Hi SD sunflower: Our itinerary is depart Boston May 4th arrive in Lisbon at 0800 and then train to Estoril/Casais for 2 nights. Train to Lisbon for 3 nights. Train to Tomar for 2 nights, to Comibra for 3 nights and train to Porto for 5 nights return to Boston on May 20th. We had to shave 1 night off our flight due to flight routes (traveling KLM via Amsterdam). Not many day trips planned as we have been stayed in Ericeira on 3 occasions and day tripped Obidos and Sintra. Also stayed in Evora and day tripped from there. Have been to Lisbon prior as well. We stayed in Guimaraes as well and day tripped Braga and Porto. Also loved Viana do Castelo with its magnificent beaches. We always had a rental car in previous Portugal trips which made day trips very easy. A little more confined with public transport but looking forward to relaxing in each destination and just chilling. As for the Algarve, that is definitely a separate trip in my opinion. We flew into Seville drove to the Algarve for 7 days and then 3 nights in Seville. Great holiday.
Do research Ericeira, a hidden gem, so pretty, great walks along the cliffs over the beaches which go for miles, not a lot of tourists/crowds and numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants. Picture postcard village. And so affordable.
Enjoy!

Thank you Mike for sharing your trip! Wish we had more time too!!
we are going to hire a driver/guide to be able to have flexibility with the en route stops…
our driver/guide suggested we do a day trip from Porto to Guimaraes /Douro valley: rather than just a Douro trip only.
Costs are high it appears for drivers/guides here as compared to our amazing one we have planned for our Croatia trip in September!
But we really want to learn as much as possible while in Portugal and value our time … costs to travel are now worth it since we are seniors…
”you can’t take it with you”. 😆

Maribel: You are right! We need to choose… leaning to Conimbriga + Tomar (even though hate to miss Alcobaca) en route to Lisbon.

Once we have settled on route totally, I will reply here to hopefully help other confused Portugal newbies like us.

SDsunflower,
About doing both Guimarães and the Douro Valley in one day-
That seems overly ambitious to me---- to do justice both to the lovely city of Guimarães, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and cradle of Portuguese identity plus the wide Douro Valley in one fell swoop.
I suspect that the day will look like this:
A morning drive to Guimarães to allow you to do a self-guided tour of the historic quarter and perhaps a visit on your own either to the 11th century Castle OR to the Palace of the Dukes of Bragança. Then on to the Douro Valley, but where in the valley?

I suspect, but don't know, that it might be a stop in Mesão Frío at the western most end of the valley, just an hour's drive from Guimarães.
The wineries there aren't the most prestigious, nor is that section of the Douro Valley at its very most scenic, but maybe a "taste" of the Douro will suffice and will be all that you need to get a "peek" at the valley.

I would just ask what portion of the Douro Valley you'll be visiting and whether or not it will just be a driving tour or if there will be a stop for a winery visit or for lunch somewhere?
I think that the private transfer company is trying to fit in the very most of Portugal it can in your time frame.
Just some thoughts...

Maribel
you are probably right! I never thought to include Guimaraes on that day!
The driver/guide suggested it (the one you used as well as the one from my Lisbon hotel).
I will need to ask where in Douro we stop!!
The small group tour we originally booked as recommended by hotel was 8 hours, only 6 people max, with short boat ride of hour, lunch and winery visit. A Douro valley day

We were only going to use private driver if Guimaraes was included… we don’t need private winery visits…. We like wine, but NOT big drinkers and by no means, experts… 😆 … will tell them to pass on that town then.

also, it’s interesting how the drivers keep telling me they want to include places everyone says is too much to see: “time management” they say is the key…whatever that is….
We said only want a long, but wonderful day from Coimbro to Lisbon : 2 sites as you suggest… Tomar and Conimbriga… both agencies said they didn’t think we should miss Obidos as a stop en route….and pass through Peniche before getting to Lisbon. No extra charges for stops …. Our choice they say.
very confusing…

we hope a brief stop in Cascais when we do the SIntra day trip will at least give us a feel for the seaside.

Your advice is so very much appreciated!!

SDsunflower,
Yes, I think that if the transfer company includes both beautiful Guimarães and the Douro in that day, it most likely short changes the Douro---probably a drive along the river for photo ops.
A complete, typical 8-hour "Douro day" would include a drive up to one of the spectacular viewpoints (miradouro), a couple of winery visits, a lunch and a one-hour boat ride from Pinhão upriver, the prettiest part.

Since it's your time and money, I would insist that the stopovers be only the ones that you want and think are reasonable to do them justice rather than what a driver wants to "pack in" to the day to make it just exhausting and too fast paced.
Just some thoughts...

Have you checked with the transfer company Splendid Journey, that works all over the country?
https://splendidjourney.com.pt

Maribel:
We checked with Premier Pt as well as other driver from hotel .
Splendid journey didn’t mention guides, just transfers…. Will look again!
thanks SO much!

Wow, I was looking for advice and stumbled upon this thread and we are doing almost the exact same trip at the exact same time (June 17-26)! The only difference is that we are in our late 20s. I don't mean to hi-jack this thread but I was hoping to ask a couple questions and share some of my research as well.

We have 9 real days to travel, arrive June 17 AM and fly back to Canada in June 26 noon. Based on my preliminary research and the advice from the prior posts, I have came up with this and we won't be driving:

June 17-18 - Lisbon at a resort (Epic Sana Lisboa?) to relax and do local activities
June 19 - leave Lisbon in the morning and head to PortoJune 20 - Porto
June 21 - Duoro Valley and take a night train to Coimbra
June 22 - Stay overnight at Coimbra and half day trip and arrive Lisbon in the evening
June 23 - Sintra day trip
June 24 - Cascais day trip and sunset at Ursa Beach (no Algarve so we wanted a beach day)
June 25 - Lisbon?
June 16 - Leave Portugal

We are hoping to squeeze in one more day trip to Evora, Obidos, Tomar or Guimaraes... But not sure how doable this will be. We are young and active so able to move fast but we also don't want to rush things... This however may also be our one and only trip to Portugal.

Can anyone give advice which day trip would be the best out of the 4 and if it will be worth it to squeeze it in? And where that should go? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

If I read your itinerary right you are cramming WAY to much into a 9 day trip. Train from Lisbon to Porto for one day? And if you proceed to the Douro you will not have time for Porto. Porto needs at least 2-3 full days. Coimbra for half a day? All that train travel to see 1 day in Porto/Douro and half day in Coimbra? Does not make sense. Sintra in June? Crazy crowds and very hot. Not enjoyable to me unless you go very early in the morning. Your plans leave no real time for Lisbon which again needs at least 2-3 full days. Tomar, Guimaraes, Evora? Forget about it. No way you can squeeze those in with you allocated time.
If you are flying in and out of Lisbon base out of Lisbon and consider a train to Porto for 3 nights with one day to see the Douro. From Lisbon you can take easy day trips to Sintra, Cascais, or Obidos.. I would pick one of the towns, maybe 2, definitely not all 3. As I said the end of June can be very hot in Lisbon why so much running around, fighting crowds and spending beautiful weather best enjoyed outside then sitting on trains.

Just my thoughts. Mike

Also, the night train to Coimbra is nonsense. There is no night train from the Douro valley (or anywhere else in Portugal since the services from Spain have been discontinued). FYI, you can travel by train from Porto to Coimbra in just over an hour, from Pinhao the 18:14 service takes three and a half hours.

I wonder what "local activities" the OP has in mind for the "resort".

Hi all,
​​​​​​Thank you for your replies! Mike1728 I just wanted to clarify that I was thinking of staying at Porto for 3 days (2 days in Porto on June 19 (arrive from early AM train from Lisbon),20 and Duoro Valley day trip from Porto on June 21). I was thinking of leaving Porto on June 21 evening to head to Coimbra and stay there for a night so we can have the hotel hold my luggage while we explore for half a day the next day on June 22 before heading back to Lisbon. I read from this thread that there is no luggage storage in Coimbra which can be difficult if we arrived during the day. Then, staying in Lisbon until we leave and base day trips of Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon. We will have time to explore Lisbon on the first days when we arrive (June 17,18) and the last day, June 25. Hopefully this makes it clearer of my plans... But please let me know if it's too much still... I guess there's no way I should add any more. We don't mind too much with what we have so far as the day trips are not too long except for the one from Lisbon to Porto. I understand it will be quite hot in Sintra but we plan to arrive to Pena Palace before it opens at 9:30am (we start our days very early generally). Also, I am okay rushing a little since it may be our only visit but I don't want to be unrealistic. Also, thursdaysd, I generalized with local activities as in attractions with walkable distance or by train/bus. I will look up a 2-3 day Lisbon itinerary to follow. We fly to Portugal from Vancouver which is a long flight, so we wanted to have access to rooftop pools and the spa after exploring the city.

​​​​​I hope this clarifies a bit but maybe we are still doing too much? I would appreciate any feedback. Thank you so much.

Michelle

Michelle, thanks for your clarifications on your dates. Not sure of your experience in traveling Portugal/Europe. I have been over 70 times and initially started during my rookie years and younger like your group as to trying to "see everything at once". Not a good idea. Portugal is such a beautiful country it really has to be enjoyed at a leisurely pace in my opinion. As you are young-think that maybe you will be back in a few years (and I think you will after you see the country and the friendliness of the people and the incredibly low prices for lodging, food, vino, ect, not to mention great weather).
That being said, talk to your group come up with "must sees" and try to fit them into a reasonable time frame. Keep some time for down time, simply relaxing with some cold beers al fresco or long coffee mornings and incredible pastries at the outdoor cafes. If you run around in a whirl, you will go back home and look back and your vacation will be a haze of a memory. Just my opinion.