2 week trip to Portugal -- Suggestions?

[vludmilla]

I know that there are a few on this board who are very knowledgeable about Portugal (e.g. Marinkitty, Jgenie) and I'd appreciate any recommendations as I try to plan a 2 week itinerary for Portugal this summer. We will have our two daughters with us (8 and 16). They are pretty good travelers but of course we do try to consider their preferences/needs.

I've looked at Fodors and Rick Steves and am still quite lost. I think I want several days in Lisbon (day trips to Sintra, Belem, Cascais). Maybe 2 nights in Porto, 2 in Evora, a few nights in Nazare (with side trips to Batalha, Alcobaha...) and several in Lagos? If you are inclined, please feel free to suggest something else as an itinerary! I am realizing that the trains are not as convenient as they were for us in other European trips so that is tripping me up as I don't know if we need to rent a car or not.

All feedback welcome!

[marinkitty]

Do you need to fly in and out of Lisbon or could you fly into Porto and out of Faro?
Are you comfortable renting a car for the bulk of the trip or do you prefer to transit by train where that's possible (a car will be needed for some of the trip regardless)
What types of places do you like to stay - airbnb, boutique hotel, chain hotel, resort amentities?
Beyond locations, what do you want to do? Mostly sightsee? Hike? Surf? Take a boat out?
What types of sights are of the most interest to you - museums? castles? historical sites? villages with local flavor?
For Porto - are you wine/port drinkers?

I have soooo much info so if you answer these, I'll be able to recommend more specifically. There is no shortage of great places to visit - just a matter of where your priorities are. I'll be there June 18-July 17 this year and I'm so excited to have a few weeks there after only spending one week there in total since fall of 2019!

[vludmilla]

Do you need to fly in and out of Lisbon or could you fly into Porto and out of Faro?
Are you comfortable renting a car for the bulk of the trip or do you prefer to transit by train where that's possible (a car will be needed for some of the trip regardless)
What types of places do you like to stay - airbnb, boutique hotel, chain hotel, resort amentities?
Beyond locations, what do you want to do? Mostly sightsee? Hike? Surf? Take a boat out?
What types of sights are of the most interest to you - museums? castles? historical sites? villages with local flavor?
For Porto - are you wine/port drinkers?

I have soooo much info so if you answer these, I'll be able to recommend more specifically. There is no shortage of great places to visit - just a matter of where your priorities are. I'll be there June 18-July 17 this year and I'm so excited to have a few weeks there after only spending one week there in total since fall of 2019!

Thank you so much for replying! Awesome that you will be there for a whole month this summer

We have never rented a car in Europe but we are prepared to do so this time. I guess I would want to avoid it for the city stays (definitely in Lisbon) as it seems unnecessary there but otherwise, we can rent a car for as long as needed on the trip. I value ease of transportation so if a rental car provides that, then so be it.

We are very flexible on places to stay as well and have done all of the different kinds (resort, airbnb, hotel, boutique hotel...) We value special experiences over luxury generally but of course, we like to be comfortable. I don't mind staying all in one room (quad) for parts of the trip but it would be good to stay in some places with more space part of the time (either a 2br airbnb or two separate rooms in a hotel).

We love seeing amazing historical places (thinking the Sintra palaces, underground stairs...) We were in Italy for three weeks in 2019 and we all loved just exploring beautiful towns and cities from Varenna to Siena, Rome and Sorrento. So, in Portugal a mix of cities (a little good shopping for the teen) and beautiful, interesting towns. If we can manage some beautiful beaches (highly prefer places where we can safely swim as my girls don't enjoy a beach without swimming).

As for port--we've never had it but I do love red wine of almost all sorts. We are into trying port (and vinho verde) but wondering if the girls (8 & 16) will just be too bored if we do Douro Valley?

I appreciate your time and any recommendations or itinerary guidance you can share! Thank you!

[jgenie]

We rent a car for pick up on our way out of Lisbon. You won’t need a car in Lisbon. We generally do a loop starting and ending in Lisbon so we rent and return to the same location. We love the Pousada chain of hotels. Stayed in one on our first trip to Portugal and fell in love with the chain - clean rooms, great food. The historical line are often in old castles, convents or government buildings. My boys think it’s awesome! We generally pick a few Pousadas and then plan a trip around those towns. If we don’t get to stay at one, we make a point to have a meal there. We love visiting Obidos. We’ve done it as a day trip on the bus from Lisbon but prefer to stay overnight. The town clears out when the buses leave and it really is magical. Our favorite spot in Sintra is the Quinta de Regaileira. We toured the mansion but found the grounds to be so wonderful. We ate at a hole in the wall curry place which was fabulous. I though DH was nuts to try it but they had a lovely patio out back and the food was wonderful. I don’t remember the name but I can check with DH if you’re interested. Make sure to pick up sweets at Casa Piriquita before you leave. It’s worth the wait in line. We aren’t really beach people so I’m no help there. We stop at beaches here and there but really just get our feet wet and run around on the sand and we’re done.

http://www.regaleira.pt/en

https://www.pousadas.pt/en

[marinkitty]

You definitely don't need or want a car in Lisbon. I also agree the the pousada hotels are great - I've stayed at their historic properties in Serra da Estrela, Obidos, Marvão and in Lisbon. They have all been great and there are several more I have on my list to try eventually. In Lisbon I also like the Memmo hotels or the hotel Bairro Alto but there are also great airbnb options.

Possible trip itinerary:
Arrive Lisbon and spend 3 nights
1st full day - explore Baixa, Castelo São Jorge, Chiado (including Convento do Carmo), take the tram, stay in Chado, Principe Real or Bairro Alto
2nd day - explore Belém (including the Jeronimos, monument to the explorers, the tower and the MAAT), LX Factory (think your daughter might like it), same lodging
3rd day - head to Sintra with a car and stop at Guincho beach and Cabo da Roca on the way; start seeing the palaces (must dos IMO include Moorish castle, Pena palace, quinta da regaleira and monserrat and stay there or in a nearby town
4th day - finish up the palaces and explore Sintra itself and stay in the same place as the night before, time permitting grab a meal in Azenhas do Mar on the water
5th day - Obidos and stay in the pousada; get up early and walk the walls before the day trippers arrive
6th day - drive north to Porto either along the coast (stop in Peniche/Nazare (surf towns)/Aveiro (canals and colorful waterfront homes) or inland (stop in Tomar (knights Templar palace)/Coimbra (charming university town)/Conímbriga (a must do if Roman ruins are of interest and right near Coimbra) and arrive Porto and stay on the river with a view of the bridge
7th day - explore Porto
8th day - explore Porto and potentially a bit of the Douro Valley (could move lodging to Douro resort for views/to give the kids a more resort feel)
9th day - Drive to Evora and pick a few towns to explore to break up the day - consider staying at São Lourenço do Barrocal, budget permitting
10th day - Explore Evora (cathedral, roman aquaducts/temple, chapel of bones and have lunch in town) and then nearby villages (Monsaraz is great, also great castles in Evoramonte, Montemor-o-Novo and other nearby towns and megaliths in the countryside if that's of any interest - think a less impressive Stonehenge)
11th day - Either spend another day in the Evora area or spend a half day exploring the countyside more and then move on to the coast and stay near Comporta
12th day - Comporta area (either rent a house or stay at Quinta da Comporta or Sublime) - beach time
13th day - Comporta area - beach time
14th day - return to Lisbon and fly home (or turn rental car in the night of day 13 and stay at airport hotel to fly out the next day)

You could easily sub the Comporta time for time in the Algarve, it just means driving a bit further. If you visit the Algarve, I'd recommend the western part for a first trip - Lagos area is really scenic and the beaches are swimmable (so are the beaches in Comporta). But since you wanted to hit both Lisbon and Porto, I thought having beach time in Comporta keeps you closer (Evora is about 2 hours and Lisbon 90 minutes) so you aren't wasting time driving and the beaches in Comporta are very kid friendly and the villages have cute shops and nice restaurants and are super easy to navigate. It's way less built up than the Algarve. But the Algarve does have it's beautiful spots. Just depends what you want. I put the beach time at the end because kids tend to start burning out on the historical/charming village stuff after a while but you could do the loop the other way just as easily if you wanted R&R at the start or go to Comporta from Porto and then Evora after to break up the historical stuff more. Throwing in a river property on the Douro would also break that up and although I haven't been up there yet, friends have raved about staying a night or two at a place there. Not sure if you want to move around this much - you could base less places and do more day trips - pick a base outside Sintra and combine Sintra and Obidos - stay only in Porto vs also the valley etc.

[vludmilla]

You definitely don't need or want a car in Lisbon. I also agree the the pousada hotels are great - I've stayed at their historic properties in Serra da Estrela, Obidos, Marvão and in Lisbon. They have all been great and there are several more I have on my list to try eventually. In Lisbon I also like the Memmo hotels or the hotel Bairro Alto but there are also great airbnb options.

Possible trip itinerary:
Arrive Lisbon and spend 3 nights
1st full day - explore Baixa, Castelo São Jorge, Chiado (including Convento do Carmo), take the tram, stay in Chado, Principe Real or Bairro Alto
2nd day - explore Belém (including the Jeronimos, monument to the explorers, the tower and the MAAT), LX Factory (think your daughter might like it), same lodging
3rd day - head to Sintra with a car and stop at Guincho beach and Cabo da Roca on the way; start seeing the palaces (must dos IMO include Moorish castle, Pena palace, quinta da regaleira and monserrat and stay there or in a nearby town
4th day - finish up the palaces and explore Sintra itself and stay in the same place as the night before, time permitting grab a meal in Azenhas do Mar on the water
5th day - Obidos and stay in the pousada; get up early and walk the walls before the day trippers arrive
6th day - drive north to Porto either along the coast (stop in Peniche/Nazare (surf towns)/Aveiro (canals and colorful waterfront homes) or inland (stop in Tomar (knights Templar palace)/Coimbra (charming university town)/Conímbriga (a must do if Roman ruins are of interest and right near Coimbra) and arrive Porto and stay on the river with a view of the bridge
7th day - explore Porto
8th day - explore Porto and potentially a bit of the Douro Valley (could move lodging to Douro resort for views/to give the kids a more resort feel)
9th day - Drive to Evora and pick a few towns to explore to break up the day - consider staying at São Lourenço do Barrocal, budget permitting
10th day - Explore Evora (cathedral, roman aquaducts/temple, chapel of bones and have lunch in town) and then nearby villages (Monsaraz is great, also great castles in Evoramonte, Montemor-o-Novo and other nearby towns and megaliths in the countryside if that's of any interest - think a less impressive Stonehenge)
11th day - Either spend another day in the Evora area or spend a half day exploring the countyside more and then move on to the coast and stay near Comporta
12th day - Comporta area (either rent a house or stay at Quinta da Comporta or Sublime) - beach time
13th day - Comporta area - beach time
14th day - return to Lisbon and fly home (or turn rental car in the night of day 13 and stay at airport hotel to fly out the next day)

You could easily sub the Comporta time for time in the Algarve, it just means driving a bit further. If you visit the Algarve, I'd recommend the western part for a first trip - Lagos area is really scenic and the beaches are swimmable (so are the beaches in Comporta). But since you wanted to hit both Lisbon and Porto, I thought having beach time in Comporta keeps you closer (Evora is about 2 hours and Lisbon 90 minutes) so you aren't wasting time driving and the beaches in Comporta are very kid friendly and the villages have cute shops and nice restaurants and are super easy to navigate. It's way less built up than the Algarve. But the Algarve does have it's beautiful spots. Just depends what you want. I put the beach time at the end because kids tend to start burning out on the historical/charming village stuff after a while but you could do the loop the other way just as easily if you wanted R&R at the start or go to Comporta from Porto and then Evora after to break up the historical stuff more. Throwing in a river property on the Douro would also break that up and although I haven't been up there yet, friends have raved about staying a night or two at a place there. Not sure if you want to move around this much - you could base less places and do more day trips - pick a base outside Sintra and combine Sintra and Obidos - stay only in Porto vs also the valley etc.

This is amazing! Thank you so much. It's a completely different itinerary than anything I had considered yet and it introduces places that weren't on the radar (Comporta). I'll research this over the weekend. Thanks again!!!