mnag

We are three families with pre-teen kids traveling to Portugal in late Aug. The ladies/kids are traveling to the Azores for 5 days and then meeting the men in Lisbon who don't want to or are unable to take the full 2 weeks off. We will be limited to 11days in Portugal. The most convenient airport for us from the States is Lisbon and the Duoro valley and Algarve is a must which means there is quite a bit of driving involved. We have broken down are days as follows

8/18, 8/19 - Lisbon including Sintra/Cabo Da Roca. This of course is very tight but most folks would rather skip a big city and allocate more time to other places in Portugal
8/20 - Drive to Obidos (52 miles from Lisbon), From there cover Batalha and Tomar (pick the latter if running late). Drive to Coimbra (one hour from Tomar) and overnight in Coimbra
8/21, 8/22 - Duoro valley. Take IP3/A25/A24 up to Peso da Regua. Enjoy the scenery and overight in Pinhao. Visit wineries, consider the train from Pinhao to Pochinho
8/23 - Leave Duoro valley and head to Alentejo region. Long day of driving. Take a lunch break at Belmonte (2 hours from Pinhao) and overnight in Marvao (2 hours from Belmonte. Be prepared for narrow steep roads in town)
8/24. Explore Marvoa in the AM and leave for Evora (2 hours). Overnight Evora
8/25 Explore Evora AM and leave for Algarve about 2.5 hours.
8/26, 8/27 Hotel in Lagos. Must in this region is visit to Ponte da piedade, boat trip around the caves, Sagres peninsula, travel along to Aljezur and visit Silves if possible
8/28 Overnight Lisbon, return car
8/29 Fly out
As stated earlier we realize this is an aggressive itinerary but the guys refuse to take more time off and accept the fact that there will be quite a bit of traveling around involved. Having said that, is it doable?
Second qns: a few times we will be visiting small towns during the day and our luggage will be in the trunk. Is that safe? I have read about car break ins in some coastal towns near Lisbon but not in the above mentioned towns (Obidos, Tomar, Belmonte, Evora). Should we worry?
Lastly, how are the roads between the Duoro valley south towards Belmonte and Marvao? Am I underestimating the driving time?
One more: Are there any must see places not on this list? What would you cut/add...
Any/all feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

bilboburgler

wow tough trip

use viamichelin not google to get an idea of times. I'd add 20% to get real time

Cut, Algarve or Alentejos are the obvious.

Don't leave anything visible, if in doubt park your car up against a wall to limit access. Worry, but only a bit.

sandralist

Can women+kids fly to Porto from the Azores and can the men immediately get on the train from Lisbon to Porto -- and you all meet up in Porto? Shake off the jet lag (maybe stay in Foz?) and then rent a car. Suggest that you limit your trip to your 2 "musts" -- Douro and the Algarve -- and if you want to see something in Lisbon, do it at the end of the trip.

How are you getting around? Renting more than one car or a van?

mnag

Thanks Sandralist. Yes likely two automatic cars for the American drivers . I was thinking it may not be a good idea to rent a van that fits all 10 because of the narrow roads we may encounter. I did briefly consider flying in/out of Porto (the guys would connect in Lisbon). Didn't think we the girls would get a direct flight out of Azores. Will look into it more seriously...I think the night in Porto may be a 'waste' because we are more interested in the scenic areas to the east. But certainly like you say we can't drive the first day due to jet lag. We would end up getting two full days in Lisbon to cover Sintra and Obidos/Tomar....and certainly cuts down some of the driving. Thanks.

thursdaysd

Yes, the <i>women</i> can get flights from Azores to Porto, some direct, depending on which island. Use skyscanner.net.

If you're going to Lisbon you should save time to see Belem.

sandralist

mnag,

Consider staying in the Foz area of Porto rather than the historic city center. If some people want to visit the city sights, they can easily pop into the city by tram or taxi while others are on the beach of by the pool.

http://www.europeanconsumerschoice.o...orto-seafront/

If you are driving in two separate vehicles (and you might be more comfortable in 3 unless you are all 1-child families), then it is harder to have an agressive driving itinerary. I'm not recommending a van, but rather that you stick to your 2 must-do's and enjoy a more relaxed trip, with more margin for error.

sandralist

Oh - I see there are 10 of you. Maybe 2 SUVs would work. Be sure you check how much luggage can be completely hidden while you are parked if you are only getting 2 cars.

mnag

thank you all for your insights

bilboburgler

I'd stay right in the centre of Porto or on the cliff looking down on the river. Both are very interesting and pleasant if a little down at heel.

I last flew to the Azores from Porto, there were two airlines making connections from there.

You may like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serralves we did

Ackislander

Are you coming from the US?

You may already know this, but last time I looked you could fly directly from Boston to the Azores.

Depending on where you are coming from, Home-Boston-Azores-Lisbon-European connection-Home is likely to be faster and might be cheaper than flying to and from the Azores via a European connection and Lisbon.

You may be lucky enough to have a direct flight from home to Lisbon. We went through Frankfurt, and it was grim -- an endless overnight flight to Frankfurt, a long wait at FRA, then a long flight back in the direction we had already come from. We lost the first 24 hours recovering from this.

mnag

Yes the flight from Boston to Azores is direct and 'relatively cheap'. The girls leg from Newark-Boston-Azores-Lisbon-Newark is slightly cheaper than the direct roundtrip for the guys from Newark to Lisbon.
Trying to fly into Porto is not going to work because it almost doubles the airfare for the guys.

thursdaysd

"Can women+kids fly to Porto from the Azores and can the men immediately get on the train from Lisbon to Porto" (sandralist)

"Yes, the women can get flights from Azores to Porto, some direct, depending on which island" (thursdaysd)

"Trying to fly into Porto is not going to work because it almost doubles the airfare for the guys." (mnag)

So, the boys aren't capable of taking the train from Lisbon to Porto on their own?

bilboburgler

I've done the train L to P, pretty good. And you get to see all the blue tiles at both stations.

mnag

Looked into trains and seems like it should be relatively easy. However not gaining much I think. So the 2 alternatives would be

8/18, 8/19 Lisbon...sights in town and one full day for Sintra
8/20 overnight coimbra after seeing obidos and tomar along the way
8/21, 8/22 Pinhao
8/23 Marvao
8/24 Evora
8/25, 8/26 Lagos
8/27 drive up to Lisbon return car (wasted day)
8/28 fly out

Alternate itinerary
8/18 Porto (mostly a waste cause flight from azores doesn't get in until 6pm)
8/19, 8/20 rent car, overnight Pinhao
8/21 Marvao
8/22 Evora
8/23, 8/24 Lagos
8/25 drive up to Lisbon and return car
8/26, 8/27 Lisbon. One day for and Sintra and another full day for Obidos and Tomar tour
8/28 fly out

Feels to me that we lost 1/2 day in Lisbon with the second itinerary and gained eliminating having to drive from Lisbon and Porto Regua. Will balance it with the extra cost for picking up car in Porto and return in Lisbon.
One additional question I have is about tours from Lisbon to Obidos and Tomar? Assuming doable in a day and we could try to get a private tour?

Appreciate your additional insight. Thanks all.