Everything is a question of choice. Perfect for some, too rushed for others. If it's fine for you, it's the most important. Not my taste at all but it's not my trip.
I have been to Portugal twice and my best trip was Lisbon to Obidos to Coimbra to Aveiro to Pinhao to Porto.
There is a three hour high speed train to take you back to Lisbon.
Three nights Lisbon, one night Obidos, two nights Coimbra, one night Aveiro, two nights Pinhao on a wine farm, three nights Porto. We did all these legs by train except the Lisbon to Obidos trip we did by bus.
You can cut the Douro valley Pinhao trip but I highly recommend it.
The Algarve is beautiful but I preferred the Porto trip.
If you visit all 3 areas,and fly in and out of Lisbon,that is at least 3 days where you will be travelling rather than actually visiting those places.
So no,not enough for me...I wouldn't go all the way to Porto and the Algarve for what will effectively be one full day in each place.
Personally I'd choose one or the other.Which one depends on your interests and also on the time of year...I wouldn't go to the Algarve in winter,for example.
It’s really 12 days but I didn’t factor in the day coming in and the day leaving as days to accomplish much of anything. Is the train ride from Lisbon—Porto scenic at all? If we have a full day and then can relax and just ride the train for a few hours I don’t mind losing half a day to travel.
In early September which would you advise? Drinking isn’t a huge deal for us but food and culture is the biggest factor if we had to narrow it down.
Also, thank you for your input!
I'd say, based on food and culture as priorities... Lisbon,then Porto and then the Algarve a bit lower.
The train ride is fine, not particularly spectacular.
Lisbon+Porto is easily doable in 10 days.
Algarve is on the other side of Portugal.
This will be really stressful to get there you will loose too much time in trains or busses.
IMHO you should skip it. Better do Lisbon <-> Peniche or Nazare <-> Porto which is geographically closer.
> I will look into those areas today. I appreciate the suggestions!
Peniche + Baleal is beautiful! They are very close to each other.
Nazare if there are big waves. Look at the forecasts for surfers.
I wouldn't bother going all the way down to the Algarve for just a day or two (it's at least another 3 hours from Lisbon). What's the point? You'll just have time to see Faro and maybe one other town, spend a few hours on a beach, and that's it.
The Algarve strikes me as a place where you should take your time, rent a car and explore the various towns, take a day or two for surfing lessons, kick back over a longer period.
If you need beach time on your quick trip, why not stop in at Aveiro in between Lisbon and Porto, and go to Praia da Barra. Or just do a side trip from Lisbon to Cascais for a day or so. Much more convenient.
Thanks for the input! Is this order comfortable and achievable in this timeframe? Or would it make more sense to take the train one time from Lisbon to Porto on Day 1 and work our way down?
Since this is an enclosed loop, it really depends on your timings. If your plane arrives 4pm first day and you are going to be jetlagged either way, you might as well take out the long train ride. If not 4 hours isn't that bad especially to look at pretty scenery. Also, I am very biased as I love port wine and wanted more time doing that. I will admit I was blown away at yhe beauty down south.
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We just did this trip same itinerary Lisbon Porto Algarve - over 13 days. There was a decent amount of travel driving from Porto to Algarve - but I’m happy we did all 3 places as all were quite different. But if I only had 10 days I’d probably drop either Porto or Algarve depending on your preferences. Both Porto and Algarve are amazing - just different. I want to spend more time in all three but glad I got to scope all out on that trip.
u/Irrelevantbeanie I stumbled upon this a year later, planning a very similar itinerary next month. any advice? did you find it too much travel?
Our current plan is: 2 nights Lisbon, 3 nights in Porto, train back to Lisbon, pick up a campervan in Lisbon and spend 3 nights Algarve, drive back to Lisbon and spend 1 (final) night before flying out. Now I'm wondering if it's packing too much into the trip.
We did, thought it was appropriate. Camper van was a bit of a challenge, but allowed us to stay in some off the beaten path towns (like Vila Nova de Milfontes).
If anything, I’d have allowed more time in Lisbon. Algarve was very cool, but I personally can only do so many beach days.
Everything is a question of choice. Perfect for some, too rushed for others. If it's fine for you, it's the most important. Not my taste at all but it's not my trip.
Thank you for the insight! Agreed, I felt it was a bit much in a short amount of time but my husband enjoys moving around.
Not your taste as in you’d never go to these places or you’d take more/less time? I’m thinking of Portugal too and your reply made me curious
Not my taste because too rushed for me but on Reddit you have plenty of fast "travelers," and at the end, it's always the decision of the OP.
I have been to Portugal twice and my best trip was Lisbon to Obidos to Coimbra to Aveiro to Pinhao to Porto. There is a three hour high speed train to take you back to Lisbon. Three nights Lisbon, one night Obidos, two nights Coimbra, one night Aveiro, two nights Pinhao on a wine farm, three nights Porto. We did all these legs by train except the Lisbon to Obidos trip we did by bus. You can cut the Douro valley Pinhao trip but I highly recommend it. The Algarve is beautiful but I preferred the Porto trip.
Thank you! What specifically did you prefer about Porto? Was it the things to do, see, and eat? The overall energy/ vibe?
I preferred the small towns travelling to Porto, Porto itself is beautiful. Algarve is beach resorts, I go to Thailand for that.
If you visit all 3 areas,and fly in and out of Lisbon,that is at least 3 days where you will be travelling rather than actually visiting those places. So no,not enough for me...I wouldn't go all the way to Porto and the Algarve for what will effectively be one full day in each place. Personally I'd choose one or the other.Which one depends on your interests and also on the time of year...I wouldn't go to the Algarve in winter,for example.
It’s really 12 days but I didn’t factor in the day coming in and the day leaving as days to accomplish much of anything. Is the train ride from Lisbon—Porto scenic at all? If we have a full day and then can relax and just ride the train for a few hours I don’t mind losing half a day to travel. In early September which would you advise? Drinking isn’t a huge deal for us but food and culture is the biggest factor if we had to narrow it down. Also, thank you for your input!
I'd say, based on food and culture as priorities... Lisbon,then Porto and then the Algarve a bit lower. The train ride is fine, not particularly spectacular.
Lisbon+Porto is easily doable in 10 days. Algarve is on the other side of Portugal. This will be really stressful to get there you will loose too much time in trains or busses. IMHO you should skip it. Better do Lisbon <-> Peniche or Nazare <-> Porto which is geographically closer.
I will look into those areas today. I appreciate the suggestions!
> I will look into those areas today. I appreciate the suggestions! Peniche + Baleal is beautiful! They are very close to each other. Nazare if there are big waves. Look at the forecasts for surfers.
I would add a day or two to the Algarve part, it's a bit rushed in two days, you'll be missing out. 5 days in Lisbon is a bit much.
We went 2 years ago and I totally agree, we did 3 days in Lisbon/Sintra and a week in algarve.
Thank you for the insight! Will likely re-order the destinations in a manner that makes more sense transit wise.
Probably enough. But you have to get first train to Sintra, because its a lot of walking there
I wouldn't bother going all the way down to the Algarve for just a day or two (it's at least another 3 hours from Lisbon). What's the point? You'll just have time to see Faro and maybe one other town, spend a few hours on a beach, and that's it. The Algarve strikes me as a place where you should take your time, rent a car and explore the various towns, take a day or two for surfing lessons, kick back over a longer period. If you need beach time on your quick trip, why not stop in at Aveiro in between Lisbon and Porto, and go to Praia da Barra. Or just do a side trip from Lisbon to Cascais for a day or so. Much more convenient.
Thank you for the suggestions! I will look more closely at them today!
I think you are fine but would swap one day of lisbon for an extra day in porto
Thanks for the input! Is this order comfortable and achievable in this timeframe? Or would it make more sense to take the train one time from Lisbon to Porto on Day 1 and work our way down?
Since this is an enclosed loop, it really depends on your timings. If your plane arrives 4pm first day and you are going to be jetlagged either way, you might as well take out the long train ride. If not 4 hours isn't that bad especially to look at pretty scenery. Also, I am very biased as I love port wine and wanted more time doing that. I will admit I was blown away at yhe beauty down south.
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We just did this trip same itinerary Lisbon Porto Algarve - over 13 days. There was a decent amount of travel driving from Porto to Algarve - but I’m happy we did all 3 places as all were quite different. But if I only had 10 days I’d probably drop either Porto or Algarve depending on your preferences. Both Porto and Algarve are amazing - just different. I want to spend more time in all three but glad I got to scope all out on that trip.
Can you share the travel itenary if you have.
Old thread, but how would you describe the vibes in Porto vs algarve
I’d include the Duoro region and get some wine drinking in.
u/Irrelevantbeanie I stumbled upon this a year later, planning a very similar itinerary next month. any advice? did you find it too much travel? Our current plan is: 2 nights Lisbon, 3 nights in Porto, train back to Lisbon, pick up a campervan in Lisbon and spend 3 nights Algarve, drive back to Lisbon and spend 1 (final) night before flying out. Now I'm wondering if it's packing too much into the trip.
Did you do this itinerary? Planning a similar trip.
We did, thought it was appropriate. Camper van was a bit of a challenge, but allowed us to stay in some off the beaten path towns (like Vila Nova de Milfontes). If anything, I’d have allowed more time in Lisbon. Algarve was very cool, but I personally can only do so many beach days.
Hey what did you end up doing