dimasmel

We are two couples in our 50s planning our first trip to Portugal. The trip duration -12 nights. We plan to rent a car as needed. So far, this is a draft of our itinerary:

· Arriving in Porto on Sept 7th

· 2 nights in Porto

· Rent a car, drive to Duoro Valley, and spend one night in Pinhao

· Drive to Evora and spend one night there

· Drive to Algarve and spend 4 nights there, staying either in Lagos or Salema

· Drive to Lisbon, drop the car in Lisbon. 4 nights in Lisbon with day trips to Sintra

· Departing Lisbon to US on Sep 19th


Does this itinerary make sense? We can change it. Our only constraint is arrival in Porto on Sep 6 and departure from Lisbon on Sep19. We want also to make it releatively leisurely and avoid multiple one- night hotel stays (as much as it makes sense).

Thanks in advance.

Dimitry

MyriamC

Makes sense to me although only 1 night in Évora is a bit short, given that Pinhão to Évora is almost 5 hrs drive (and Évora to Lagos 3 hrs).
Two nights in Porto (I presume only 1 full day?) would also be too short for me, but then Porto is my favourite city in Portugal.

Driving in Portugal is very easy and a car is definitely the way to go, except from Lisbon to Sintra. There's a direct connection from Rossio train station in Lisbon to Sintra (you'll have to take a bus in Sintra to get to the centre) but it's still easier than finding parking in Sintra!

mbjl1976

Hi, i'm from Lisbon,
For me your itinerary doesn't make sense, you are doing to much and not seeing the right things, in 12 days you need to choose the north or the south, doing both is not possible:
The northern region of Portugal has a lot to offer but you are only spending 3 nights there:
For start, close by to Porto city there are plenty of day trips opportunities that are a must, its obligatory to understand the 1000 years of Portuguese culture:
- Guimarães, the born place of Portugal, need to Visit if you want to understand what Portugal is all about
- Braga, the city of the churches and cristianity
- Ponte de Lima and Barcelos, where you can find the most traditional Portuguese villages
- Viana do Castelo, beautiful traditional village with amazing beaches close by
Then in Porto a river cruise to the Douro Valley is a must, it passes in the Pinhão village and goes all the way to the Spanish border. It has the most amazing landscape you'll ever see with the vineyards in the slopes.
From Pinhão to Évora is a very long drive (360 km). You must stop in the villages of Viseu and Guarda to see the amazing cathedrals and old city. You also pass very close by to the biggest mountain in Portugal, the Serra da Estrela Mountain and the mountain villages like Piodão, Monsanto and Marvão, unmissable.

The same goes by to the region of Évora with several days trip and to the Algarve. If I where you i choose one of the regions, maybe a combo, for exemple LIsbon and Alentejo (Évora) or Alentejo + Algarve or Porto and centro region.
Hope I've help you

dimasmel

Thank you very much for the response. Unfortunately we are constrained by the air tickets: we arrive in Porto and depart from Lisbon. I am scratching my head how to construct an itinarary that would not be too hectic. Ideally, we wouls like to divise our stay between tree or four places and do day trips. We also need 2-3 beach days to relax. We want watch people, absorb didferent sides of Portuguese culture, enjoy vistas, wine and food. Church architecture is not our focus for this trip.
Could you please advise on possible itinerary?

MyriamC

You really don't need to drive all the way to the Algarve for some nice beaches. There are beautiful beaches in the Lisbon area, too. Praia de Guincho, Caparica, das Maçãs, Carcavelos, Ericeira, ... So many to choose from, and in September the weather will still be very nice.

mbjl1976

Hi,

Ok, I understand.
For beach leisure the Algarve is the place to be, the beaches are amazing , the water is warmer, i agree, the problem is only 12 days. If you want to absolutely go to the Algarve, then your itinerary makes sense but you'll spend a lot of time driving very long distances and spending a lot of money in highway tolls and petrol, as I said from Pinhão to Évora the distance is 360 kms and from Évora to Lagos 246 km, then Lagos to Lisbon 300 km. a total of 900 km.
In early September the temperature is still very warm. Close to Lisbon are a lot of very good beaches. I've got the Setubal peninsula and the Troia resort only 50 kms away from Lisbon. You don't need to speed a lot of time driving to enjoy top notch beaches:
VisitSetubal Portugal ? Site oficial do Turismo de Setúbal, Portugal. Fique a saber tudo sobre a região de Setúbal, Hoteis, operadores, restaurantes, bares, eventos, serviços e turismo em geral
https://www.portugaltravelguide.com/...roia-peninsula
The you also have the options for the Cascais/Estoril beaches only 15 km away from Lisbon And Costa da Caparica beaches on the other side of the river:
Costa da Caparica Portugal
Visit Cascais | Official Tourism Website of Cascais
A little further north, but only 30 to 50 km away from Lisbon, you'll find the surf mecca of Ericeira and Peniche. I do not recommend if you don't like big waves or don't swim well.
It's up to you.

dimasmel

Thanks for the suggestions! Just in case we still want to spend time in Algarve, I am thinking if we could stay for a few days around Porto, drop the car at the Porto airport and fly to Faro. I see $50-80 one way tickets Porto-Faro. In Faro we would rent a car again and drop it in Lisbon after a few days. I realize we will not have time to see the midddle of the country.

Thanks

MyriamC

You won't really win a lot of time by flying Porto-Faro. Drop off car + formalities, be at airport at least one (and a half) hour in advance, flight of 70 min. (not counting any delay), pick up another rental + formalities, drive to Lagos (which, I believe, is where you wanted to go).
Driving Porto-Lagos is exactly 5 hours, and very easy. Roads are in excellent condition and toll is cheap in Portugal. And you get to see the storks on the electricity pylons along the way!

dimasmel

Thanks a lot! I think we are leaning towards this plan:

1. Porto and surrounding areas - Sep 7- 12
2. Drive from Porto to Algarve and stay there Sep 12- 15
3. Drive to Lisbon and stay there Sep 15-18
4. Fly back to US Sep 19

Where would you recommend to stay in Algarve: Lagos, Faro, Salema, or something else?

Thanks.

MyriamC

Lagos has superb beaches but it can be very crowded in town. Salema would be too quiet for me.
We stayed in Carvoeiro last year in in June. It was okay but I still prefer the eastern part of the Algarve. We used to stay in Tavira (and Cabanas de Tavira) many times. Totally different atmosphere, much quieter than the western part and many Portuguese and Spanish tourists whereas the western part is more British oriented (included loud Irish pubs and the like).
If stunning beaches are what you are looking for, then I think the Lagos/Carvoeiro area might be the better choice.
You may want to check my pictures https://www.flickr.com/photos/mnmstr...57683143256270 (the first part is the Costa Vicentina (aka Alentejo Coast), Algarve pictures start with pic of colorful hotel lobby).
Beaches in the eastern Algarve are on sandbanks in front of the coast (wide beaches, fine white sand), and can only be reached by small boats. There are few pics of Cabanas de Tavira beach at the end of my 2011 album https://www.flickr.com/photos/mnmstr...57683523543114

dimasmel

Hi Myriam,
We almost settled on our plan: 3.5 days in Porto (4 nights), 4 days (5 nights) in Algarve, and 3 days (4 nights) in Lisbon. I may add one extra day to Porto from Algarve or Lisbon.
I want to focus now on Porto and surrounding areas. We will have a car there. Could you suggest how to plan our days around Porto?

Initially, I was thinking to drive to Pinhao, stay there overnight, and then drive to Algarve, which would add driving time of course. But if we have out base in Porto, it would not work. Is a day trip to Duoro Valley from Porto a good idea?

Thanks in advance

Dimitry

MyriamC

We have done a daytrip by car in the Douro Valley (Rota do Vinho do Porto) from Porto to Pinhão, along the Douro river (roads N108 and N222). Very, very scenic drive, hilly, many hairpin bends and vineyards as far as the eye can see. Very quiet roads (in June 2011), not always in the best condition. It's a long drive, about three and a half hours one way, but very well worth the drive IMO.
Port wine houses are in Vila Nova de Gaia, which is in Porto city on the left bank of the Douro river. The porthouses offer tours in their cellars and tastings. Interesting and yummie.

dimasmel

Given we have 3 full days in Porto, what other day trips are worth considering besides Pinhao?

MyriamC

If I would have only 3 days, I would stay in Porto and stroll the various neighboorhoods. Take the vintage tram no. 1 to Foz do Douro, then walk along the sea boulevard all the way to Matosinhos and enjoy an excellent lunch (the best fish restaurants in Porto) in one of the fish restaurants.
But if you want to venture out, Guimarães is very interesting (its historical centre is a UNESCO world heritage site) with the Guimarães Castle, Palace of the Dukes of Braganza, Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira, etc. Maybe you can combine with Braga and the sanctuary Bom Jesús do Monte.

dimasmel

We are now looking for lodging in Porto, Carvoeiro, Tavira, and Lisbon. Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks in adavnce

ribeirasacra

use booking.com and the great filter facility. Price location etc etc.