Final Thoughts and Tips For Portugal

Mark’s Final Thoughts:

First, I want to thank my brother Jerry and Tami, my sister-in-law for prodding me to get this done. I wanted to give it a couple days for my thoughts to sink in, but it is time to bring this story to its completion.

Portugal was well worth the visit for 13 days. We could have spent more time as we did not get to the Douro Valley, the town of Evora to visit the olive plantations, Setubal and Comporta for its beaches, and any Portuguese national parks. While Portugal does not have famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower of Paris or the Parthanon of Greece it does have The Rebeira district of Porto and the Alfama district of Lisbon that have plenty of history and charm to make a trip to Portugal a great adventure.

The highlight for me was our eight mile hike of the seven hanging valleys in the Alfama area on the southern coast of Portugal. Truly a hike of breathtaking beauty that I will remember the rest of my life.

Recently, Portugal has become a country of interest for travelers as other European countries have become overcrowded with tourists. While some destinations like Barcelona, Spain, l have their local citizens demanding a restraint on the number of tourists, the Portuguese are still a friendly and inviting country.

Highlights:

Pleased with the amount of walking, averaging 5 vertical miles a day.
Pine Cliffs resort was stupendous.
For a guy that wanted to avoid museums, the Quake Museum in Lisbon was a must see to understand how in 1755 one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded changed the culture of Portugal and its dominance as a world power.
Hike of the Seven Hanging Valleys on the south coast of Portugal.
Lauri picked out hotels that included phenomenal breakfast buffets of local cuisine.
Portugal was very safe to walk around in every city we visited. An Uber driver talked about safety being one of the reasons he moved to Portugal.
Uber was the best mode of transportation when we did not have a car. So easy and inexpensive.

The Unexpected for Mark:

Most tourist attractions were very busy, even in October which is considered the off-season. I can’t imagine what the summer is like here!
Portuguese passport control – massively long lines to enter and exit Lisbon, with little guidance from signage or airport officials.
I wish there could have been more biking but the steep cities of Porto and Lisbon with their narrow cobblestone streets do not accommodate. Very few locals bike in these area too.
Misjudged the popularity of the Porto wine tours-should have booked more in advance to enjoy a variety.
In retrospect, I would have skipped Nazare and Obidos and gone to the Douro Valley for a port wine visit.

The Unexpected for Lauri:

Lauri wished she had communicated ahead to find out if each place had robe, slippers and a make up mirror. All of our hotels provided these items and they were awesome. I could have saved room in my suitcase.
It is good to know that Portugal has many vertical cities. For those in shape, the walks are great exercise. Accommodations are available if you need tuk-tuks to get up, down and around sites.
Understand that signage is at a minimum and allow time to figure out what you need on roads, in cities, and attractions.

Lauri’s Parting Pro Tips

Bring a long cable for your phone that will work in the car as well. Don’t forget your plug converters! With all of the new cars equipped with CarPlay, hooking up your phone to CarPlay is awesome.
Packing cubes kept our suitcases ultra organized and unpacking/packing in each hotel a breeze.
Download Google Maps offline
Reusable water bottles with filtering straw for clean water.
Google Translate app was very handy.
Make sure your personal car service is prepared to drop off and pick up on departure and arrival. (see photo–Brittany was a five star Uber for us!)
Arrange pet sitting well in advance to insure great care. (see photo–little people entertaining Wilson!)

Lauri’s final thoughts…

Pack a really comfy pair of almost ready to toss shoes. Leave in your last hotel room with a note for the Maid staff they may keep or toss them. This will leave you extra room in your suitcase on the way home for things that you may picked up along the way.
We did not see much shopping that we considered worth it. It may well have been because we were primarily in the tourist districts and never had time to meander.
Musical street performers were fun to see.

I lived in Spain and Thailand as a child and those cultural experiences greatly added to my education growing up. Some of the most interesting people I know are world travelers. Despite the expense and the efforts of dealing with train, planes, and automobiles, I can’t encourage friends enough to go out and see the world. Thanks to all who followed our trip and let us know if you are ever interested in exploring the world with us.