traveling around Portugal car or train or both?
Dec 26th, 2016, 11:59 AM
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traveling around Portugal car or train or both?
Visiting Portugal in April. Flexible but will likely be in the country 12 full days (not counting days of arrival and departure). Ideally fly into and out of Lisbon but we want to see Algarve and Porto and do not want to spend tooooo much time driving. We would like to visit:
Algarve, Evora, Obidos, Tomar,Coimbra, Douro River Valley, Porto.
Question is flying out of Porto at end of trip or train back to Lisbon? Or can someone reccommend a common sense itinerary with the last days driving from Porto to Obidos to Sintra to Lisbon?
We have no familiarity with roads or efficient driving. Any suggestions?
Algarve, Evora, Obidos, Tomar,Coimbra, Douro River Valley, Porto.
Question is flying out of Porto at end of trip or train back to Lisbon? Or can someone reccommend a common sense itinerary with the last days driving from Porto to Obidos to Sintra to Lisbon?
We have no familiarity with roads or efficient driving. Any suggestions?
Dec 26th, 2016, 12:25 PM
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We flew into Porto and out of Lisbon, touring mainly the northern half of Portugal. I would recommend a car if interested in out of the way places, although I suspect that it was more convenient for us to have a car when we wanted to see Batalha and Tomar from Coimbra. If interested in my trip report, click on my name to find it.
To whet your appetite: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623555520457/
To whet your appetite: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623555520457/
Dec 26th, 2016, 12:26 PM
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Question: Do you live or frequently find yourselves anywhere near beaches? Algarve is just that, and April is not the height of the beach season, maybe strike it and have more time for the already rich list of your other targets?
Make sure you give Lisbon at least four days on arrival, and even that will mean making a lot of tough decisions about which targets to leave out, there is sooo much there!
The suburb of Belém alone kept us occupied for a full four days last month, and we stayed right there, in walking distance of everything and still did not get to see everything in Belém!
See http://lisbon-portugal-guide.com/bel...ct-lisbon.html
In Lisbon itself, at a minimum, take bus 737 from Praça Figueira (metro stop Rossio) up to the castelo, visit the Gulbenkian Foundation on Av. Berna.
If folk music is your thing you must visit the Fado Museum and spend an evening at a Fado house (the staff at the museum will advise you on what’s on and where) - and there is much more in Lisbon to see and do.
Get the Viva Viagem card, load it up with maybe 15 Euros, and you can tap it on all buse and trams and even suburban trains.
I would go to Evora by train, and back to Lisbon. Lisbon has several train stations. Trains for Evora leave from the major hub Cais de Sodré (trams, buses, boats, trains) and take just over 2 hours. Leave early, come back late, and maybe a day will suffice?
Then I would rent a car and drive for the rest of the trip - Obidos, Tomar, Coimbra, Douro Valley and Porto. Then fly home from Porto if you find a good “open-jaw” fare or two one-ways. It will cost you the one-way drop-off fee for the car.
If it doesn’t want to work out that way and you’re better off flying home from Lisbon, you can turn the trip around, take the train from Lisbon to Porto, it’s only 2h35m and trains are aplenty, from Lisbon’s Oriente station.
Then rent a car in Porto and drive it back to Lisbon.
The train website is https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt (comboios is Portuguese for trains).
Enjoy!
Make sure you give Lisbon at least four days on arrival, and even that will mean making a lot of tough decisions about which targets to leave out, there is sooo much there!
The suburb of Belém alone kept us occupied for a full four days last month, and we stayed right there, in walking distance of everything and still did not get to see everything in Belém!
See http://lisbon-portugal-guide.com/bel...ct-lisbon.html
In Lisbon itself, at a minimum, take bus 737 from Praça Figueira (metro stop Rossio) up to the castelo, visit the Gulbenkian Foundation on Av. Berna.
If folk music is your thing you must visit the Fado Museum and spend an evening at a Fado house (the staff at the museum will advise you on what’s on and where) - and there is much more in Lisbon to see and do.
Get the Viva Viagem card, load it up with maybe 15 Euros, and you can tap it on all buse and trams and even suburban trains.
I would go to Evora by train, and back to Lisbon. Lisbon has several train stations. Trains for Evora leave from the major hub Cais de Sodré (trams, buses, boats, trains) and take just over 2 hours. Leave early, come back late, and maybe a day will suffice?
Then I would rent a car and drive for the rest of the trip - Obidos, Tomar, Coimbra, Douro Valley and Porto. Then fly home from Porto if you find a good “open-jaw” fare or two one-ways. It will cost you the one-way drop-off fee for the car.
If it doesn’t want to work out that way and you’re better off flying home from Lisbon, you can turn the trip around, take the train from Lisbon to Porto, it’s only 2h35m and trains are aplenty, from Lisbon’s Oriente station.
Then rent a car in Porto and drive it back to Lisbon.
The train website is https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/pt (comboios is Portuguese for trains).
Enjoy!
Dec 26th, 2016, 12:58 PM
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Lots of good advice in the post above. If you pick up a car in Lisbon and plan to fly out of Porto, I would nonetheless try to see the Douro valley before going to Porto, and dropping the car off before you go to the city.
But, if you must fly out of Lisbon, I would suggest doing Evora as a day trip from Lisbon and then taking the fast train to Porto. After seeing Porto, THEN rent the car, and drive south for your other sightseeing. Even though it looks like "back tracking", it might be more efficient -- provided you end up dropping the Algarve.
But, if you must fly out of Lisbon, I would suggest doing Evora as a day trip from Lisbon and then taking the fast train to Porto. After seeing Porto, THEN rent the car, and drive south for your other sightseeing. Even though it looks like "back tracking", it might be more efficient -- provided you end up dropping the Algarve.
Dec 26th, 2016, 10:11 PM
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Eagle, your definition of suburb must vary from mine. Belém may - administratively and politically - be a part of the city of Lisbon, but it's a ways out, away from anything you'd call "downtown" or "central" Lisbon. To me, that's a suburb.
I'm currently in the city of Denver, CO, but in a suburb, not in or near the "downtown" city center.
Semantics?
I'm currently in the city of Denver, CO, but in a suburb, not in or near the "downtown" city center.
Semantics?
Dec 27th, 2016, 05:23 AM
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michelhuebeli , oh, please. It does vary.
No, it's not semantics. Just a Lisbon citizen...
A suburb is something outside one city, without any kind of influence there. That's the Portuguese way of things, no relation whatsoever with Denver.
Oeiras, Amadora, Loures, Odivelas, even though are different municipalities, they are at the same time suburbs of Lisbon. All of them are nearby the city, but they don't have any influence there. They rely on intermunicipality agreements, for example, for the Lisbon subway reach their areas.
Your problem is considering a "central Lisbon", which does mean anything. "Downtown" in Lisbon is not a synonymous of importance, or the "city center", it's just the name of a historic place. It's not like American places, where downtown equals relevance.
Th city of Lisbon is divided in several different areas, and all of them has the same kind of powers. Belem is just one of them.
Besides, there are several "central" areas in Lisbon. People around here do not concentrate in one single area to work or study, there's no such thing. For a reason, there are several transports hubs in the city.
No, it's not semantics. Just a Lisbon citizen...
A suburb is something outside one city, without any kind of influence there. That's the Portuguese way of things, no relation whatsoever with Denver.
Oeiras, Amadora, Loures, Odivelas, even though are different municipalities, they are at the same time suburbs of Lisbon. All of them are nearby the city, but they don't have any influence there. They rely on intermunicipality agreements, for example, for the Lisbon subway reach their areas.
Your problem is considering a "central Lisbon", which does mean anything. "Downtown" in Lisbon is not a synonymous of importance, or the "city center", it's just the name of a historic place. It's not like American places, where downtown equals relevance.
Th city of Lisbon is divided in several different areas, and all of them has the same kind of powers. Belem is just one of them.
Besides, there are several "central" areas in Lisbon. People around here do not concentrate in one single area to work or study, there's no such thing. For a reason, there are several transports hubs in the city.
Dec 27th, 2016, 12:40 PM
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OK OK, there's no word in English for what in France and Germany is Quartier or, in German, Vorort, or, in French, Banlieue, other than suburb.
In English, if it's not in the city center, but a half-hour tram ride away, then it's in the suburbs.
By the way, why is this so important to you?
In English, if it's not in the city center, but a half-hour tram ride away, then it's in the suburbs.
By the way, why is this so important to you?
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