

Day 11
Faro airport at some ungodly hour (by taxi).....does anyone know how far ahead of your international flight that you have to be at Faro airport ??

So, is there anything I've missed that I shouldn't ? I am really not that interested in Coimbra, but I understand it's beautiful.

All driving times are from Google maps, so feel free to tell me if they are really out in left field.

Thank you all so much for your help !
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 04:22 PM
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Hi, Artisans,
Looks like a very well planned trip, and just like you say, a busy one. I'll just go day by day with some comments.

Day 1 -- I wouldn't put Silves as a must see on a 10 day trip. It's a small town with a nice renovated castle. Sagres has some beautiful vistas. The Cabo Sao Vicente and Sagres have very similar views. If Cabo Sao vicents is where the ruins of the Henry the Navigator school are, I would say there's really not much there to visit, but it is a nice walk around the perimeter of the point. If I had one day in the western Algarve, I think I'd take a long walk on the stunningly beautiful Praia da Rocha, then go to Lagos. It's an interesting town, has a fort, some historic sites, and nearby are some more incredible rock formations.

Day 2 -- I think you can fit in a short visit to both cities, though I've spent longer times in both of them. Beja is small and easy to navigate. It has a nice tower, plaza, old town with pedestrian streets. Evora is much bigger, with the roman temple right next to the pousada, the church of bones, some nice public spaces. Parking is tough in Evora.

Day 3-4 -- I think you would enjoy at least one more day in Lisbon. But hey you can't do everything.

Day 5 -- I think Estremoz, Marvao and Castelo de Vide are all do-able in, as you say, and "ambitious" one day visit. I would spend the night in Marvao, just because the views from the walls of the castle are incredible at sunset, sunrise and all hours in between. And the castle itself is extensive and fun to walk around. I think my kids would rate the Marvao castle as one of their very favorites, and we have dragged them through a LOT of castles on the Iberian peninsula.

Day 6 -- I have taken some friends to the Almoural Castle and everyone always likes it. You get in a little boat and go about 4 minutes out to this tiny island with the castle and nothing else on it. It's fun to climb around, and there are some nice drives along the Tejo River -- and a couple of nice restaurants with terraces on the river. And I never heard of the caves, so I'll have to check that one out! I do think Coimbra is a very pretty city, some very nice old parts with the university and cathedral, lovely pedestrian areas, walks along the river, and great views of the city from the other side of the river.

Day 7 -- Though you can easily take a short visit to Amarante and then head back to Porto for the night, if it were me, I'd try to squeeze in a trip to the Douro Valley. Some of the most beautiful scenery in Portugal, IMO. And the train ride from Pinhao out to Poucinho and back is about 2 or 3 hours round trip (which includes a half hour stop at the end of the line, but there's nothing there but a couple of cafes) is incredible. The train goes right along the river, where there are no roads, no cars. So you could go Coimbra to Peso da Regua or somewhere in the Douro area, then the next day back in to Porto. But I think Porto is a city that deserves at least a full day, probably 2. And I know that's not helpful since you don't have that much time.

Amarante, by the way, doesn't really have much in the way of things to see. There are some good pastry shops with cafes outside above and along the river, an old bridge, a very fancy hotel, some churches, but it is not a huge destination, certainly nothing like Guimaraes or Ponte de Lima in my book.

Day 8 -- I love Guimaraes, and Braga is very nice, too (but it is EXTREMELY difficult to drive in and out of, at least in my experience). But if it were me, I'd consider striking this and doing one night on the Douro, then the next day drive to Porto and spend a night there with all the time in the city rather than going back out to see Braga and Guimaraes.

Day 10 -- I'm curious as to how Santarem got into your itinerary. It is touted as the "gothic capital of Portugal" but I believe that is a huge overstatement. There are a couple of nice gothic churches, one big cathedral-like church, and an older romanesque church. But I think there are other towns in the vicinity that are more "worth a visit" like Nazare (beautiful, on the coast but a bit touristy, depends on what season you would be there), or either Alcobaca or Batalha (gothic beauties in both places) or the town of Tomar.

I think you can easily see Obidos in several hours. I have stayed in the castle pousada there and took some very nice walks along the top of the walls, but if you've been in Marvao you will have had a lot of the same experience without the crush of tourists. If you are going to be in Portugal in summer, I think you will find Obidos to be extremely overcrowded, with tons of tour buses of daytrippers. It is pretty, but I wouldn't go there in summer.

And yes, Tavira is very much worth a visit. It is a very pleasant town, newly opened pousada in a monastery, a fair number of decent restaurants, a castle (not a wow-zer castle though), an old town, and nice walks along the inlet. But I'm not sure how you would do that on your way to Faro from Obidos.

Well, I've gone on long enough, let's let someone else have a go at this. Have a great trip! Laurie
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Old Sep 16th, 2010, 06:19 PM
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lreynold1 (Laurie),

Thank you SO much for the input. I have spent HOURS pouring over maps and on the internet trying to see as much as we can, without wiping ourselves out. This for us is truly a "once in a lifetime" experience I think as we live in Canada.

We will be in Portugal from the end of Oct to mid Nov, this year (41 days to go - not that we're counting !). One of my daughters is fighting in the World Karate and Kickboxing Championships which are being held in Albufeira. After the tournament, we're taking the time for a vacation as the biggest single expense is the airfare, we may as well make it worth it.

A few questions / comments of my own:

Silves is not a big deal, so we can cut that for sure. I am hoping we will be in Cabo Sao Vicente for the sunset, as everyone says they are amazing. We will actually be taking a 3 hour kayak trip on that day, so other things may get cut too.

I have a walking route of Lagos in one of the books I bought, and I think it may include the Praia da Rocha. It is 2 1/2 hours long. I have cut a day from the Algarve area, so not sure how much I can fit in here now.

Thanks for the bit about Amarante - gone I understand you can buy the best rugs here, but heck, I probably can't afford one anyway, so no point really in stopping.

I like the idea of the staying overnight in the Duoro. I will check out Peso da Regua and the train ride from Pinhao out to Poucinho. Do you have somewhere specific that would be nice to stay - we are on a pretty tight budget, so a Pousada is out (and almost all have a minimum 2 night stay).

As you say, we can then go to Porto for the next (full) day (Day 8), stopping in Guimaraes on the way (well, a litte out of the way, buy you know what I mean).

Santarem got into the itinerary because of the bullfights. We don't have to stop here really. The girls had been hoping to see a fight, but I believe we are too late in the year. This is the only reason. I would like to stop in Nazare as I have heard they make traditional dolls here and would love to buy one for our little one (6) who is staying home with daddy. I'll see if we can do that on the way down from Barcelos, before getting to Obidos. We don't have to necessarily leave Obidos first thing, if there are things we still want to see. From what you say though, a few hours will be sufficient and we can make out way to Tavira the next morning/early afternoon. Not really on the way as you say, but at least I can get the "lay of the land" on my way PAST Faro to Tavira Backtrack to drop off the car after dropping our bags at the hotel.

Thanks again for the fantastic breakdown......anyone else with great ideas / comments etc ?

Diane
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Old Sep 17th, 2010, 07:10 AM
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Hi, Diane,
I have a few quick comments, but will also give you a link to an earlier report on the Douro. I have described two different trips to that area here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-the-douro.cfm

I think I paid around 80 euros for a double room at this place http://www.canilhas.com/ It's a great location, great views, nice hosts. But looking at your itinerary and the days available, I'm not sure whether it's realistic to squeeze this in. Because Porto is also a great place to visit as well.

And about the rugs -- are you sure you don't mean Arraiolos? That's a town in the Alentejo (east of Lisbon and close to Evora) where every building on the main street seems to be filled with women making rugs. Amarante does have some very nice textile shops, I remember when I went with a friend of mine who's a champion shopper (I hate shopping), and she bought some beautiful curtains, table cloth, etc.

As far as bullfights go, I have never been to one, but I see that the Lisbon site, Campo Pequeno has its last fight of the season on the 14th of October. But I don't know anything about Santarem.

You couldn't walk from Lagos to Praia da Rocha. Praia da Rocha is near Portimao, which is an extremely touristy high rise town, but has this spectacular beach off to one side.

Isn't it fun to plan a trip?! Kind of like a house of cards,change one thing and everything else shifts. Good luck with this, Laurie
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Old Sep 17th, 2010, 07:43 AM
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Laurie,

You are right about Arraiolos - all the names were beginning to look the same last night. I will check out the trips and the accommodation you mentioned. I did get a train timetable from another post and was able to find out the train times. I also got info you had posted in that same thread to give me an idea of costs. Very reasonable. I was looking at the following, for that night in Duros (Day 7)http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/folg...out=2010-11-08 which is only 75 Euros/night for the 3 of us....it's hard to find space for 3 !

Anyway, appreciate all your help again. And yes, I am having a blast planning this
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Old Sep 6th, 2011, 02:18 PM
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Hi,
I'm in the process of planning an intinerary for a trip to Portugal, and like you, spend hours in planning and try to cram a lot in, and have no problem driving. Wanted to find out how your trip went, what you would have changed, etc. Hope you had a great trip. Dan
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Old Sep 7th, 2011, 05:00 AM
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I agree about not spending so much time in Obidos, you can see it easily in two hours. Mafra and Sintra are much more interesting. On your last day, why are you driving from Obidos to Faro for your departure? That's a lot of driving just to get to the airport. Why not leave from Lisbon and enjoy the city on your last day?

Jamikins has a very thorough trip report that you may want to check out.
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