Portugal 2020!

[brett]

You mentioned two beach towns I am thinking of - Tavira and Nazaré. We probably will spend 3 days in one beach town taking a vacation from our vacation. Our schedule is still very flexible. Which of the above two would you choose?

These are two very different places. Like chalk and cheese. We enjoyed both for different reasons.

Nazare is more like a beach town. Shopping areas, hotels, cafes, etc are are within blocks of this long beach. At one end is an elevator that takes go up to another town with great views over the ocean and a walkway down to the cliffs. We bussed from Coimbra because our hotel was close to the bus station and because the bus goes right into Nazare whereas the train station is 2 or 3KM from the beach area.

Tavira is on the sea but also on a river. Seems much older, quaint if you will. There is a good beach that is accessed by a ferry ride. Lots of older buildings, a castle on a bit of a hill, church, etc. Lots of places to walk along the river, outdoor cafe dining, etc.

Try looking them both up on Wik...you will see the pictures.

Which one you choose will depend on your personal preferences and perhaps where you happen to be in your travels. We were in Coimbra when we decided to go. It was a short bus ride (train station in Nazare is 2 or 3 KM from the beach town area) Nazare is very close to Lisbon train stations...about an hour and a half bus ride.

 

[brett]

You mentioned two beach towns I am thinking of - Tavira and Nazaré. We probably will spend 3 days in one beach town taking a vacation from our vacation. Our schedule is still very flexible. Which of the above two would you choose?

Forgot to add....Nazare is the more laid back of the two IMHO. For us it was a vacation from a vacation.

Ocean is very calm when we were there in June. Great for swimming.

 

[flyingaway]

Do people need a car in the Algarve area?

 

[brett]

It is a big 'it depends'.

We toured Algarve by car on our first trip. We picked the car up in Faro, dropped it off in Lisbon. So we had stopped and previously stayed in a number of towns between Faro and Lagos.

This past trip we knew that we wanted to spent time in Lagos, Tavira and in Faro since we flew home from there. We ended up going to Alvor as well.

I did not see any point paying top dollar for a rental car only to have it sit in a hotel parking lot for a a 5-10 days. The hefty road tolls from Lisbon-Algarve alone would have been as much as we paid for our 1/2 price rail tickets. We travel light so luggage was never an issue on trains, buses, or taxis.

For us, train was just fine, We took a few short bus rides and taxi. We decided to train down from Lisbon. Our thought that was if we wanted to rent a car for a day or two we could easily do that. In the end we did not.

Even though we had been to Portugal twice before we found the guidebook very helpful in selecting our rough itinerary and understanding the transportation routes and options.

 

[explanade]

Only been to Algarve and Portugal once.

I think it depends on whether you want to hang out in one area, go to maybe a couple of beaches near where you're staying, or go up and down the coast.

I had a car and ventured like 5 miles or so in each direction.

I was about half way between Lagos and Faro. Had plans to drive to Lagos but the days I was there, it was very windy so I didn't bother to go.

When I went to Cabo da Roca, I drove from Cascais and drove along the coast, first west and then north. It was so windy that there were sand dunes in the road and it was difficult to go through some of them. I had to reverse and go forward a couple of times to get free from one dune.

Then I arrived at Cabo da Roca and it was very blustery. Partly cloudy, you could see some distant cliffs to the south brilliantly lit up in the sun but Cabo da Roca itself was overcast.

It's a small country but a lot of these scenic places are tens of miles away. You could wait for the bus a but car gives you better timing.

Again, if you just want to lounge on a nearby beach or hang out at bars or restaurants with sea views, you can save the expense of the car.

 

[brett]

One thing to be aware about rental cars. We toured Spain and Portugal a few years ago. We picked up a car in Toledo but we could not find any agency that would allow us to drop the car in Lisbon.

So...we dropped the car in Seville. Spent a few days there, then took a 2hr or so bus ride across the border to Faro. Picked up a car in Faro and dropped it in Lisbon two weeks later.

 

[Chuckanut]

Can anybody recommend a cooking class either in Porto or Coimbra?

I am thinking of a class that teaches one to make a few Portuguese favorites.

 

[brett]

No.

But one thing we did have on this past trip that I do not remember from previous trips was pork cheeks. We saw them on the menu mostly in Evora, Coimbra, and Alvor.

We had them in a high end restaurant in Evora and in a mom and pop place in Coimbra where the husband waited on tables (no english) and his wife was in the kitchen. This was one our our best dining experiences found quite by accident. Each time washed down with a bottle of fabulous red table wine of the region.

Try tripadvisor, lonely planet, rick steves, etc. forums,,,,

 

[tulak]

Can anybody recommend a cooking class either in Porto or Coimbra?

I am thinking of a class that teaches one to make a few Portuguese favorites.

If you haven’t found anything yet, I’d recommend taking a look on Airbnb.

I booked a cooking class in Italy through Airbnb and it worked out great. I was also able to find their website based on their Airbnb listing, which gave me a better feel for the classes they offered.

 

[Chuckanut]

If you haven’t found anything yet, I’d recommend taking a look on Airbnb.

I booked a cooking class in Italy through Airbnb and it worked out great. I was also able to find their website based on their Airbnb listing, which gave me a better feel for the classes they offered.

So I need to book an Airbnb room with a big kitchen?

Thanks, I had no idea Airbnb booked cooking classes. I'll take a look.

 

[explanade]

You could try Viator or GetYourGuide.com, which have cookie classes in other countries, not sure about Portugal or those specific cities.

Some kind of tour operator has to package those classes, organize facilities, etc.

GetYourGuide.com listing shows the operator offering the class so you can Google them and book directly but there's no price difference.

Otherwise Google something like Porto cooking classes.

 

[tulak]

So I need to book an Airbnb room with a big kitchen?

Thanks, I had no idea Airbnb booked cooking classes. I'll take a look.

I didn't either until this last trip, when I noticed they have "experiences" on their website.

The class I took was through https://cesarine.com/en, but I booked it through Airbnb. When I talked with the host, she said that she's been doing this for 10 years, but it was hit and miss before they started advertising on Airbnb.

 

[stephenson]

Can anybody recommend a cooking class either in Porto or Coimbra?

I am thinking of a class that teaches one to make a few Portuguese favorites.

Chuck,

Don't think this is quite what you referenced, but I got a reminder them from our time in Porto this morning ...

https://culinarybackstreets.com/?ut...tm_content=245754538&utm_source=hs_automation

 

[Chuckanut]

One question regarding train travel in Portugal…..

We want to leave some flexibility in our schedule. So far we have not booked any train tickets except for our first town after we leave Lisbon.

Is there any reason buy train tickets weeks ahead of time? I would like to buy tickets a few days in advance at the most. But, I’ll do it far in advance if necessary.

Thanks to all for the cooking class recommendations. Our host in Portugal set us up for one that sounds good.

 

[brett]

In our experience absolutely you do not have to make train reservations weeks ahead. Well, perhaps at Christmas or some other stat.

We spent a month traveling by train. First time that we have done that. Made a change from rental cars. The cp.pt site is excellent. We typically purchased tickets on line a day or two in advance because that is how we travel. Never had an issue during the entire month of travel.

One other huge benefit to on line purchase....you do not have to line up at the station ticket counters. We noticed some longer line ups at a few smaller stations.

If applicable you can register on line in order to access seniors rates. We did this. A surprising 50 percent discount. They also run specials on some routes at prices equal or slightly less than the seniors rate.

The first or second time the conductor checks your on line ticket he or she will ask for you passport to verify your age. I noticed that the conductor had a hand held device that displayed this data AND one or two of the trips that we had booked. Very slick system.

There were one or two places where bus was more convenient because of the location of the train station. Nazare was one, Obidos was one we found out the hard way!

One more thing....I would highly recommend travel with carry on only...preferably a roller. During our travels we saw lots of people struggling with large suitcases or multiple suitcases. Sometimes you need to get on or off rather sharpish.

There are a number of train stations in Lisbon. Depending on your route you may have a choice of stations that are more convenient for you.

 

[stephenson]

Second what Brett said .... Portugal doesn't "connect" in the same way that many European counties do - a bit of culture, a bit of geography, a bit of history as to why. I love trains, but Portugal has it's own "thing!"

We took FlixBus from Nazare to Lisboa Oriente station - waaaay easy once you get used to the idea of no real "bus station" - just go where the website says, and wait curbside with a few other folks. It was a quick walk from the beach area near the funicular. Toss bag underneath (yeah - absolutely do not travel with large bags - simply no reason), driver runs your phone QR code reservation, jump on board to your assigned seat. Very easy, slick - and CHEAP. Oriente was a bit daunting as it is large - and, by my standards, a bit dirty. But metro was on time and we popped to our hotel beside the Restauradores stop.

 

[brett]

IF you are looking to buy wine during your travels I would recommend the Pingo Doce supermarket chain.

Their stores have a very good selection or reds. Especially Douro Valley wines. And....their prices are, or were excellent.

One Douro red I bought several times at various Pingo Doce locations was being sold for 3X at the Faro Airport duty free shop!

If you are flying out of Faro don't eat inside the terminal building. Just outside the main doors on the adjacent sidewalk area there is a great burger/beer place that is open air but covered.

 

[Chuckanut]

Thanks for the reminder about wine. I am looking to buy some of that white Port I had years ago in Portugal. I wonder how many bottles I can smuggle in on my trip home?

I found what appears to be a nice hotel around Av. da Liberdade in Lisbon for a reasonable amount. I hope its a good area for getting around the sites. As I get older I find I like to save energy by rooming at a central area hotel that has good access to good public transit.

 

[COcheesehead]

Good white port is hard to find in the US. Bring back as much as you can. The locals also showed us how mixed 50/50 with tonic, it makes a great aperitif.

 

[brett]

We reserved a hotel in that area of Lisbon for our last trip. Alas, we never made it and cancelled.

We got off the plane from Madeira, took the subway to the train station and then trained directly to Evora.

We had planned a few days in Lisbon in between Coimbra and Algarve but we bailed the day prior. Spent three wonderful days in Nazare instead and then trained directly to the Algarve.

We had spent time in Lisbon before. Next time we plan to stop in the Azores for a week and then spend time Lisbon.

 

[Chuckanut]

Obidos to Lisbon by bus

Has anybody traveled from Obidos to Lisbon using the bus? Does it work well? The train routes seem rather long with transfers.

 

[stephenson]

Is this same area as Obidos?

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for the reminder about wine. I am looking to buy some of that white Port I had years ago in Portugal. I wonder how many bottles I can smuggle in on my trip home?

I found what appears to be a nice hotel around Av. da Liberdade in Lisbon for a reasonable amount. I hope its a good area for getting around the sites. As I get older I find I like to save energy by rooming at a central area hotel that has good access to good public transit.

From what I read customs isn’t that high for bringing in wine. Packaging it for shipment is the challenge.

 

[brett]

Has anybody traveled from Obidos to Lisbon using the bus? Does it work well? The train routes seem rather long with transfers.

We originally planned to go from Lisbon to Obidos. I seem to recall that there was a direct bus from Lisbon, Campo. So, there may be a return service.

We decided to train to Evora, spend a day or two, then go to Obidos for a afternoon/night, then on to Coimbra the next morning.

Have you checked rome2rio.com. We sometimes find this website helpful for local transport. But you do have to verify it with the carrier.

We were not impressed with Obidos. Worth a few hours, not more IMHO

 

[brett]

Try this for Obidos-Lisbon:

Serviços | RDO | Rodoviária do Oeste