Portugal and the Azores
Jun 16th, 2019 | 06:58 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 15
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Portugal and the Azores
Canadian couple, early 70’s, have spent the last 10 years in Florida for March & April looking for a change and have decided to spend March in Portugal and then 1st 2 weeks of April in the Azores. Will fly into Lisbon and rent a car for the month.
Looking for suggestions as to where to set up our base location in Portugal, think would prefer to stay in one central location and do 3 or 4 day trips per week. Would this work or would we be better off in say 2 locations over the month? Once decided will be looking for itinerary suggestions.
Thank you.
Looking for suggestions as to where to set up our base location in Portugal, think would prefer to stay in one central location and do 3 or 4 day trips per week. Would this work or would we be better off in say 2 locations over the month? Once decided will be looking for itinerary suggestions.
Thank you.
Jun 23rd, 2019 | 07:49 PM
#3
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 23,438
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Over a month suggests more than one location. Because you will have a car, I would avoid using large cities as a base. With a month I would look for three bases: one in the north, a second (Evora?) in the center and one in the Algarve. Quite a few years ago we rented a car in Porto, drove to Compostello and back to the northern half of Portugal. You might want to take a look at that trip report; click on my name to find it.t. This year we started in Lisbon, drove to the Algarve and then from there drove to Porto, but the travel report has not been written yet.
Jun 24th, 2019 | 08:11 AM
#5
Joined: Mar 2003
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I suggest spending at least a week in Lisbon without the car. Lisbon is a wonderful city with lots to see and do. You could also take the train to Sintra and spend several nights there. Cascais would be a nice place to stay for several nights, too. So for the first 2 weeks you wouldn't even need a car. I haven't been to other parts of Portugal yet so can't help you there. I agree you need 2 or 3 bases.
Jun 24th, 2019 | 08:15 AM
#6
Joined: Mar 2003
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For longer stays (3 nights or more) you should consider booking apartments through booking.com or airbnb. We had success with both providers, and it allowed us to modify our diets: restaurant food is generally lacking in vegetables and fruit.
Jun 24th, 2019 | 12:23 PM
#7
Joined: Dec 2017
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You might find the northern area too cold in March if you like warmth.
This is a nice thread for some Portugal ideas:
Getting around - Duoro Valley to Sintra and on to Evora
Enjoy. FYI we liked the smaller places better than the cities.
This is a nice thread for some Portugal ideas:
Getting around - Duoro Valley to Sintra and on to Evora
Enjoy. FYI we liked the smaller places better than the cities.
