Could you please help me with itinerary?

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niksa254
niksa254

Hello!

My friend and I are planing to go to Portugal in July. Could you please give us advice on itinerary? What do you think about this:

  1. Arriving in Porto in the morning.
  2. Porto sightseeing.
  3. Day trip to Braga and/or Guimaraes. Return to Porto.
  4. Trip to Duro Valley (Should we take that train to Pocinho and back? Or go to Amarante and Vila Real, and back to Porto?)
  5. Morning bus to Coimbra.
  6. Morning train to Fatima. In the afternoon train to Lisbon.
  7. Lisbon sightseeing.
  8. Day trip to Sintra and Cabo De Roca.
  9. Lisbon sightseeing.
  10. Morning train to Evora. Afternoon bus to Tavira.
  11. Tavira sightseeing. Train to Faro in the afternoon.
  12. Leaving from Faro in the morning.

Should we add two more days for one more day in Lisbon (trip to Obidos, Cascais?) and more time in Evora? That would be more expensive for us because low budget plane we are going with is not so cheap if we move dates for these two days. But if get much more with these days, maybe its worth it...

Thanks!

Nikolina

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adelepinson
adelepinson

Yes take one more day and visit Cascais.
If you go to Evora and you have the opportunity visit Vila Viçosa close by Evora
I

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nautiker
nautiker

cheers niksa, welcome to thorntree.

obviously I cannot decide for you what's still afordable and what's not, yet here's my view: your itinerary is quite a rush, it seems you're trying to see the 'whole' country within a very short timeframe, I'd either recommend more time or less places. generally, Portugal still ranks among the more budget friendly destinations within Europe, thus taking into account the overall cost and effort, personally I'd rather spend some more money for a more leisurely experience.

some random bits of advice: -there are busses from Vila Real to Coimbra, too, i.e. you could avoid backtracking to Porto (downside: you'll have to take your luggage along the whole day..., use www.rede-expressos.pt for timetables). -skip Fatima unless you're a very religious person or are fascinated by pilgrimage sites. -you're granting much too little time for Evora: first train from Lisbon arrives just after 10am, only bus to Tavira already leaves at 2.30pm, IMO that's grossly unproportional compared to the time and effort you spend just going there.

by the way, if you're looking for suggestions, it would help if you told us a bit about your interests and expectations regarding this trip, it would be much easier to give meaningful advice :-)

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tony_b
tony_b

I agree with Nautiker about going to Tavira, plus there's very little sightseeing to be done there. It's just a pleasant place to be in, rather than being a sightseeing destination. That makes me query the practicality of leaving from Faro. Evora is much closer to Lisbon than it is to Faro.

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stav_ros
stav_ros

The advise supplied by #2 & #3 is spot on. Seriously consider adding a couple more days AND leaving from Lisbon.

#1's suggestion to visit Vila Viçosa would require you to stay at least overnight in Evora which will not work unless you bail on leaving from Faro

If you stick with your current trip this info may help:

Day 4 - the narrow gauge rail lines that connect the main Douro rail line to Aramante (Linha da Tamega) and Vila Real (Linha da Corgo) have been closed for some time and it is unknown when (or if) they will reopen. This (IMO) will significantly detract from the ambiance of the day trip.

Day 10 - Sightseeing wise Evora deserves 2 days and Tavira 2 hours

For my tuppence worth I would suggest this:

  1. Arriving in Porto in the morning.
  2. Porto sightseeing.
  3. Day trip to Braga and/or Guimaraes. OR Trip to Duro Valley to Pocinho. Return to Porto.
  4. Morning TRAIN to Coimbra
  5. Coimbra
  6. Afternoon train to Lisbon.
  7. Lisbon sightseeing.
  8. Day trip to Sintra and Cabo De Roca.
  9. Lisbon sightseeing.
  10. Morning BUS to Evora.
  11. Evora - Late Bus back to Lisbon
  12. Leaving from Lisbon.

Still a bit rushed but you are only traversing half the length of the country

PS I would Love to be corrected about the narrow gauge railways. I will be in Portugal in July and one (of many) of the highlights was to be the trip from Tua to Mirandela on the Linha da Tua

Dogma is dangerous
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niksa254
niksa254

Thanks a lot for your advices and tips!
Unfortunately, yesterday I got panicked because there were only 4 seats left in the plane leaving from Faro. So, I bought tickets for my friend and me, and we are now definitely leaving from there :) Although I said to myself that I wont buy anything until I post message here and get advice from you. Ah! But now I am sure we will come two days earlier... We will definitely spend more time in Evora, MAYBE skip Fatima (not so religious, especially not in traditional way, but I believe that I could find there some nice spirit, like in every sanctuary in the world...). Maybe its going to be a bit crowded, but I think we will enjoy our trip to this beautiful country anyway :)
I dont have any questions for now, need to do more planing for asking more. For now its enough to know how long to stay in Portugal and approximately how long to stay in which place. I`ll keep all your advices in mind! Thanks again!

P. S. It`s really a shame because of those narrow gauge rail lines!

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miami_love
miami_love

In my opinion, no need to spend the night in Evora. It is a very interesting place, but small enough for a day trip. I drove there from Lisbon, though, so not sure about the public transport schedules. Obidos is a wonderful place too, but I don't think it easy to reach without a car. There is a town called Aveiro near Coimbra. It is very nice.

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tony_b
tony_b

MAYBE skip Fatima (not so religious, especially not in traditional way, but I believe that I could find there some nice spirit, like in every sanctuary in the world)
Just one person's perspective on this. I went to Fatima in late June 30 years ago in the hope of finding something similar. It came as a massive disappointment. I found it tacky and suffocatingly crowded, quite the opposite of what I'd hoped to find. If you've been to Lourdes you'll know what I mean. What it must be like now, 30 years later, I can only imagine. I certainly wouldn't return there even if it were just a 15-minute drive away.

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Windy
Windy

Agreed, Fatma isn't worth the time on such a short trip.

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arizona
arizona

-you're granting much too little time for Evora: first train from Lisbon arrives just after 10am
Nautiker and others are right IMO, spend more time in Evora (you cannot go there by train at the moment,take the bus: www.rede-express.pt). € 11,50. If you still have the money by avoiding to be robbed in tramline 28 (seems to be a hit) in Lisboa.

We spent three days in Evora, it's also interesting to cyccle along a part of an old aquaduct (19 km).

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