maitaitom

All of our hotels have rebooked us for 2021, giving me the same 2020 rates that we had booked before, We also added two nights in Guimarães, making it a 22 day journey. Also booked our RT airline tickets ... nonstop San Francisco - Lisbon. Now, all we need is a successful vaccine, and Portugal letting us in again. We have ten months, so I am hopeful. I think I'll have an early glass of Port today.

Melnq8

Good on you! I'm hoping to rebook a trip or two for summer or fall, but haven't taken the plunge yet (one trip was to Portugal).

janisj

fingers crossed for you (Last week I booked flights/hotels to London for next July so I only have 8 months to get things opened up )

valgalchi

Excellent, so glad you added the time in Guimarães. We stayed at an excellent AirBnB with 3 bedrooms and free parking when we were there so if you haven't booked lodgings there yet let me know and I'll send you the place.

maitaitom

valgalchi - would love to know. Thanks.

valgalchi

Absolutely. We stayed here
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3243801...sts=1&adults=1

Very clean, had everything we needed, easy walking to all the major sites and a very friendly & helpful owner.

KarenWoo

Maitaitom, so happy for you that you have re-booked your trip to Portugal! We have only been to Lisbon and Sintra, and we loved both places. I hope to return some day to see more of Portugal. What month are you traveling?

I initially hoped we could go to France in April 2021 to visit our daughter and her family, but I don't think that will happen. So I have my fingers crossed for fall 2021 to visit France and perhaps another country, such as Greece. Let's hope that with the vaccine that travel in the latter half of 2021 will be possible and safe!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

maitaitom

"What month are you traveling?"

Mid September ... I hope.

bilboburgler

good luck, seems sensible

TDudette

May my Yippee NOT be premature! 🙏

HappyTrvlr

I am so pleased that you have added Guimares!
As Portugal’s original capital it is filled with history. We stayed in a Pousada downtown. I think it is gone now but there is a lovely one just outside of town.
The Minho region is one of our favorite areas of Portugal.

Dee_Dee

Bring on that vaccine! Fingers crossed we'll all be enjoying another wonderful trip report from you come September! Fingers AND toes crossed we'll all be able to travel to Europe in 2021. I just rebooked my 3 hotels in Switzerland for July/August 2021. Two of the 3 really raised their prices. I guess they're trying to recoup 2020 losses! Switzerland is going to be even more expensive! But, with no travel this year, I'm going to enjoy my rooms with balconies and views regardless of the cost.

Trophywife007

+1 Yes, yes, yes!

lrice

So excited to see the rebooking!

The pandemic and shut down has fueled my appreciation for the opportunity to travel! Feeling optimistic and grateful about Operation Warp Speed!

scrb11

I have a couple of hotel credits in Lisbon and one other city which are good through mid to late April.

That may still not be enough time for widespread vaccinations though.

Treesa

Glad you rebooked your trip. We had to cancel quite a few this year so I'm a bit reluctant to reschedule anything until the vaccine situation is settled. A couple of places we especially enjoyed in Portugal: Sintra, Coimbra, Bucaco Palace and Obidos.

Percy

Been to almost everywhere in Prtugal and Guimares! is a lovely place.

I am not booking anything until most of this settles down,

I was extremely lucky to get a full total refund from a canceled trip in April of this year.

I don't want to push my luck right now .

So for the time being , I am laying low.

Good Luck to all those booking a trip, and I am sure you are covered for any cancelations.!!

MinnBeef

I’m sure Porto is in your itinerary. I visited Porto and Lisbon (with a quick stopover in Fatima) at the end of my trip through northern Spain in the spring of 2018. Lisbon was fine enough but I found Porto to be so much more interesting. The port houses of course, but also the somewhat chaotic feel of the city itself. It is only 250K or so population wise but feels like a 1 million person city (in a good way). Throw in all of the beautiful azulejo tiles, the cool little wine bars, etc. and Porto ended up being my best lasting memory of Portugal.

maitaitom

In yesterday's NY Times, an article read, "Portugal is also hoping to reopen its borders by May, but it is not yet clear whether Americans will be allowed in." Do any of our Portugal Fodorites have the inside scoop on how things are shaping up? Thanks. I'm even back in PT to further strengthen that new knee so I don't become a fatality walking the hills of Lisbon and Porto. The Eternal Optimist

xyz99

No inside scoop here...we canceled our 2020 trip too and have TAP vouchers that will expire in Sept 2021. I hope this means "need to book" by the expiration date, not "need to travel" by that date. So we decided to move the trip to March-April 2021.
I hope things get better there and you get to go. As of now, I heard the same thing, they are reopening borders to other Europeans, but not yet to Americans. Good luck with the PT!