sssteve

Planning an 11 day trip to portugal at the end of April. I've checked out all the forum threads and I've learned plenty and have pretty much settled on an itinerary,(very similar to easygoer's itinerary in 2004) but of course I've still got several questions.

Among the threads were several on the best place for a base in the Lisbon area. I like the idea of staying in the area (3-4 days) and visiting Lisbon by train. Several places were mentioned as a good base - Sintra, Cascais and Estoril. Now I'm a little confused as to which one is "best".

I'd appreciate some input from the forum experts on portugal as to the relative merits of these three towns as a base in the Lisbon area.

Thanks in advance.

ThinGorjus

A Miss Whatsit from Lisboa has reported on this forum that you are no longer able to take the train from Sintra to Lisbon because of construction. My ex-husband lives in Lisboa, but is in Brasil right now, so I can't confirm.

Spygirl

Ssteve-my suggestion would be to base yourself in LISBOA, and then do day trips to all 3-which is eminently doable, I know, since I've done it. Lisboa is so exciting and fun, with such great inexpensive restaurants, that you'd really miss out I think if you didn't spend a good chunk of time there. Make sure whatever you do to go to the Port Wine Institute in Lisboa, where you can sit in a relaxing lounge area of leather sofas and order small glasses of dozens of different port wines. It's not to be missed.

sssteve

ThinGorjus:
If your information is correct, that certainly narrows down the field.

Sygirl:
I've also considered staying in Lisbon, but the freedom of touring the area outside the city by car appeals to me. If we were to stay in Lisbon, we would delay taking the car until our departure. Do you think that we will fully enjoy the outlying towns by train? Also, if ThinGorjus's info is correct, there's no train to Sintra right now.

cecisard

I agree with Spygirl: I would stay in Lisbon and take day trips to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril. Actually, that is just what I did last September and it was perfect. To be truthful, I did not stay in a Hotel, but at a friend's place in Alges, which is on the way to Cascais. Try not to miss the "feira cigana" (gipsy fair) in Chelas on Sunday morning. You can buy a lot of things at really low prices, and it is fun to eat the goodies in the stands.
I will be spending 3 days in Lisbon in the end of May. Can't wait to eat the marvelous "bacalhau" there!

sssteve

You've convinced me. We;ll stay in Lisbon. Now I can start looking for the right hotel in the right area.

CESISARD - Where does your friend live??

cecisard

This time I won't be staying with my friend... She was in Lisbon on her sabattical and is back to Brazil now (we live in Salvador da Bahia). So, I will be staying at Ibis Saldanha because I get great rates through a travel club I belong to here in Brasil. But, coming October, I will stop over in Lisbon on my way to Bangkok, and plan to stay at Pensao Londrina, at Liberdade. Lots of friends from Brazil have stayed there and there are also great reviews about it in the internet. It is a B&B, very simple, no trims, but it is supposed to be very clean and the staff very nice, with great prices: singles for 33E, and doubles for 45E.
Here is the address:
Pensão(also listed as Pension) Londrina
Rua Castillo 61 (Liberdade, near Marques de Pombal Square)
Tel: 21-386-3624
Fax: 21-0386-0625

Good luck!

bobthenavigator

I would stay in Cascais and get a car. It is not just Sintra you want to see, it is Cabo de Roca, Boca Inferno, Colares, Guincho and Sintra.

sssteve

Bob, do you think there is enough time to visit the places you mentioned on the way out of Lisbon and on the way north to Obidos We will spend the night in Obidos so we will have time to visit there the next day.

We really want to have enough time in the north. I'm familiar with your recommendation for using Vianna De Castello as a base there for several days.

lobo_mau

Lisbon-Rossio station is closed to trains but there are other options. Lisbon-Entrecampos to Sintra is now the most favourable (direct) option. It costs 1.30 euros and the duration of the ride is 40 minutes. Check http://www.cp.pt

bobthenavigator

That is a good thought. Yes, you can see that drive is a good loop ending in Sintra---the others are just short stops. You can be in Sintra by lunch, see the Pena Palace, and still be in Obidos by 16:00. We stayed in Cascais and took the commuter train into Lisbon. Either way works.

sssteve

Thanks, Bob.

Perhaps you may remember that we almost met up in Santa Margherita in Liguria. We missed each other by one day.

Regarding Sintra, it sounds to me like it's worth a full day. I though we would do a full day trip from Lisbon. After 3 days in lisbon, we would head to the Obidos area, and stop on the way in Cascais and the surrounding area. We live on the Meditteranean, so our first priority is not beaches.

I have another question for you. Do you think Setubal is a good stop at the end of the trip? We have a noon flight out of Lisbon. How long a drive is it to the airport from Setubal?

sssteve

to the top...

bobthenavigator

Steve, I like the idea of staying in that area and then driving in the day of the flight. I chose the Pousada at Palmela and loved it, but both would work fine--take a look and see what you prefer.