Baby Moon suggestions - Spain, Portugal or anywhere
 

Hi Everyone,

So my wife and I are expecting our first in November and are planning a baby moon in late June/Early July and looking for some suggestions. We’re thinking Portigal or the Balaeric Islands (7 Days).

Top of of the list:

Balaeric Islands - where should our home base be? Majorca? What activities can we do?

Lisbon, Portugal. Don’t even know where to start my resesrch.

Must haves:
beaches, good food. Some nightlife (nothing crazy), lots of pretty scenery and a bit of history. I’m ok with air bnb or a couple hotels as our home base. Doesn’t have to be one hotel for 7 days but we don’t want to do hotel hopping from city to city every day!

looking to book flights ASAP.

My my wife will be 5.5 months pregnant so nothing unsafe or with a lot of walking.

You need to consider the heat during those months, nothing is worse than to be hot and uncomfortable while pregnant.
Look at beautiful San Sebastian on Spain’s northern coast. It has everything you are looking for with cooler temperatures than many other locations. Nice beaches. Great food. Interesting culture in the Basque region with easy day trips to charming villages in Spain and France.
I love Lisbon but it has steep hills and no beaches. Save it for another time.

Sounds like you're looking to fly and flop. Are you in Europe or do you live in North America? If the latter, consider not going to Europe - long flights are not fun for preggos, so said my better half.

What HT said....forget Lisbon , the southern Spain I really hot in the summer.

Thanks all.

Any my other recommendations on where to go?

As BigRuss asked -- where are you fling from? That could make a big difference where we might recommend. Also are you planning on flying Business or in Coach? IME that would make a huge difference re how long a flight would be bearable.

I personally wouldn't go pretty much anywhere in southern Europe while pregnant due to the heat. If you can travel earlier it would be better temps-wise.

my apologies. We’re flying from Toronto Canada. We were thinking Switzerland but WAY too expensive

For northern Spain :
from TO you can fly direct to Madrid or Barcelona ( and change to flight to S. Sebastián or
Santander ) Makes for a long day..but getting to a beach town directly from TO would be a problem.

The North is popular with Spaniards in the summer.

Not only Switzerland way too expensive but in November very dreary - not sure any beaches in November will be that nice.

>>Not only Switzerland way too expensive but in November very dreary - not sure any beaches in November will be that nice.<<

November? The baby is due in November . . . not the trip . . .

(why did you think we were talking about the heat?)

loads of women carry babies during the heat all over the world!

I would have thought Lisbon a good choice for late June/early July. The real heat doesn't start until mid-end July thru August. Even places like Cyprus are bearable late June. You can stay in a hill location with easy access to beaches, towns and historical sights with pleasant temps, such as this modest but well regarded / well located hotel. English spoken everywhere and good hospitals. There are loads of hill resorts like this in Greece/it's islands and Cyprus that offer cooler temps and access to beaches when you want them.
Paradisos Hills Hotel & Retreat

Thanks again everyone!

This is very helpful.

I've narrowed it down to 3 Options and am now looking for some feedback:

1) 8 Days in San Sebastian (day trips here and there TBD) - Not sure what there is to do here, but feel that 8 days is way too long for one spot
2) 8 Days in Portugal - Fly into Lisbon and spend 4 days there and 4 days in Porto (skip south portugal altogether)? Yes it's hilly, but we don't need to walk everywhere. I can look at hiring a driver or organized tours
3) 5 Days Portugal, 3 days San Sebastian - will we have time to relax?

We went to the Maldives for my babymoon (traveling from the USA). Tolerance to travel and overall stamina vary greatly for one woman to the next. In Europe, Switzerland is nice in June /July and I think you can budget yourself if that is the country you want to go to. But when I think of Switzerland, I think of hiking, which your wife might not be up to. Italy is always a favorite of mine. Look a the lake region (Como, Lugano, Orta). You could pair it with Tuscany or Venice.

Another idea is to fly into Bordeaux and split your time between San Sebastian and the beaches on the Atlantic in France, near the dune du Pilat for instance-very close to Bordeaux. The beaches on the French side are really nice all the way up to La Rochelle and it would be a lot less driving than trying to split between Portugal and Spain. We have a family home near Royan and that is only about 1 1/2 hours from Bordeaux. There are also lovely little Basque villages like Sare that are nice to explore as well. Another advantage is that the area is much flatter than Portugal. Bordeaux is easy to explore and has a terrific tram system. And it is easy to connect through Paris or London.

www.dunedupilat.com/en/

Visit Bordeaux | Official website for tourism in France

From SS you could visit Bilbao or places on the French side

another option - if you prefer two locations - Barcelona and SS ( both beautiful)



btw...Lisbon is not right on the beach and it is extremely hilly

Sooo I booked the flights...

Plan is to visit Porto and Lisbon.

Arrive Porto June 30th - stay 2-3 nights: What activities/sites should we see? I want to do a Duoro river cruise if it's not too boring :)
Train Porto to Lisbon July 3: Stay 2 nights - What activities / sites should we see?
July 5, 6th and 7th: Veg/beach days.... Where should we go? is Cascai any good?

Also looking for good hotel recommendations in each place... 5 star preferred as my wife will need a quiet and comfy place to sleep, but also want the location to be very central

Now that you've decided where you're going, it's time to hit the books and the internet and make your own decisions about what you want to see and do there. There is no shortage of good guidebooks, and every town and city (and village for that matter) has a website these days. Spend time with your wife perusing and making choices about what would suit YOU two.

For that itinerary take trains between cities where cars are useless and you have little time to mosey between those cities. Book trains at www.cp.pt - Portuguese Railways site - discounts if book early enough to get them. Good info trains: www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. Cascais is a nice enough beach but I'd suggest heading by train to Lagos or Tavira or other Algarve area for some of best beaches in world.

hotel recommendations means using Booking.com
Use the filters to find your idea of good.:)

Sightseeing in Lisbon
 

While I agree with people who suggest this is the time to purchase some guidebooks on Portugal, I don’t mind sharing my research information on Lisbon. We will be there in a few weeks, so this is not based on first-hand experience, but based on my research and our interests.

What do you like to do? Do you like museums? We are planning on visiting the Gulbenkian, Coach,and Tile Museums. We will also visit the Sao George Castle, Jerónimos Monastery & other sites in Belem. Also some small churches such as the Igreja e Museu do Sao Roque. And we love to wander through different neighborhoods.

Hope this helps.

Like KarenWoo, we are actually leaving to visit Portugal next week, so can't give you first hand feedback yet. But we found it as cheap to rent apartments in Lisbon and Porto as hotels. We prefer that because we can have at least breakfast at home without having to get out of pyjamas :) I almost always use Booking.com with free cancellation. Here are the places we are staying:

Lisbon, Chiado Trindade Apartments Lisbon Best Apartments: Rua Nova da Trindade, 6, Santa Maria Maior, 1200-303 Lisbon, Portugal

Porto: Feels Like Home Porto S.Bento Apartments 32 Praça de Almeida Garrett, União de Freguesias do Centro, 4000-069 Porto, Portugal

We decided to split out time in Lisbon with Sintra and are staying here in Sintra:

Casa da Pendoa: Rua Da Pendôa, 17, 2710-610 Sintra, Portugal

One thing that I did look at was how steep the areas are and tried to pick places that were in nice areas where we could walk easily around the neighborhood, so that might be something your wife would appreciate as well, particularly since it will be summer while you are there.

We are foodies, so we have heard a lot about the Time Out market in Lisbon. Someone on another thread said:

"The Timeout market is located inside the Mercado do Ribeira. TImeout was chosen several years ago to revitalize the market which was formerly only for produce, meat, etc. Now the market is divided into 2 sections - the Timeout part where there are tons of restaurants - some with counter seating but also some where you get your food and then find a spot on the long benches with seating in the middle. It's very lively and is open quite late for this kind of food. The traditional market is under the same roof, but in another section of the building."

Also from another thread here on Fodors I found out about a nice seafood, beach restaurant near Sintra:

"If there is any way at all to do this, one of my favorite restaurants in the Lisbon area is between Sintra and Cabo da Roca, the Adraga (seafood)" Restaurante d' Adraga - Sintra

Our itinerary - need help filling in gaps!
 

Thank you so much for this post.... Here is what I've planned so far (this is a surprise trip for my beautiful wife):

Day 1: Arrive Porto early AM - Staying at the Pestana Vintage Porto - Hotel & World Heritage Site... This is $400 / night so I am still looking at less expensive options right by the river
Day 2: Explore Porto and find some nice restaurants
Day 3: Duoro River cruise (Full day)
Day 4 - early AM (Rent a car) and make way to Lisbon - stop at the following locations (Coimbra, Nazare, Obidos as suggested above); Check into Hotel and do some quick exploring.... Hotel: Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel - also free cancellation and looking for cheaper options
Day 5: Full Day in Lisbon - what to do???? Museums are ok, but only 1, maybe 2 max.... we're foodies too and want to explore the amazing food culture... timeout market sounds good too
Day 6: half day in Lisbon - what to do???
Day 7 - drive to Cascais or Algarve
Day 8 Cascais or Algarve
Day 9 Back home ;(

Here are a couple of other comments I picked up in other threads (again can't yet vouch first hand on these) :

"Go to Sintra and maybe also a day trip to Cabo da Roca from there. Sintra is also an extremely crowded tourist destination and a lot to see in Sintra, beyond the three palaces. Look at this site for more places to visit, I particularly like Montserrate and the Convent of the Capuchos." http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/

PortoFor Porto restaurants, we like Pedro Lemos (PedroLemos - Restaurante), but there are more, like lunch at the Yeatman and Cantinho do Avillez-Porto, at Rua Mouzinho da Silveira, 166. You can also try Euskalduna Studio, Rua de Santo Ildefonso, No. 404. Or try Cafeína in Foz, at Rua do Padrão, 100. Also, if you do go down toward the Algarve you might want to check out the spa towns inland from the Algarve beach areas. We are going to stay here one night:

Villa Termal das Caldas de Monchique Spa Resort

And also between Porto and Lisbon we are stopping a night in Aveiro which is supposed to be a nice town with canals.

So just a couple of other ideas from the research I have doing. Hope they help.

We just returned from Lisbon and I'd highly recommend Sao Bento Best Apartments if you're willing to consider a vacation apartment (this is not an airbnb.) They manage other apartments in Lisbon as well (Lisbon Best apartments) but I felt our location was the quietest of all the others. We stayed on Rua de Sao Bento. As others have said you will be doing a lot of uphill walking in Lisbon no matter what! But uber was very easy and inexpensive.
In Cascais we stayed at the Sheraton and it was very quiet as well, although not within walking distance to the town. Again, uber worked well for us there.

Cmm6797, we leave for France today, and we will be in Lisbon on April 22. Any advice you can give us? Places you really liked or disliked? How is the weather? Favorite restaurants? Do you plan to write a trip report?

Bwhizz, I apologize for hijacking your thread!
Thanks!

Thank you -

will check it out...
What was Cascais like? Worth it or should I go to Algarve?

Hey everyone...
Still struggling to decide here.....

How does this itinerary look? Should I cut a day off from Porto so I can spend more time in Algarve? Is it worth it to rent a car or should we just take a train to travel?

If we decide Algarve, what are some nice things to do? I know there are cave tours, etc but what else?
-------------------------------------------------
Day 1: Arrive Porto early AM - Staying at the Pestana Vintage Porto - Hotel & World Heritage Site... This is $400 / night so I am still looking at less expensive options right by the river
Day 2: Explore Porto and find some nice restaurants
Day 3: Duoro River cruise (Full day)
Day 4 - early AM (Rent a car) and make way to Lisbon - stop at the following locations (Coimbra, Nazare, Obidos as suggested above); Check into Hotel and do some quick exploring.... Hotel:Corpo Santo Lisbon Historical Hotel - also free cancellation and looking for cheaper options
Day 5: Full Day in Lisbon - what to do???? Museums are ok, but only 1, maybe 2 max.... we're foodies too and want to explore the amazing food culture... timeout market sounds good too
Day 6: half day in Lisbon - what to do???
Day 7 - drive to Cascais or Algarve
Day 8 Cascais or Algarve
Day 9 Back home ;(

I think the Algarve is a very very long drive, just for a day or two. I would do Cascais (or another beach area that is not quite as far) on this trip and save the Algarve for another time.

Can someone please explain to me what a Baby Moon is?

It's like a honeymoon... but before the baby is born... the last getaway before our life changes forever :)

IMO a Baby Moon therefore is not equivalent to a honeymoon. A BM takes place BEFORE your lives change forever whereas a HM takes place AFTER your lives change forever.

It seems to me just another excuse for a holiday. Just call it that without any Hallmark or whatever suggestion.

anyways do you have any suggestions for my holiday?

I think Algarve is too far for one night. We didn't visit Casais so cant really comment (but seems touristy to me). Have you considered Evora (Alentejo region)? We enjoyed our stay at the Convento do Espineiro. The drive/scenery will be pleasant. You can combine Evora with a whitewashed town like Monsaraz. I have attached my trip report in case its useful.

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...garve-1127506/

bwhizz - it seems that you have decided on Portugal rather than Italy which is where I usually comment.

Heat wise - it depends what you are used to but based upon your 9 day program it would appear that you do not envisage any problems being 2 months when posting and 4/5 months when travelling.

Take it careful.

Too rushed.
Coimbra is worth at least one night, preferably two.

Forget the Algarve, not worth the trek if you're planning on some quality beach time, and you do not want a car in Lisbon. You don't need one for Sintra, Cascais or Estoril, or Obidos for that matter, they can all be done my public transport from Lisbon.

For Lisbon see: https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...lisbon-759058/

Yes Coimbra, Nazare and land in Obidos way too much - cut Nazare and just spend half-day in Coimbra - was enough for me to see the classic upper town but could always spend more time but Nazare was nice I thought but not owrth a quick look like this. Consider staying in Nazare - lovely old fishing village with a cliff-top citadel or church or something but just aneat old seaside town.

Nazare was a nice place stop for beach front seafood lunch. Interesting town and history. I would consider a stay there, up on the cliff.
CaisCais is OK, nothing wrong with it, but I’m glad we saw it as a daytrip and didn’t stay there. We walked down the beach to Estoril too. Both give a slightly faded look of days gone by. Take a train there from Lisbon.