rsgdmd

My wife & I will be traveling to Portugal for 9 days and nights in mid October. Our tentative plans are:
Arrive Wed. AM from US, 3 days and nights in Lisbon; pick up rental car Sat AM, drive to Evora for day & then to Castelo de Vide for the night; Sunday go to Belmonte and then to Viseu; Monday travel to Porto with stop in Guimaraes. Two nights in Porto - Mon, Tues. Wed. drive to Coimbra, Tomar & then Batalha. Thursday go to Obidos and then Sintra. Stay overnight in Sintra & then drive to Lisbon airport for Fri AM flight home.
It seems like a lot of places to see in 9 days, but most places are anywhere from 45 min to 1:45 apart. Does this seem like a reasonable schedule? Any must see place we're missing? Any place to skip to spend more time elsewhere.
Thanks

lreynold1

Based on your destinations, I'm thinking that maybe you are planning a visit to cities in Portugual with historical synagogues and old Jewish neighborhoods. My comments are more general so you may not find them helpful if you have chosen this itinerary for a specific reason.

Evora -- I personally think you can see main sights in a half day, but it will be rushed.

Castelo de Vide is about 12 kms from Marvao, which has a spectacular castle with great views of the surrounding area. Castelo de Vide has fewer tourists and less of a view.

Belmonte's synagogue is still holding services, the castle is nice, and there are some peculiar Roman ruins a km or two out of town. The pousada there is particularly nice, a bit out of town in an old convent, if you like staying in these hotels.

Viseu doesn't have a lot to see, there are some famous painting by Grao Vasco, a 16th (?) century Portuguese painter. Nice town.

Guimaraes is probably the town with the most to see of the places you have listed. I think you could easily spend a full day here or more, especially if you include the cable car and also a drive to the prehistoric Citania dos Breiteiros.

You really have only one day in Porto if you see Guimaraeson Monday and leave on Wednesday. I think one full day for the highlights of the city is adequate, but you won't get to see the Douro Valley, which IMO is one of the prettiest parts of Portugal. I spent about ten days in and around the Douro Valley in 2009 and here are some pictures. https://picasaweb.google.com/1041057.../TripWithDana#

Coimbra, Tomar and Batalha strikes me as way too much for one day.

Driving to Obidos, visiting it, then driving to Sintra will not leave you much time for Sintra. There is a lot to see and do in Sintra, there are tons of tourists, and the sites may be crowded. Driving is a headache in the town but if you have a car it may be the best way to see the castles up above.

I am a prety active traveler, but I think this itinerary is pushing it. Though the actual drive time may be 45 to 1:45, you have to add on the extra time it will inevitably take to get into town, get parked, and get out of town.

Good luck with the planning.

rsgdmd

Thanks for the input. I actually didn't pick this itinerary for any specific reason. I based it off a few commercial tours. I was thinking I bit off a little too much. I probably need 14 days to do my initial itinerary justice.
SO, skipping Viseu and Belmonte will make it better, but probably still too rushed. So, either I cut out a couple more places Or keep our trip to the central part of Portugal (skipping Porto for another time) Or pretty much stick to Lisbon and Porto, with day trips from there...
Thoughts?

tailsock

I like the idea of Lisboa and Porto as bases with day trips from each. You might not get to see everything you had listed but then again it was a very VERY busy itinerary for 10 days. Sintra is a very easy day trip from Rossio station in Lisbon so I wouldn't recommend a car for that

lreynold1

I think it's a matter of personal preference if you like the day trip concept or the keep moving concept. For short trips, I lean toward the latter but it's not my trip! Tailsock's idea is a good one for day trips, but the coming in and out of Lisbon every day or in and out of Porto can be time consuming and frustrating.

For 9 days, I think you could have a fine trip to Lisbon and a circle of towns out and back for a few days. Lisbon to Evora to Estremoz to Marvao to Tomar to Coimbra and back to Lisbon is one option.

For Sintra, a car may be a hassle, but I've been there numerous times with a car and it is nice to have the flexibility to go visit some of the more remote sites: http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/

And if you spend a couple of nights in Sintra, you could take the car to one of my favorite fresh fish restaurants on the lovely Praia d'Adraga. http://www.restaurantedaadraga.com/

SusannahT

I also highly recommend Sintra. We used it as our base in Portugal with day trips to Lisbon, Obidos, Batalha & Alcobaca. Lisbon was our least favourite place but we were enchanted with our little house in Sintra.

On another trip we enjoyed Braganza & Nazarre.

Enjoy planning

chapla

Please don't shortchange your visit to Sintra-magical!

rsgdmd

So, taking into account all your very helpful recommendations.... Lisbon & Porto with day trips would work, but there would be a lot of backtracking, though we could do it without a rental car. I came up with an itinerary focussing on Lisbon and the central part of the country.
How does this sound?
We arrive Wed, AM and spend 3 days, nights in Lisbon. Get rental car Sat AM & go to Evora for day and overnight. Sunday go to Estremoz or Elvas and then to Marvao for the night. Next day go to Tomar for a few hrs. and then to Batalha. Tuesday, go to Alcobaha (?) and then on to Obidos for overnite. Wed go to Sintra for two nights and fly home Friday AM.
So, we have almost 3 full days in Lisbon, almost a full day in Evora, 1/2 a day +/- in each of the next few stops and a full day + in Sintra. All these stops assume an early start to each day.
For those who have been, does this sound like a plan?
Thanks

lreynold1

I think it is a much more relaxing and realistic itinerary. As between Estremoz and Elvas, if you like those Vauban forts, then Elvas is for you. If you want a large town/small city with a castle turned into a pousada, then go to Estremoz. Both are enjoyable, neither is a knockout, IMO.

Are you thinking of spending a night in or near Batalha? If yes, and if you then plan to drive to Alcobaca and then on to Obidos on Tuesday, I'd maybe forge ahead and get to Sintra that night, then you'd have much more time in Sintra. Depending on when you are going to be in Obidos, it is frequently totally overrun with tourists. It's pretty, don't get me wrong, but it is very touristy, and I think Marvao gives you a lot of the same castle bang for the buck. I admit that Obidos at night without tourists is quite pleasant, but then so is Sintra. I have read many comments here of people saying, take an hour or two to walk around Obidos, then move on. So, that's an option. I think that some of the Sintra sites are much more unusual and worth a visit, but that's just an opinion. Either way, you have come up with a very nice itinerary, I think.

SusannahT

I would second spending more time in Sintra - there are lots of palaces, gardens & a castle to visit. Obidos can be very crowded.