michelle_dorland

My husband and I are going to Portugal in Oct for 9 nights (8 1/2 days). We are arriving/leaving into Lisbon. We would love to see Lisbon, Porto and have a couple of days near the beach. In Oct, are there any nice beach areas between Lisbon and Porto?

Otherwise, we are thinking of spending 2-3 days in Porto, 3 days in Lisbon, and 2-3 days in the Algarve region. If we go to the Algarve region, which town should we stay at? Ryanair has a direct flight from Porto to Faro, so I was thinking it could be doable to visit all 3 places.

Also, does anyone have any hotel or restaurant recommendations for Lisbon? Which areas of Lisbon are good to stay at?

I'd appreciate anyone's advice.
thanks, Michelle

Nhgirl3G

Back 30 years ago for our honeymoon we stayed in Lisbon for one week and the Algarve for one week. While in Lisbon we took a couple of day trips, one to Sintra, which was beautiful. In the Algarve we stayed at a lovely resort. Have fun.

blueridge

We spent 1 1/2 weeks in Portugal September 2011. In Lisbon we stayed at Sofitel Liberdade 4 nites - currently their own hotel site shows $175/nite advance booking rate for a double - this is a VERY nice hotel, and we liked the location (quiet, elegant tree-lined boulevard, metro directly outside, though we generally walked everywhere). However, I had considered Residencial Florescente on Rua Portas De Santo Antao due to guidebook recommendations and online reviews, so we walked inside it while there - if you like to be in the action, this is a great location on a street chock full of restaurants (where we ate 2 of our 4 nights- Lisbon glows at night from the lights shimmering off its white stone streets - hope its still warm enough for your to enjoy outside dinners), and the place was very clean looking, and we were warmly greeted on entry - I'd choose it next time for best location - its direct website now shows $85 to $153 including breakfast. We visited Sintra by train from Lisbon -you can also visit the walled hill town of Obidos from Lisbon (we spend one night there , and I'd recommend a stay if it fits your schedule).

In Porto (which we loved in just 2 nights) we stayed at Mercure Porto Centro (direct website now showing $92/nite in October -no breakfast). It was very nice, had parking if you're driving - it's very near a main shopping street, and a fun tram ride down to the river level. However, if your budget stretches to it, I'd try for the Guest House Douro, though it's probably too late to get a room - see their site and the incredible river views from some rooms (140 to 180 EUROS/nite - you must email them - we were unable to get a room months in advance).

My recommendation for a bit of beach time would be Cascais, which is just a 45 minute train ride along the "coast" from Lisbon. We spent just one night there and wished we'd had more time. There is the greatest wide paved walk between Cascais and Estoril right along the beach where folks were surfing, bathing, etc. (sand beaches). Plenty of bars/snack shops right on the walk way to stop for food and views. Do NOT miss the walk. The Algarve should be warmer, of course. We got a great price on Hotel Baia, and I'd recommend the place, be sure to get ocean view rooms - it's really on a bay, but a lovely walk through the romantic town of Cascais. Hotel Baia's own site is showing $138/nite with breakfast for October 2012.

We trained between Porto and Lisbon - very easy. You will have a great time in Portugal whatever you do!

amer_can

You might want to take a look at the pousadas website..Sometimes there are great bargins and the pousadas are always great places to stay. Pestana group is another site worth a look see..We had a wonderful deal one time a few years ago with car and pousadas 6 nights car and 5 nights hotels for about 650Euros..total!!Oct. was a beautiful month for us!! Pestana Group has Pestana Palace in Lisbon and Pousadas has Dona Maria in Queluz..both have parking and include breakfast. If you belong to Leading Hotels of the World LHW.com) you get an ungrade at both.. Take a look. You will enjoy Portugal very much!!

MyriamC

Cascais has some beautiful beaches indeed, especially the one at Guincho. In October however, I doubt whether it will still be beach weather. The Algarve usually still has perfect weather in October. We love the Eastern Algarve and Tavira in particular. It's still authentic and pretty quiet, without the loud bars and young crowds. We usually rent an apartment/penthouse over there, which, outside the tourist season, is alsy possible for just a few days. Tavira as well as Faro have a Pousada, too, if you prefer to stay in a nice hotel. There must be other hotels in the area but mostly it's self-catering.