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For those who have been to Portugal - 2 or three weeks?
Considering a trip to Portugal in May - we have a line on a good airfare and would like to book asap, but are unsure how much time we need as we've not had a chance to do a whole lot of research yet.
We can go for either two or three weeks - we tend to be slow travelers and never run out of things to do, but just aren't sure about this one. We're not really interested in spending a lot of time on beaches...we'd like to see them, but lazing on beaches is not our thing. This may be our only trip to Portugal, so if it were you, would you spend two or three weeks? |
Melnq8,
Since you have the luxury of time (lucky, lucky you!:) ), I'd spend 3 weeks. When we took our friends to introduce them to most of Portugal, except for the northern Minho that they had already visited, we had an 18-day itinerary. It included Lisbon, Sintra (day trip), Alentejo (using Evora as a base and day tripping to Estremoz and the hill towns of Monsaraz and Marvão), Tomar, Coimbra, Porto and Douro Valley. It didn't include the Algarve because our trip was in October, and it didn't include Guimarães or Braga, which they didn't have the time to visit. (They had already been to Viana do Castelo) I think a 21-day trip could be wonderful, and I would encourage you to include the Minho: Guimarães and Braga, Viano do Castelo, and maybe Ponte de Lima or Barcelos for one of their market days. I probably wouldn't include the Algarve if it were my trip (but it isn't!), but I'm not a beach lover. |
Melnq8,
Since you enjoy hiking, you might want to include the Peneda-Gerês National Park in your itinerary. https://juliedawnfox.com/exploring-p...national-park/ Discovering the National Park of Peneda-Gerês Market day in Barcelos is Thursday. The Ponte De Lima market day takes place every fortnight on Monday. In May it's schedule this year for the 11th and 25th. |
Thank you Maribel! I was leaning towards three weeks and you've convinced me we'll not run out of things to see and do.
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Definitely three weeks, you can easily spend a week in Lisbon/Belem alone. I've been to Portugal several times and never gone to the Algarve, but I'm not a beach person. Did visit a couple of the Atlantic beaches long, long ago....
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Yeah! And as Thursdays notes, there's so much to do and see in Lisbon and Belém alone!
We hope to spend a week there after Christmas so as to be in Lisbon for the NYE celebrations. Portugal is just a great destination. You won't run out of wonderful things to do and see, I promise! |
Okay, we're booked! Three weeks in Portugal...gotta make hay while the sun shines.
We'll start with six nights in Lisbon and then....who knows, lots of work to do yet. |
Sounds great, especially the 6 nights in Lisbon! You can fill those easily with all the great museums (Gulbenkian is phenomenal!), the Belém monuments (but not on Monday) and a possible day trip to Sintra.
Have fun planning! |
Originally Posted by Maribel
(Post 17067507)
Sounds great, especially the 6 nights in Lisbon! You can fill those easily with all the great museums (Gulbenkian is phenomenal!), the Belém monuments (but not on Monday) and a possible day trip to Sintra.
Have fun planning! I'd actually encourage an overnight (or two) in Sintra. |
Yep, me too, actually, given the huge crowds these days!
Next post-Christmas we're planning 2 nights in Sintra, avoiding the crush on Mondays, when many people goe because many of the Belém monuments re closed. |
Another vote for Peneda Geres NP (a long time ago but enjoyed it). And one day - if time doesn't over take me - I'd like to walk a section of the Rota Vicentina. You might enjoy that too, Mel.
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You'll have no problem filling up three weeks. Have a look at Maureen Ferguson's pages for expert local touring. I booked a market shopping and lunch preparation half day and an all day Alentejo winery tour with her and was delighted.
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If you do want to visit Sintra and hit the major sites, do please purchase your tickets online, since lines to purchase tickets at each site can be excruciatingly, frustratingly long.
For the Moorish Castle, Pena Palace, National Palace and Monserrate Palace, you can purchase all tickets online in one web site, including the necessary (for me) green electric shuttle bus that takes you from the Pena Park entrance up the very steep hill to the entrance to Pena Palace. Online this shuttle bus can be purchase by choosing "TRANSFER PALÁCIO DA PENA" for an extra 3 euros. https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/co...cket-office-2/. The Quinta da Regaleira, privately run and not part of the Parque de Sintra system, has, as of January this year, instituted online ticket sales. https://regaleira.byblueticket.pt/Evento?idEvento=2848#. Having tickets in hand makes the monument visits to Sintra so much easier! But because of the huge crowds, it's really only feasible, comfortably, to do 3 in one day any more. We also walked a portion of the fishermen's trail of the Costa Vicentina, which runs from the western Algarve in Lagos and along the Alentejo coast. We were based for 2 nights between Zambujeira do Mar and Vila Nova de Milfontes. The area between Arrifana and Carrapenteira is gorgeous. Into here: https://rotavicentina.com/en/walking/fishermens-trail/. |
We stayed in Lisbon fir close to a week and then several nights in Cascais. For our limited time it was perfect. You will not regret 3 weeks at all! When my grandparents went they stayed for 3 months.
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My goodness, how things have changed. I remember going to the castle at Sintra, Pena Palace, etc and there was hardly anyone there except us. I'm not THAT old! It hadn't occurred to me that you'd need to book in advance.
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So many great suggestions! Thank you! I have much work to do getting this organized. We do plan on at least two nights in Sintra.
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Maribel - Can you suggest a route that includes the places you've mentioned? What town would one stay in to visit Peneda-Geres National Park?
Our only constraint is arriving and departing from Lisbon, so we'll need a night in Lisbon before departure. We'll be traveling by train/bus. We'll arrive in Lisbon on May 1 and depart on May 22. My head is spinning. |
Depending on what time your flight home is, you may not need to stay in Lisbon. We were in Cascais and left that morning for the airport.
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maribel, thank you! I've just booked tickets for the Quinta da Regaleira! This is helpful and, because there's no date, we can be flexible.
We will be doing a day trip from Lisbon only, so what would you recommend seeing in addition to the above? We don't feel compelled to see everything and would prefer to go at a relaxed pace, so no need to see more than 1 or 2, if that much. Melnq8, I hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread, with the hopes that others who aren't staying over might benefit from the information. |
No worries progol, the more the merrier.
I've booked a hotel in the Avenidas Novas District of Lisbon - didn't have time to do much research before booking, but it appears to be centrally located. I have just a few hours to change my mind, as within a 24 hour booking window, so if I've screwed up, please let me know asap! |
Why Avenidas Novas? You're out of the center and it's a half km walk to the nearest metro station - although there seem to be several bus stops. I like to stay near Rossio square.
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It's near Rossio Square and three minutes walk from the Parque Station, yet in a quiet area. We like quiet. I've done some more research since I posted my question and I think it will work well for us.
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If it's three minutes walk from the Parque station it's further out than I thought (google maps put it nearer to the Intendente station). Looks like we have a different definition of "near". Over 2 kms doesn't meet my definition, and the place I stay is more like 400m away - and really close to an airport bus stop.
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Looks like it's a 32 minute walk to Rossio Square and 22 minutes by metro from the airport.
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Like I said, we have a different definition of "near", lol.
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Glad you can spend three weeks in Portugal. We spent ten days in Lisbon and then traveled through the country. We especially loved the Minho region north of Porto,Guimares, etc. we stayed in the Pousadas if there was one where we were heading.
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Hi Melnq8,
In response to your questions, I have just a few questions- (I know how the "my head is spinning" goes--my head was spinning when planning our 16-night Brittany trip--too much info!) Is it that you'll be relying on buses/trains for the entire trip, or just when going back to Lisbon? Is it that you've already booked a Lisbon hotel for your last night that can't be canceled? If not, you could put the 2 nights in Sintra at the very end and Uber to the airport, as we'll do in December. If you could still do so, I'd put the 2 Sintra nights either at the beginning or at the end. I've arranged transfers between Lisbon airport-Sintra, and it's not that expensive. Here's a routing to consider without a car going from Porto to the north (sorry, if I've interpreted this incorrectly)-
Do you want to include the Douro Valley here for wine touring? If so, it's best seen by car, although you can take the regional line from Porto's Campanha station to Régua and taxi to wineries there (I know a very dependable driver) or same train on to Pinhão and use taxis or even walk to wineries------look at maitaitom's Quinta de la Rosa or Quinta do Pego thread for details
You'll notice that this leaves out the Alentejo in the east and Costa Vicentina fishermen's trail along the Alentejo coast to the south, because for those, you do need a car. If I've misinterpreted the car part, I'll give you another routing option. If you do have 6 nights in Lisbon itself, you could also take a day trip by suburban to beachside Cascais, take the walk out to Boca do Inferno to the cliff formations or take the Scotturb 427 Buscas bus circular line and then walk back along the seaside promenade to Estoril to take the suburban rail back to Lisbon. https://juliedawnfox.com/hikes-sintr...-natural-park/. https://juliedawnfox.com/see-do-stay-cascais-portugal/. Hope this helps you rather than confuses you! |
Hi Mirabel -
Is it that you'll be relying on buses/trains for the entire trip, or just when going back to Lisbon? The entire trip. From what we've read about driving in Portugal, public transport seems the way to go. Is it that you've already booked a Lisbon hotel for your last night that can't be canceled? No, I've only booked the first six nights in Lisbon, nothing else booked so far. Do you want to include the Douro Valley here for wine touring? Yes. Love the idea of walking to wineries, fantastic. I'll look for maitaitom's thread. Fabulous suggestions - thank you so much! I'll take a good long look at them and get back to you after I've had time to digest. |
We did three weeks a few years ago, mainly the northern part, although including Evora and that part of the Alentejo. It also included Santiago de Compostella. I wrote a trip report; if interested, click on my name to find it.
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From Pinhão (we were just there for 5 days), you can walk to Quinta de la Rosa, Quinta do Bomfim (Symington Family Estates) and Quinta das Carvalhas (Real Companhia Velha), even if it's not extremely hot, you could walk the 2 km. to Quinta da Roêda (Churchill).
There are also taxis at the Pinhão rail station that can take you up to Quinta do Infantado (ports only), about a 10-minute ride. There's also the possibility of taking the very short train ride from Pinhão going west to the stop at Ferrão and have Quinta do Crasto pick you up and take you up the hill to this magnificent estate for a tour or even for a tour plus lunch. Reservations for this are necessary in advance. It's open 10 am-6 pm, and they produce stunning DOC table wines, some of Portugal's best. Contact Andreia Freitas at [email protected]. Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo is another gorgeous estate that you don't want to drive to (yikes!), but instead use the option of taking the train to the Ferrão station and have them pick you up. But again, you need to arrange this in advance. https://www.quintanova.com/en/wine-tourism/ [email protected]. All that said... The real challenge will be to find lodging in Pinhão for your dates. The few hotels in this small town get booked up far in advance, but you might get lucky in May. Look for availability at Quinta de la Rosa or the LBV House. The Vintage House is dead central but is very pricey since it's a 5-star. |
I would have routed you to beautiful Evora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Alentejo but without a car, the best public transportation is by bus, round-trip from Lisbon. The bus line is Rede Espressos and the departure station is Sete Rios. The trip takes from 1 hr. 30 min. to 2 hours.
https://www.rede-expressos.pt/en We've done lots of Portugal wine touring in all regions, but with a car. Maureen Ferguson does an excellent small group wine tour from Lisbon to Alentejo, as Seamus mentions. The only winery walkable from Evora is Cartuxa, although you can do wine tasting at the tasting room of the Alentejo Regional Winegrowning Commision, but they're moving to a new in town location at Rua 5 de Outubro Nº 88, and I don't know when they'll re-open. https://www.vinhosdoalentejo.pt/en/w.../tasting-room/ |
Maribel - I've just sent a note to Quinta de la Rosa to check availability, although I'm not quite sure of dates yet. If I follow your itinerary above, did you mean for us to choose between Porto and Pinhão or to do both?
Also, I'm assuming three nights in Pinhão, assuming I can secure them, would be a sufficient allotment of time? Suddenly that three weeks doesn't seem long enough. You've been a wonderful help, you truly have, I really appreciate you taking the time to help a frazzled planner. This trip is beginning to come together. |
Just checked LBV House - they only have one night each of the two three night blocks I checked. Is it worth staying for just one night?
They also have a four night block available later in May, but that might not fit in well with the itinerary you proposed. I'd need to juggle considerably. |
Maribel - based on your recommendations above, my rough itinerary looks something like this:
Lisbon - six nights Coimbra – three nights Porto – three nights (or maybe longer?) Pinhao – 2-3 nights assuming we can find a place to stay (can also switch around with Porto) Guimarães or Braga – three nights Sintra - two nights This leave one night, which we can add elsewhere or spend in Lisbon prior to departure, depending on the airport transfer situation. Are we on the same page? |
Hi Melnq8,
I know that once you start getting into the details, 3 week doesn't seem like so long a time! Answers to your questions: 1). I meant for you to do both Porto and the Douro Valley, with best case scenario in Pinhão. 2). Yes, 3 nights in Pinhão would be fine. For me, 2 nights deep in the Douro Valley in the Cima Corgo area (the most beautiful) isn't enough, as we like to visit wineries and take our time soaking in the scenery, and for you two, there are plenty of walking trails to enjoy. 3). I hope that Quinta de la Rosa has availability, if not for 3 consecutive nights, then perhaps LBV for 1 night and 2 nights at Quinta de la Rosa would work, if you can make it work. 4). 3 nights is fine in Porto. We always budget 4 to take a day trip somewhere or to spend a lazy Sunday in Matosinhos walking the beach promenade (catch double decker bus 500 from infant of the Igreja São Francisco in downtown Porto) and for a leisurely seafood lunch across from the fish market, or to take the little boat over to Afurada for the same. https://portoalities.com/en/afurada-...-across-porto/ https://porto-north-portugal.com/mat...-portugal.html. We like slow travel. But you won't need a day trip to Braga or Guimarães or to Coimbra from Porto since you'll be spending nights there. Yes, Mel, we're on the same page. Keep the questions coming! progol, I'm going to send you a PM to answer the question you left above. |
Ok, making progress.
I've booked accommodation in Coimbra for three nights, Pinhão for three nights (first booked at LBV, then switched to Quinta de la Rosa after looking at location, reading reviews and finding availability on different days). I'm leaning towards either booking all six nights in Porto or breaking up between Porto, Guimarães or Braga. All bookings are free cancellation at this point, just wanted to get Pinhão locked in asap due to the lack of places to stay there. |
Melnq8,
Glad you've been able to get Pinhão locked down; the Douro lodgings are getting really hard to get, so glad you're set, especially in Pinhão where you can walk to 3 wineries. If you do want to settle in with 6 nights in Porto sans car, you can get to Guimarães by train, to Braga by train. It's hard to do both plus the monumental staircase of Bom Jesus do Monte outside of Braga in one day trip. https://porto-north-portugal.com/bra...aga-train.html. You can also travel from Porto to Viana Do Castelo by train for a day trip. https://porto-north-portugal.com/via...telo-tour.html |
Maribel -
We have a potential problem. We've checked with several wineries around Pinhão and they're showing no availability for tasting or tours for all of May! |
This will be our 5th trip and we only have 15 days.
Not nearly enough! Enjoy |
Melnq8,
Have you checked Quinta do Crasto Quinta Nova Nossa Senhora do Carmo (go to these by train & they pick you up at the dock) Quinta do Infantado (10 min. by taxi) Quinta do Seixo (10 min by taxi) Quinta de la Rosa (daily tours at 11:30, 2:30, 5:00) Wine & Soul (10 min. north of Pinhão, private visits only) Quinta da Roêda (they told us we didn't need an appointment and worked us in with a small group van tour from Porto, 2 km from town)Pinhão taxi driver Manuel Anselmo Tel: (+351) 966 192 904 https://www.taxipinhao.com/en-gb/mentions-legales. Good luck! |
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