Costa de Prata, Portugal

[wowsaidtheowl]

I love planning a trip so am already thinking ahead to summer 2019!

We went to Lisbon a couple of years ago and ventured out to places like Cascais and Sintra but keep hearing about the Atlantic coast and how beautiful it is. So now we’re planning a road trip from Porto to Lisbon (or the other way around) and would love to know your favourite places to visit, stay, eat. We’ve got two children who will be almost 8 and almost 5 by then. I think we’ll have somewhere between two and three weeks.

Nazere is great for dc. Promenade with kids amusements great beach and funicular up to touriety market for view and a mooch.

Baleal beach is great

Stayed in Foz d'arelho (spelling) and lots of great fish restaurants there. The beach went inland to a lagoon there so it was really good for the kids.

I also found a fab park in lisbon in the national parky bit that was a really good one compared to all the other parks you usually find abroad.

The castle in lisbon is fab for the dc.

Sadly lisbon in august is boiling and packed. Not ideal for sightseeing. We coukdnt even get in those lovely trams.

Thank you - they’re both new places to investigate!
Did you go to any of these places:

• costa nova
• Praia da Comporta
• Porto Covo
• Odeceixe

If so, what did you think?

The beaches are great but also check out the inland area - Batalha, Alcobaca, Obidos, Coimbra and Tomar (where I live :) )

Fantastic- thank you! I’m a bit embarrassed that I hadn’t considered inland. sarahlou lucky you!

Tomar looks beautiful! It’s on the list!

Sarahlou - is it not too Scoorchio inland at that time of year??

We used to live in Portugal (the Algarve) and Odeceixe was one of our favourite places to go for the weekend. The beach is a five minute drive from town but is spectacular although the climb down is quite steep (steps all the way).

There are quite a few restaurants above the beach and in the town with lovely seafood.

There isn't much else apart from the beach and it does get busy in August but it is quite a bit cooler at night than the Algarve coast and inland.

Another small town just a bit further north which is also worth a visit is Zambujeira do Mar. Also has a fabulous beach and a small park for the kids.

Both of these places are quite a bit south of Lisbon as is Porto Covo but I've had great food in all of them and they are all child friendly.

Other places nearer Lisbon which were also lovely are Guincho and Ericeira.

I'm now feeling very nostalgic for those lovely weekends!!!!

What are the beaches like temperature wise? My only experience of exposed Atlantic beaches are in Morocco and it can pretty windy!

Sorry, I think I’m going to be hitting you with lots of questions! I will eventually get a map and start plotting places that we’d like to visit but do you think two weeks is long enough for a slow drive down? Don’t really want to rush and it looks like there’s lot to see/do.

Hello.

Be very careful in Nazaré. Tourists have been known to be swept by strong waves.

The main difference between the west coast and the south is the temperature. The further north you go, the worst. And you get more morning fog and wind.

Two weeks should be enough. It's a small country. :)

As far as sea temperatures go I would say that the west coast is definitely more bracing than the south.

As Lweji says there are stronger waves and stronger currents on the west coast. Most of the larger beaches have lifeguards and there may be certain areas of the beach where swimming is not allowed.

We experienced this in Zambujeira where the lifeguards stopped my DP from going in at a certain point. As long as you're sensible the west coast beaches tend to have more rock pools which our DD loved playing in with her fishing net.

In terms of time DP and I spent 10 days camping and managed to get up to the North of Spain and back to the Algarve with no problems. It depends how much time you want to spend on the road.

One thing I would say, especially if you're travelling with children, is that it is best to try and book your accommodation in advance as much as you can as it gets very full in August.

The West coast tends to have bigger waves, but there are sheltered areas.

Between Porto and Lisbon, Aveiro is nice, with canals and old buildings, and you can take boat trips in the canals.

In the small town of Lourinhã there's a small, but very good dinosaur museum, as well as an etnology museum with old farm stuff.

www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g312716-d4737620-r239468594-Museu_da_Lourinha-Lourinha_Lisbon_District_Central_Portugal.html

There's also a dinopark.
www.dinoparque.pt/ice/?domain=www.dinoparque.pt&lang=2

Further inland (Serra d'Aire) there's an old stone quarry with many dinosaur tracks. Best seen early in the morning or towards sunset.
www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g664020-d3440893-Reviews-Natural_Monument_of_the_Dinosaur_Footprints-Ourem_Santarem_District_Central_Portu.html

Not very far there are also some fairly impressive caves. liveportugal.pt/en/mira-de-aire-caves/

In Coimbra, there's the University, but also something called Portugal dos Pequeninos (Little People's Portugal), where you have a medley of famous buildings to children's scales. They have different types of typical Portuguese houses as well.
www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g189143-d456688-Reviews-Portugal_dos_Pequenitos-Coimbra_Coimbra_District_Central_Portugal.html

Then, a bit further south, the Roman ruins of Conimbriga are well worth it.
www.quintadoriodao.com/eng/out/conimbriga.html

In Mafra, you can visit the Monastery, with its two huge bell systems.
www.palaciomafra.gov.pt/en-GB/Palace/ContentList.aspx

Close is the Tapada, which is a sort of mini natural park where the children can see deer, wild boar, and other animals.
tapadademafra.pt/en/

Do try the fish and sea food, which can be excellent, but try to go for restaurants full of local people.

Sarahlou - is it not too Scoorchio inland at that time of year??

(Sorry, don't know how to quote!). It can be hot - average early 30's. Wish it would hurry up, bloody cold ATM.