One week in Portugal -- itinerary too ambitious?
 

We are traveling to Portugal for the first time for one week in April (via OPO), and we're hoping to see Porto, Lisbon, and a few sites in between via train and uber/taxi. I've secured accommodations for the trip but am now wondering if our itinerary is too ambitious (we are two adults and a teen). Specifically, I'm wondering if our stops in Coimbra and Sintra should be day trips (or stops along the way) instead of overnights, and/or whether this is just too many destinations for 7 days. I'm trying to balance seeing the most compelling sites with allowing time to soak it all in. Could anyone offer feedback about whether this itinerary looks doable and enjoyable? Day 1, arrive in Porto 10am. Day 2, travel to Coimbra in the afternoon. Day 3, tour Coimbra then travel to Lisbon in the afternoon (stay 3 nights, with a possible day trip to Belem and/or Cascais/Estoril?). Day 6, travel to Sintra in the afternoon. Day 7, tour Pena Palace in the morning, then travel back to Porto in the afternoon. Day 8, fly out of OPO midday. Thank you very much for any suggestions!

This gives you essentially no real time in Porto, so why fly in/out of there? Your itinerary misses the wonderful Douro valley which can be a relatively full day trip from Porto. Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia across the river are worth at least an overnight. If you are locked into OPO for arrival/departure, why not spend a couple days in Porto, train to Lisbon from where Sintra/Pena Palace can be a day trip via train. Enjoy a couple days in Lisbon, then train back to Porto with a stop in Coimbra en route. Even better would be to adjust your itinerary to fly into OPO and out of LIS, spend 2-3 days in Porto with a Douro day trip then train to Lisbon (maybe stop on Coimbra en route) and do day trips to Sintra and Coimbra (Belem, Cascais are not even a full day trip) before departing from Lisbon.

Way too ambitious. Too much moving around in too little time. In my opinion, a lot of vacations are ruined this way. Remember too that the cities you intend to explore require a lot of walking and steep hills. Is it doable? Yes, enjoyable? Not so much. Porto deserves 2-3 days, Coimbra 1-2 days and Lisbon 3 days. Sintra is a full day as is Cascais/Estoril. Belem is on the coastal train that takes you Cascais so you could do Cascais early am and on return to Lisbon get off at Belem and spend a few hours exploring. Maybe skip Coimbra and fully enjoy Porto and Lisbon. 7 nights is ideal for that.

This is a whirlwind itinerary and will probably just leave you frustrated and exhausted.

We spent over three weeks in Portugal this past spring, and visited all the places you mentioned, plus Evora and the Douro. The highlight for us was the five nights we spent in Porto.

There is just no way to do justice to your wish list in a week. And there is absolutely no time for getting your bearings. I never understand how people even find their way around and decide how to prioritize what to see and do on such short itineraries. Any setback, be it weather, logistics or miscommunication, could mean your one allocated day in a given place just doesn't work out.

Don't underestimate the crowds in these hot spots, and I highly recommend you avoid Easter weekend at all costs.

Thank you for this very helpful feedback, Seamus and mike1728! We are limited to flying in and out of OPO, and with only 7 days, we have to make difficult choices about what to miss. We will simply have to return to Portugal another time to experience more of the country! I think we will adjust to spend our first two nights in Porto (instead of one), skip Coimbra, and spend 3-4 nights in Lisbon before returning to Porto for our last night. I just have to decide whether to make Sintra a day trip from Lisbon or an overnight visit on our way back to Porto.

Thanks, Melnq8. We are trying to prioritize within the limited time we are able to travel. We will simplify our plans based on the helpful feedback here!

I agree with all the important points that Melnq8, Seamus and mike1728 have mentioned above.
-- a whirlwind itinerary that I suspect you won't really enjoy because you're attempting to see more than is logistically feasible in your 7 days.

As they've noted, your initial itinerary would be really shortchanging Porto, which is a delightful city filled with surprises that merits more time.
Both Porto and Lisbon are experiencing a real. tourist boom, are 2 very "hot" European destinations, and the cruise ships have returned to both in full force.

https://crew-center.com/lisbon-portu...-ship-schedule
https://crew-center.com/porto-portug...-ship-schedule.

Since you're committed to flying in and out of OPO, I would certainly spend the first 2 nights in Porto to get your bearings. As others note, it will be very crowded, especially so during Easter week, April 2-9.
With only 2 nights in Porto, you won't have time for a lengthy 9-10 hour day trip to the Douro, so just enjoy the city as much as possible.

I would then take the comfortable and inexpensive Alfa Pendular train to Lisbon (just a 2-hour, 58 min. ride), skipping Coimbra.
Stay for 4 nights in Lisbon with that possible day trip to Sintra (which these days has been heaving with visitors), limiting yourselves to only 2-3 monuments there (see the link below).

Then return to Porto on the Alfa Pendular for your last afternoon and night.

You can purchase AP train tickets in advance here, putting in Porto-Campanha as your origin and Lisboa-Santa Apolonia as your destination. Combois de Portugal offers very attractive advance purchase discounts.
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en.

You might read through this thread on the Rick Steves Portugal forum to get a sense of what Sintra is like these days, especially the Pena Palace. Visitors really need to adjust expectations on a Sintra day trip given the crowds. And the rules have changed for the Palace, as those with a Park ticket only are no longer allowed to visit and photograph from the Palace terraces.

https://community.ricksteves.com/tra...-palace-beware

The rules have also changed regarding a visit to Lisbon's Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. Tickets now require a specific date and time and can be purchased here-
https://bilheteira.patrimoniocultura...s/session/list.

Just some thoughts.

Thank you, Maribel! I very much appreciate your suggestions and helpful links. We have changed our plans so that we are now staying our first night in Porto, then taking the train to Lisbon and staying there for 4 nights (we were able to extend our reservation one day earlier but not later), and then heading back to Porto for our last two nights. We will make one or two day trips from Lisbon, and I will take a look at your links in considering our options. Many thanks!

And the rules have changed for the Palace, as those with a Park ticket only are no longer allowed to visit and photograph from the Palace terraces.

Maribel - I just recently heard about this on TripAdvisor - do you happen to know when the change went into effect?

Hi Mel,
I think it went into effect in October but not positive. Anyway, it's a bummer. Apparently these new rules on printed on your ticket, but I haven't purchased one online lately.

Definitely a bummer. Being able to visit the terraces before the palace opened was a major perk to having the park ticket.

I completely agree!!