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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Where to go in Northern Portugal?

30 replies

OchonAgusOchonOh · 26/02/2022 23:15

We have decided to go to Portugal in late June. We will spend 5 days or so in Porto but not sure where to stay for the rest of the holiday. We will be there for 2 weeks. It will be me, dh and ds19.

We are looking for something relatively relaxing, so beach nearby but we also like to do stuff like walking, cycling, historiic sites etc. I'm vegetarian so some place that will cater for me in restaurants would be good. Any suggestions for a town/resort would be much appreciated.

OP posts:
Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 27/02/2022 14:57

Anyone?

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TheAbbotOfUnreason · 28/02/2022 11:55

Sao Martinho is a nice resort town about 200 km south of Porto (which may be too far / wrong direction for you). I’ve only done a road trip north from Porto, taking in Viana do Castelo, Ponta da Lima, Braga etc, and that was a long time ago now - loved it though, the Peneda-Geres national park is beautiful.

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 28/02/2022 12:06

@TheAbbotOfUnreason

Sao Martinho is a nice resort town about 200 km south of Porto (which may be too far / wrong direction for you). I’ve only done a road trip north from Porto, taking in Viana do Castelo, Ponta da Lima, Braga etc, and that was a long time ago now - loved it though, the Peneda-Geres national park is beautiful.
Thank you. I'll check out Sao Martinho - I think trains are good based n comments here so may be doable.

The road trip sounds great. However, we were not planning on renting a car, although would be open to one for a day or two if there was something good that was off the beaten track.

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TheAbbotOfUnreason · 28/02/2022 12:31

I think the bus might be more frequent and direct - its about 3.5 hrs on the Rede Expressos bus. Trains, I think you'd need to change at Coimbra (which is a lovely place to stop off at - one of the oldest universities in Europe).

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 28/02/2022 12:43

@TheAbbotOfUnreason

I think the bus might be more frequent and direct - its about 3.5 hrs on the Rede Expressos bus. Trains, I think you'd need to change at Coimbra (which is a lovely place to stop off at - one of the oldest universities in Europe).
Hmm, 3.5 hours might be a bit far. I was thinking somewhere within an hour or so of Porto.
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TheAbbotOfUnreason · 28/02/2022 13:05

You could look at Povoa de Varzim or Esposende just to the north of Porto, although I don't know them at all - would also give you the opportunity to walk / cycle along the Coastal Camino that runs up through there (DH did the camino from Porto to Santiago a couple of years ago).

Coastal Camino

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 28/02/2022 13:11

Thank you. That looks interesting.

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ZenNudist · 28/02/2022 21:16

How about a journey inland along the Duoro river? There are plenty of lovely places to stay and vineyards to visit. Can go by train or boat.

Staying outside of Braga you should go to guimares (lovely old town) and the sanctuary of Jesus de bom mont (spelling?). Beautiful site, there's a little funicular driven by water and the walk down is beautiful.

I love Northern Portugal

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 28/02/2022 22:50

@ZenNudist

How about a journey inland along the Duoro river? There are plenty of lovely places to stay and vineyards to visit. Can go by train or boat.

Staying outside of Braga you should go to guimares (lovely old town) and the sanctuary of Jesus de bom mont (spelling?). Beautiful site, there's a little funicular driven by water and the walk down is beautiful.

I love Northern Portugal

That sounds good. We probably don't want to do too much travelling (ds19...) but 3 or 4 places would be workable.
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TheAbbotOfUnreason · 28/02/2022 23:18

Keep an eye out for the São João festivities in June as well (have distinct memories of being hit on the head with inflatable squeaky hammers in Braga because DH and I were tall!)

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 28/02/2022 23:25

@TheAbbotOfUnreason

Keep an eye out for the São João festivities in June as well (have distinct memories of being hit on the head with inflatable squeaky hammers in Braga because DH and I were tall!)
Just checked and it's 23rd June so we will be there then. It sounds great fun.

Ds would definitely enjoy it. He's 6'6" so a likely whacking target. I'm 5'3" so definitely won't be Grin

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OmLidia · 28/02/2022 23:30

The train that goes along the Douro is amazing and you can visit some amazing places along the way. Some hotels have good spas and pools. From Porto you can go to Aveiro by train 20 min which is lovely, to Coimbra as mentioned for a day, also by train, to Braga for a day (but you’ll need to cab to Santuary Bom Jesus do Monte. I’d rent a car and go to Parque Natural do Gerês a natural reserve with wild horses, truly spectacular. Stay in the Pousadas Nacionais whenever you can - check their website, amazing places to stay. Not the best place for vegetarians but it’s getting better. The cuisine is around fresh fish and many meat dishes.

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 01/03/2022 08:49

@OmLidia

The train that goes along the Douro is amazing and you can visit some amazing places along the way. Some hotels have good spas and pools. From Porto you can go to Aveiro by train 20 min which is lovely, to Coimbra as mentioned for a day, also by train, to Braga for a day (but you’ll need to cab to Santuary Bom Jesus do Monte. I’d rent a car and go to Parque Natural do Gerês a natural reserve with wild horses, truly spectacular. Stay in the Pousadas Nacionais whenever you can - check their website, amazing places to stay. Not the best place for vegetarians but it’s getting better. The cuisine is around fresh fish and many meat dishes.
Not the best place for vegetarians but it’s getting better.

Oh dear. I'm veggie Grin

I'll manage. I remember years ago traveling through Spain and just having fries and a salad in loads of places we stayed.

I definitely like the sound of travelling along the Duoro.

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TinyTear · 01/03/2022 09:27

Braga and Guimaraes are historical cities - basically the birthplace of Portugal... - with good castles - i want to go to guimaraes again...

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 01/03/2022 09:57

@TinyTear

Braga and Guimaraes are historical cities - basically the birthplace of Portugal... - with good castles - i want to go to guimaraes again...
It's starting to look like I need to adjust my plans and go for a month instead of 2 weeks Grin
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DeborahRR · 04/03/2022 15:16

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Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 04/03/2022 16:11

@DeborahRR

Portulagia, wow! It is one of the countries I plan to visit. I have quite a lot of experience with visiting different countries, but unfortunately, I haven't been to Portugal yet. I hope to get there as soon as possible. But I have a recommendation for you. For example, I am going to Krakow next week, and I found on www.freetour.com/krakow various free tours in Krakow. I'm sure there are also tours in Portugal. All you have to do is surf the internet, and you will find a lot of tours in different cities from Portugal. The tours are simply wonderful so that you will fill all 2 weeks.
Thank you. That sounds great.
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JemimaTiggywinkle · 04/03/2022 16:14

Douro valley vineyard/Port tour definitely - we just did a day trip tour from Porto but it was lovely.
Looked like there were some lovely hotels out there but too pricey for us.

Original poster
OchonAgusOchonOh · 04/03/2022 16:19

@JemimaTiggywinkle

Douro valley vineyard/Port tour definitely - we just did a day trip tour from Porto but it was lovely. Looked like there were some lovely hotels out there but too pricey for us.
Definitely planning on that. Can you recommend a particular tour?
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JemimaTiggywinkle · 04/03/2022 17:31

Ah sorry I can’t remember the tour specifics, it was a couple of years ago.
I do highly recommend dinner at DeCastro in Gaia while you’re in Porto though - must have been really good if I can still remember it!

Laska2Meryls · 04/03/2022 17:41

Sort of Niche... but we loved the tram museum in Porto which is in an old power station .. You can (of course ) get a tram to it ! Or walk along the river .. We also walked to Foz do Douro. ( its quite a way , but again you can get the tram).. There are some lovely seafood places there. If you are adventurous you can join a group to climb the Ponte da Arrabiba (bridge over the Douro)

Laska2Meryls · 04/03/2022 17:43

...sorry just read that you are a veggie..

Laska2Meryls · 04/03/2022 17:43

You wont want a seafood place then ..

MzHz · 04/03/2022 17:44

DS and I stayed in a BnB in Espinho- about 30 mins by train from Porto, super easy to get to. They have surfing along there, and Nazare has the largest waves in the world

Our bnb manager ran the Surfjah surf school and ds had a couple of lessons

It was a cheap and cheerful holiday back then as it was just lil ol me and ds, nowadays we have my lovely DP so budget has increased and we went to a great house in the middle of nowhere during 2020

Car hire in Portugal isn’t cheap, but it’s such a lovely part of the world

OrangeBlossomsinthesun · 04/03/2022 17:49

We're hoping to go to north of Portugal this summer and are interested in the medieval town of óbidos.

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