Two-week itinerary advice

Hello!

This post may be premature, as I haven't done nearly enough research yet, but here goes anyway... don't yell at me for being unprepared :-)

I'm going to be in Portugal Sept 1 through 15. I am flying into and out of Lisbon. I will NOT have a car. I am trying to get an itinerary together, and to be honest I'm slightly overwhelmed--too busy at work! (I've got 6 books checked out from the library and have cracked 1 of them open. Ugh.)

I'll be traveling independently/alone from Sept 1 to Sept 10, then will be meeting up with a wine tour in Porto from Sept. 11-14. Then it's back to Lisbon on the evening of the 14th for my flight home the next day.

So I need advice on how to make my way from Lisbon to Porto, seeing the major places, and arriving in Porto the morning of the 11th. I'm fairly certain I'll skip the Algarve, as it's out of the way and I'm not much for lying on the beach.

Here's what I have so far:

Sep. 1: Arrive Lisbon early morning. Four days in Lisbon, includes trip to Sintra.

Évora
Óbidos
Nazaré

Sept. 10: Nazaré to Coimbra, visit Coimbra.
Sept. 11: a.m. travel from Coimbra to Porto to meet with the group.
Sept. 11-14: Douro Valley wine tour
Sept. 14 p.m. back to Lisbon
Sept. 15: fly home :-(

It's the middle part, between Lisbon and Nazare, that is fuzzy to me. There's definitely more to be seen. I will of course continue to read up/research but would love some tips from you savvy travelers to help me focus my efforts.

Thanks!

Don't be hard on yourself. I hope you're going alone.

Foreigners??? are more open to talking more with solo travelers. Thats a big pay-off. Otherwise your trip is just abc- Another bloody cathedral. :)

I think you're right about not bothering with the Algarve. I've been there in Lagos and other spots. I think it would be kind of bland, compared with land you'll see farther north.
I've heard the train ride up the Douro river is awsome.

Street sense and
serendipity (happy accidents) rule!

Don't move-on too fast.
Enjoy your trip!

Others will probably disagree with me , but Portugal is one of those countries I think it pays off to have a car. The coastline is more than amazing, and much is probably (don't know for sure, I have had a rented car each time) impossible to reach on public transport.

It is pretty cheap too. have you considered it or is it out of your budget ?

The kind of trip you want can be done by various means of transport, trains, bus, boat and private car. There are companies that can provide travel, ticket prices, etc. ... I do not know if I can do advertising here but if thou wilt more tips send me email and I'll help with the trip! Thank you. lisbonbynight@hotmail.com

OP's trip itinerary seems fine to me as I've also been researching for a road-trip style visit to Portugal in September. Three or four books have been consulted and a couple of good pointers have come out of postings on this thread and replies to post I've made concerning our trip.

We're flying into Lisbon on 14th and out again on 28th and whilst we have discussed heading up to Obidos, Coimbra and Porto as part of our trip, we've decided to leave them out on this visit and pay a return visit next year to visit these and spend time around the Douro.

Main reason is to savour more of the country and not try to rush things. The original plan for this trip included all of the above destinations and also involved nine changes of towns/cities/hotels plus associated travel time and expense.

Current version is to touch down in Lisbon, spend three nights there, two nights in Sintra and then two nights in Evora. Accommodation on this first week will be booked in advance whereas the second week will be much more free and easy as we'll just wing it when it comes to finding places to stay.

Second week involves heading down to Faro and then to Tavira for potentially three nights and then across to Sagres for three nights. We'll wander/saunter around both places as we're wanting a relaxing week, but we are going to make a point of heading to Cape St. Vincent. Last full day involves getting back to Lisbon for a night on the town and then a 5am run to the airport for a 7.15am flight.

Having done the research that I've done so far, the second part of the venture next year will be along the lines of the OP itinerary and may involve another trip to SIntra should we find that it lives up to what we've read about it on here, in guidebooks and on newspaper web sites.

Porto definitely on the agenda thanks to a rhyme my old geography teacher quoted back in the 1970's 'Port comes from the port of Oporto in Portugal'. Daft reason? Quite possibly!

Edited by: scribblerkeith

The itinerary is okay, but would it not be better to arrive in Porto a bit earlier so that you have some time in the city?

Thanks, everyone.

Renting a car is out of my budget as a solo traveler.

Thanks for the suggestion that I arrive a little earlier in Porto to take a look around. I will check withe the Douro Valley tour group to see if there is any Porto sightseeing involved; if not, I may arrive a day earlier.

I will check back in when I have a firmer itinerary to see if I'm missing anything.

Thanks!

Thanks again everyone,

My itinerary remains the same, but I'll be arriving earlier in Porto to look around a bit on my own before meeting up with the group. (the group will be visiting a port lodge, taking a cruise, doing the train ride and then spending a couple days in the Douro Valley for wine tasting, etc.)

Anyone have any advice re. purchasing a Viva Viagem transit pass in Lisbon versus just winging it? My plan in Lisbon was:

Day 1: arriving early (around 9 am) walking tour, take the tram, etc.
Day 2: Sintra (it's a Monday and most other stuff is closed)
Day 3: Belem
Day 4: Mafra? more exploring of Lisbon--I still feel unprepared!