12 Days in Portugal

These special clients, Tom & Francie, aka Annie’s parents, have been putting off international trips for about 10 years due to well, life. They are avid travelers and have crossed many continents, and are ready to get back out there. We came up with Portugal as the perfect concession to one wanting Italy and one wanting Spain. Portugal offers historic sites, wine country, coastal towns, and great food. Their schedule allows for them to travel over thanksgiving. They notice this is a great time to beat the madness of summer tourist crowds. Temperatures were in the mid 50’s to mid 60’s, and it only rained a few times and didn’t put a damper on their plans. The slower season meant we never waited in line anywhere. You could see that there were usually long lines at the height of the season.

Portugal Anniversary Trip Itinerary

Lisbon, Porto, Douro Valley, Evora, Comporta

Duration: 12 days
Month: November
Hotels:  AlmaLusa Baixa/Chaido  (Lisbon) → The Yeatman (Porto) → Six Senses (Douro Valley) → Vintage House Hotel (Douro Valley) → Pousada Mosteiro Crato (Alentejo-Crato) → Pousada Convento Evora (Altejo-Evora) → Sublime Comporta (Altentjo-Comporta)

Stop 1: Lisbon & Drive up the Coast

The Almalusa hotel is a relaxed small hotel within walking distance of many areas we wanted to visit, and was located at the corner of an open  square near the river. It had a very nice restaurant attached to it for breakfast lunch or dinner.  Staff was extremely helpful and friendly.

The neighborhoods of Lisbon are colorful, alive, and pulse with big city energy, but are really small in nature. Nightlife goes on until 2 a.m. or later, and eating at an outdoor cafe at midnight is not uncommon, and in fact is crowded with locals and tourists alike. Fado (traditional singing of Portugal) is in many nightspots around town, and can include dinner or just drinks.

Bel canto is a world class restaurant, and deserves around 3 hours for the complete experience at lunch or dinner. They will surprise you withe creative dishes you could never imagine.  It is an easy walk from the Almalusa.

Sintra was an excellent day trip by uber, the castle is amazing to see in person.

Driving from Lisbon to Porto in one day was easy, but there turned out to be so many things to see on the way that we should have started earlier in the day. In November the sun is gone around 5 p.m., so the day is short. Obidos is a walled medieval city on the way, as well as Nazare on the coast, home to 80 foot waves and surfing champions.

Stop 2: Porto

The Yeatman is a huge property, which is a surprise after leaving crowded Lisbon, and going to towns with narrow, ancient streets. The property faces the Douro river, and looks directly at Porto. You are so close you can walk across the Eifell bridge to Porto, and then catch a funicular up to the top of the town and walk from there. Bus tours are excellent for getting on and off wherever you want, and can see the entire new city all the way to the ocean. While Lisbon seems older and more refined, Porto is know as  a working class city, busy all the time. The wineries in town are on the same side as the Yeatman.  Gaia is the town where the Yeatman is, and is a great location. We had a great stop at the bookstore, Livario Levello, which inspired the Hogwarts library in Harry Potter.

Stop 3: DouroValley

Wineries are everywhere in the valley. If they don’t want you to visit they will close their gate, or just not have any marking to indicate they are there. A short tour and tastings are normal. You will learn a lot about port, and just how good it really is.

The drive through the Douro Valley and also the drive from Douro down to the south was both easy and beautiful. There are many small towns to stop in to break up the drive, even though the longest drive we ever had was three hours. Duoro is a constant photo opportunity due to the river and the vineyards clinging to the hills. The leaves were still changing, so it was great time to go. No crowds anywhere, but you could tell that they are overloaded in season.

Stop 4: Alentejo Region

The Alentejo does not have the extreme steep valley covered in vines, and has several ancient towns to explore. Many are very small, and can take only an hour to walk around. Vineyards get fewer as you go south, but never entirely disappear. The cork trees begin to take over as you go south. There are large expanses where there are few  houses, only large farms.

Evora is worth two days, there is a lot to see there. The roman ruins are small but beautiful, the medieval walls and streets are wonderful. It’s an easy place to just walk and discover, getting an espresso when you run out of energy.

Some great small towns to visit are Viseau and Monsaraz.