Portugal in July/August for 15 days with small kids
 

Yes... we are nuts... but go big or go home.

So, we need some help. We fly in July 22nd to Portugal from the US. We are staying in Lisbon until the 25th and then have an apartment in Ferragudo, Algarve until the 30th. Then we don't know what to do.

I want to go to Porto by train and stay 30th-August 3rd. Then return to Lisbon for 2 days before coming back to the states. But Porto looks kind of dreary and run down from the photos... We would love to go to Douro, but are afraid it is too much travel/too many different hotels (best to settle in at a hotel or apartment for at least 3-4 days).

Any thoughts? Yes/no on Porto? Another area of Portugal?

Hi Jenzoe,

If I were you, I'd skip Porto. You can do that on a different trip. Why go all the way from the Algarve to Porto, it's a long long journey by train and specially for kids. You didn't mention, but how old are your kids. Also, keep in mind that July/August are one of the hottest months in Portugal, and in past years there has been wild fires in the central/northern part of Portugal. I'd stick with staying in the Algarve and do they day trip.

By the way, on your way to the Algarve, are you stopping in Evora. If not, then you should plan to do so. I'm assumming you will have a rental car, if not? you should definitely get one.

Once in the Algarve, do they days and venture out west along the coast, you will find some quaint fishing villages like Salema, and some nice towns like Lagos, Villa do Bispo, and please go to Cabo San Vicente...this are was once known to be the end of the world, and stay for the sunset, the views are amazing. Other towns to visit are Aljezur, and there are also many hidden beaches along the southern/western part of Portugal, although be careful as the currents are pretty strong in this part of the country.

As mentioned above, Evora might be an option. We rented an apartment in the heart of Evora's old city, and loved it. Evora, like most of Portugal, will be hot in the summer however.

Hi, Jenzoe,
Porto is about three hours north of Lisbon by car, so it depends on how much driving you want to do. I'm not sure that you've got enough time to do justice to both the Douro Valley and Porto with the drive up and back. I love Porto, and I really love the Douro, but I agree that staying further south might make for a better use of your time and have less driving.

Consider the Alentejo area for a three or four day circle -- you'll find lots of info here on Marvao, Evora, Castelo de Vide, Arraiolos, Borba, Vila Vicosa, Serpa, Beja, etc. I don't know how old your kids are, but everyone likes the Marvao castle, and its setting is spectacular. There's lots to see in the Alentejo and it would require much less driving than Porto and the douro.

You didn't mention the age of your kids, but they might find Lisbon strenuous. It's very hilly, and the cobbled streets can take their toll on little legs. (If they are younger than that - Oh Lord! - I really wouldn't be up to pushing a buggy around in that heat on those hills).

As someone else pointed out, it will be very very hot at that time of the year also. If you are planning on sightseeing then I'd advise half a day at the most - preferably in the morning when it's slightly cooler - and then something a bit more fun, like taking the train to the beach - Cascais is nice (and has a great ice-cream shop).

Kids really seem to enjoy the Aquarium and the nearby cable cars. Also the sights at Belem are a welcome break from the crowded old city.

On our trip to Portugal last week, the owner of our guesthouse mentioned that it's possible to spend a day whale and dolphin watching in Setubal as a boat-trip - that might be something to look into. We subsequently found leaflets offering that as a day-trip in the main tourist office - your kids might like that.

I really wouldn't bother with Porto - just too much hassle with little ones in tow. The Douro Valley is beautiful, but in all honesty, how much are your kids going to enjoy that? I think a two-centre holiday between Lisbon and the Algarve sounds by far a better option.

Thank you so much for your replies! So, the kids are 5 months and 4 and a half. I am now over going to Porto (sadly). I think you are all right. My only sadness is that Obidos has a festival with knights and medieval costumes while we are there and my son would be out of his gourd excited to see that (though, he has no idea it exists, so not going would be ok). Is there anything nice and cool around Obidos?

I just don't want to see only beach. We have that in the US. we want some beautiful villages, great restaurants, etc., also.

Jenny

You'll get good restaurants nearly everywhere in Portugal - especially if you like seafood and good simple food. I wouldn't expect too much of this trip, seeing as your children are so young. Most seaside towns are quite different to their US equivalents and that novelty is nice. Don't sweat about sightseeing - the sights will still be there when they're older and able to appreciate them more - just enjoy the experience of spending time in a foreign country with your kids. Sometimes just looking at their reactions to different foods, languages and attitudes towards being somewhere strange and new is enough of a holiday experience in itself.

Hi,

Seeing that both your kids are really young, I think the Douro Valley won't be appealing to them. Or else I would suggest taking a day cruise from Porto to the Douro Valley.

Although it may be difficult to get tickets at the lowest rates, there are low cost flights from Faro (Algarve) to Porto. It's a one hour flight.

Sorry to disappoint you, and your son, but this year the Medieval Market of Óbidos takes place between the 1st and the 18th of July. On the other hand, the Medieval Voyage in Santa Maria da Feira, near Porto, that is bigger than the one that takes place in Óbidos, will take place between the 29th of July and the 8th of August. So, if you manage to visit Porto, you can pass Santa Maria da Feira on your way back to Lisbon.

bruno you saved me! Is there anything near Santa Maria de Feira besides Porto worth visiting?

Hi, glad to help.

In Santa Maria da Feira you can also visit the Visionarium, a science center for kids. If you like beaches, between Porto and Santa Maria da Feira you have the beach of Espinho that it's quite good. If you like animals, you can also check the Lourosa Zoo that exclusive dedicated to birds, it's a must for ornithology enthusiasts and kids usually love it. Lourosa is just a little up north from Santa Maria da Feira.

South of Santa Maria da Feira, in your way to Lisbon, you have Aveiro and Coimbra, two interesting cities. Aveiro has a river that flows through the city, making some to call it the Portuguese Venice; honestly, that's way farfetched, but it's a lovely city nonetheless. Coimbra is known as the City of the Students, as the local University was established in 1290 making it the oldest in the country and one of the oldest in Europe. Near Coimbra, you can also check the Roman ruins of Conimbriga.

If you need more help just let me know.

OK. Now I am back on Porto, just because Algarve and Alentejo sound like they may be WAY too hot for us.

We were going to take the train from Portimao to Porto... not drive. Does that make it better? The flights were at horrible times from Faro(6AM or 11PM)

Too bad you can't just get up to Port and see northern Portugal, since the south is so hot. The north is much cooler in summer, we were there late June one year and it was very pleasant. We started and ended in Porto, and headed north from there. Porto is a blast. With the little one you're going to have to take it slow.

Hi,

this site http://www.portugalforkids.com/, might be very helpfull to plan your hollidays with kids,in Portugal.
There are several places to visit with them. Enjoy your hollidays!

Actually we spent a week on the Silver Coast North of Lisbon this past August on the beach.
Although it was very hot in Lisbon we found the coast to be much cooler.
The house we stayed in was about 100m from the beach near San Martinho do Porto and we didn't even need fans at night whereas we wouldn't have been able to sleep in Lisbon without ac.

Hi,
I have been agonizing over a similar trip. I have two little girls, 6 and 3 years. They will be spending part of the summer with their grandparents in Galicia, Spain...so we have decided this year to take them to Portugal for our family vacation starting around August 21. We would be driving down from Vigo, Spain.

I was looking at norther portugal, since its closer to us, like the Douro valley/ Braga area- but many here seem to think it is a bad idea w/ smaller kids. Can you explain why? This may help me settle my indecision as to where to go.

The other option was to do the Alentejo area, which is as far as we are thinking of driving, and was very excited to see that it came highly recommended on this threads for traveling with kids.... Is this the better option?

If we do Alentejo..I was thinking of staying 1 night in Porto, 2 nights in lisbon, 1 night in oviedos, and then off to Alentejo region. We will have 6 days to spend in the area and would like to stay 3 nights in one town and the other 3 in another town. But which? We are looking for old world portugal at its best! : )

Any advice to settle my doubts or questions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Madeley

Hi!

From my experience (my daughter is 5 years old, she just wants to play and be with others of their age), choose a place to stay with a pool and a toys, tell them they can go to the pool in the afternoon and you'll be visiting castles and churches, etc, in the morning.
With this in mind we can say that virtually every region in Portugal is children friendly.
My advice is to choose a couple of good pousadas de Portugal, almost, if not all, have pools and are set within areas of great interest.
I just received a newsletter saying that there is a Promotion going on http://www.pousadas.pt/historicalhot...ium=newsletter.
I really liked Geres in the Braga area, go to www.pensaomanuelpires.com, it's just so cheap and worderful (they have a pool and tennis and toys for children).
I love the south of Portugal, from Lisbon to the south and to the East. I've been in Pousadas in Marvao, Sousel, Estremoz, Evora and Vila Viçosa, they're just so nice wonderful food, people and just lots to discover and of course, pools.
Western Alentejo, in my opinion has the best beaches in Europe, Vila Nova de Milfontes, Melides, Comporta, Troia, Zambujeira do Mar, etc.
Lisbon is, Lisbon, old world Portugal in every corner.

Madeley, I can't imagine why someone would think that northern Portugal would be any worse for small kids than the rest of the country. Especially in August, the weather should be fairly dependable, but not as hot as the south. as Serbap suggests, you want to be able to do a range of activities to suit child and adult. The Minho, the portion of Portugal north of Porto is fabulous. Lots of charming little cities like Viana do Castelo which is quite near Spain. We saw beaches south of there, holiday towns that would suit families. Watch out for the location of Pousadas--sometimes they are way out of town, up in the hills. It's a lovely area, inland there is a huge national park, very unspoiled. Google "the minho" and read about it.

We just got back from two weeks in Estoril (outside Lisbon), and had a great time (kids ranged from 7 to 17). We went to Tomar on day, and the Berlingas Islands & Obidos another. All was wonderful - the islands are rocky & gorgeous, but the boat trip rough - and the weather there was better than here in NY. Between Sintra, Belem, Cascais, and a beach day or two, we were happy just staying in one place.

Hi- I am just wondering what you ended up doing with your kids. We are planning a trip for the end of August. I have 2 kids- under age 5. We are hoping to fly to Lisbon from the U.S., spend one day there, rent a car and then travel to the algarve or another beach area. We would like to base ourselves in one place for the majority of the trip. We are interested in beach and culture (fishing villages, attractions...). Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Hotels that are kid friendly and located on the beach would be great too.

Als8c... We are leaving on Wednesday.... so, I don't know yet. We decided to rent an apartment in Ferragudo. It looks like a genuinely beautiful fishing village near enough to everything. I am not sure how we will get from Lisbon (Hotel Florida) to ferragudo, but we'll figure it out... probably drive.

Jenny