Hi Everyone!
My dad (66) and I (37) are planning a trip to Portugal during the second week of April. I am a teacher, so the dates are set and we will only have a week- leaving NY of Friday night and returning the following Friday.
I have done a lot of searching on here and have found some very helpful information, but mostly for much longer trips. We'd like to rent a car and see the country. I'm hoping you can suggest something that would make sense for the limited amount of time we have.
One suggestion that I saw flew into Porto and out of Lisbon...that seems to make sense to me. If we did that, I guess we would spend Saturday in Porto and probably Wednesday and Thursday in Lisbon?
Any suggestions for the 3 days in between? Does this make sense?
I love to take photographs, so I'd welcome any suggestions on beautiful spots for that (although they don't look like they'll be hard to find). We'd mostly like to just walk around some towns and get a feel for Portugal.
And good, inexpensive or moderately priced places to eat are also welcome!!
We are really looking forward to this trip and truly appreciate your input!
Thanks so much,
Joanna (and Joel)

It sounds like you have decided to favor the in-between spots over the two cities Porto and Lisbon. I guess you can always go back and do those two proper justice, which would mean at least a week in and around Lisbon alone.

But your plan, if that is indeed the intent, makes sense. Consult a good guidebook and maps, and select a few of the spots that attract you. I'm just making suggestions below, there will be other options as you start to look around.

After a night's sleep in Porto (don't drive on the day of arrival, the time difference and lack of sleep would make that unwise) you can head out into the Douro valley somewhere. www.dourovalley.eu/en

Then maybe

Coimbra,

Ourém (Fatima - www.fatima.pt/en if catholic items are of special interest),

Figueira da Foz (beachside and fishing town - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwLiuSpdP9k and https://www.travel-in-portugal.com/b...a-foz-area.htm),

Monte Real (if hot springs/baths are of interest),

Obidos (http://www.obidosportugalguide.com/t...ee-sights.html)

Sintra (a full day - two very different palaces, both worthwhile targets in their own ways)

These or others - you'll have to choose.

Thank you so much for your input! I'll definitely look into all of your suggestions.
I realized I forgot to tag Portugal! so i've reposted.

7 days, one with jet lag, I'd just share the time with the two cities and catch the train in between.

The Sharp series covers Porto pretty well especially during the earthquake. Might be worth digging it out of a library or youtube before you go.

I agree with Michael's suggestions above. Also on the way south from Porto we enjoyed Tomar church which is architecturally stunning. For additional day trips from Lisbon consider taking a drive to Evora - a Unesco world heritage site and quite interesting or visit one of the white washed towns in Alentejo such as Monsaraz.

At that time of year, I think I would stick to Lisbon. It's an extremely varied place, with several excellent easy day trips that are easy to do by public transportation. I think you probably wouldn't be bored at all, have no end of photo ops of every description, and you could rent an apartment for very cheap and have a wonderful time.

It's true that Portugal itself is more than Lisbon and its surroounds, and there are some distinct differences you would miss by not including Porto. But that's my suggestion.

Thank you everyone. We are now thinking of flying in and out of Lisbon. I would still like to get a car for a few days and drive around to explore the countryside a little bit, but I appreciate your suggestions and will definitely look into them all.

Many of the towns and village in Portugal are lovely and we were there for much longer than a week and had toruble deciding. How long do you plan to drive each day? I would get a map or use google maps etc and circle the places mentioned above. They are all good suggestions. Then pick a path that makes sense in terms of time & what interests you. I loved the Duoro Valley and would recommend including that. The train ride from Pinhao east is wonderful.