blwmckay

Hey all! I'm a long time reader but it's my first time posting. Thanks for all of the comments that I've been learning from!

My husband and I have 3 weeks planned in Portugal and the itinerary is still a work in progress. We are in our 60s/70s and love to hike, explore, eat & drink! We don't want to waste too much time in the car but also would hate to miss out on somewhere amazing-- we really could use another week or two! Flights are booked. My current thoughts for the trip:

Fly in to Porto-
Porto- 5 nights, including a day trip to Duoro Valley and another to Guimearas by train
Drive to:
Coimbra- 2 nights
Evora- 2 nights (day trip to cork farm & Almendes Cromlech)
Beja- 2 nights (day trips to Mansaraz & Mouro
Vila Nova de Milfontes- 2 nights (coastal hikes); return car
Lisbon- 7 nights, including day trips to Sintra and Cascais and maybe Cabo de Roca.

We spent 2 weeks in Spain 10 years ago which we did entirely by train, bus & plane. It's tempting to try to do Portugal by train and bus as well since it was so slick. I'm also wondering if we have too many nights in the Lisbon area and not enough in another location. Maybe a couple of days in Madeira?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

mlgb

I was glad to have overnighted in Sintra.

KarenWoo

We did a day trip to Sintra but it was not ideal. If you want to see more than 2 palaces/fortresses, I think it's better to spend a night or two in Sintra. I've also been hearing that Sintra has gotten more crowded since we were there in 2018. So it takes longer to visit the sites with long waits in lines, etc. You should check to see if you can buy tickets online. So perhaps you could spend 5 nights in Lisbon and 2 nights in Sintra.