Portugal????

[Jane]

Somehow we have missed Portugal in our travels so are now thinking of maybe going there in late summer. Our son's calendar rules us right now and so we may get nowhere but.... Anyway, suggestions of any kind? Yes, I know this is a very, irrationally broad question but must start somewhere. My travel planning expertise is declining so need help. Hard to believe all the research and planning that went into travel before the internet. How did we do it?

 

[Pauline]

We spent just a week in Northern Portugal in July 2012. I have a post and a link to my trip report in the Trip Reports forum.
http://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/northern-portugal-summer-2012.6/

We both really liked it and it would be nice in summer.

 

[Jane]

Thanks, Pauline. I will read your report in leisure but I did scan the blog entry and could tell there is good stuff there. As I said, this is just a preliminary thought and I am not sure where it will lead. Thinking of England, too.

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

Jane, I don't know much of Portugal but I've been twice.
Once basing myself in Cascais, a bit west of Lisbon along the coast. I enjoyed Lisbon (even though it's not my favourite town), Sintra and the coast.
During the other trip I was in Spain (Valencia de Alcántara) with friends and went a couple of times to Portugal: Marvao and Castelo de Vide. I'm not sure if there's a lot more to see in that area but we really enjoyed the quietness of this very untouristy area, the countryside and the villages.

 

[Jane]

Guilia, thanks for the info. What time of year were you there? Obviously not in summer. We may only have two weeks which for is is hardly a vacation. Anything less than a month is not our style. But with a high schooler in the family, we are adapting.

 

[Giulia da Urbino]

Both times in Spring and it was quite cold so I think that the coast can be quite enjoyable in Summer too since it's very windy and the Atlantic keeps it cool.