Our family of five (2 parents, 3 young adults) will have 7 nights in Portugal, flying in and out of Lisbon, arriving on Sunday, April 29th. Our plan is to stay 2 nights in Lisbon, take the train to Porto and stay there for 2 nights, rent a car and stay somewhere on the way to Lisbon for two nights (in or around Cascais?), then back to Lisbon for our last night as our flight home is at 8:30 am. Is this enough time in Lisbon? We are hoping to rent apartments and we are wondering what are the best areas to stay in Lisbon and Porto. Is staying in or around Cascais a good option to use as a base to see Sintra, Obidos, etc.? Because we are so late booking this trip, is it worth getting a private tour guide to take us around Lisbon and surrounding areas, and if so, can you recommend a guide? Any advise about any of this would be appreciated! Thanks.

Just about trains - book in advance for potentially cheaper fares- www.cp.pt - Portugeuse Railways site. www.seat61.com has lots on that - general info trains check also BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

Hit Sintra and Obidos when driving back from Porto as they are that way from Lisbon.

That really isn't enough time for Lisbon itself, never mind side trips. Forget about the car. Lisbon - train to Porto - train to Lisbon. If you insist on adding somewhere else, stop in Coimbra. Better, just stay in Lisbon, especially if you want an apartment, and make day trips to Sintra, Cascais, Obidos etc. Renting an apartment for two nights is hardly worth the hassle, assuming you can find one.

The idea is that we would do the "side trips" (Sintra, Obidas, etc) on our way back from Porto, as we thought to do them from Lisbon would be quite expensive, given that we have to pay for 5 people - the young adults are university students.

You may also visit the villages and beach's in the Southwest, like Porto Covo, Zambujeira do Mar, Vila Nova de Milfontes, Odeceixe, etc...

Round trip to Sintra is all of five euro.
Round trip to Cascais is five euro.

And you may be able to get a one-day "all transport" ticket for Sintra-Cascais-Estoril.

Round trip to Obidos is around 9-10 euros.

I'd forget Cascais with so little time (or even more time!)- yes do Sintra as day trip from Lisbon but forget trying to do too much - there is a lot in Lisbon - Belem, a section of Lisbon on the river will take half a day and if you wanted to go to Cascais it's a short train ride from there. Moving bases is time consuming. Coimbra yes an excellent suggestion by train for a few hours just to see the famous University complex in neat upper town.

I'd say 4 nights Lisbon, 3 night Porto - including one day in between them and doing Coimbra would be the most you could comfortably do.

University age 'kids' may like to stay in a youth hostel in Lisbon just to meet other their age, etc.

Thank you. We have changed our itinerary and will now go straight to Porto by train when we land in Lisbon; stay 2 nights in Porto then take train or drive back to Lisbon for 5 nights.

I am having trouble figuring out the best areas to stay in Porto. We want somewhere fairly quiet at night but within walking distance of (or in?) the old town - I've seen Sao Bento, Bolhao and the art district (what is it called in Portuguese??) mentioned elsewhere. Any suggestions?