Accommodation in Sintra Portugal
 

May I first apologize to regulars on this form. I have done a search but did not find the answers I am looking for. Also I know my timeline will seem a little rushed but we are just looking for a taste while we are there. Three sisters travelling together. We will arrive in Lisbon am Sat Oct 12, we plan to drive to the Algarve and spend 5 nights. We want to book a villa that is in progress. Leave Algarve morning of Aug 17, drive to Sintra. We would like to drive to Sintra and stay there that evening. The next morning we will drive to the airport, drop off rental car, spend the day in Lisbon, stay at throw away airport hotel and catch a 6:30 am flight which goes to Toronto, Canada with an 8 hour lay over in the Azores.
I am hoping for some help with accommodation in Sintra and Lisbon airport. Also any help the brain trust has on tourist locations to visit in all locations. It seems that both palaces in Sintra are a good idea. What is at the top of a quick Lisbon visit. Any favourite places in the Algarve or Azores?
Thanks in advance. A

The Pena Palace was exceptional. I'm not sure you'd have time to see both palaces so I would visit the Pena first and the National if you have time. The national is right in town and easy to access. I thought Sintra was wonderful.

In Lisbon I liked the Tile Museum (something different) and the Monastery in Belem. Also the decorative arts museum if you have time. Taxis in Lisbon are inexpensive and you no sooner lift your hand and there's one in front of you. Taxis will save you a lot of time since you only have the day.

The airport is very close to downtown Lisbon where the action is and at that early morning hour should take you no more than 20 minutes. I'd be inclined to stay in town and get up a few minutes earlier.

I take it you're planning on leaving the Algarve on 17 Oct, after 5 nights. I recommend you check out www.booking.com to see what's available and the number of rooms you'll need. It would be the same for the Algarve. There are a dozen or so decent hotels within a few minutes taxi ride of the airport, including the Hotel Roma (www.hotelroma.pt).

It's a good three-hour drive from around Faro to Sintra, depending on traffic.

Interesting. Part of the reason we were looking for an airport hotel was all the nightmare stories about driving in Lisbon. I figured we had to get back to airport and that would be my only driving in Lisbon. I guess we could drop off car at airport and take some kind of shuttle to a downtown airport.

Hi Kinloch, I realize you posted looking for accommodation in Sinatra but if you need any suggestions for the Algarve I will try to help. My husband and I have had a home there for 25 years and we fly there from the US twice a year, spending at least a month each time.

Some areas of the Algarve are very built up with tourist developments, bars, night life and other areas are quieter and more natural with a real Portuguese ambience. Basing yourselves about midway between the eastern and western borders, on the coast is ideal as one day you can drive about an hour or two east to explore that area (Faro/Tavira) and other day/s meander in a westerly direction out to Sagres checking out the small fishing villages and lovely beaches out that way.

What area are you renting your villa? Depending where you will be located I have a fabulous small family run restaurant to recommend if you will be nearby. Tourists who discover this small place usually come back again, some for their remaining evenings as they say it is the best they have found and they love the charming ambience and warmth shown to clients by the owners.

I hope you will have a great trip to Portugal.

That sounds reasonable, but I would opt for a taxi, quick, reliable and inexpensive. And yes, you do not want to drive in downtown Lisbon unless you have to.

Note: Even if you where to stay in Cascais, it's only 30 minutes to the airport. I believe the last taxi we took from out there was around €35, airport fee included.

I've already stated that taxis are cheap and plentiful and now you want to take a shuttle?

Nobody pays that much attention, adrienne.

OK so I get it no shuttles...taxis all the way.
Lots of helpful info in all these messages. I will talk to my sisters about staying in one location for the two last nights. I assume you are recommending Cascais instead of Sintra. That would allow us to stay in a Pousada which we really wanted to do. Someone did tell us Sintra is beautiful to wander around at night, that is why we were wanting to stay right in town. So far no recs for specific places to stay in Sintra.
lowcountrycarol I would love some input into the time in the Algarve. The villa we wanted was in Prainha but it was gone by the time we tried to confirm. We would love some place that is right on some beach we can walk down to. We would also like to be able to walk to some nice little very Portugese restaurant, drink red wine, eat lots and laugh. We are there to visit each other don't need bars or night life. I know most people would think October is past beach weather but we are from the east coast of Canada and can take it a little cooler. Kinloch

Yes, Cascais in much more interesting, you'll be on the beach and the dining is better.

If you check the current weather, it's very warm in the north. Last year we ran into 90F weather in the Douro River Valley in late October.

We had great weather in the north in Oct. last year also so the south will probably be good too. Check out the pousadas.pt site as they may have some pretty good special offers. You won't go wrong with a night or two in one of them.

<< Someone did tell us Sintra is beautiful to wander around at night >>

There's nothing going on in Sintra at night and it's dark. You would not want to wander around those narrow, winding streets. I stayed near the National Palace and ate near the train station and neither of those area had any activity.

<< I know most people would think October is past beach weather >>

Not in Portugal - you'll be passing out from the heat.

Hello, Could someone define old vs new Albuferia for me. We are looking at a villa in Olhos d'Agua. Any thoughts if that would be a nice area? Thanks K
PS If you are lurking lowcountrycarol I would love some input on Algarve.