Recommendations for family trip to Lisbon & surrounds?

[OlivesTree]

I’m planning a trip to Portugal for next summer, with DCs 10 & 7, for up to two weeks.

We’d like to combine a few days in Lisbon, a day trip to Sintra, few days at the beach, and maybe a trip up to Porto - if the latter won’t make things too much of a rush. Relaxation time is non-negotiable!

Looking for advice on where best to base ourselves - coast and drive into Lisbon, or vice versa, or somewhere else? Also recommendations on areas to stay - nice, not too busy beaches etc.

In terms of accommodation we’ll probably go for air bnb, pref. somewhere where we could get a pool. We prefer less touristy areas (though appreciate Lisbon & Sintra are hardly off the beaten track!) and are interested in traditional/cultural /beauty spots over theme parks etc. Great food also important!

Most grateful for any advice.

Thanks!

I’d stay in Lisbon itself for 2-4 nights, we stayed in a central AirBnB just off Rossio square. It’s a compact city so you can walk everywhere and then catch the famous yellow trams (get on at the start of the route to bag a seat). My DC loved Lisbon, it has such a great vibe, and amazing pastel de nata!
If you can overnight in Sintra, great, if not, catch the earliest train you can and spend a full day there. One of my regrets is not having enough time in Sintra, it feels magical.
You could then travel to the coast for R&R for a week. Cascais is just up the coast to the North, and is a small seaside town. Or Nazare to watch the huge waves and surfers. Or you could travel South to Comporta, which is flatter and wilder (and more expensive).
Can’t comment on Porto as I haven’t been, but it’s not on my radar with kids.
I love Portugal!

We took the kids to Lisbon a couple of years ago and on the advice of a friend who lived there stayed at the Aroeira golf resort just south of Lisbon. I was quite doubting when DH booked it but it worked out well. We booked a villa with private pool so happy to hang out there for down time with the DC but it was also a short drive from some beautiful beaches. The beach cafes and bars all served fantastic food but we were there in shoulder season so they weren’t open for dinner.

The drive into Lisbon was straight forward and plenty of underground car parks for parking. Only thing to consider is that the bridge into the city can get busy at peak times so need to avoid the rush hour.

That set-up sounds perfect. Thank you, I’ll have a look.

You don’t need to drive to Cascais/Estoril as it’s a train journey away (think 1/2 an hour but check)! Sintra is an easy train ride too. Just saves on car hire!

I too would spend 3-5 nights in Lisbon, as it's a great city with kids, lots to do, lovely restaurants and bars, a friendly, relaxed vibe, good shops, etc. The nice thing about staying there is that if your kids don't want to shop, for instance, one parent can stay at the apartment with them while the other goes a-wandering. We stayed in the gorgeous Alfama district, near the Portas do Sol, so lots of stuff was walking distance and anything that wasn't we just called an Uber! Sintra we did a day trip - early train out, teatime train back - it was lovely, but chilly, because we were there at new year. It's up in the hills, so it's much cooler than Lisbon, but it's very pretty and we did a brilliant walk. We got dropped off at the top of a mountain, visited the palace up there, and then walked back down to the town - very nice.

We didn't manage to visit Estoril or Cascais, because we didn't have time, but I'd definitely go back again. We loved Lisbon and found everyone friendly and English-speaking (useful, since we don't speak Portuguese). The seafood was very good.

I loved Porto too - I did that on another trip with my family. We stayed inland at a finca in the Douro valley with a pool. It was really rustic, charming, authentic and very relaxing. The vinho verde was ridiculously cheap and the port was (of course!) very good. We spent half the week utterly pissed! Good times. I love Portugal.

From memory you can get the train along the coast from Lisbon to some beaches?

I wouldn't bother with Porto with children. Save it for an adult-only city break. Lisbon is fabulous for kids and teens and somewhere I will make an effort to go back to, which is rare. Public transport is easy to use and there is so much to do. It seemed so unpretentious for a capital city.

We stayed in Estoril for a week too, in a huge apartment in a complex with a pool. Estoril has great restaurants and a quirky evening market which we loved, but is less resort like than Cascais, which we walked to a number of times along the wide promenade. The train from Lisbon goes as far as Cascais I think. With two weeks though, you could hire a car and head further up the coast.

Cascais is a great place to stay with kids, closer to Sintra than central Lisbon. Although you will probably lose less time moving accomodation for the beach part of your holiday than travelling in to Lisbon every day. As PPs have said, there is a branch line that runs along the coast from Lisbon through the suburbs to Estoril and Cascais. There is a beach at pretty much every stop en route.

Even better for the beach part, would be to head to Setubal/Sisimbra in the Arrabida National Park for a few days. Galapinhos beach, set in a pine forest, was European beach of the Year in 2017. It's stunning.

If you do drive to Porto, I would stop off to visit Fatima then overnight in Coimbra, Portugal's "Oxford". The Quinta das Lagrimas is a good place to stay.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinta_das_L%C3%A1grimas

Apologies to everyone who posted for abandoning the thread.

Some fab suggestions here. Lots to think about, but I’ll definitely be using these as a guide to planning our trip.

Thanks a lot everyone. Much appreciated!