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Posted
15 minutes ago, Kicksumass said:

sintra day trip from Lisbon - should I drive or take the train? I’ll have a car but most comments online say to take the train, or a tour. 

I wasn't too confident in my ability to drive/park through the narrow streets getting there, so I had someone else drive, it is pretty darn picturesque though. Plus if you're driving, you owe it to yourself to head south afterwards and grab some lunch and explore around Cascais. 

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Posted
1 hour ago, Kicksumass said:

sintra day trip from Lisbon - should I drive or take the train? I’ll have a car but most comments online say to take the train, or a tour. 

We took an uber.  The town hates tourist cars making it hard for residents to get in and out.  

Posted

Btw, you’ve not really lived if you haven’t had your asshole puckered driving down the twisty and steep cobblestone streets of Porto in a borrowed Audi.  

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Posted

In Porto this week. It's very crowded with tourists and there's so much construction going on. We had a guide this morning and it was great - learned quite a bit and saw many things I missed before. Plus the guides get to skip all the lines. Driving up the coast tomorrow to the Costa Verde -- Viana do Castelo and the surrounding area -- for a day trip.

This was the line in front of the famous Porto book store this morning. The guide said it's less expensive to buy a ticket to the Louvre.

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Chopper said:

In Porto this week. It's very crowded with tourists and there's so much construction going on. We had a guide this morning and it was great - learned quite a bit and saw many things I missed before. Plus the guides get to skip all the lines. Driving up the coast tomorrow to the Costa Verde -- Viana do Castelo and the surrounding area -- for a day trip.

This was the line in front of the famous Porto book store this morning. The guide said it's less expensive to buy a ticket to the Louvre.

image.thumb.png.74c3dab0f636c1b49bf9a17a6a374b0a.png

That line is nuts and no tourist should be spending 2 or 3 hours there that could be spent exploring.  You probably already know this, but that park to the right of your picture became our “let‘s chill a bit and let the kids have a break and drink Caipirinhas.” spot to rest.

Also highly recommend ducking into the train station to see the amazing tile work and grab a bite at the Time Out market adjacent (charred octupus was a highlight).  

We also did a boat tour that I might pass on (not terrible, it’s just more fun to be on foot).  

Edited by LCHorn
Posted

Yikes! Can’t imagine how the peak summers look like.
 

I just booked a private tour for Sintra with skip the line tickets. Most of them combine Sintra and cascais but it felt a bit rushed to me so picked one that was just Sintra.  Will try to do Cascais by myself another day. 

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Posted (edited)

Sintra is lovely. Cascais didn't live up to the hype, although I can see the appeal if you're an expat who wants to live among other expats, or if you want to stay at a seaside hotel that's a short train ride into Lisbon. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to visit though. 

A couple places perhaps a little off-the-beaten path we went on our trip that I strongly recommend:

A resort in the Algarve, Vila Vita Parc. Incredibly gorgeous resort on a clifftop with stairs down to private beaches. Great food and a ton of on-site activies, bars, pools, and restaurants. We had 5 days here but I wish we had planned a longer stay. If you're in the Algarve don't miss Rio Formosa Natural Park - a few miles of trails and wetlands along the coast with paths and a ton of nature and species. 

"Rustic luxury" they call it, at São Lourenço do Barrocal ranch/resort in the Alentejo region. Stunning. Easy access to Monsaraz and Evora. It's a stop for the Backroads group's cycling tour and the weather in March-April was great. 

Six Senses in Douro Valley. Lives up to the hype. Took a day trip to a nearby winery, Quinta do Crasto, and recommend their catered lunch. They're quite generous with the pours on their tasting. Took a small boat down the Douro afterwards by BB cruises. Stunning scenery.

We had a *great* guide in Lisbon area for 3 days. He's pretty much all you'd want in a guide and by that I meant he's realistic and very knowledgeable with a lot of life experience outside of being a guide. Happy to share his details if you dm me.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Chopper
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Posted
3 hours ago, Chopper said:

Sintra is lovely. Cascais didn't live up to the hype, although I can see the appeal if you're an expat who wants to live among other expats, or if you want to stay at a seaside hotel that's a short train ride into Lisbon. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to visit though. 

A couple places perhaps a little off-the-beaten path we went on our trip that I strongly recommend:

A resort in the Algarve, Vila Vita Parc. Incredibly gorgeous resort on a clifftop with stairs down to private beaches. Great food and a ton of on-site activies, bars, pools, and restaurants. We had 5 days here but I wish we had planned a longer stay. If you're in the Algarve don't miss Rio Formosa Natural Park - a few miles of trails and wetlands along the coast with paths and a ton of nature and species. 

"Rustic luxury" they call it, at São Lourenço do Barrocal ranch/resort in the Alentejo region. Stunning. Easy access to Monsaraz and Evora. It's a stop for the Backroads group's cycling tour and the weather in March-April was great. 

Six Senses in Douro Valley. Lives up to the hype. Took a day trip to a nearby winery, Quinta do Crasto, and recommend their catered lunch. They're quite generous with the pours on their tasting. Took a small boat down the Douro afterwards by BB cruises. Stunning scenery.

We had a *great* guide in Lisbon area for 3 days. He's pretty much all you'd want in a guide and by that I meant he's realistic and very knowledgeable with a lot of life experience outside of being a guide. Happy to share his details if you dm me.

 

 

 

 

Great post; you make me want to go back without kids.  

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