I would be grateful for some advice on our itinerary for 10 days in mid July. This is our first real trip with our 11 year old. I'm trying to find a balance between cultural/sightseeing and more kid friendly activities. We also would like to see as much as possible, but not feel like we are rushing. We're spending 4 nights in Lisbon, then basing in the Alcobaca area for 2-3 nights, and I can't decide if we should go to Porto from there, or back to Lisbon area and maybe see Cascais for the last 2 days - among other questions! This is where I'm at now -I'd love some feedback:

-First 3 days in Lisbon (stay in Lisbon first 4 nights)

-day 4: Sintra

-day 5: Evora day trip then head to Alcobaca area

-days 6 , 7, 8: stay in Alcobaca area. We found a really nice hotel and thought this middle part of our trip would be a nice city break/ slower paced time with plans to see Alcobaca, Batalha, the caves at Grutas de Mira de Aire, and maybe Nazare/beach day. I've also heard Sao Martinho is nice. Also Obidos?

-Head to Porto at some point on Day 8

Day 9: Porto (stay in Porto)

Day 10: 1/2 day in Porto before heading back to Lisbon for flight the next morning.

Questions:

I'm not sure if day 5 is too much (seeing Evora and going to Alcobaca) but my husband loves medieval villages and the chapel of bones sounds really unique.

I think Porto has a lot to offer, but it's really adding to our travel time (and hotel hopping which I'm trying to limit). So I just don't know if we should skip it and maybe see Cascais instead?

Thoughts?

Thanks so much!

day 5: For me, a day trip from Lisbon to Evora then continuing on to drive to Albocaça would be not enough time to do Evora justice. In addition, it is extremely hot in the entire Alentejo region in mid July. Although Alentejo is one of my 2 favorite regions in Portugal, I avoid it like the plague during the summer.

days 6,7,8: São Martinho and Peniche would make 2 nice beach days in this area.

Whether to drive from there up to Porto or back to Lisbon for a stay in Cascais, I think the time you'd have for Porto is quite short (slightly less than 2 full days).

With your 11-year old, you might want to end your trip in a more relaxing way at the ocean to unwind. We enjoyed our 3 nights in Cascais last month and used it for a bit of relaxation after a whole week of climbing up and down in Lisbon and Sintra and trying to avoid the huge crowds in both. We found Cascais a nice respite--we stayed at the Pestana Pousada inside the fortress, now turned into the Arts District, with direct access to the Marina. There are other hotels and rentals along the stretch of beach between the Cascais Marina and the expansive beach in Guincho.

Just some thoughts.

Thanks Maribel! That's so helpful! I hadn't thought about heat being more of a factor in Evora. Cascais looks beautiful and relaxing and I'm sure we'd love it. I just worry it's too much beach between some beach time around Alcobaca and then beach in Cascais. Also, I can't find many "activities" in the Cascais area whereas Porto seems to have so many different sights and activities, both cultural and kid focused - including WOW Porto which looks to be worth a visit. We could shave some time off Alcobaca/skip Evora to add more time to Porto...That being said I do want to see Cascais!! It's so hard to choose!

Here's a description of the activities and best beaches in the Cascais area--the safest beaches for children are the ones on the Cascais-Estoril side rather than the wild, windy surfers' beaches from Cascais to Guincho. Cascais does have a lovely and large city park, Marchechal Carmona, with strutting roosters and a play area for kids and there's everybody's favorite ice cream at Santini.
https://www.cascais-portugal.com/index.html.

If you decide on Porto, I would suggesting skipping Evora, as it can be really tough in the summer heat, and adding time to Porto. To make your visit to Porto really worthwhile, I do think it needs 3 days, minimum. And there are beaches in Porto at Foz, which is easy to access by the tourist tram #1 or the double decker #500 bus. And there's a Sea World, the Crystal Palace gardens and a little miniature golf course in Foz at Jardim do Passeio Alegre, plus the cheese castle in Foz and in Gaia, the new WOW, which I haven't yet seen.

Tough choice, I know!

This is so helpful, and I think I've narrowed things down to Cascais at the end of our trip. But one last burning question I have ; )
One thing I'm struggling with is the fact that based on our flight days, we're ending up in more touristy/crowded destinations on weekends. I'm trying to avoid Sintra on a weekend because I assume it would be even more crowded on a weekend day - is that right? Based on that assumption, I'm trying to figure out the best day to go. is it better/easier to get from Lisbon to Sintra or from Cascais to Sintra?
Thanks!!

Yes, tracyg,
Please try to avoid Sintra on a weekend or a Monday if possible (may not be possible) since most monuments in Belém are closed Mondays, so tourists flock to Sintra then.

I've traveled to Sintra both from Lisbon and just recently from Cascais. For me it's easier from Cascais.

Although the Scotturb bus 417 (fare: 4,35 euros/p) will take you from the underground Cascais bus station at the Cascais Shopping mall in 30 minutes via the autoroute, these buses are often very crowded (we saw them and said no), so....we took an uber from our Cascais hotel.
The uber ride took 25 min. via the autoroute, and the driver left us in front of the National Palace, in the center of town. Cost: 13 euros.
We returned to our hotel from Sintra at the end of the day via uber. Uber worked very well for us in the Cascais/Sintra area (but it wasn't a major holiday),so we used it several times. Not once did Uber cancel our rides. (But again, it wasn't the recent very crowded Easter weekend when taxis and ubers were in short supply.)

From Lisbon, I took the train from Rossio station. The ride takes 40 min. and trains can also get crowded, especially during the morning hours.

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much Maribel! Your advice has really helped me to get my itinerary in shape!!

We stayed at a lovely hotel, The Albatross, in Cascais. Lovely beach town and marina. Porto was our favorite.

We had a great walking tour in Evora from Free Walking tours.

FYI, despite what you read, if you want to go Cervejeria Ramiro restaurant in Lisbon, you CAN make reservations. Lines are huge with out them. You need to do it in advance on line!
Also, try to go to Ponto Final restaurant. So fun. Watch Somebody Feed Phil Lisbon episode before your trip.

For a really casual, delicious chicken dinner be sure to go to Bonjardim.

Several years ago we took a family trip to Cascais and Lisbon (with day trip to Sintra). At the time our kids were 13 and 17. There's a walking path along the beach where you can also rent bikes and it's (or was) an easy and inexpensive uber ride to some of the other coastal towns. We stayed at the Sheraton Cascais in an apartment and it worked out great for us.

I'm glad you've made your decision, Tracyg,

You can walk along the ocean from the Cascais Marina all the way to Guincho, past the Boca do Inferno on the walking/biking path, which we did just recently.
And you can stop for refreshments at the Casa da Guia, which is a pretty yellow mansion that's been turned into a shopping and restaurant center. It has terraces facing the water where we stopped for a coffee break. Really pleasant place to rest. It also has a pharmacy.
https://www.visitlisboa.com/en/places/casa-da-guia.
And if you get tired on this walk, you can take the circular city bus or hail an uber to pick you up.

You can also walk from Cascais to Estoril via the 3-km. promenade. There are several beaches on this lovely and easy walk.
https://www.cascais-portugal.com/Att...nade-walk.html

Cascais is also blessed with many restaurants in all budget ranges, from pizzerias to traditional Portuguese to tapas places. The Marina is chock-a-block with restaurants of all types overlooking the water and also has bicycle rentals.

The Marechal Carmona park holds a bio market on Saturday mornings, and the indoor market, Mercado da Vila, in Cascais has places to graze, including Rubro, which is a Portuguese-Spanish hybrid offering petiscos and tapas.
https://www.visitcascais.com/en/reso...ila-de-cascais
https://www.restauranterubro.com/en/...ts/cascais-en/.

We had lunch recently at the classic Hotel Albatross that's still going strong and sits right at the water's edge.

And dinner at the wonderful seafood restaurant, O Mar do Inferno, facing the ocean at Boca do Inferno (even has a vegetarian menu). There were lots of families dining there that night.
https://mardoinferno.wixsite.com/ementas?lang=en.

In July Cascais will again celebrate the Eco Cool Jazz Festival with venues in its Hipodromo (race course) and in the pretty Marechal Carmona park, that draws big names in the world of jazz.
https://www.edpcooljazz.com/bilhetes.html.

But because of this and the fact that it's a very popular summer vacation spot, I'd pin down my lodging ASAP.

Yes, we had reservations for Ramiro, but they only take them by email, and the reservation has to be for no later than 7:30 pm. If you need to cancel and re-book (as we did, for our last day instead of our first), you can't do this by phone (our hotel tried); it must be by email. I sent an email to change our date and they responded quickly.

Such great tips, thanks so much. Keep them coming !
Maribel, Yes, I was trying to narrow this down so I could book our hotels. I could see Cascais in particular was booking up. Based on what was available and in our budget I found Casa Vale Guest House which looks really nice. So our itinerary right now looks like this:
Days 1-3: Lisbon, staying at Jupiter Lisboa. Unfortunately, this is a Friday - Sunday, so I'm expecting we'll encounter a lot of weekend crowds. I considered switching things up and leaving Lisbon for Alcobaca right away, but decided against it.
Day 4: Lisbon - probably a day trip. Since this is a Monday, I decided against Sintra due to crowds. I'd still like to try for Evora, but I'll keep this as a maybe for now (heat, and I know Evora is a lot for just one day)
Days 5, 6, 7: We'll leave early for Alcobaca and stay at Vale D'Azenha. We'll shoot to see Grutas de Mira caves and Bathala and/or Alcobaca, and maybe Nazara or Obidos(?) but since we won't have full days on the 5th or the 7th may need to scale back. We'll probably leave late in the day on the 7th and head to Cascais.
Day 8: Day trip to Sintra from Cascais
Days 9-10: Cascais
Planning to leave for a Monday morning flight from Cascais to Lisbon airport.

tracyg,
The following web site has a TON of great info about Cascais-
https://www.timeout.com/cascais/discover-cascais.

Yes, Evora really is a lot for just 1 day, especially with the heat.
But if you do decide to go, the bus is more convenient than the train in the sense that there are more frequent departures. The bus leaves from Lisbon's Sete Rios station and the bus station in Evora is about a 10-minute walk from the center, Praça do Giraldo. The ride takes 1 hr. 45 min.
https://rede-expressos.pt/en/.

You may find so much to see and do in Lisbon that you may want to keep your Monday in the city. Not to visit Belém (monuments closed) or the 2 monuments in Alfama, the Mosteiro São Vicente for its tiles or the National Pantheon, since they're closed. The Gulbenkian is open on Mondays. There's the Ocenário in the Parque das Nações. It's open daily.
https://www.oceanario.pt/en/visit/

Eduardo VII park, at the top of the Avenida da Liberdade, is also nice to explore.

Do you mean Casa Vela Guest House in Cascais? It's in a quiet, residential area, about a 15-min. walk from the Marina. The historic quarter of Cascais is really quite pretty, with well cared for, tidy homes, immaculately manicured gardens, some beautiful historic homes/mansions. No urban grit. I would love to live there if the housing prices hadn't gone up so sharply lately.

I prefer Cascais to Nazaré, as I think it's just prettier and less touristy, but you should be the judge. I was talking yesterday to a Portuguese licensed guide about a possible guided tour of Obidos (not for us), and she chuckled and said: "No need, you can see it well on your own in 90 min." You may just want to concentrate on Albocaça and the Grutas. Up to you, but I would keep it manageable and have time to enjoy your lodging at Vale d'Azenha.

The Vale d'Azenha looks really, really lovely. We'll be up there in October on the Silver Coast, and I'm going to check it out.

Thanks Maribel. I agree we might just have more to see and do in Lisbon on Monday. Yes - I booked the Casa Vela for our stay in Cascais. The more central hotels were booked or too pricey, and it does look really pretty and has great reviews. I figured a 15 minute walk isn't too bad. None of our hotels are quite as central as I would have liked. And yes, I think Vale D'Azenha also looks really nice! I'll try to remember to report back after our trip!

Hotel rates for Cascais in summer are really pricey. I think you'll enjoy that neighborhood.