Hello Fodorites,

It's off to Portugal this year, for the first time. My husband and I are planning a week-long trip and I would appreciate any feedback/advice on our tentatively planned itinerary.

We're flying in and out of Lisbon and planning to stay for 3 nights in the City. Then, we are planning to spend 2 nights in Sintra, exploring both in and very nearby the town. Our last night, we are planning to stay in Cascais for a day and a half of more seaside oriented exploration. Things seem to be quite close together-- would it make more sense to just stay in Sintra for 3 nights instead of Cascais?

Also, we plan to use public transport in Lisbon, but were thinking it would be easier to explore in a car once outside the city. Posts and guidebooks suggest having a car may be difficult even in Sintra-- is this true, or is it manageable?

Finally, the hotels we've tentatively selected are the Hotel Metropole in Lisbon, the Quinta da Sequoias in Sintra and the Casa de Pergola in Cascais, which are culled from Karen Brown, tripadvisor, and of course, Fodor's.

This is a fifth anniversary celebration, so we'd like to make it special, but also stay on budget. Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks!

I stayed in Sintra for two weeks without a car and had no problems getting around; there's an open-top bus to Cascais during the summer months and it's quite a nice ride. I'd prefer all three nights in Sintra, myself; I love the ocean, but don't care as much for beachy resort towns.

Parking in Sintra is quite difficult, and much of Sintra and its environs can be explored on foot or by bus; the Capuchin Monastery and a few other spots require a taxi, but those aren't exorbitant--and you may not get that far in the time you have.

Portugal is lovely; some of my favorite spots included Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon, the Cabo da Roca cliffs, and the Moors' Castle above Sintra. Be sure to have some Serra cheese! Happy travels.

Just stayed at the Metropole in Lisbon in May for two nights. It is in a wonderful location.
We walked everywhere.
We had a car for the rest of Portugal, but I wouldn't think you would need one for where you are going.
It might be nice to have a car to explore some of the countryside if you wish.
I suggest Carjet to book the car. They were very reasonable.
Enjoy!

You should use Cascais or Sintra as a base while visiting this area. No sense moving from one to the other for overnighters as they are really quite close.

As for transportation, you definitely DO NOT want a car in Lisbon. Public transport is super. Check out my web site. We were just there 3 months ago.

Here's the URL:
http://www.travel.stv77.com/portugal/pt.htm

Thanks everyone, and what a nice site + trip report, sssteve. Our Portugal trip may now be cancelled as we are flying from Italy with Alitalia, and its looking quite like they will strike exactly when we wanted (and needed to fly.) But, I'm forging ahead with Portuguese language CDs and this planning anyway.

It seems like 3 nights in Sintra might be too much. And maybe too much for Lisbon also? We won't want to rush around too much-- but we are parked on a beach in Italy for the other three weeks of our trip, so this is the more active part of our vacation. We like art + architecture, museums, long walks, stunning vistas and good, unpretentious food.

So I've revised the itinerary: 2 nights in Lisbon, 2 nights in Sintra (which we'll use as a base to leisurely explore the nearby areas, including Cascais or Estoril) and 1 or 2 nights in Setubal. The Portinho de Arrabide as described by Sssteve sounds like the perfect way to end our trip.

What do you think?

Did you end up staying at the Sequoias in Sintra? If so, what did you think? We are considering it as well. That or the Quinta da Capela.