We are spending 2+ weeks in Portugal this summer and have our trip itinerary pretty much mapped out - just wondering about whether to spend 2 nights in Porto or to linger in the Nazare area. We are 2 nights in Lisbon, one in S.Marino de Porto and have 2 nights booked in Porto? before heading inland and then down to the Algarve. We have gained so much valuable information on this site I'm hoping to get your opinions. Thanks

I do not know what exactly about is your question, but I want to tell you that we spent 7 days in Lisbon and we could even spend more time there ! What do you plan to visit in two days (are they full days?) in Lisbon?

Yes, two full days in Lisbon. We are really debating on whether to venture up to Porto at all or to leave Lisbon, spend two nights along the coast in the Sintra/Nazare area and then head inland. I know that there is much to see and do in Lisbon but I would also like to experience the small town, countryside areas as well.

Unless you have a very specific reason to visit Porto, I do not think that you should head that far north before going south. Most of the famous sites (Batalha, Tomar, Coimbra) are south of Porto. To experience the small town, gong east (Marvao, Monsarraz, etc.) makes more sense.

I think that I geo-tagged most of these pictures, so that you can get an idea of the geography involved:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7623555520457/

After Lisbon and Sintra, be sure to pass by Obidos on your way to Nazaré! Then based on your preference for small towns and countryside, head to Evora, from where you should visit Marvão, Monsaraz and Castelo de Vide. These are very small towns with a very magical atmosphere. The Fodor's Portugal guidebook will be a good source while on the web, the most complete information (including restaurants and attractions) are the two following pages:

Obidos: http://www.lisbonlux.com/obidos/
Evora: http://www.lisbonlux.com/evora/

Thanks so much for your responses - we are revising our plan as I write. So much to see and do I wish that we could spend a month! We're now exploring the small villages along the south/west coast as well. Great fun planning!

With two plus weeks in Portugal I can't imagine not spending time in both cities and certainly more than two nights in Lisbon. It is a very small country and easy to move about.

Check out Pousadas.pt...They often have great specials at the Pousadas and the Pousadas are generally awesome...In 2 weeks you can do alot in such a small country..Don't hesitate to take a lrft or a right on a road less travelled..Wonderful surprises await.

I visited Portugal ten years ago with my family and I couldn't get enough of Lisbon and then the mesmerizing Sintra. We did venture down to the Algarve and I certainly have some opinions of that area if you are interested. I wished we had had more time in the Sintra area. We only spent one afternoon there.

We just spent 2 weeks in Portugal over new years. We spent 2 nights in Sintra, 5 in Lisbon, 4 in Tomar (to see Tomar, Obidos etc)m did a day trip to Porto, 1 night in Marvao, and 1 night in Evora. Great trip. We would love to go back to Porto.

I would spend more time in Lisbon. We really enjoyed it.

I'll post a link to our trip report and pics.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...l-20102011.cfm

jamikins - I spent a good part of this afternoon going over your trip report and your wonderful pics. Too bad about the weather ;o( I am a fellow wine-lover and can't wait! ! I have started a more sofisticated filing on my computer of all of the various suggestions I've read on this site since finding all of you in December! Someone suggested checking out the pousadas, we have and have found them to be more expensive than the suggestions for accomodations we've read about on Fodor's or Trip Advisor. We're still looking for a relatively inexpensive B&B in the Evora area. We have a booking but it's E110. which is a bit steep for my budget holiday. Any suggestions out there?

This is where we stayed: http://www.pensaopolicarpo.com/english/quartos.html

It was basic but in a good location in town with easy access to drive. They also have a parking lot although you may not want to let the guy at reception park your car hahaha! Our only complaint was that the beds were quite hard, but thats normal for Europe. The room we had was huge and had a nice view over the landscape. It also included breaky!

Glad you enjoyed our trip report!

Loba and me, we stayed in a Hotel outside Evora, 65 euros/night. It has some good and not so good things to refer.
On the minus side, it's not fancy, it's not inside walls, you can't just walk to the attractions.
On the plus side, it's not expensive, it offers the basic, has a decent breakast, plenty of car parking space, and it's very close to the motorway exit.
In shorter words, if you have a car and use the hotel as a base to explore the surrounding area, it's perfect, but it's not inside walls.

From our 2006 trip report:

From there we went to Évora which had the best signage for hotels and residencial in all of our travels in Portugal. Driving through the town would have been a nightmare but for the fact that we could just follow the sign for the residencial Policarpo that we chose. (For photographs of the residencial, see Bailey's photos 65 through 71 at http://www.baileytravels.shutterfly.com). Our first room (47€) was without windows and had maybe 3 rounded glass tiles in the ceiling to give some semblance of light. The room had a sink and a bidet (bidets are disappearing from French accommodations, and seem to be exported to Portugal), the bathroom was down the hall. That room was air conditioned, if I remember correctly. Then we moved to the room with the balcony (55€). While the accommodations were fine, and the public areas were charming, I think that it was somewhat overpriced.

We ended up booking the PENSÃO Residencial POLICARPO at E57 with a continental breakfast. We were pleased that they sent a rather detailed map and instructions on how to get there. I'm starting to get a bit nervous about the car rental, the steep hills, the standard gearshift and narrow roadways. Sounds like an adventure!

My husband and I stayed in a wonderful hotel in Porto called Hotel Infante de Sagres- great design hotel and walking distance to the Douro river. You really only need one night in Porto. Did this same road trip but reverse two years ago: we went from Porto to Pinhao (Pinhao is in Douro Valley wine country- AMAZING- stayed at the CS Vintage House Hotel) to Obidos to Sintra to Cascais to Lisbon. One of the most incredible trips we have done! Stay in the castle in Obidos (a pousada). We also stayed in a great hotel in Cascais right on the water called Hotel Albatroz.

Jutzin, I rented a car in Portugal for five days just this month. Though I've been to Europe many times, this was my first experience driving there. After a little practice (if you're not used to a stickshift you MUST practice if you hope to avoid embarrassing yourself on those hills), no worries. (Navigation around central Porto, though....God spare me from that nightmare again.) I'll confess that I was a bit surprised - I lived in Porto as a child back in the sixties, and became accustomed to my parents making comments about the terrible and inconsiderate Portuguese drivers. I did not think that to be the case at all - I found them to be fast and expert, but neither reckless, aggressive, nor particularly discourteous. One encounters far, far worse here in Phoenix!

If you have time, think about Guimaraes. Marvelous town, worth a full day and an overnight. We found the Residencia das Trinas to be quite comfortable (though not luxurious) and a terrific value besides.

Car rental agency I used in Porto, entirely satisfactory, and a good rate too:

http://www.portugal-auto-rentals.com/

I have not been to south of Lisbon, and the 2 weeks we spent from Porto to Lisbon (rented a car, drove from Lisbon airport to Porto and then came down) were not enought, and hope we can do a different route this time. If you do not have time to drive all the way to Porto and enjoy History, strongly suggest Coimbra and the Roman ruins of Conimbriga, then go south to Nazare, Estoril, Lisbon. We loved Portugal, as it is still so less turisty and so much history and beauty.