Answered by Gun from The Hague, Netherlands 1085 days ago

I stayed at Tavira, rented a car from Faro and cruised conveniently the entire length of The Algarve coast and all towns with ease and even crossed over to Andalusia to several golf courses while I would recommend choosing Albufeira as an ideal town to base your travels from. It is central and there are bus/coaches to choose for many local sights and tours. Enjoy yr stay in Portugal. I'm heading there again but this time, starting from Malaga. :)

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Answered by Alexandre Gonçalves from Setubal, Portugal 1085 days ago

If you are going in October and you would like to have a cultural view of Portugal, then I would strongly recommend Lisbon and Porto.

Lisbon and Porto are the two main cities in Portugal, transportation is easy between them and around them. And Besides that, you can get cheap accommodation in the center.


In Lisbon you can visit (I would recommend):

1) The center (Castle, Belem, parque das nações etc…)
2) Sintra (Quinta da regaleira, Palacio da Pena, Castelo dos mouros, etc..)
3) Cascais
4) Going to a Fado House

In Porto you can visit:
1) The center
2) Guimarães (Birthplace of Portugal)

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Answered by Matthew Marshall from Quarteira, Portugal 1085 days ago

It depends where you are flying to. If you tell me where you are flying to and from I can help you more. If you are planning on using buses you will not see as much because it will take alot more time and if you have luggage more difficult.

For accommodation look for apartments on the internet. Albufeira is not a bad place to be based in the Algarve. Allow 2 days for Porto and 2/3 for Lisboa/Sintra. Other places to see are Guimaraes, Coimbra, Alcobaca, Leiria, Evora if you can make it there. Possibly Braga/Bom Jesus da Braga. From Lisboa to Leiria along the coast is quite nice also.

It is unlikely you will have time for the eastern part of Portugal but the rock carvings at Vila Nova de Foz Coa is worth a look but isolated. The best beaches are in the Algarve from Lagos to Albufeira.

I do tours of the Algarve and can cover Loule to Lagos in a day. If you are staying in the Algarve you could look at a bus trip to Sevilla also.

The train from Lisboa to the Algarve is very economical around 15 euros pp.

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Answered by Paulo Baptista www.portaexpresso.com from Lisbon, Portugal 1085 days ago

Hello, if you come to Lisbon you Have a lote of hotel with diferent prices Hotel Vila galé Opera - Hotel Ibis Lisbon - Novotel In Lisbon.
If you see my sugestion we can make a some itinerary Lisbon cascais -Sintra - Mosteiros dos Geronimos - belém - Moden art museu... if you visit my site you can see some plane.
or you can visit this site www.descubraportugal.com.pt you have a lote of information.
Best regards

Paulo

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Answered by Rui Soares from Avanca, Portugal 1085 days ago

That depends... 12 days its a short time...
Lisbon and surrounds (including Sintra, Ericeira, Setubal and Serra da Arrábida) - 5 days rrrrrrrrrrrunning;
Oporto and surrounds (including Gaia, Espinho, Aveiro/Braga) - 5 days running
traveling Lisbon - Oporto - 1 day
There r loads of options!
If u choose Algarve, forget Oporto and the North - there is no time!!!

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Answered by Peter McCluskey from Lagos, Portugal 1085 days ago

12 days so much to see but lisboa then Fatima then algarve for relaxation

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Answered by carla patricia couto from Porto, Portugal 1084 days ago

1-parque nacional peneda geres+ Braga
2- Porto + tour porto river
3- Viseu + Piodão
4- Coimbra
5- Liboa
6--Sintra
7-Evora
8 at 12_ algarve to rest
you can ren a chep car here, like a smart.

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Answered by Miguel Sintra Rema from Lisbon, Portugal 1084 days ago

First of all you have to go to Lisboa and Porto...of course...like in any other european city it's easy to get around and ask for directions. If you only have one time to go to the beach for a couple of days, i would strongly recomend the Alentejo coast near the Algarve. It is not as well known as the Algarve but i guarantee you will have a much better time. Alentejo is kinda like "old" Portugal but very rich culturewise whereas Algarve is like Ibiza or Miami or any other mass tourism beach...depends on what kind of traveler you are. feel free to e-mail me more questions you have.

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Answered by Fred van der Meer from Albufeira, Portugal 1084 days ago

A 12 day cultural visit may take you to Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Braga, Evora, and Algarve. 12 days is enough to find out where you want to spend more time on a next visit...
Long distance bus travelling is very good to reach all of Portugal's corners. Pitty the internet reservation system works terrible, but it is good to find time tables and destinations. In Algarve there are quiet a few bus companies running trips to smaller towns with historical and cultural interest. These are guided tours, cheap and good.
You may locally find good priced hostals for accommodation. but due to the wide range of accommodations in the bigger cities and resorts booking.com usually can find you a good deal.

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Answered by Teresa Gray from Estoril, Portugal 1082 days ago

If you want to have a good cultural look you must visit Algarve, Alentejo, Lisbon area, Porto area, Douro and Minho.

You can fly to Faro (Algarve - stay for one day ) and then take a bus to Evora (Alentejo - stay for one day) from there to Lisbon the best way is also by bus. In lisbon you have all the city to visit, Estoril Coast and Sintra Village (you can use the turist buses that take give you sightseeing view - stay for 3 days ). Then take a train to Porto (stay ther for at least 2 days) where you can find a boat cruise that will take you to the Douro region (where the Porto Wine is produced).
To visit the Minho you can have buses from the center of Porto to the three main cities (Braga, Viana do Castelo and Guimarães).

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