We (2 seniors) are contemplating visiting Portugal for the first time, after we leave Croatia, mid-August. We usually prefer small towns and something on the coast. What would be a good town to spend 3-4 days? It doesn't have to have a lot of activities going on. Just taking in the people/culture/scenery would be enough. Hopefully, the town will not be too difficult to access by air/bus, since we have limited time to spend there. Thank you for any suggestions.

Salema. Good luck FF!
I am done. The end.

Porto is lovely and there is plenty to do there for a few days. You could go to the Douro Valley from there and do wine and port tasting. Sintra, which is accessible by train from Lisbon and very nice as well, but not sure if there is enough to do for 3-4 days.

This will probably get moved by the mods to the Europe board.

Moved to Europe board

How about Cascais? Easy to reach from Lisbon.

Nazarre not far from Porto is a cool old beach town - you can drive or bus from it to two nearby UNESCO WH Site places - Alcabaca (sp?) and Batalha monasteries.

Cascais would be neat since it is a nice seaside town and is a suburb of Lisbon so makes visiting that fantastic city possible too.

For lots on trains and where to go with them - check www.seat61.com; www.cp.pt - Portuguese Railway's site; BETS-European Rail Experts - check their free online European Planning and Rail Guide's Portugal section for lots of ideas of where to go by rail.

We liked Cascais. You can take a train from Lisbon. It is a seaside town with a paved walkway along the beach. Lots of little shops and restaurants to walk to.

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I now have a good place to start refining our travel plans.

São Martinho do Porto. Lovely small town. Bu the sea and with one of the most wonderfull bays. Search google, I think you will agree.