Portugal ideas

[fatnslow]

I'll be heading to Lisbon for a week late September with the wife and need some recommendations. She can't plan anything without a guide book and I usually hate anything out of a guide book, tour bus or places with gift shops. Only thing I have at this point is maybe a day in Sintra. I don't know shit about Portugal, don't even have lodging nailed down yet. Any recommendations or ideas would be appreciated. No car at this point but probably will rent one for a few days to adventure away from Lisbon.

[californiagrown]

My FIL wants to do a big family vacation there next fall and is very excited about the apparently world class golf, seeing Gibraltar, and surfing some cold ass waves.

[Toadman]

The beaches are nice. Ladies tend to go topless. Don't stare.

[XXX-er]

Late september it won't be too hot, its a long skinny country, if you go for beaches head south, we went inland & headed north to the spanish border

catch the sherry growing region on the porto river

we just stayed at airbnb/ booking.com as we went

[MultiVerse]

Rent a boat and go whale watching?

[Kenny Satch]

The beaches are nice. Ladies tend to go topless. Don't stare.

If you do you'll get a 'cut-eye' or caralho

https://www.learnportugueseinlisbon....ear-portuguese

[fatnslow]

If you do you'll get a 'cut-eye' or caralho

https://www.learnportugueseinlisbon....ear-portuguese

This is pretty sweet.

[slcdawg]

I spent 4 nights in Lisbon last June with the fam. We really enjoyed it, you're going to love it! The people are super friendly, wonderful food/wine and its pretty cheap. 4 nights was plenty in Lisbon. If you're there for longer, I would do a side trip. Maybe split up with a couple of nights in Porto or the Algarve? I really wanted to check out the big waves in Nazare but it's not easy to get to (and waves are small in June).

We stayed in the Chiado quarter, which I would recommend. It was walking distance to a lot of Lisbon sites, with a lot of good restaurants and bars. I'll go back to my notes and reply back with some specific recommendations.

I'll be heading to Lisbon for a week late September with the wife and need some recommendations. She can't plan anything without a guide book and I usually hate anything out of a guide book, tour bus or places with gift shops. Only thing I have at this point is maybe a day in Sintra. I don't know shit about Portugal, don't even have lodging nailed down yet. Any recommendations or ideas would be appreciated. No car at this point but probably will rent one for a few days to adventure away from Lisbon.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Even though Portugal is small, a week is pretty short. You can spend some days in Lisbon, no car necessary w/excellent public transport, including the vintage cable cars which are a tourist attraction in themselves.

Sintra is worth a day trip, also accessible by public transport.

For the car rental, yes you should get one. Roads are good throughout, drivers are relatively sane. Downsides are gas predictably expensive and lots of tollbooths on the autoestrada highways; also parking can sometimes be a challenge in the big cities (Lisbon, Porto).

I'd avoid heading all the way south just for beaches. The Algarve seemed kinda sterile to me, and not all that interesting unless you like hanging out with tons of British expats, surrounded by sweaty mindless oafs from Kettering and Boventry in their cloth caps and their cardigans and their transistor radios and their 'Sunday Mirrors', complaining about the tea, "Oh they don't make it properly here do they not like at home" stopping at Majorcan bodegas, selling fish and chips and Watney's Red Barrel and calamares and two veg and sitting in cotton sun frocks squirting Timothy White's suncream all over their puffy raw swollen purulent flesh cos they "overdid it on the first day"

...ahem...

Anyway, Peniche to the north is a great unprepossessing beach town running under the radar with a good predictable break if you want to surf. If you're a world class big wave surfer, there nearby Nazaré of course. Further north with the car, Figueira da Foz is another better known beach town, but IMO less interesting than Coimbra (nearby inland), with a cool ancient University, medieval old town and nearby monasteries.

Once you have the car, Porto is definitely worth a visit as well as the Douro valley (probably don't need to go further east than Pinhão, unless you're really into wine), minimum one day each. You might even be able to stay a night in one of the small family wineries, or quintas, if you plan ahead.

For lodging, AirBnB/VRBO rentals work pretty well throughout. Tons of great food, seafood is nonpareil. People are very nice. Costs are pretty low.

[fatnslow]

Even though Portugal is small, a week is pretty short. You can spend some days in Lisbon, no car necessary w/excellent public transport, including the vintage cable cars which are a tourist attraction in themselves.

Sintra is worth a day trip, also accessible by public transport.

For the car rental, yes you should get one. Roads are good throughout, drivers are relatively sane. Downsides are gas predictably expensive and lots of tollbooths on the autoestrada highways; also parking can sometimes be a challenge in the big cities (Lisbon, Porto).

I'd avoid heading all the way south just for beaches. The Algarve seemed kinda sterile to me, and not all that interesting unless you like hanging out with tons of British expats, surrounded by sweaty mindless oafs from Kettering and Boventry in their cloth caps and their cardigans and their transistor radios and their 'Sunday Mirrors', complaining about the tea, "Oh they don't make it properly here do they not like at home" stopping at Majorcan bodegas, selling fish and chips and Watney's Red Barrel and calamares and two veg and sitting in cotton sun frocks squirting Timothy White's suncream all over their puffy raw swollen purulent flesh cos they "overdid it on the first day"

...ahem...

Anyway, Peniche to the north is a great unprepossessing beach town running under the radar with a good predictable break if you want to surf. If you're a world class big wave surfer, there nearby Nazaré of course. Further north with the car, Figueira da Foz is another better known beach town, but IMO less interesting than Coimbra (nearby inland), with a cool ancient University, medieval old town and nearby monasteries.

Once you have the car, Porto is definitely worth a visit as well as the Douro valley (probably don't need to go further east than Pinhão, unless you're really into wine), minimum one day each. You might even be able to stay a night in one of the small family wineries, or quintas, if you plan ahead.

For lodging, AirBnB/VRBO rentals work pretty well throughout. Tons of great food, seafood is nonpareil. People are very nice. Costs are pretty low.

This is the kind of intel I need. Unfortunately I have been in situations abroad where cohorts bitch about eating fish with skin and bones still on it.

[Grange]

I spent a day in Lisbon last fall and we did a food tour, which was a lot of fun. the elevation changes made getting around on our own interesting. There are elevators that are available to the public. though apparently they don't always work, can help get around.

If I had more time I would have liked to visit Porto and do some port tastings. We did go to a Taylor Fladgate retail store in Lisbon and did a port tasting.

Someone mentioned Gilbralter and that was another place I visited last fall. That was a great day and we did a tour of the area including the tunnels, which was fascinating. I picked up a Bowmore 15 year single malt scotch for under $50 USD. There were some nice prices on whisk(e)ys in the shopping area compare to my local prices.

[Toadman]

This is the kind of intel I need. Unfortunately I have been in situations abroad where cohorts bitch about eating fish with skin and bones still on it.

LOL - When we were in Lisbon, we had this amazing shrimp and garlic butter dish. The heads were still on the shrimp. We ate everything but the heads. Our waitress, "You no like the heads? It's the best part!"

[Kenny Satch]

This is pretty sweet.

Toronto has a lot of people from the Azores and also the mainland. Love listening to them talk and swear. They sound like their going rip each others heads off but it's all in good fun.

[XXX-er]

In the major cities signing on to a free walking tour is great way to find out history and whatnot

you just contact them online and arrange the meet its usually a masters uni student with good english, you will see a guy holding an umbrela with a group of people around him in a historic square somewhere

its by donation so not actualy free

[bennymac]

Was there on part of a guys trip in November. Stayed in Chiado area (1 block from the “Copenhagen Coffee” place - which was great) Easy to walk around (but hilly). I would much rather walk than drive around there.

Lots of guys around trying to sell you “drugs” which are all fake (oregano or baking powder etc) The cops do nothing because they aren’t actually selling real drugs.

[chaka]

It's been awhile, but depending on your budget I highly recommend checking out Pousadas.... state subsidized (I think) hotels, resorts often situated in historic monuments. We stayed at several and we thought they were extremely cool. Often in off the beaten path locations too which give you a taste of the non tourist areas. We staye near Setubal for a couple nights (sleepier fishing town south of Lisbon) in this old castle and in Ourem in this restored 15th century hospital.

https://www.pousadas.pt/en/hotels

Also spent a few days in Tomar, which has a fortress that was a stronghold for the Nights Templar. Really cool history.

Definitely rent a car as others have said. Have fun!

[Dromond]

If you go to Sintra for the day, go early because there is a lot to see and the misty mornings are super cool looking. Even just going to quinta da regaleira alone is worth the day trip I think. It can get crowded so going late Sept should be a decent time to go.

We liked Porto better than Lisbon. It was more scenic, charming, and approachable feeling. Just a more interesting vibe overall. Plenty of tourists, but less overrun feeling than Lisbon.

[goldenboy]

Sintra was cool. And as touristy as it was, I did enjoy riding the classic cable car, I can't remember the route that everyone says you have to do.

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[Mr. Mike]

No need for a car in Lisbon. For a side trip Porto is 3 hours each way by train so very easy and a very different vibe than Lisbon. If driving Evora is an easy trip and very different than either Lisbon or Porto. We did airbnb in all 3 of those places.

[Tri-Ungulate]

True, you could conceivably do the trip without renting a car, if you limit yourself mostly to Lisbon, Sintra and Porto (by train) which could easily fill a week, and still be quite fun. There are good small guided tours from Porto to the Douro, which has the added benefit of not drinking whilst driving.

Just avoid the big tour companies where you're herded into endless Hotel Miramars and Bellvueses and Bontinentals with their international luxury modern roomettes and their Watney's Red Barrel and their swimming pools full of fat German businessmen pretending they're acrobats and forming pyramids and frightening the children and barging in to the queues and if you're not at your table spot on seven you miss your bowl of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, the first item on the menu of International Cuisine, and every Thursday night there's a bloody cabaret in the bar featuring some tiny emaciated dago with nine-inch hips and some big fat bloated tart with her hair brylcreemed down and a big arse presenting Flamenco for Foreigners.

It's just that the car gives you a bit more flexibility, especially to hit smaller areas off the beaten path. But if only going for a week, yeah, car may not be as necessary.

[XXX-er]

I duno if cars are cheaper elsewhere but its easier to get one at the airport do your car related stuff and when you return the car its easy to take the subway into town

[Mr. Mike]

And you definitely don’t want the car for the time in Lisbon. Parking traffic navigation all a hassle. Uber at airport is cheap and easy to town. If you decide you want a car for side trips, pick it up on the way out of town. Look up the uber pickup area at airport in advance though. Signage was lacking a year ago.

[fatnslow]

And you definitely don’t want the car for the time in Lisbon. Parking traffic navigation all a hassle. Uber at airport is cheap and easy to town. If you decide you want a car for side trips, pick it up on the way out of town. Look up the uber pickup area at airport in advance though. Signage was lacking a year ago.

This is my plan. I have done this in Spain but it's been many years. Prefer to stay away from tours if possible.

[XXX-er]

the end of the subway line is right at the airport just walk out of the airport terminal, we took it into an AirBNB on the main drag downtown and it was possible to walk/ bus everywhere

[OldLarry]

I’m actually here in Lisbon now. Working for a few days so have not done much yet this trip but have been here 3x before. It’s is awesome but the tacos suck (lunch today, should ma know better). Cascais is awesome- can be a little honky tonk/ Jersey shore in spots- oddly tolerate this in Europe WAY better than in the US. Beaches north (Guincho, Obidos) are relatively empty and super cool. More of a euro cape cod vibe- like aquinna on the vineyard with more dramatic cliffs and maybe a high end snack bar / restaurant at the end. Sintra itself is cool for a day but the surrounding area has lots to offer for bikes/hikes/trail runs/ beaches. Will post more as the next 10 days or so unfold.


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