Portugal and The Algarve

Q&A: Can you suggest a good itinerary for traveling Portugal by car?

Question by Kaytee: Can you suggest a good itinerary for traveling Portugal by car?
It’s been my dream of several years to visit Portugal, and I am planning to go there next year preferably off peak season. I am planning to rent a car for the trip. Can you suggest where I should start the trip, where I should go, what I should see, do and eat? What should be a sensible budget for the whole trip (1-2 weeks) if staying in hotels every night?

Best answer:

Answer by Portuguese chick
Get ready, it’s a looooooooong answer. But you were the one to ask it. ;o)
That’s a difficult question as you are asking so many things.
First of all, be careful with the weather, in the North can be very, very wet and depressing if you are travelling between October and March.
I would start to visit the North: Viana do Castelo, BRAGA GUIMARAES, PORTO (my home town), BRAGANCA, Vila Real.
Centre North: AVEIRO, VISEU, Guarda, COIMBRA, Castelo Branco. (if you are very religious or just curious, I would include Fatima in your tour)
Centre: TOMAR, Caldas das Rainhas, LISBON, Santarem. If you can make a diversion and visit Almourol Castle, which is not very far from Tomar, then do it!!!! It is amazing, I will never forget the image of that castle in the middle of the river.

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagem:Almourol_034.jpg

Centre South: ÉVORA (lovely town, very hot in the summer), BEJA.
South: SAGRES, LAGOS, Silves, FARO.
These are the towns I consider highlights. (the ones in upper case, are a ‘must’)
What you should eat??? OMG!!!! Portugal’s gastronomy is simply the best in the world, there is nothing like our food and wine. Some typical dishes you can try: caldo verde (soup), codfish pataniscas, liver iscas, meat stew, roast chicken with piri-piri and chips, francesinha (in Porto), sarrabulho (in Braga), Cozido a Portuguesa, Migas (in Tras-os-Montes – Braganca), Acorda (in Alentejo – Evora and Beja), chicken in puraca (Tomar), Valenciana rice (similar to Spanish Paella), lamb, sucking pig, alheira (which belongs to the category of smoked meat, together with chorizo in Tras-os-Montes) with egg and chips, veal, bitoque (which is beef with egg, chips and spinach mash. In Lisbon), empadao (some kind of shepherd’s pie, but can be cooked with fish, meat or vegetables), roasted pig ribs, salmon, grilled sardines, monkfish rice, boiled shrimp, shellfish, etc. Our restaurants are not very expensive, for €10 you can eat in a good restaurant (as long as you don’t drink wine). If you are vegetarian, then forget about our gastronomy.
You can stay in travel lodge, Ibis Hotel, Novotel, etc. There are some low-budget hotels in Portugal. Or you can stay in residential homes (but be careful, some of them are very cheap… in all aspects… if you know what I mean)
I am very excited by your question, and I would love to keep on writing, but I think it will be better to stop here. If you need any help write me.

EDIT:
How much you will need for this trip? Quite frankly I don’t know, gas is not cheap, in some towns you can pay €1.3/L.For a TWN room in a low-budget hotel, you can pay €30 to €45 (of course you can find lower than this, but the quality is questionable), considering €10 for each meal plus souvenirs, tickets to visit museums, art galleries, night-life, etc… I think I would be more or less comfortable if I took between €1000 – €1500 for that trip. (my calculations are for 10 – 15 days)

EDIT:
Thank you KRAV MAGA!

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