11 days in Portugal in April - thoughts on itinerary please!
 

Hello everyone! We're a young couple planning a trip to Portugal in April and have the following plan for now -- appreciate any feedback/recommendations as well as help on some of my questions. Thanks in advance!

We love immersing in local culture, food, wine, hiking and the outdoors, some nightlife. Not huge on museums and history, but definitely wouldn't miss the "must sees" of a place. Arriving early AM in Lisbon on April 4 (Tues), departing early AM from Porto April 15 (Sat), so we'll have 11 full days to explore.

April 4 - 8: 4 nights in Lisbon, with a daytrip or overnight to Sintra. Any thoughts on if we should spend the night? Because we don't want to give up a night in Lisbon, we would have to take away one night elsewhere (see below, thinking Evora)

April 8 - 10: 2 nights in Evora. At this point, we don't plan on renting a car. Without a car, is 2 nights here too much? Should we spend just 1 here, and the other in Sintra, as mentioned above? Or are the surrounding towns worth getting a car? I've read about Monsaraz, Elvas, Vila Vicosa, Estremoz, Marvao, Castelo de Vide -- any recommendations? Can we do all in one day if we rent a car?

April 10: Nazare - 1 night. Again, worth getting a car? Obidos sounds nice. Also read about Fatima but people seem less enthused about that.

April 11: Coimbra - 1 night

April 12 - 15: Porto! I suppose if we rented a car, we would drive through Evora, Nazare, Coimbra to Porto and return the car here? We would love to do the Douro Valley wineries -- do we need a car for this? I've read about day trips to Regua and Pinhao, is this worth it or is overnight a must?

Again, thanks so much for your help in advance. I know I have a ton of questions!

During the day, Sintra is full of people. It is nice to see people going away and have the village in a more cozy way. So I think you should overnight.

You don't need a car in Lisbon, neither in Sintra or Porto. But to visit Alentejo (Evora and the other you mentioned), it is better if you have a car. You can also visit wineries there. And Alentejo is really beautifull that time of the year.

So maybe you could take that night you need (in order to overnight in Sintra), in Nazaré or Coimbra, skipping Nazaré (driving directy from Alentejo to Coimbra) or visiting Coimbra after Nazaré without sleeping there.

Here's our 8 day trip from a few years back. We stayed or stopped in most places you mention. In Porto, Guest House Duoro is the absolute best. Stay there if you can. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...l-portugal.cfm

double checking tip on the Guest House, web site looks nice. MFNYC in retrospect, was there anything you didn't do that you wish you could re-think.

April 12 - 15: Porto! I suppose if we rented a car, we would drive through Evora, Nazare, Coimbra to Porto and return the car here?>

Don't forget Batalha the UNESCO World Heritage Site monastery that is smack on the itinerary as is Albaca's monstery or whatever it is.

I did all those places by train and bus but it obviously takes longer- but you do not need a car - for lots on trains check www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com.

I did Sintra as a day trip - not much there besides the two castles/palaces - I took a bus from Sintra to the coast- go off at the famous Cabo da Roca, westernmost part of the European continent with crashing waves, and then continued onto Cascais and the Estoril for trains back to Lison - easily done by public transit or car.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cabo...HdTjBFIQsAQIJg

Obidos is great - neat Parador (sp?) hotel inside the ancient ramparts.

Given the time we had I think we did pretty well, and felt that we covered everything we expected to. If I could have added time to the trip, and would like to have spent more time in the Lisbon and surrounding areas, also maybe another day in Porto to go to the port houses. That being said, I could make an entirely different itinerary for Portugal if I were to go again.

PalenQ: "as is Albaca's monstery or whatever it is."

Alcobaça. Alcobaça Monastery.

My thoughts based on a recent group trip. We all unanimously loved Douro valley. We stayed 2 nights in Pinhao. Gorgeous and I would not miss it. We skipped Porto entirely. Evora is nice and I loved Marvao especially the sunset overlooking the valley. I think 2 nights is a good idea. Sintra I would think does not need an overnight. Obidos is pretty and certainly worth a day trip. We also enjoyed Tomar. We covered both Obidos and Tomar in one day (was a bit rushed) with overnight in Coimbra.

Sam/welcome to Fodors. I cannot refer you to any trip reports but based on the theory that a picture is worth 1000 words...I will list below my Portugal pics from a recent trip. Hopefully you will find these pics top be informative. Any questions you will have, please post on this thread and I will attempt to answer.
(See on post below)

Sam: Bear in mind we took 30 days so we covered a lot more https://goo.gl/photos/wBsF4V98V8iJgjhX8

Tower, enjoyed your photos! They brought back many memories. Here's are my photos from several years ago (warning: I take LOTS of photos) https://www.snapfish.com/library/sha...98009/SNAPFISH

MFNC, enjoyed your trip report! (Don't have snapfish to see pics.)

Tower, loved your photos!

sam_4790--I have many of the same questions as you, so thank for this. We are planning to go for the first time next May, for 9 or 10 nights.

Will post my own questions and itinerary, but would like to ask the experts here just in case--3 or 4 nights in Lisbon? Of course, one always wants more time on a trip, but trying to keep this one a bit shorter.

Thanks.

3 or 4 nights in Lisbon?>
Well if doing Sintra or Cascais as day trips or even Evora or Obidos from Lison the more the better - the city itself a few days.

If you are not traveling for museums and history, I suggest going light on Lisbon, skipping Coimbra, and consider giving more time to meandering back streets in Porto and visiting the Douro valley.

Also, I've never been to the Algarve because every time I've been in Portugal it's been peak tourist season for that area. But I might go in April if I asked around and got reassurances it wouldn't be a mob scene. I wouldn't try to combine with the north for such a short trip, but I'd check it out as an option if the weather would be nicer than the north and you could find the hidden gems off the tourist track.

I really love cultural Portugal, with lots of museums and exploring antique monuments. But if you are looking for a different vacation, don't be afraid to go your own way and forget the "must sees" because Portugal away from the "sights" is still really very beautiful, delicious and fascinating. It's cheap, too, and the people are fab.

Just to throw in a minority opinion, perhaps, but I personally have never understood all the hoopla about Evora. Its Roman temple standing in the middle of the square is nice, its church with all the bones is macabre, and I don't really think it has much more to offer than that. I have been there about four times now, most recently two years ago just to force myself to try to understand what is is about me and Evora. We did go to the standing stones nearby and they were pretty awesome. http://www.evora-portugal.com/Attrac...-portugal.html. But I came away with the same sensation that I just can't figure out why it is so popular. IMO, there are Alentejo towns that are more interesting -- Marvao, CAstelo de Video, Vila Vicosa, And Elva's are a few that jump to mind. And if you're willing to go further afield, places like Guimaraes, Coimbra, Ponte de Lima, Tomar, the Douro, would all top Evora in my book. I know taste is personal and singular, and I also know I am out of the mainstream on this question, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Madame Reynold
I've wondered the same..I agree with your suggestions about the other Alentejo locales you mention, particularly Marvao. To visit Evora, we stayed at a beautiful pousada in Arraiolos(h) nearby..taking a half day to stroll Evora ...enough. Very comfortable pousadas in Marvao and in the Sieras at Belmonte. In Obidoos)h) we found the Estalagem do Convento to be a good bet.

That's what makes travel a great "hobby"...picking and choosing, agreeing and disagreeing about locations, restos, sights and sites!

See my pix above for a view of some of these places.

stu

Loved your pictures, tower! I agree with the idea about the Arraiolos pousada -- I remember the shockingly white walls pressed against a shockingly blue sky. And the little town of Arraiolos is enjoyable for a stroll as well. I haven't stayed in the pousada in Marvao, but I have stayed in the one in Belmonte -- believe it or not, it was in October, and my husband and I were the only guests, which makes things a little weird. I've stayed in the pousada in Obidos and thought it was in terrible need of a renovation (maybe it has had one, since I was there in 2009). But there were a few kids in our family who were really keen to stay in a castle, so we went with it. We had Christmas dinner in the Estalagem, I do believe.

Your pictures of the ladies in those colored skirts (from the top of Nazare, probably?) reminded me that when we got there on Christmas morning, they were out in force, selling their nuts/fruits or whatever else is in their little carts. My dad thought they were dressed like that simply as a tourist ploy. An hour or so later, as we entered the church for Christmas morning mass, we saw many (mostly older) women wearing the same brightly colored skirts with a thousand petticoats underneath, so I guess there is still some authenticity to it after all.

Portugal is such a great place to visit. Maybe there's not as much variety as in its Iberian neighbor to the east, but there are plenty of interesting places to visit and wonderful places to stay. (In fact, just last year, we stayed at a Spanish parador that has opened in northern Portugal, the Casa da Insua, highly recommended by the way).

Thanks for those pictures, they are

oops, I hit the button before filling in the adjective -- terrific would be a good one!

Here's one who loved Evora and the surrounding cork plantations. That said yes there are many other towns just as nice but not as famous. But if going south from Lisbon it's a great stop. I loved the chapel with all the old bones in it.

Reynold///here are some Old Yugoslavia pics and 2004 Croatia pics which I may have shared with you several years ago when you were traveling Montenegro and we were corresponding
https://goo.gl/photos/TxjhE5usjw5NY95A7
stu