Portugal. What A Wonderful Country
 

Although I have posted many times, I have never written a trip report. Because Portugal is not reported on as much as some of the other countries, this time I decided to do a trip report.

Our twelve night trip to Portugal began on United Air Lines from Pittsburgh to Lisbon and back. They were frequent flier mile tickets and we had to double connect, but otherwise the flights were fine and uneventful.

I made all of the arrangement myself after research and lots of help from the Forum. We rented a car for ten of the days through Carjet.co,uk. The car was picked up at the Lisbon Budget rental counter. The price of the car was fantastic and we ordered an automatic. The car was waiting for us at the airport.

The day of our arrival, we drove to Frades. This is a little hamlet near Braga. The roads were wonderful but the almost 400km was a long drive. We spent the first four nights in Casa De Requeixo. It is mentioned in Frommer's.

This is a wonderful and very special place that has been in the current owner's family since the 1500's and is lovely. We had an apartment. But this was an apartment plus. They provided daily maid service, fresh towels and even changed our sheets after two days. Every morning we would find a package of fresh rolls on our door, purchased from women who walked through the small village in the early morning. If you have a car, this is a perfect place for a family because the owner, a daughter and son all live on the property. It is very safe.

While near Braga, we spent a day in Porto, drove through the Peneda Geres, followed the Drouro Valley and sampled Port at a Quinta, visited Guimaraes and Criteria Briterios (we were the only visitors). In Lindoso, near the Spanish border, we were invited to join the community celebration and listened to music and sampled their barbeque.

After leaving Frades, we traveled to Bucaco. We tried to also visit Conimbraga. The weather was lovely and although our guide book said the sight was open until 20:00, at 18:00 it was locked up tight. This night we were at the Palace Hotel du Bucaco. Lovely.

Our next four night were spent in Lourinha, in a cottage over the ocean. On our way to Lourinha, we visited Tomar,Batalha, Alcobaca, Fatima. Our cottage belonged to Casal dos Patos. The setting was perfect. WE could sit at the edge of the world and watch the sunset. A stairway led to the beach. We visited Sintra, Obidos, the market of Caldas da Rainha, and much more.

We ended the trip with three nights in Lisbon. Dropping the car off at the airport, we took a taxi to our apartment very near Rossio in old Lisbon.

I know I have probably missed things (still very tired). But mainly, I cannot say enough about the gracious Portugese people. To a person they were helpful. A question was never too stupid, a reply never anything but helpful. Prices were very good. The food was wonderful.

I encourage everyone to visit.

It sounds lovely. I know it is by a girlfriend who goes every year.
Please post some photos to show it's beauty.

Thanks for your report, Sher. I enjoyed reading it. I was waiting for your report and sssteve's who should be back by now also.

We are going there in July so I may come back with some questions. I am delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip!

Hi Sher, I have friends in Italy that go to Portgual about every 3 years and they rave about it to. They think it is funny that all the American's visit Italy and hardly ever go to Portugal.

A question, did you find many people that spoke a little bit of English?
Was communicating a problem (I assume you do not speak Portugese). Thanks

Thank you for posting your report. I have been to Portugal twice, but not to the areas you mentioned -- you've given me reason to go back a third time! Portugal is a beautiful country with wonderful people.

How nice to see a report on Portugal.
We travelled there twice, many years ago, but never to the areas you described (except Lisbon).

Aren't the people there amazing? It's nice to know they are still kind and wonderful and haven't become jaded by all the tourists.

We stayed in a friend of a friend's townhouse at Vilamoura for three months in 1986, complete with daily maid, and we adored it.

I'll have to show this to my husband tonight - he keeps wanting to go back, and I think your report will have him buying tickets. (We are suppose to go to Italy next year - maybe we'll have to tack on a few more weeks!!!). Thanks for making my day.

The people in Portugal were amongst the friendliest we have ever met. We joke often about the directions we received. WE would stop and ask directions, almost always from someone who did not speak English. They in turn would ask another for help and they would ask another and on and on and on. Generally in the end we had about 12 to 15 people standng around discussing our problem and explaining directions Generally it was not helpful because we did not understand what they were saying but make no mistake, they were trying to be friendly and helpful. Usually we drove away waving and smiling an really appreciating their attempt even though we were still lost. I wonder how many people in our countries would try so hard to help people in language they did not understans. We absolutely loved the people in Portugal. Bravo.

Uh Oh, Sher! - Now you did it. Just came back from Germany 2 days ago, thought my travel bug was satisfied for a while and now here you are trying to get me hooked on something so soon. I've been fascinated by Portugal and the language for years so it was great to see your report. Gonna print it - Thanks!

Here's another Portugal lover! I've been there twice so far, and I also loved the town of Coimbra, which wasn't mentioned in Sher's report.

As for the knowledge of English: I think quite some younger people speak English at a reasonable level, more than in Spain or France or Italy. Main reason: they don't have dubbing on tv, so all the programs which are originally English spoken only get subtitles. Now you also get the explanation why Flemish, Dutch and Scandinavian people speak relatively better English (not because they also have Germanic languages... just look at the Germans and their English!)

I wonna go back to Portugal !!! I just love the people. They have this little melancholical touch, it's like the fado runs through their veins!

I love Portugal too! Been there twice and just got back in late March. People are friendly and food is gorgeous! Do try their Seafood Rice... I preferred it to the Spanish version of Paella. And of cos their pastries. We bought a dozen of their egg tarts each day and on the day we leave, another dozen to Madrid to ease our cravings. There is another pastry which resembles a sugared donut which I personally adored it!

And as compared to Spain, I think Portugal is alot more "English" friendly. (At least I know what I'm ordering on the menu)

Love the Estoril Coast and Cabo da Roca is mystical and romantic. Do take their tram up to the Castelo while in Lisbon. The view from the 28m-high Cristo Rei statue which overlooks Lisbon is awesome. It is a replica of Rio’s Christ the Redeemer and was erected in 1959 to thank God for having spared Portugal during World War II.

Bcos we had only 2 days in Portugal, we took a day tour to Sintra from Inside Lisbon which covers quite a number of places. I won't say its the best, but for those with limited resources and hope to cover as much of Portugal without a car, that's definitely a choice. The guide is very friendly and helpful.
http://www.insidelisbon.com

We stayed in Americano Residencial for 50 Euros per night. Room is decent, clean and airy. Staff isn't very friendly, but who cares. Its only 10 seconds of contact everyday anyway. The biggest merit of the hotel is probably its location. 2 minutes from the Baixia Metro and 5 minutes walk to all the restaurants and shops. I was also wondering why is it sandwiched between a supermarket, to only find out that the supermarket belongs to them too!

Hmmm.... didn't started out to write such a long post but just couldn't resist. :p Hopefully that's a little "pay back" for all the information I got from the forum so far.

Hello Sher: My first trip to Europe in 1993 was to Portugal. I will always remember this one time when I boarded a local bus to go shopping. An elderly lady got on carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers and sat next to me.As we reached my destination and I got up to leave, she tapped me on the shoulder and offered me a wild rose accompanied by a great smile.
These are the things that you remember .
Thank you for bringing back fond memories.

Portugal is certainly an undiscovered gem. I have been planning a return visit since 1998, when we crossed over from Spain and were pleasantly surprised by how relaxed and welcome we felt throughout the visit. We arrived with no reservations to Viana Do Castelo and the town's Office of Tourism hooked us up with a local couple who had apartments for rent, 300 meters from the beach, fully furnished for $30/day. We barbecued, sunbathed, did wonderful sightseeing for three days and promised ourselves that we would return to Portugal.

Another nice surprise was to find out that Portuguese on the Costa Verde (Green Coast-- coastal area from Porto up north) are much more familiar (or willing?) to speak English than Spanish. Centuries of a well established wine trade with Great Britain have provided the venue for locals to understand and speak English fairly well.

Yes, Sher, I am with you....Portugal is a wonderful destination.

Boy. After reading these replies, I left so much out.

Cigalechanta. We have lots of pictures, and I will try to post some. I am not very compuiter literate.

Marianna. I realize that I left out lots of details. If you want, you can email me: [email protected].

My husband bought two sets of language tapes before we went. He also studied a lot. The phrases we mastered were: Do you speak English? and We are lost!
We found a mixed bag of people who spoke English.

Sprig. We had the same experiences. If we met someone and asked directions and they did not speak English, they would call anyone around to find out if they could help. And they were so helpful that we didn't have the heart to not smile and drive away, totally perplexed.

Stardust. We even took a break and went to a cinema in Lisbon. The movies are all in English with Portugese subtitles. I really felt sorry for them because the movie we saw we had difficulty understanding in English. Maybe they did better with only subtitles. By the way, we did go to Coimbra but only for dinner.

The Drouro Valley drive and the Geres trip took most of two days. WE just couldn't go everywhere. But we wanted to.

My husband had an incident on Tram 28 in Lisbon with pickpockets. They didn't get anything, and I have to say it was non-threatening. But one of the older woman on the tram kept motioning to me to watch my purse. She knew what was going down.

Marriane - Steve is back!! Thanks for remembering. We got back last week and I just hadn't gotten around to writing. We had a great time. I'll be happy to answer any questions. I usually reserve my trip report for my web page but that will take several weeks.

I do want to thank everybody who helped plan our trip.

Here's a short short report -

The people are great. As Sher wrote, they go out of their way to help. The fish are absolutely the freshest and most delicious we have tasted on the any grill anywhere. We were in Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Obidos, Alcobaca, Batalha, Tomar, Fatima, Porto, Viana, Braga, Ponte de Lima, Arcos de Valdez, Castello de Vide, Marvao and the Setubal peninsula.

Most amazing place - the Pena Palace in Sintra. Biggest surprise - the beautiful towns in the north - Braga, Arcos de Valdez and Ponte De Lima. Not to be missed - the Porto institute in Porto.

I promise a full report on my web page.

Welcome back, Steve!

I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed Portugal also. I will look forward to the full report on you web page. Please tell us how to find it.

In July, we will be staying in a B&B in Cascais and during that week we plan to visit that area including Sintra and Lisbon. Do you have any restaurant recommendations for Cascais, Sintra and Lisbon? Our next week will be in a villa in Prai da Luz near Lagos. Did you go to the Algarve at all?

Unfortunately, we did not plan to travel to the north so we will have to save that area for another trip unless some of the places you mentioned are not too far north of Lisbon. I'll have to check a map.

I'm starting to feel that two weeks just won't be enough time for Portugal!

Marriana -

We didn't go to the Algarve because we live on the meditteranean coast and don't need more beach resorts.

In Cascais we ate at "O Pescador" which is right in the center of town near the fish market and enjoyed it very much. It's on Rua Das Flores a street with several restaurants.

We ate at several restaurants in Lisbon. If you are interested in an upscale restaurant with modern variations on classic portuguese dishes, you could try "Pap' Acorda". It's in the Barrio Alto (the upper old city). A little expensive but very nice.

Or go to Alcantara, which is on the way to Belem. There's a whole row of restaurants. We ate at one and it was fine. The area is right below the 25th of July bridge and is very picturesque.
The name of the restaurant we ate at was "Capitao Gancho", but don't take that as a recommendation. I think all the restaurants in Alcantara are pretty much the same level.

The portugal page is only just started but the address of my web page is:
www.travel.stv77.com

Thanks so much, Steve.

I will add your web page address and the names of the restaurants and areas you suggest to my notes. I appreciate your help and I will keep checking your web page for your report.

How wonderful to live on the Mediterranean coast! I live there in my dreams!!

I just checked out your website, Steve. It looks fabulous! I will now pour myself a glass (or two) of wine and go on a few of your journeys. This should keep me occupied until our trip in July.

Thanks so much!

Re the Portuguese speaking English. I spent a month in Spain/Portugal from mid Jan - mid Feb. When in a shop in Evora, the owner spoke English along with many others..I asked about it and she told me that it was mandatory, beginning in the 1st grade that the children select a second language to learn...the language they all want is English! Not this way in Spain!

CASAL DOS PATOS

Hello, Thank you for your very wonderful information about Portugal. I would love to hear more about CASAL DOS PATOS and the surrounding beaches. I am looking for alternative areas to the Algarve.

Julie

Pros of Casal dos Patos:
- close to everything. within a an hour driving radius, you may go to Lisbon, Sintra, Batalha, Alcobaça, Nazaré, Óbidos, Tomar... upper Alentejo within 2 hours.
- it's not a touristic area, it's calm all year round, very good to relax
- Lourinha has a very good tiny dynossaur museum with remains found in the area
Pros of the Algarve:
- higher sea water temperature (3 or 4 degrees)
- shorter waves (or none at all)
- better night live
- higher probability of fair weather

If I was looking for a cultural and/or sightseeing visit, I'd choose Casal dos Patos. If I was looking for sea and sun, I'd choose the Algarve. It's up to you to decide

Hi Jalong.
We were in Portugal at the end of April and beginning of May. We realized that being in the water was probably not an option for us, but we did not want to give up our enjoyment of the sea.

Originally we were looking to the Algarve, but narrowed our stay to between Porto and Lisbon. So this is why we searched along the Silver Coast and environs for a place to stay.

I found Casal dos Patos by accident. We usually try for self catering.
The setting couldn't have been more perfect. She also runs a B&B on the same property but we liked the privacy and roominess of the small cottage.

Everything lobo_mau says about Lourhina and the surrounding area is right on.
And you should click on his name and read all of his posts about Portugal. The information is invaluable.

I cannot give an opinion about the water because we did not swim, but just sat above the beach and walked along it. And since this was off season, I really cannot say how crowded they become.

Putting a deposit on the cottage was a little tricky, so if you want me to give you more information about this, write to me directly.
[email protected]

lobo_mau: my husband wants to return to Portugal again next year and I am torn between that and Croatia. Did I just read a recent post where you said you would pick Croatia? Is this because you live in Portugal? Can you expand on your reasons a little more?

You hit the point. I've never been to Croatia and I live in Portugal since the very day I was born :-) May be a little before :-) That's why.
My experience to former Eastern European block is limited to Budapest.
Whenever you come again, make sure you let me know and you and your husband are invited to a Pastel de Belém and a coffee.

Thanks for the clarification.
We enjoyed ourselves so much that we wish to return. But this time we are visiting the Alentejo and probably the Algarve and of course Lisbon. We only spent three days in Lisbon and I do not think it was enough.

I stopped counting the number of those pastries that we had from Porto to Lisbon. I think we ate them every day.
BUT the ones at the Blue Pastry Shop in Belem were our favorite.

And we will definitely notify you . Thank you for the invitation.

I was in Lisbon not too long ago and really enjoyed my stay.

The bacalhau comes from Norway, where I live, and yet it's impossible to get as good bacalhau dishes here than over in Lisbon *swoon*