progol

Hi, all,
With fingers crossed, we will be going to Portugal this May for 4 weeks. As of now, my itinerary is all set and places are reserved but I do have some questions and wonder if I should make some changes.

Current itinerary:
Fly into Lisbon, travel to
Sintra - 3
Lisbon -6
(pick up car)
Evora - 3
Marvao - 1
Tomar - 3
Coimbra - 3
Douro Valley - 2
Guimaraes - 3
(Drop off car)
Porto - 4
Fly home

Is this too many stops? Should I consolidate Tomar and Coimbra? It feels like there’s one too many stops in the itinerary but I only have limited options for itinerary revision. I’d consider adding a day to Douro Valley and taking a day from Tomar, but that doesn’t change the number of stops.

Any way you’d revise it, without tearing it apart?

Thanks,
Paule

Melnq8

progol - we just rebooked our Portugal trip for March/April today. I can't help with your questions, but I know you're in the same boat as us having had to cancel at least once (twice for us) previously.

I hope this is the year we both pull it off!

progol

Thanks, Melnq8! Fingers crossed for both of us!

Michael

Tomar, is it three days or three nights? For me, just visiting the monastery for a few hours was sufficient. I think that one full day (2 nights?) would be sufficient. In addition, Batalha is worth a stop along your route:

https://flic.kr/p/7RqufG
as is Conimbriga

https://flic.kr/p/7QvhFS
If you go far enough up the Douro valley, you might want to visit the pre-historic sites (with guide only):

https://flic.kr/p/7NqKFP

Percy

I agree with Michael about Tomar and Batalha.

Guimaraes for 3 days is a lot . you can see the town and the Castle and take the Chair lift to Penha Mountain top and tour about in 2 days.

If you are doing Sintra for three days ,then I am assuming you will be seeing:

Sintra Town
Sintra National Palace
Pena Palace and Park
Castle of the Moors
Quinta de Regaleira Estate
Queluz Palace ( Very nice Throne Room , beautiful gardens)


Coimbra is a University "Town", I think 3 nights, 2 days here is enough

I think you might need special bookings to see the beautiful Joanina Library........ but no picture taking inside, it is gorgeous though.

Do you have an outline of what you want to see and do with the 6 days in Lisbon ( and Belem)?

By doing the Duoro Valley I am thinking you will take in a few Wineries.!

Try to go the Lamego, and climb those 686 steps to the Church of Our Lady of Remedios .

evacenteno1311

This is what I want to do! Spend 5-6 nights in Lisbon than 2 or 3? nights in Cascais before I head to the alentejo region - how many nights would you suggest having been there? and then the algarve for 3-4 nights? I have a total of 5 weeks. I am also including Porto ( about 4 nights)and Duoro Valley ( 4 nights) and possibly Madeira! I am trying to figure out driving distances, how much time in each area etc etc etc! Any recommendations on outdoor markets, not to miss sites ( I am continuously researching as I am not going until August hopefully!) restaurants etc. We do not want to feel like we are constantly running or changing hotels but LOL it does seem like we will be doing that!

progol

Thanks, all. I really can’t reorder the trip at this point so it’s more about tweaking.

I might reduce the stop in Tomar to 2 nights and add one night to Douro valley.

Coimbriga and the ancient sites in Evora are definitely on my list.

I haven’t yet organized the days in Lisbon, but I had planned to include a day trip to Cascais.

From Guimaraes, I figured we would see the town one day and see Braga and drive in the countryside the other day. So many people say it’s a wonderful place.

We are not going to the Algarve. .

progol

Michael, I realized that you mention prehistoric sites in the Douro - I was thinking Evora, which is on my list. But I’d love to know more about the ones in the Douro*

*Edited: We’ll be staying near Pinhao,, so it looks like the prehistoric site will be too far a drive for us, sadly. It’s listed as over an hour drive so I don’t think we’d do a day trip there.

I’ve reduced our stay in Tomar to 2 nights and added the day to the Douro Valley. Just to have a little more non-city time seems like a good idea. More recommendations for what to do in the Douro region other than wineries would be most welcome! I’m interested in good walks and lovely views. We’ll be staying near Pinhao.

Maribel

Hi progol,
The prehistoric sites in the Douro, the rock carvings are located in the Douro Superior.

From my Douro notes:
"Archeological buffs who wish a day long tour, can drive the 62 kilometers (1 hour, 20 minutes via the curvy N222) east of Pinhão, to the town of Vila Nova de Foz Côa. In this area lovers of prehistoric art will find thousands of 20,000 year old petroglyphs blanketing the Rio Cõa river valley, now declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One can visit these mysterious engravings via a guided jeep tour in the Vale de Côa Archaeological Park, the world’s largest open air prehistoric art museum, filled with Paleolithic engravings that span a 17 kilometer area.
There are 3 sites that can be visited with a varying degree of physical effort: Penascosa, the easiest to access, Canada do Inferno, a bit more strenuous and Ribeira de Piscos, of medium difficulty. For this jeep tour one must book in advance (due to the quota system), and the tour departs from the three visitor reception centers in the park. One can also visit the Museum in Foz Côa daily except Mondays. The museum has a restaurant.
One can also arrange this 2-hour tour of the Penascosa site independently with Marco Ferraz of Ambieduca.

Home - Default - AMBIEDUCA

There is an afternoon departure at 1:45 pm and the meeting point is the Reception Center of Castelo Melhor. This village sits 15 kms from Vila Nova de Foz Côa.
I recommend that visitors not make this trip in the summer when temperatures can soar to 45 degrees C in this infernally hot valley."

I've attached some notes for you regarding viewpoints (miradouros) and other Douro Valley sightseeing. Some restaurants recs as well, but I've left out the lodging and winery notes (if anyone needs them, just yell).

Have fun planning!
Maribel

progol

Maribel, thanks SO much, once again!

I'm not sure that we'll make it to the prehistoric sites in the Douro - day trips over an hour don't seem to happen for us. But I will definitely take advantage of the viewpoints and other Douro valley sightseeing. We are staying at Quinto do Pego so I'm happy.

Maribel

Say hello to the folks at Quinta do Pego for us and enjoy those fantastic views!

progol

Promise!