This forum is so helpful in planning trips that I’ll start this year’s planning by asking here.
We’re thinking of going to Portugal in mid-June. Unfortunately, the dates are not flexible. As I understand it, the weather is normally pretty nice on the coast but may be hot inland, right? Looks like Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and Sintra are the most popular destinations, where else would it be essential to go? How many days should we stay in Lisbon? We’ll have about two weeks total, like old cities, beautiful nature, good food (wine not so much), arts and crafts.
I’ve been planning a June trip to Portugal, though I don’t think we’ll be able to get there this year, sadly. We like many of the same things as you; we also love to hike. The loose plan I put together is as follows:
Lisbon (4 nights) - Lisbon, Sintra, Evora, Cacais
Nazare (4 nights) - Lomar, Obidos, Peniche, Berlengas Island
Coimbra (3-4 nights) - Figueira da Foz, Conimbraga
Porto (4 nights) - Duoro Valley, Peneda-Geres NP, Aveiro
We like to situate ourselves in a spot for a bit and explore the area so we’re not constantly moving, usually staying in airbnbs. Would love to hear what your plan ends up looking like!
We’ve only been to Lisbon, but I think @taverngirl 's idea of spending 4 or 5 nights there is probably about right. We spent one day in Sintra, which is about a half hour away by train, rather than treating it as a separate destination, and had lunch in Cascais. Sintra is quite amazing, but it was very crowded when we were there in August - probably more manageable in June. In Lisbon itself, we explored the castle, rode the streetcars and did a little shopping. We also took a river tour from Belem, which was fun. Lisbon is quite spread-out and very hilly, so it takes some time to get around. We stayed in an apartment in the old part of the city and enjoyed being part of that neighborhood for a few days. The food was very good! We are hoping to get back to Portugal this May and see Porto and some other new places.
If anyone is interested in info about the Azores, SATA airlines promotes stopovers to these beautiful islands, let me know. My daughter was married on São Miquel last summer, and she spent two weeks the summer before visiting several islands,
We stayed on Sao Miquel for a week in August, so special.
My wife and I went to Lisbon, Porto and then Southern Spain last year and had a great time. DS is doing a summer research project but has a few weeks off before school restarts so we are flying in to Lisbon and will also see Sintra (3 days together), train to Porto (Duoro Valley and Aveiro/Coimbra - total 3 days) then fly to Bilbao (2 days incl trip to Santander), then Burgos, Logrono and Zaragoza (a day in each of those cities and we might work in Pamplona) and finally winding up in Barcelona for a day before we fly back. It should be a great trip. I know many prefer to spend much more time in cities but we have travelled to many places and do not.
Definitely not the best time of year to go as it will be terribly crowded but it is the only time he has available that will work and we feel lucky that he still wants to travel with us. One of our best trips was renting a car and travelling without reservations through Croatia many years ago but we have been told that would not work at the end of July in Portugal/Spain so we booked in advance.
DS speaks Spanish reasonably well (it seems) but will not take it next year so we want to have him use it/hear it plus we loved Porto and wanted to get back there. His school also has some Spanish clubs that he mentioned he plans to join so that should help him keep his skills.
In our opinion, June is the best month (weather-wise) to visit Portugal. (September is the second best month.) Portugal has a great variety of nature, culture, history and food. Be sure to rent a car, or train travel is a fairly inexpensive and efficient way to get around.
LISBON
Minimum two days to see the city well.
A full day in Sintra, great walking around the village and hiking between palacios.
Afternoon in Cascais, coastal village west of Lisbon.
Excursion into Alentejo region to visit Évora, but don’t forget the hilltop village of Monsaraz.
CENTRAL
Óbidos is a delightful hilltop, walled village to visit (although can be touristy).
Coimbra is a cool, old city with a centuries-old university. Be sure to visit the university library. Not much more than a day is needed here.
Viseu is a beautiful garden city.
Belmonte has a rich Jewish heritage, great to learn how Jews survived the Inquisition.
PORTO
Fabulous city filled with culture and great food. Minimum one day to walk the city.
Take a cruise into the spectacular Douro Valley (or plan to stay a night or two in the wine region).
Day excursion to historic Braga and Guimarães, north of the city.
But, also don’t forget…
ALGARVE
The southern region of Portugal, known for unique stunning beaches. Many beaches in the central-to-western Algarve have long hiking trails or boardwalks. Take a sea cave tour in Benegil. Visit the fishing village of Carvoeiro. Or, chill out with surfers in Sagres.
We have lots of information and ideas on PortugalConfidential.com (https://portugalconfidential.com/).
We know you’ll love the country.
@PortugalCNFDTL Is it possible to take a train from Porto up the Duoro Valley and then return by boat to Porto, or vice versa?
We went to Portugal a couple of years ago and were there late Sep/early October. Loved it! It was our first (and won’t be our last) trip there. It was sandwiched between 5 days in Amsterdam and 5 days in Paris. I’ll share what I can remember.
We started in Porto and stayed at the Pestana Vintage Porto. It was wonderful. I think we stayed there a couple of nights. We did a port wine tour, explored the city on foot and took one boat tour.
Then we rented a car and headed to Lisbon with a stop in Coimbra. Coimbra was lovely. Depending on your travel style ( we like to control how much hotel/Airbnb hopping we do), a full day would’ve be nice, but we managed to see a lot without spending a night there.
When we arrived in Lisbon we returned the rental car and mainly walked. We stayed at an Airbnb that had air conditioning (but I don’t think we used it much). It was uphill, close to the Rossio train station. I think we stayed there 4 nights. While in Lisbon, I remember taking a taxi to Castelo de San Jorge and then walking down as suggested in Rick Steve’s book, which I recommend.
While in Lisbon we did a walking food tour and went to a restaurant/bar for fado. You walk A LOT in Lisbon with lots of changes in elevation, so wear excellent walking shoes! Sintra was a day trip from Lisbon and great!
From Lisbon we rented a car (stopped in Evora…definitely worth the stop) and spent a couple of days in Faro/Lagos (a nice wedding destination location). We stayed at the Mandala. We wanted to check out southern Portugal and the beaches (though not necessarily hang out on the beach). Driving was easy. Language was never an issue. Food was great.