Portugal: 70th birthday trip
 

I plan on taking my husband to Portugal for his birthday which is in the winter, and oddly, because of our work schedules, just about the only time when we can actually vacation together. We were in Morocco two years ago, and undoubtedly what he enjoyed most was our visit to a small mountain town and kasbah where he could just plop with a book and eat good food and take long walks among the olive trees.We happily had dinner there every night. I am wondering if in February and March we could find such a place for at least part of our trip in Portugal. (I personally would love to see Lisbon!) Any suggestions? Thank you.

We loved Obidos - a short easy drive from the ocean, and other tourist sights if you like, but a lovely ancient town with great restaurants, charming. Also really liked Tomar though we didn't stay there. Another thought would be the Bussacco palace - it is an old hunting estate of the Kings, also where a major battle in the Napoleonic wars occurred, for us it felt enchanted, hidden in an old forest. I hope you have a great trip

Thanks so much, we definitely plan to include Obidos in our trip. I am planning to reserve accommodations at The Literary Man, which is totally perfect for my husband.

+1 for Obidos and Tomar.
We visited several monasteries that we found great. One with a dormitory that we found alike to hogwarts ;-).

Don't forget Sintra.

I've always avoided the Algarve in Portugal because I have heard it is so terribly touristy and jam packed in "the season". But I would be tempted to go in the time frame you are talking about, because I have heard it is so beautiful. I've gathered from previous research that there are still areas relatively unspoiled and uncommercialized, especially if you are not looking for on-the-beach locations.

Just in general I would look for points south and east of Lisbon (in addition to Lisbon, which is wonderful, but be sure to take shoes with very very good traction on the soles, because the hilly streets are paved with smooth stones that are very very slippery when wet -- and just in general)

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...s-beach-hotels

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2...jo-new-flights

Take a look at the attached link. We also loved Obidos (a bit touristy when we visited in Aug) but beautiful nonetheless. Tomar hit the mark for us as well. Also E and restaurants. We stayed at a gem outside of town in Evora - Pousada Convento de Evora - a Historic Hotel which was quite impressive and charming at the same time.

http://blog.routeperfect.com/the-7-m...s-in-portugal/

Obidos is very touristy, and not worth more than a couple of hours, but maybe not so bad in the off season. You could also consider Evora.

How long is this trip? You can easily spend a week in Lisbon, with day trips to Belem, and (weather permitting) Sintra, Cascais and Estoril.

I like the idea of exploring the Algarve, which might have the best weather.