Yaro

Hello everyone, my wife and I are thinking to visit Portugal in October for two weeks. We will be flying to and from Lisbon and we will rent a car for the trip. Reading older threads here and around I have a good plan in my mind on what to see.

My only concern is about the weather. We plan the trip for October 8 to 22. Some say the weather is still mild and nice but some friends are telling me that it starts to get windy in October. A windy and colder weather would be a stopper.

Any real advise would be very appreciated.

Thansks in advance.
Yaro

Yaro

No one?

lobo_mau

Nobody knows

thursdaysd

For historic weather data go to Weather Underground.

But do you know what the weather will be where you live on those dates? And climate change has in fact produced change - classic weather patterns no longer hold.

In any case, lots to see in Lisbon even if the weather is bad.

Percy

How cold can the weather be in Lisbon in October.

It is not like you are coming from Tropical country !!

bilboburgler

I've found November warm enough for hiking and walking by the sea, October should be fine for most Northern European and Northern Americans. Might get a bit of Atlantic driven rain. Late November onwards I tend to avoid Portugal until March. Morocco is better then.

KodakMoment

Why Portugal? Of all the European countries you could visit, you chose this economic basket case with mediocre attractions?

thursdaysd

What rubbish. Portugal is a great destination, and reasonably priced. It has an honored place on my go-back-to list.

Percy

Portugal has places and architecture that you will not see anywhere in Europe.


All Palaces scattered around the country that are simply superb.

You will see Manueline Architure no where in Europe.

The trim around their place windows is something I have not seen in Europe.

bilboburgler

Portugal is a great place for a holiday, the financial situation is not an issue. You'll find a the place is clean and friendly with ancient buildings next to modern stuff. The train system is great, the buses not so bad and the main motorways good (though with tight bends and some not so good drivinng). Main cities are enjoyable and the Algarve and Alentejo both a very pleasant place to stay in October.

I'd tend to stay in the south and or visit some of the ancient cities in the middle part. Love the blue tiles and the history. For instance, did you know that the monarchy actually moved to Brasil and for a period a European country was governed from a former colony?

HelenaFatima

Well, I can assure you it will not be snowing in October. Besides that...

po_dourado

Well, i spent 12 days in Portugal last year, in October. I faced some rainy days in Porto, sunny ones in Evora and cloudy/sunny days in Lisboa. The weather was nice, around 15/25C - one jacket was enough.

The north of Portugal tends to have more rainy/cloudy days than the south, but that may vary. Either way, you are going to have a great time. Portugal is a nice country with great people.

Yaro

Thank you very much for the replies and advises. August was very busy for me but now i am getting back to putting together our trip plan. We will have a total of 12 nights (11 days, as on the first day we fly in in the evening) and i plan to have 3 full days in Lisbon, 2 or 3 days in Porto, a day/ night in the Douro Valley and the rest will be split between Porto and Lisbon.

Any ideas will be welcomed.

Yaro

Here is our draft itinerary:
Oct 8 - we land in Lisbon in the early evening, take a car and drive to Obidos.
Oct 9 - Obidos, Bataltha,
Oct 10 - Obidos, Alcobaca, Nazare, sleep in Nazare;
Oct 11 - Nazare - Coimbra, sleep in Coimbra;
Oct 12 - Coimbra - Porto;
Have three days/ nights in Porto, with a day trip to Guimaraes and Braga;
Oct 15 - day trip to Douro Valley and spend the night there;
Oct 16 - drive back to Lisbon;
Oct 16 - 19 4 nights in Lisbon with day trips to Sintra and Evora
Oct 20 - fly back

We love to walk around small towns/ villages, we love nature and good food and wine, not so much fond of museums. We love beaches but they will not be a priority in this trip.

I would be very thankful for any suggestions. I am reviewing the other threads as well.

Thank you in advance

lreynold1

I have driven through a lot of Portugal, and your itinerary seems reasonable to me. My only heads up is to be prepared to be totally crazily lost as you try to exit Braga. I have gotten into Braga on at least three different occasions with a car, no problem. But leaving is another story altogether. But townspeople seem to recognize this, because on all occasions, when I have asked someone for help after my third or fourth try, the driver has told me to follow him/her to the highway. So if you get lost, the trick is to find someone in a car who looks like he/she has as few minutes to spare to help you out. .

p.s. ON the way from Coimbra to Porto, a very short drive, you could either backtrack a bit and visit the Roman ruins in Conimbriga, or drive out to Busaco. In Porto make sure to take the tram across to the higher parts of Gaia, because the view from the park at the tip across to the riverfront of Porto is one of the world's great "built environment" views. Hope you enjoy your trip to Portugal.

Whathello

I've done about the same itinerary.
We saw Sintra on top and it would be a must for us.

Yaro

Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions.

Any advises on the car rental? We had a bad experience in Bari, Italy recently and i would like to avoid to get burned again with additional costs, charges, etc. because i have not read the tiny details in the agreement.

Thanks in advance!

okoshi2002

ttt

bilboburgler

use a broker like auto europe, don't use a "brand" name as the company is franchised out to some doodle-squit.

auto europe will stand up for you when the chips are down.

Yaro

I am thinking about using Sixt this time and i see good reviews for them here:
http://www.rentalcars.com/en/airport.../sixt/reviews/