2 nights in the Nazare, Bathalha, Alcobaca area
 

I posted earlier with a full itinerary question but I'm hoping I can get a specific answer on this question. After 5 nights in Porto, we are driving to Coimbra, where we'll spend the better part of that day and one night. I know that we could base in Coimbra, our original plan, but to avoid backtracking (we're heading south to Evora next), which town would you recommend to be based in to see the central coast sites? Nazare is tempting since it's on the coast but it gets mixed reviews as a place to stay.

We visited Nazare and had lunch by the beach. Very touristy, and we were glad we weren’t staying there. There was an area above downtown , on. cliff, which we did not visit. We loved visiting the cathedral in Alcobaça but do not remember the town. Visited Bathalha too. Either would have been better than Nazare, the only place we didn’t like in Portugal.

Do not have a suggestion where to stay, but we really liked our visit to Alcobaca - elegant and simple beauty.

We have stayed in Nazaré a number of times but - bar one time - have always rented. Hotels are fairly basic - the only one that we stayed in was Hotel Praia, which has a good location, and is fine but not amazing in any way. It's clean, and comfortable enough, but fairly soulless - we stayed in winter time so it was a bit chilly in the evenings. We didn't use the rooftop pool. I like Nazaré a lot - most of the tourists are Portuguese, so the town is not "slick" in any way and there is little there in the way of frills. The beach is beautiful but the waves are high and it can be dangerous for swimming. My favourite part is Sitio, which is the older part of the town at the top of the Elevador (the funicular railway) - the views are magnificent and it's a wonderful place just to sit and watch the sunset. Sitio is also the home of Praia do Norte of surfing fame. If you like seafood Nazaré and Sitio have some amazing restaurants which book out quickly at weekends - O Tasquinho or Casa OSanto in Nazare and Casa Pires in Sitio were our favourites.

I think it would be a good stop for an overnight stay, but it's not a typical tourist town and it doesn't appeal to everyone.

If the point of the stop is to visit Batalha and Alcobaça, I would stay inland. But we stayed in Nazaré, in the old part of the town. Driving to visit the other towns was a little confusing.

https://flic.kr/p/2gxtMqM
Alcobaça has a large covered market so there must be some tourist accommodations in this fairly large town.

https://flic.kr/p/2gxasrr