I'm getting nervous that my itinerary is too packed and i'm going to be rushing from destination to destination. I don't like packing multiple museums and churches into a single day, i get tired and it all starts to blur together. I also don't like to be checking in and out of hotels constantly. BUT, like most Americans, i only get a few weeks off a year so it's important to experience as much as possible.

My itinerary is listed below. I need help deciding if I should either skip Obidos, Sintra, or Evora so i can have more time in the other locations. I think Obidos and Evora will both satisfy my desire to see village life. Are they very distinct from each other (I know they must be but are they distinct enough for me to see both considering how little time i have)? Does one village feel more authentic than the other?

Oct 6-9 - Lisbon, Belem

Oct 10-12 - Evora (one of the days spent driving to a nearby town e.g., Elvas, Monsaraz, Marvao)

Oct 13 - Driving to and then exploring Obidos

Oct 14 - Drive up to Batalha or Alcobaca (which one?!) and then driving to Sintra

Oct 15 - Sintra

Oct 16 - leave Sintra in the morning and go to airport

Use Obidos as your base from which to see Batalha and Alcobaca. You can get a taste of Obidos in the evening and easily see both Batalha and Alcobaca in the same day without being on "overload."

Of your 3 choices, Evora was my least favorite. However, Marvao was the absolute highlight of our trip and I would do everything possible to keep it in the plans.

xxxx - thank you very much for the reply. I'll move Marvao further up my list of things to see and do.

I agree, see the others from Obidos--including Nazare. Evora is cool, but Marvao is magical. You could stay in Estromoz and see both as day trips.

I don't think you have overloaded your schedule at all.

We visited Obidos but have not yet been to Evora. So I cannot comment on which would give you a better flavor of village life.

We like to be on the road immediately when we arrive in Portugal. So I would flip your schedule.

I would visit Lisbon at the end of the trip and be no more than a taxi ride from the airport. The car would already be dropped off before the two or three nights in Lisbon. The airport is close to town and it would be one less thing to take into consideration before the flight out.

This is the only change I would make. Also, take advice given here and include Marvao. If you are planning Evora (and I feel you have plenty of time allotted) drive the distance to Marvao.

sher and bobthenavigator - you are both so kind to take the time to respond.

I'm going to take your great advice under serious consideration. I really want to spend another day in Sintra so i can hike and see the historic sites but I suppose you can't do eveything.

RE: Sher's advice about reversing the itinerary. I think i'm going to keep it as it is now. I've already booked my hotel for Lisbon and since Sintra is close to the airport I don't think it'll be too big a burden to return it the day of our departure.

Thanks again!

I found Tomar more interesting than Batalha, partly because it is more extensive and its architecture covers a greater range of church architecture.

I was considering cutting Evora from my itinerary and spreading the time i gain near Obidos (e.g., Tomar) and Sintra.

Have you been to Evora?

mjanensch - My husband and I just visited Portugal for the first time this past May. I have a trip report and photos entitled "Portugal Trip Report". I would hate to see you skip Evora and the Alentejo. My husband and I wished we had spent some more time in that area. I don't think you will have any trouble with your current schedule - Obidos, Nazare, Alcobaca, and Batalha don't require a lot of time and they're located very closely together. I have some photos of all of these areas on:

www.baileytravels.shutterfly.com

bailey - thank you so much for the advice. I really appreciate it. If karma exists you're in for some good things

I also don't think you have too much. Your itinerary looks remarkably similar to the one we did in July, which we loved. Trip report is at: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34854723

I would definitly not skip Obidos or Evora. Sintra was very worthwhile to see the Pena Palace but I wasn't that impressed with the town. If you see Marvao and Obidos then you don't need to see the Moorish castle in Sintra. We did Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon and I'm glad we did it that way, driving in Sintra didn't look like fun. Everywhere else (we didn't drive in Lisbon) driving was great. Try to overnight in Marvao, it was fabulous. The hotel we stayed at is in the trip report.

We had just about the same amount of time you have (12 nights) and this is how we broke it down:
2 nights Evora (day trip to Monsaraz, Evoramonte, Estremoz)
1 night Marvao
1 night Coimbra
2 nights Obidos (Batalha and Alcobaca on the way there, day trip to Nazare)
6 nights Lisbon with day trip to Sintra

If I had to cut anything it would have been Nazare, Coimbra and/or Batalha although I did enjoy them, just not as much as everything else.

mjanensch - I'm glad that I can be of some help. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

mjanensch.
I just wanted to add that you will be surprised at how easily you will be able to get around.

The most time consuming part of your trip is the Lisbon/Marvao jaunt. I think it is about 200km, but Mappy.com will tell you exactly.

But the distances between Obidos, Batahla, Tomar, Fatima, Alcobaca are pretty close and well marked.

We will miss each other as we arrive at the end of your trip. I am sure you will enjoy Portugal.

Isabel - i read your very detailed trip descriptions and saw your amazing photos. I think you should be making a career out of this. The type of info you provided was exactly the type people like me are looking for.

Sher - you have also been extremely helpful. I hope the rest of your trip is excellent!

Thank you. My best wishes to you for a delightful trip.

mjanensch - thanks, I would love to make a career of this. If you know of anyone who wants to pay me let me know.

Thank you all again for your great advice! It is very nice that each of you took the time to share you opinions.

I changed my itinerary a little bit. I have one less day in Evora and one more day in Sintra. We are staying at what appears to be a very relaxing B&B in Sintra (Quinta das Sequoias). I decided i wanted to end our trip in a calm place with a minimum of rushing around at the last second to see all the sites. Some of you may agree with the changes, others may not. I tried my best

Oct 6-9 - Lisbon, Belem

Oct 10-11 - Evora (one of the days spent driving to Marvao!)

Oct 12 - Driving to and then exploring Obidos

Oct 13 - Drive up to Batalha or Alcobaca and then driving to Sintra

Oct 14-15 - Sintra (hiking and beach one day and beach, palace the other day)

Oct 16 - leave Sintra in the morning and go to airport

Hi, mjanensch.

I see that you will be in Lisbon on October 9. Would you like to join us at the wine and cheese party at Leslie's apartment?

If you are interested, email me at pj2592 at mac dot com and I will give you the info.

We hope to see you in Lisbon!

Safe and happy travels.

I may be too late with a suggestion, but just in case... I can't tell from your itinerary if you are staying in Marvao (which many of us would recommend, at night it's just lovely, and at sunrise). But if you are, you could consider then driving Marvao to Obidos, going north out of Marvao. You would then go through Castelo de Vide and could stop there if you want (would be worth a visit IMO). But the real attraction of going the northern route would be that you would then get on the superhighway that takes you west and would allow for a stop at Almourol.

Almourol is a castle sitting on a tiny island in the Tejo River. A man with an outboard motor takes you out to the site for a nominal fee, and then you can stay there climbing around or just enjoying the view till you signal him to come get you. It's not a multi-star must do attraction, but it is a very nice place. And there are some nice cafe/restaurantes along the river closeby as well.

We did this route in reverse, from Obidos to Almourol to Marvao, with stops in both Almourol and Castelo de Vide and lunch near Almourol. It was a very relaxing day. We arrived at Marvao close to dark, and it seemed that the castle lit up and emerged from the darkness as we got closer. And for me another advantage would be no backtracking, which allows you to see more of the country. Just a thought, boa viagem!

judi - we are touched by your invite. thank you! i have sent you an email asking for more info.

lreynold1 - i love your very specific advice. thank you for taking the time to share it with me! As of now we are not planning on staying in marvao overnight. We are only planning on going there for the day from Evora. I would love to stay there but i try not to skip from hotel to hotel. Packing and unpacking, checking in and checking out takes up so much time. I'm beginning to second-guess my plan though. So many people have recommended staying overnight in Marvao. We may just wait to see how we feel when we get to Evora before we make a final decision. thanks again!