Portugal Itinerary
We spent a total of 13 nights in Portugal on our honeymoon, starting in Lisbon, driving down to Tavira on the southeastern coast, then north again into the Alentejo Region and ending up back in Lisbon.
4 nights in Lisbon at Memmo Alfama Hotel — just right (knowing we had another two back here at the end), and the hotel has a (small) rooftop pool, bar and sundeck. During this stay we took a day-trip to Sintra by train.
4 nights in the Eastern Algarve Region at Fazenda Nova Country House — Good. Fazenda Nova is luxurious, peaceful and beautifully landscaped (with a quiet pool), with wide sandy beaches nearby and easy to get to - some family friendly, some quiet and even deserted, the pretty city of Tavira good for a nice afternoon followed by a drink and dinner, and Loule and Faro are cute nearby towns for lunch and some shopping.
3 nights in the Central Alentejo Region at Village Extramuros — Wouldn’t stay more. Again, the lodging we chose was very special and relaxing with beautiful views (and a beautiful pool). We did some wine-tasting, spent a day in the medieval city of Evora and a few other pretty hill towns, and drove to the beautiful town of Monsaraz, on top of a mountain and overlooking Spain next door.
2 nights back in Lisbon at The Torel Palace Hotel — When possible, we like to return to the city we started in for our departure in case we missed anything (or so we can pick up souvenirs we didn’t necessarily want to carry around for two weeks!). And by staying in a different hotel or another part of town, it can be like visiting a different place. But we find it allows for a more relaxing departure on the return.
GT Tips on Driving in Portugal:
You do not need a car in Lisbon, but you will everywhere else on this itinerary, so we picked up our car in downtown Lisbon on our way out.
Driving in Portugal was easy. The highways are well maintained.
We got a little lost when we got close to Fazenda Nova Country House down on the coast. Google didn’t do so well and we ended up driving in circles a bit, so make sure you have very specific directions, including GPS coordinates.
