Masterphil

I have a trip to Spain/Portugal/Copenhagen in May.

I had an itinerary of 1 night in Malaga, Granada, Cordoba and Seville before 2 nights Lagos, 2 nights Cascais, 1 night Sintra, 3 nights Porto, 3 nights Lisbon before flying to Copenhagen.

On another posting my itinerary was deemed too aggressive (and I agree), so I have changed it to the following:

1 night Malaga (arrive at airport 8pm); drive to Seville for 2 nights, drive to Lagos for 2 nights, drive to Cascais for 2 nights, drive to Sintra for 1 (a friend told me it is better to stay here a night to experience it after the day trippers), a night somewhere else (Obidos?) drive to Porto for 3 nights than drive back to Lisbon for 3 nights.

I think this itinerary is a little less aggressive with a little less driving early in the trip.

We are considering Portugal as a retirement spot and want to check it out from that standpoint.

Secondly, If anyone has any recommendations or suggested changes to this itinerary, I am always happy to hear.

Thirdly, if any one has any recommendations for a place to spend a night either on the way from Sintra to Porto or from Porto to Lisbon, that would be welcomed!

My wife and I splurge on our vacations, so I know about rental car surcharges for dropping off in a different country ($1300 for BMW for entire trip).

Thanks in advance for comments! (Currently staying at AC Malaga Hotel, Gran Melia Colon in Seville, Onyria in Lagos, Cascais Miragem , Sintra Boutique, Porto River Aparthotel, and Avenide Palace in Lisbon if anybody has any pro/con comments about hotels.

Much obliged!

Bedar

I'd have a look at the Alentejo region as a possible retirement place.

Masterphil

Thanks Bedar! I guess I will be driving through that region on the way from Lagos to Cascais.

lobo_mau

I don't see a point in staying in Cascais and Sintra since they are quite close to each other (15 or 20 minutes). You'd better stay in one place and visit the other as a day trip.
In between Lisbon and Porto consider Buçaco (Bussaco) Hotel and forest. a major site of Napoleonic wars back in early 19th century.
Another option in between Lisbon and Porto is Coimbra and it's university (13th century), with Quinta das Lagrimas, the place of tearful Pedro and Ines love story (14th century)
I never felt in love with Obidos since I've always found it too Disneyesque. The real thing as far as walled towns is concerned is Monsaraz near Evora, by the border.
Alentejo is big (one third of the country). If you have more specific queries, feel free to ask.
Meanwhile I leave you wint "cante" to get you in the right mood to appreciate the Alentejo (https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/cante-a...portugal-01007)

thursdaysd

Between Sintra/Lisbon and Porto I would stop in Coimbra. I would also take the train.

I would not move to Sintra for one night. If you eat dinner there you should outlast the day trippers.

Masterphil

lobo...Thanks! Cascais is one of the areas I was considering for retirement, so I wanted to "pretend like I was living there for 2 days" I originally had 3 nights planned there. A friend told me to stay in Sintra, so I changed Cascais from 3 nights to 2 and added Sintra (a 15 minute drive I guess!?)

Thursdaysd....Thanks! Was going to stop in Coimbra either on the way up from Lisbon or on the way back down. I will look into staying a night there, just to break up the 3 hour drive. I prefer driving (get to come and go as we please, change schedules quickly and get to stop at little places along the way).

kja

If there is any chance that you will have jet lag, I would strongly encourage you to avoid driving for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience! And please be patient with me if you think I’m being overly adamant, but I know too many people who have died or been seriously injured in accidents to which jet lag was a contributing factor, and I know too many people who will spend the rest of their lives dealing with the knowledge that they were responsible for accidents that resulted in multiple deaths, including those of children, all because they were too confident in their ability to drive safely with jet lag. The issue has become a bit of cause célèbre for me….

Masterphil

kja...Thanks! I drive all the time in Europe. Once I did something stupid.... I got off the plane jumped in a car and drove south from CDG to Chateau Fontainebleau then to Beaune! I didn't get a very good sleep on the way over too! I agree with you, in that instance. When we got to Beaune I was wiped out! In retrospect, not a good thing to do.

This time we are in first class on the flight over, where I actually have success getting some good sleep. This time we land and I drive 17 minutes to our hotel.

Thanks again!

Masterphil

Sorry..that's 37 minutes

kja

Whether you sleep or not is irrelevant. The problem is that your biological clock is off -- and that takes time to adjust.

girlonthego

In Caiscas, we stayed in Estoril at the Intercontinental. It is a very nice hotel and on the boardwalk that runs through Cascais. Estoril was a little more residential so that may get you a feel for the area.

On the way to Porto, the town of Fatima has the Sanctuary of Fatima and the story of the children who saw the mother Mary appear back in 1917. But in that town, about 10 min away is the neatest hotel I have ever stayed at. It is not linked up with the Catholic area, but a retreat/spa hotel that we wished we could have stayed longer and just relaxed there. It would be a good stop if you want a night somewhere in between. Hotel Luz houses
http://www.luzhouses.pt/en/#/355/luz-houses

We loved Portugal and the people!

Masterphil

Thanks girlonthego!!! I will definitely check that out!