4 days in Portugal - Itinerary Help
 

Hello experts,

My wife and I are doing a EasyJet long weekend trip from our home in Basel to Lisbon (first trip, timing is December). We have four days. We are 30 and "power travelers" - take in alot quickly and like to cover alot of ground.

What itinerary would you recommend -we would prefer train travel if possible and we use Starwood points for hotels so likely would want to stay in major cities (Lisbon, Porto)

Many thanks for any advice. I have looked through other posts and its clear we should limit ourselves to Lisbon + 1 region and we have an interest in Porto based on reading but are open.

Thanks alot!

I don't know if we classify as "power travellers" so I hope others will chime in. But we spent 3 days in Lisbon and rather wished we had budgeted more time. (we had spent 2 weeks in the Algarve area just prior).I think you should do the Porto/Lisbon split on a 2day/2day basis ONLY if you rent a car for the Porto part. Driving in Portugal is an adventure, but you are young and that will help the nerves. Train travel on a time-budget like yours will be stressful.

Lisbon is quite large and is best seen by car. You can get a train upto Porto which has a fair bit to see:

http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_touri...to/ukcity.html

I suggest that you stay in Lisbon and take trips from there. I reccommend Obidos (beautiful town), Fatima, Nazarre, Sintra (palaces), and ofcourse Lisbon itself. There are plenty of buses and trains but a car would be useful for a day or two, especially for Obidos and Nazarre. If you want to see more, you could get a train from Lisbon to another city, Oprorto if that appeals.
Carolena

Kaneda - I don't think you meant that "...Lisbon is quite large and is best seen by car." Maybe you meant Portugal. Lisbon is actually one of the smaller european capitals and definitely should not be done by car. The surrounding area can also be done by train very nicely.

VKnarasi -

Check out my web page on our trip to Portugal. Maybe it can help you in your planning.

http://www.travel.stv77.com/portugal/pt.htm

I would second the recommendation that you stay in Lisbon as a base, and take day trips out to places such as Obidos and Sintra, which has remarkable palaces and great romantic views. There is a lot to see in Lisbon itself, and if you are out to dinner in the Bairro Alto or Alfama you will also really enjoy the views there at night.
Regarding Porto, of course a lot depends on personal tastes, but it was not really one of our favorite places in Portugal. Perhaps we did not see it in the right way, but apart from a really charming dinner at one of the cafes along the river (with festive view of the port houses lit up across the way), we found the city sadly run-down in many areas. We took some interesting walks in different parts, but there were so many other places we preferred in Portugal.
That said, if you go to Porto I hope you find something about it that we somehow didn't, something that makes you glad you went. Have a wonderful trip!

Assuming you don't mind travelling, Tomar, Marvao and Evora are 3 places we liked- in that order. The roads are good and lightly travelled so you can drive places quickly if you get a car. Don't drive in Lisbon.

My wife and I, also in our early 30's, had a 5 day trip to Lisbon earlier this year and created an itenerary based on many suggestions on this site (matt,lobo etc). Our 5 day itenerary went something like this..
Day1 - Arrive, see St George's Castle and take short ferry ride to Christo Rei. Both for the views!
Day2 - Sintra and Cascais (From Sintra seeing Cabo De Roca, most westerly point in Europe is a must, then on to Cascais)
Day3 - Obidos
Day4 - Paid tour to see Arrabida, Sesimbra, Setubal (mainly for the wine tasting and to just be able to get chauffered)
Day5 - Belem,then relaxed!

We absolutely loved every part of this intenerary. All VERY picturesque! Sintra, Cabo De Roca, Obidos, and views from Christo Rei are a must!

If you are using Starwood points and stay in Porto , the Sheraton Porto is awsome. Look at the reviews in Tripadvisor.

there is a great Goan restaurant across from the entrance to st. george's castle.

I second cristo view - excellent.

Might skip Cascais in December since it is a beach town.

Obidos would be very accessible out of town trip.

Have a drink at the roof bar at the Hotel Barrio Alto, the new in-spot and maybe not too well known yet.

In Belem, we loved the Coaches Museum.

Bonnie

"Hot off the press" (so to speak), is our newest Portugal travelogue in which you'll find numerous great tips for your trip to Portugal: www.thetravelzine.com

Our previous travelogues are available via the "Read Our Travelogues" menu at the left.

Enjoy your trip!