Porto, Fatima, Salema- June 14 -19
May 30th, 2022, 07:23 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Porto, Fatima, Salema- June 14 -19
Hello,
We will be visiting Porto for 1.5 days June 14 - 15 we are looking for information of must do activities/sites. We already have the: Livraria Lello, Carmo Church, Sao Bento station- historic tiles inside, Half Rabbit street art by Arturo Bordalo.... What other activities do you recommend? I tried booking a private guide but couldn't find one.
We will be renting a car very early AM June 16 in Porto airport and plan to drive south and do a stop in Fatima to see the shrine (expect to spend a couple of hours) then drive south to Salema. Should we be concerned about parking in Fatima? All we want to do is see the shrine and experience the place.
We will be in Salema June 16-19. We have on our list: visit Salema Beach, Visit Sagres, Visit Lagos. We would love to see the caves and go to Benagil. Can you please give us some recommendations about things to do in the area. We will have a car and don't mind driving but want to experience the area and see the beautiful sites.
Thanks in advance!
We will be visiting Porto for 1.5 days June 14 - 15 we are looking for information of must do activities/sites. We already have the: Livraria Lello, Carmo Church, Sao Bento station- historic tiles inside, Half Rabbit street art by Arturo Bordalo.... What other activities do you recommend? I tried booking a private guide but couldn't find one.
We will be renting a car very early AM June 16 in Porto airport and plan to drive south and do a stop in Fatima to see the shrine (expect to spend a couple of hours) then drive south to Salema. Should we be concerned about parking in Fatima? All we want to do is see the shrine and experience the place.
We will be in Salema June 16-19. We have on our list: visit Salema Beach, Visit Sagres, Visit Lagos. We would love to see the caves and go to Benagil. Can you please give us some recommendations about things to do in the area. We will have a car and don't mind driving but want to experience the area and see the beautiful sites.
Thanks in advance!
May 30th, 2022, 01:59 PM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 7,964
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Lunalove,
The trip from Porto (OPO) through Fátima to Salema, without the sightseeing stop in Fátima, will take 6 hours, 15 min, according to www.viamichelin.com.
I use ViaMichelin rather than google maps for my itinerary planning because I find the driving times more realistic. But since you say you'll be getting a very early start, you probably know you'll have a very long and full day.
We've used Europcar for our rentals from OPO, but you've probably already secured your rental. The rental agencies are located in a separate building from the terminal.
For your time in Salema, there are nice options both west and east.
When we based between Lagos and Luz, we drove west to the Sagres fortress and to Cape Vincent, Cabo de São Vicente, to the lighthouse. We planned to enjoy the sunset views there, but it was so rainy and windswept that we ended up enjoying the sunset from inside our car (but this was Oct.).
It's a very dramatic spot and the lighthouse has an excellent small museum, Museu dos Faróis.
From the lighthouse, you could drive on north to two of the truly gorgeous beaches of the Costa Vicentina, the Praia do Amado and Praia da Bordeira (in Carrapateira) with its giant sand dunes.
There are walking paths atop the cliffs in both. And walking these headlands is very popular.
You could have a great grilled fish lunch above Praia do Amado at the simple Sitio do Forno. Sunsets here are lovely.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/portuga...118310/1300052.
The drive from Salema to these beaches would take about 30 min.
Like Rick Steves, we weren't impressed by the scruffy, "off the grid" town of Sagres, so we spent little time there.
To the east we drove to explore the cliff formations of Ponte da Piedade, south of Lagos and the Lagos beach of Praia do Porto de Mós, which is a very pretty part of town.
https://www.lagosportugalguide.com/l...ach-lagos.html.
We did spend several hours exploring the walled old quarter of Lagos.
There's a company in Salema that offers a twice daily combo tour of dolphin watching and the Benagil caves.
https://www.salematours.com/en/tour/...gil-golfinhos/.
The trip from Porto (OPO) through Fátima to Salema, without the sightseeing stop in Fátima, will take 6 hours, 15 min, according to www.viamichelin.com.
I use ViaMichelin rather than google maps for my itinerary planning because I find the driving times more realistic. But since you say you'll be getting a very early start, you probably know you'll have a very long and full day.
We've used Europcar for our rentals from OPO, but you've probably already secured your rental. The rental agencies are located in a separate building from the terminal.
For your time in Salema, there are nice options both west and east.
When we based between Lagos and Luz, we drove west to the Sagres fortress and to Cape Vincent, Cabo de São Vicente, to the lighthouse. We planned to enjoy the sunset views there, but it was so rainy and windswept that we ended up enjoying the sunset from inside our car (but this was Oct.).
It's a very dramatic spot and the lighthouse has an excellent small museum, Museu dos Faróis.
From the lighthouse, you could drive on north to two of the truly gorgeous beaches of the Costa Vicentina, the Praia do Amado and Praia da Bordeira (in Carrapateira) with its giant sand dunes.
There are walking paths atop the cliffs in both. And walking these headlands is very popular.
You could have a great grilled fish lunch above Praia do Amado at the simple Sitio do Forno. Sunsets here are lovely.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/portuga...118310/1300052.
The drive from Salema to these beaches would take about 30 min.
Like Rick Steves, we weren't impressed by the scruffy, "off the grid" town of Sagres, so we spent little time there.
To the east we drove to explore the cliff formations of Ponte da Piedade, south of Lagos and the Lagos beach of Praia do Porto de Mós, which is a very pretty part of town.
https://www.lagosportugalguide.com/l...ach-lagos.html.
We did spend several hours exploring the walled old quarter of Lagos.
There's a company in Salema that offers a twice daily combo tour of dolphin watching and the Benagil caves.
https://www.salematours.com/en/tour/...gil-golfinhos/.
Last edited by Maribel; May 30th, 2022 at 02:03 PM.
