West Coast of Portugal for 11 days - Help please
 

We are going this October to Portugal for 11 days and would appreciate any help with the itinerary. We have been to Portugal once before in 2013. I am uncomfortable renting a car - so we are thinking trains, buses, private drivers? We like to walk, hike, and see special sites. We are in a mid 70s, but fairly active. We also like wine! We land in Lisbon and depart from Porto. The last five nights I have rented an apartment in Porto.

I was thinking we would go straight to Cascais? (We have been to Lisbon before). Is this the best place to stay for 3 nights - or is it too touristy? Any hotel suggestions, day trips? From Cascais (or somewhere similar) I thought we would try to go up the coast to make our way to Porto. Suggestions for where to make a home base for 3 nights. Is Nazare a good spot? Best way to get to Nazare and best way to get from there to Porto? Again any hotel recommendations and must see spots? Would the bus or train be best way to get from one spot to another - or can anyone recommend a private driver? Thank you

East coast? East? I mean I know West and South...

Sorry! I meant west coast!

Title corrected

I skipped Cascais, so can't help with that. Did you go to Sintra on your last trip? You could go straight there from Lisbon's airport using public transportation, and IMO, there's more than enough in Sintra to easily fill 2 full days (so 3 nights), especially if that's where you are recovering from your flight.

I enjoyed Nazare more than many Fodorites, but then, I only spent a night there.

Coimbra easily merits 3 nights, IMO.

You can use rome2rio.com to identify your transportation options, as long as you click through to the underlying sites.

The Michelin Green Guide to Portugal is excellent.

I hope that helps!

Thank you. Yes, that does help. I think we bypass Cascais and go straight to Sintra. I didn't think of Coimbra - but will look into it. And I will use rome2rio. I wish I could rent a car - but at 72 just a little uneasy! We were thinking of doing a day long walking trip somewhere off the beaten path between Sintra and Porto...any suggestions? Thank you again.

Sorry, I don't know the walking trails of Portugal. The Rough Guide and (old) Lonely Planet guide books usually provide some information about them. You might go to your local library to see what information you can find.

Thank you very much. The Walk Sintra website is great. I just now have to decide between Nazare or Coimbra or Obidos. Thank you

[posted in error -- oops!]

If it helps:
Nazare is a lovely place to stroll for an evening.
Coimbra easily merits 2 days or so.
Obidos might be packed with tourists and will probably take no more than a few hours.

I would skip Obidos as very touristy and would have spent more time in Sintra. Didn't get to Nazare but we did spend a full day in Coimbra and as it was in mid-June, it was already extremely hot and we took ourselves to Aviero, and enjoyed a lovely and refreshing canal boat ride and enjoyed seeing the residential architecture. We had a rental car and so when in Porto, we drove to Guimares for a day trip and found Guimares really charming and interesting. Had also planned to stop in Braga but if was foggy and misty that day and somehow we missed the turn-off. I would think you could take a train to Guimares.

We also stopped overnight in Batalha to tour the amazing monastery and stopped as well in Alcobaca Monastery which we practically had to ourselves.

Only walking the ramparts will take you more than two hours! And then you haven't seen the castelo, the Igreja Matriz de Santa Maria and the many charming streets.

I skipped all but a few bits of the ramparts. Kudos to MyriamC for clarifying!

I stopped driving after crashing a car in France, and after that just relied on the excellent rail systems in Europe, and planned on that when we visited Portugal. We were advised that the network, punctuality and schedule was maybe not the best and we should really rent a vehicle. I was anxious and super vigilant but it was the best decision. You may be able to do it if you are using private cars and taxes, but not having a car at your disposal does limit your mobility and flexibility and there is much to see and do.

There are some wonderful walking trails originating in Ericeira and heading north towards Foz do Sizandro. You could walk for an hour or 8 hours all along the coast on the cliff tops of the surfing beaches. Google maps will show the walking trails.

Thank you everyone for your wonderful ideas. I am now much more organized for this trip. I do, HOWEVER, now have a few more questions that I am hoping you could help me with. The first three days in Cascais I feel comfortable with and the last 5 days in Porto are good - with a few questions. It is the trip of three days from Cascais to Porto that I am struggling with - all suggestions welcome.

Arrive Lisbon - will take an uber or taxi to Cascais.
Staying in Cascais for three days - have booked Villa Cascais Boutique Hotel - good?? Or any other suggestions... we like a hotel with an outdoor space or balcony, and close to restaurants, etc.
Doing a day trip to Sintra
Doing a sunset boat cruise.
On day 4 we leave Cascais. Plan was to take train to Coimbra. Having a very hard time to find a hotel in Coimbra? Quinta das Lagrimas is booked. Any suggestions? If I could find a tour company that would do a 3 day walking trip (inn to inn) up the coast instead of gong to Coimbra I would do that)
After three nights will take train to Porto - where we have a rental apartment there for 5 nights.
Booked a boat cruise and a food tour so far.
From a previous post, I see that people recommended "Lisbon Tour Guides" - 4 ladies, small business. Any suggestions for that type of tour company for Porto?
Thank you!!

Many people visit Sintra as a day trip, along with hordes of others. I was glad to have two full days there. If you visit as a day trip, think through your priotities -- I honestly don't see how anyone can see everything it has to offer in just one day.

In Coimbra, I was very pleased with the Hotel Mondego.

Thank you KJA... I checked out Hotel Mondego - and looks more like what we were after. Thank you - I have booked it. Not sure I have the right hotel in Cascais...any recommendations would be appreciated.

I found the staff of the Hotel Mondego exceptionally helpful and I liked the location a lot. I hope it works out well for you!

I haven't been to Cascais, so no recommendations from me.

I couldn't agree more. We stayed 5 days in Sintra of which we spent two and a half days seeing the palaces, gardens, etc. The other days we daytripped to Cascais and Cabo da Roca (we always rent a car).
In Coimbra we stayed at the Pousada.

Thank you again for your replies. I have decided to skip Cascais and go straight to Sintra from the airport. I am in need of a good place to stay in Sintra. Many of the hotels look like they are remote? I would want to be able to walk to a restaurant if possible. Any recommendations would be very much appreciate. We would like a hotel that had a balcony or an outdoor space. I put a lot of emphasis on the hotel...lol... so would like it to be nice and special. Any recommendations? Thank you

I stayed at the Hotel Sintra Jardim. It has a lovely garden (and pool in season) and it was within walking distance of what I wanted to do in Sintra (or to the bus for the outlying sites), though what you and I consider "walkable" could differ. Staff were very helpful! But to be honest, I thought the decor dated. That didn't matter to me; YMMV.

For restaurants:

• I had a delicious and beautifully served dinner at COMO Restaurante.
• For something more casual and just a bit outside Sintra (but near the Hotel Jardim), Tira-Tapas. I couldn't have been made more welcome!

Hope that helps!

Yes, many of the hotels / B&B's are remote. We stayed at Casa do Valle (I do not recommend) which was 500 meters from the 'centre'.
Lawrence's Hotel was pretty close as far as I remember and they had an excellent restaurant.
NH Sintra Centro or Sintra Boutique Hotel maybe? Check booking.com ... the distance to the centre is always mentioned.