Need Advice on Portugal Itinerary
Aug 3rd, 2009, 02:47 AM
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Need Advice on Portugal Itinerary
Our family of 3 adults will be visiting Portugal in September. We'll start our trip in northern Spain the week before and then fly from Madrid to Porto. Our daughter will then be with us for 5 days in Portugal before she has to fly home. We are planning on spending 2 full days in the Douro Valley near Pinhao, which leaves her with 3 days remaining. Our list of what we'd like to do is long, and would appreciate advice as to what should not be missed if you have already visited Coimbra, and Obidos/Alcobaca/Batalha. We would also appreciate your advice if you have visited Movao and Evora. I think we need to eliminate something/s.
Day 1: We were thinking of driving from the Douro Valley (Tabuaco) to Coimbra, which (according to Michelin) is a 2-1/2 hour drive, enjoy Coimbra and stay overnight. OR, we were thinking of driving from Tabuaco in the Douro Valey to Batalha, which is a 3-1/2 hour drive, visit the monastery there. Then on to Alcobaca, which is a 1/2 hour drive. What attracted me to both towns were pictures on the internet of the beautiful arches of the monasteries. We would then drive to Obidos, which is a 1/2 hour drive and overnight in Obidos. So, the choice is either Coimbra for one day or Batalha/Alcobaca/Obidos. (??)
Day 2: Lisbon - Base out of Lisbon or Sintra?
Day 3: Sintra & Cascais - Overnight out of Lisbon or Sintra
Once we arrive in Lisbon, we're thinking of turning the rental car in. We definitely would not want to drive it for the day in Lisbon. Is it possible to take a train from Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais the same day, and return to Lisbon by dark? Anyone know of a train schedule we can obtain in advance? Or would it be more convenient to drive so we are not tied to train schedules?
Day 4: We were going to check out of the hotel, drive our daughter to the Lisbon airport for her 12:30 p.m. flight. Would it be wiser for us to base out of Lisbon or Sintra?
After leaving Lisbon Airport, my husband & I might possibly drive to Movao, which is a 3 -hour drive from Lisbon. Overnight Movao.
Day 5: Movao to Evora, almost a 2-hour drive. Afternoon in Evora, then a 3-hour drive to West Algarve, Lagos. Overnight Lagos. This makes for a long day. We're trying to avoid too many 1-nighters. Is this trying to do too much? Perhaps we should choose between Movao and Evora, which would you recommend if you have already visited both?
Day 6: Enjoy West Algarve - Overnight Lagos (Lagos for 2 nights)
Day 7: Check out of Lagos hotel, see a little more of West Algarve if time, then 3-hour drive to Lisbon to be ready for flight home next morning. We'll probably turn the rental car in at the airport late afternoon and taxi to a hotel near the airport.
Your recommendations are welcome.
Day 1: We were thinking of driving from the Douro Valley (Tabuaco) to Coimbra, which (according to Michelin) is a 2-1/2 hour drive, enjoy Coimbra and stay overnight. OR, we were thinking of driving from Tabuaco in the Douro Valey to Batalha, which is a 3-1/2 hour drive, visit the monastery there. Then on to Alcobaca, which is a 1/2 hour drive. What attracted me to both towns were pictures on the internet of the beautiful arches of the monasteries. We would then drive to Obidos, which is a 1/2 hour drive and overnight in Obidos. So, the choice is either Coimbra for one day or Batalha/Alcobaca/Obidos. (??)
Day 2: Lisbon - Base out of Lisbon or Sintra?
Day 3: Sintra & Cascais - Overnight out of Lisbon or Sintra
Once we arrive in Lisbon, we're thinking of turning the rental car in. We definitely would not want to drive it for the day in Lisbon. Is it possible to take a train from Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais the same day, and return to Lisbon by dark? Anyone know of a train schedule we can obtain in advance? Or would it be more convenient to drive so we are not tied to train schedules?
Day 4: We were going to check out of the hotel, drive our daughter to the Lisbon airport for her 12:30 p.m. flight. Would it be wiser for us to base out of Lisbon or Sintra?
After leaving Lisbon Airport, my husband & I might possibly drive to Movao, which is a 3 -hour drive from Lisbon. Overnight Movao.
Day 5: Movao to Evora, almost a 2-hour drive. Afternoon in Evora, then a 3-hour drive to West Algarve, Lagos. Overnight Lagos. This makes for a long day. We're trying to avoid too many 1-nighters. Is this trying to do too much? Perhaps we should choose between Movao and Evora, which would you recommend if you have already visited both?
Day 6: Enjoy West Algarve - Overnight Lagos (Lagos for 2 nights)
Day 7: Check out of Lagos hotel, see a little more of West Algarve if time, then 3-hour drive to Lisbon to be ready for flight home next morning. We'll probably turn the rental car in at the airport late afternoon and taxi to a hotel near the airport.
Your recommendations are welcome.
Aug 3rd, 2009, 04:03 AM
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I found Coimbra to be the least interesting of everything we did in our two week trip to Portugal, where as Obidos was a highlight so that first day I'd definitely go with OBidos and the two monasteries.
I loved Lisbon so would spend more time there than you seem to have allocated. Sintra was nice, and easy to do on the train but I would stay in Lisbon. We didn't get to Cascais but I understand that is also easy on the train. You do NOT want a car IN Lisbon. I understand the difficulty of dropping a person at the airport in the middle of a trip, but if you daughter could skip Lisbon then I'd change your itinerary to do it at the end so as to not have two different car rentals. It's easiest to rent at the airport anyway though. And the airport is easily reachable by special bus from Lisbon.
Marvao (I don't know of a town "Movao" so I'm guessing you mean Marvao but if not then disregard this part) is a lovely little town but it's a bit north so might make sense to do it as you are coming south. Evora is also very nice, larger with more to do than Marvao.
My photos of all these places are at www.pbase.com/annforcier. There is one gallery for Lisbon and one for the rest of Portugal.
My trip report is at: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm
I loved Lisbon so would spend more time there than you seem to have allocated. Sintra was nice, and easy to do on the train but I would stay in Lisbon. We didn't get to Cascais but I understand that is also easy on the train. You do NOT want a car IN Lisbon. I understand the difficulty of dropping a person at the airport in the middle of a trip, but if you daughter could skip Lisbon then I'd change your itinerary to do it at the end so as to not have two different car rentals. It's easiest to rent at the airport anyway though. And the airport is easily reachable by special bus from Lisbon.
Marvao (I don't know of a town "Movao" so I'm guessing you mean Marvao but if not then disregard this part) is a lovely little town but it's a bit north so might make sense to do it as you are coming south. Evora is also very nice, larger with more to do than Marvao.
My photos of all these places are at www.pbase.com/annforcier. There is one gallery for Lisbon and one for the rest of Portugal.
My trip report is at: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ith-photos.cfm
Aug 3rd, 2009, 04:16 AM
#3
I was in Marvao and Evora last month. Marvao is a spectacularly situated, remote hilltop castle and village. There is not much to do but it is well off the beaten track and ranks among the most impressive sites I have seen. I think spending the night there sounds wonderful.
Evora is filled with interesting monuments including a Roman temple, a gothic cathedral, and a medieval aqueduct, all within a fascinating walled old city. Much to see but correspondingly many tourists.
Evora is filled with interesting monuments including a Roman temple, a gothic cathedral, and a medieval aqueduct, all within a fascinating walled old city. Much to see but correspondingly many tourists.
Aug 3rd, 2009, 04:50 AM
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I will jump in with the Coimbra part of your itinerary.
Personally, I would pick Alcobaca/Batahla. Coimbra is a very nice university town and if you had more time I would say go for it. But if I had to place in order of sights to see, I would go with Alcobaca/Batahla/Obidos instead of Coimbra with your shortened time.
I also would do Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon which is easy, 20 minutes by train. Although people have commented that Sintra is nice after all of the tour buses have gone.
Cannot ever seem to get to the Algarve, so someone else could give you tips about that area.
Personally, I would pick Alcobaca/Batahla. Coimbra is a very nice university town and if you had more time I would say go for it. But if I had to place in order of sights to see, I would go with Alcobaca/Batahla/Obidos instead of Coimbra with your shortened time.
I also would do Sintra and Cascais from Lisbon which is easy, 20 minutes by train. Although people have commented that Sintra is nice after all of the tour buses have gone.
Cannot ever seem to get to the Algarve, so someone else could give you tips about that area.
Aug 3rd, 2009, 05:08 AM
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We really liked Batalha, and the Casa do Outeiro hotel is a really nice hotel with a great staff. Our hotel room was a tad small, but very clean and with a balcony that overlooked the monastery - a beautiful sight at night when it's all lit up.
From Batalha, we easily drove to Ourem, Fatima and Tomar, and another day west to Sitio, Nazare and the ocean. (The plague of travelers - there's never enough time - there were so many other places we wanted to go and just couldn't get to them.)
From Batalha, we easily drove to Ourem, Fatima and Tomar, and another day west to Sitio, Nazare and the ocean. (The plague of travelers - there's never enough time - there were so many other places we wanted to go and just couldn't get to them.)
