2 Weeks in Portugal
 

My wife and I will be travelling to Portugal at the end of September. We enjoy taking in as much of the culture and environment as possible when travelling. A lot of walking and discovering. Of course, food is a top priority too. We will be renting a car after Porto until we get to Lisbon. We are just looking to firm up our itinerary and your help would be appreciated.

- 3 nights in Porto (day trip to Douro Valley)
- 1 night in Coimbra
- 1 night in Evora
- 4 nights in the Algarve (Lagos or Albufeira)
- 4 nights in Lisbon

A few questions:

Instead of a day trip to the Douro Valley, should we plan to stay there for 1 or 2 nights?

We are open to switching Coimbra and/or Evora with Aveiro and/or Obidos. Are there any preferences?

We plan on driving to different beaches and different towns/cities while in the Algarve. Between Lagos and Albuferia, which is a better homebase?

Coimbra was deffo the highlight of our trip!

Awesome! Would you suggest we spend 2 nights in Coimbra instead of 1 and 1 in Evora?

1 night each in Coimbra and Evora is OK because they appear to be stops between the important locations, Porto and the Algarve. Otherwise it is too short a time for each.

Why the Algarve? It has some very nice sights, but it is mainly sun and sea. I would stick to the area between and including Porto and Lisbon, going all the way to the Spanish frontier, and drop the Algarve.

I know that the Algarve is touristy, however, we just want to hang out on different beaches for a few days. It does seem beautiful to the eye as well.

The whole coast of Portugal has beautiful beaches:

Does anyone have recommendations for a 1-night accommodation in Coimbar? Will be there in early September. Thanks!

In Coimbra, across the river in the Santa Clara district, we've stayed at the historic Quinta das Lagrimas with extensive, beautiful gardens, outdoor and indoor pools, spa and 2 restaurants (one a former Michelin star). For a luxury property, it isn't all that terribly expensive, but it get booked very solidly in September.

The Hotel Oslo is a solid 3-star choice.

The Sapientia Boutique Hotel is located within the University district and is a new selection of Rusticae and Tablet hotels with rooms, lofts & apartments. I haven't seen it.
Hotel | Sapientia Boutique Hotel - Books & Wine | Coimbra

I'm still stuck on whether 3 nights (the first being our arrival date) in Porto will be enough if we were to include a day trip to the Douro Valley. Should we stay for a 4th night in Porto? Should we stay a night or 2 in Douro?

Working with our limited available time, we chose to do a day trip from Porto to Douro Valley and were quite pleased. It is a whole day, but thoroughly worth it. We hit three wineries and had a delectable lunch at one, comfortable transport in a minivan with max 8 people. Booked through a wine club, the actual provider was EFun tours and they were superb. It was their three wineries plus lunch tour.
In Porto, we loved the Porto Walkers Port Wine Tour that hit three port houses of differing histories and characters, led by knowledgeable and friendly guides. Their free (gratuities accepted) morning walking tour is also quite good.
In Porto, do not miss the Serralves museum.

Instead of a day trip to the Douro Valley, should we plan to stay there for 1 or 2 nights?

I would certainly suggest a day trip to Duro Valley. The oldest wine region is quite exotic. Moreover, you can stay in the country estate which is convenient and comfortable.


We are open to switching Coimbra and/or Evora with Aveiro and/or Obidos. Are there any preferences?

Coimbra is certainly aesthetically appealing.

We plan on driving to different beaches and different towns/cities while in the Algarve. Between Lagos and Albuferia, which is a better Homebase?

Albuferia on any given day because of the amazing caves and the exciting coastline with plenty of Dolphin watching trips