Creating the perfect itinerary for an upcoming vacation is one of the hardest and best parts of travel planning. And it's probably a big part of why you're here! You may be trying to figure out what to include in your Portugal adventure. Let me tell you how I came up with our itinerary, and then I'll give you some lessons learned after the fact.
How we spent 10 days in Portugal
Days 1-3: Lisbon
We arrived in Lisbon in the early morning, and then spent three days exploring this hilly city! We knew we wanted to take a day trip to Sintra during one of these days.
Day 4: Lagos
On our last morning in Lisbon, we picked up a rental car to drive to the Algarve region in Southern Portugal, where we spent one night.
Days 5-6: Monsaraz, Evora, & Coimbra
We took some time driving up to Porto from the Algarve, stopping in Monsaraz for ceramics and spending the night in Evora for Roman ruins. The next day, we stopped in Coimbra to visit an old library and then arrived in Porto in the early evening.
Days 7-8: Porto
We had originally planned to spend one day in Porto and then one day exploring the Douro Valley. Alas, the pouring rain made a drive out to Wine Country less desirable, so we called an audible and spent a second day enjoying Porto.
Days 9-10: Óbidos & Belem
We ended our trip where we began, back in Lisbon! We stopped in Óbidos on the drive from Porto to Lisbon and spent a lovely afternoon shopping and exploring alleyways. Then we returned the rental car. We spent our last day in Belem and then picking up any last souvenirs in Lisbon.
Making Compromises
Working out an itinerary is all about making compromises and setting priorities. The one decision we really struggled with for this 10-day trip to Portugal was whether we had time to visit the Algarve.
As an American (especially a Westerner who's used to immense spaces), Portugal seems so small and easily accessible. It felt like everything was close enough! Three-and-a-half hours to visit the golden geographical glories of the southern coast? No problem! But trying to fit that side trip in with everything else was a little harder.
I actually created two itineraries - one with the Algarve and one without. After reviewing both, we decided seeing the Algarve was a priority, even if we could only get a sliver of it in between everything else.
Lessons Learned
Ultimately, I regretted adding Lagos in the Algarve to our itinerary. Not because it wasn't a fantastic place to visit (because it was!), but it ended up creating a lot of extra time in the car. While it was less than 4 hours to drive from Lisbon to Lagos, we also had to drive all the way back!
Visiting the Algarve at the end of October also wasn't ideal. We knew it wasn't exactly beach season, but we hoped to revel in the landscape and stroll the beach without summer crowds. By the time we actually arrived, it was almost dark and it was completely fogged over! We had booked a tour of the Benagil caves for the next morning, but it was canceled due to weather. At least we did see a clear view before we left town.
Next time, I will trust my gut and not try to jam in as much as I can. Other than a long detour to the Algarve, I loved the rest of our itinerary! We could probably have used an extra day in Lisbon, but I felt like 2 days in Porto was plenty. I really enjoyed seeing other cities in Portugal, like Evora and Coimbra, even if we only spent a few hours in each.
And of course, I left plenty of options for a return visit or two to Portugal!
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