After 6 days in Lisbon in April next year, we are traveling to Porto, taking 2 days/nights to get there.

There are 2 options that I can see:
1. Early train to Tomar, sightseeing there till mid afternoon, then train (backtracking slightly) to Coimbra for 2 nights
2. Train to Tomar, sightseeing there, 1 night there, then train to Coimbra, 1 night there.

Are there any strong benefits or disadvantages to either plan?

Tomar is south of Coimbra. There is no backtracking when coming from Lisbon. I think that Coimbra has more to offer than Tomar, although the monastery in the latter town is an absolute must.

Take a look at my trip report; click on my name to find it. From Coimbra you can get to Roman ruins and also to a restaurant in a nearby town that specializes in roast pig; we drove there, and I do not know if the taxi cost would be worthwhile.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623705654880/ and subsequent pictures

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623788386374/ and subsequent pictures

Thanks Michael.

Sorry I didn’t explain what I meant by backtracking - as far as I can see, the only way to get to Coimbra from Tomar by train is to go back in a southerly direction to Lamarosa or Entroncamento and change to the north bound Coimbra train.

I’d like to see those pics, but those links keep going to a huawei site.

www.cp.pt for Portuguese train times, fares & online tickets.

I can't explain the problem. I logged myself out, thinking that perhaps there is a difference between myself as the holder of the account and someone without a Flickr account, and I have no difficulty accessing the pictures after logging out--and I can't see the pictures that I have restricted to family viewing only.

Maybe you can access the pictures through this URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623555520457/

Yeah thanks, might have been something dodgy at this end, but the new links works. Nice photos! Now I want to go to Monsaraz too...

Thanks man in seat 61 too - you’ve been a lifesaver, especially in Japan and Italy.