Cascais or Algarve?
 

Hi everyone,

It will be our first trip to Portugal, and I've been coordinating with Portugal Trails to try to get our itinerary in order. They've done a fantastic job and our itinerary is as follows:

Day 1- arrive in Lisbon
Day 2 - Lisbon with half day private walking tour
Day 3 - Sintra
Day 4 - travel north to Porto in rental car, stopping in Nazare for lunch
Day 5 - Porto
Day 6 - Porto into Douro Valley & staying in Pinhao
Day 7 - Pinhao
Day 8 - Pinhao to ???
Day 9 - ?
Day 10 - ?
Day 11 - leave out of Lisbon

Originally, they had us stopping through Evora, but we really want to spend the last let relaxing in a beach town. They are recommending Cascais, which looks lovely and would certainly be convenient, but my boyfriend and I are wondering if it might be worth making the trip further south to Algarve. Specifically, we have our eye on the Bengali sea caves. Is this worth the extra time and coordination it will take or should we make it easier on ourselves and relax in Cascais for the last few days?

Thank you!

Whoops - I meant Benagil sea caves!

When the subject is sun and bitched, Algarve is the number one destination in Portugal.

When the subject is sun and beaches...

Thanks Lobo_mau. Even with the 6 hour drive from Pinhao then the 2.5 hour drive back up to make our flight in Lisbon, it's still worth it for just 2 days? Also, do you have any recommendations for where to stay so that we're in a beach town with restaurants and nightlife, but in walking distance to beaches?

My view is its not worth it. Especially all the way from Pinhao. We drove from Pinhao down towards the Algarve but broke up the trip by two overnights along the way. One in Marvao and one in Evora. I cant imagine making the long drive all the way to the Algarve especially for a 2 night stay. Not worth it. I would stick closer to Lisbon.

agree with mnag

Cascais is a tiny town. The beach is the size of a postage stamp. Some nice shops and cafes.

Nazare has a nice beach, but it is windy there and the water is freezing.

The beach at Estoril is filthy.

I love Sintra. So beautiful.

Thin

The beach at Cascais is not very large, true, but if your budget will cover, check out the hotel Grand Real Italia (something like that) it is lovely! very nice pool! Also you can walk along the sea on the rocky shore for some pleasant views. For 2 nights it would make a pleasant end of the trip.

I haven't been to Algarve but I absolutely loved Cascais. It's a pretty and relaxed beach town. Indeed their beaches are tiny but they are nice. I got a few pictures from my Cascais trip, maybe that helps you to make a decision. :)

http://traumchaser.com/a-hidden-gem-cascais-portugal

Thanks everyone!