How Many Days Do You Need in Portugal? 7 Sample Plans

The most common planning question, and the honest answer is that it depends on how much time you are willing to spend in the vehicle. Seven plans, from short to long.

## The plans 1. Three days. Lisbon and Sintra only. Two days in the city, one day for Sintra, Cabo da Roca and Cascais. Leaves out everything north and south, and that is fine. 2. Five days. Lisbon, Sintra and one of either Evora and the Alentejo or Obidos, Nazare and Fatima. Still one hotel base. 3. Seven days. Lisbon and around for three nights, then north to Porto with stops on the way, two nights in Porto, one full Douro day. Compact but workable. 4. Eight days. The same route with one extra night, which is what turns it from tight to comfortable. 5. Ten days. Our most popular length. Lisbon, Sintra, the centre with Obidos, Nazare, Fatima, Tomar or Coimbra, then Porto and two days in the Douro. Enough time for a slow day. 6. Thirteen days. The ten day route plus the Algarve, usually with the coast at the start or the end depending on your flights. 7. Fourteen days or more. Portugal plus southern Spain, with Seville and Andalusia added across the border.

## Choosing between them If you have seven days or fewer, choose either north or south, not both. If you have ten, you can do the classic north to south line without rushing. Beyond twelve, add a region rather than more stops in the same one.

## The rule we use No more than three hours of driving on a moving day, and never two long transfer days in a row. Every itinerary we build follows that, and it is the main reason people arrive at the last day still enjoying it.

Tell us your dates, your arrival and departure airports and your group size, and we will send back a route with the days already balanced.