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Started By
Message
re: Portugal Trip Review
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:47 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:47 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
Sintra
Duration: 1 night
Hotel: Tivoli Palace
Our Blacklane driver picked us up in Tomar to take us to Sintra, which is not far outside of Lisbon. The trip went very smoothly (I napped) until we begin heading up the hill to our hotel. Apparently the two lane roads in Sintra are wide enough for about 1.5 cars. So with a throng of tourists walking up the hill and bumper to bumper traffic, it took about a half hour to get a quarter mile.
We stayed at a hotel called the Tivoli Palace (above) and it was absolutely ridiculous. We dropped off our bags and reluctantly left the hotel to see the Qunita da Regaleira, a historic estate and garden complex full of caves and giant wells. It was big enough to get lost in. I know that from experience. Once traffic died down, we headed into town to grab dinner at a place called Incomum. Very good food and wine. Would recommend.
The next morning, we were picked up by Sintra Magik for a custom private tour of Sintra and parts of Lisbon. We began by seeing the Pena Palace, which was built by a monarch as his summer home. It even had a castle for ducks.
After Pena Palace, we walked down the hill to the Castle of the Moors, which was constructed in the 8th century when most of the Iberian people were conquered by the Moorish peoples of North Africa. It was a helluva hike.
To finish our tour of Sintra, we stopped at Monserrate Palace and its gardens. Monserrate Palace is difficult to describe. It's absolutely gorgeous and is the kind of place I would want to live in if I won the Powerball. Unfortunately it sat unoccupied for an extended period during a battle over ownership and was destroyed by squatters. The government now has ownership and has sunk a ton of money into restoration. It will be even nicer when they finish.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $375/nt
Private tour - $350
Misc.
Sintra is an absolute MUST SEE, but traffic is absolutely nightmarish.
We structured our private tour to pick us up in Sintra and drop us at our hotel in Lisbon to negate our need for transportation.
Duration: 1 night
Hotel: Tivoli Palace
Our Blacklane driver picked us up in Tomar to take us to Sintra, which is not far outside of Lisbon. The trip went very smoothly (I napped) until we begin heading up the hill to our hotel. Apparently the two lane roads in Sintra are wide enough for about 1.5 cars. So with a throng of tourists walking up the hill and bumper to bumper traffic, it took about a half hour to get a quarter mile.
We stayed at a hotel called the Tivoli Palace (above) and it was absolutely ridiculous. We dropped off our bags and reluctantly left the hotel to see the Qunita da Regaleira, a historic estate and garden complex full of caves and giant wells. It was big enough to get lost in. I know that from experience. Once traffic died down, we headed into town to grab dinner at a place called Incomum. Very good food and wine. Would recommend.
The next morning, we were picked up by Sintra Magik for a custom private tour of Sintra and parts of Lisbon. We began by seeing the Pena Palace, which was built by a monarch as his summer home. It even had a castle for ducks.
After Pena Palace, we walked down the hill to the Castle of the Moors, which was constructed in the 8th century when most of the Iberian people were conquered by the Moorish peoples of North Africa. It was a helluva hike.
To finish our tour of Sintra, we stopped at Monserrate Palace and its gardens. Monserrate Palace is difficult to describe. It's absolutely gorgeous and is the kind of place I would want to live in if I won the Powerball. Unfortunately it sat unoccupied for an extended period during a battle over ownership and was destroyed by squatters. The government now has ownership and has sunk a ton of money into restoration. It will be even nicer when they finish.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $375/nt
Private tour - $350
Misc.
Sintra is an absolute MUST SEE, but traffic is absolutely nightmarish.
We structured our private tour to pick us up in Sintra and drop us at our hotel in Lisbon to negate our need for transportation.
This post was edited on 8/23/17 at 2:18 pm
1
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:48 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
Lisbon
Duration: 2 nights
Hotel: Hotel Avenida Palace
Our driver concluded our tour of Sintra in the early afternoon and we began the short trek to Lisbon. We planned to see the Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery, and Padrao dos Descobrimentos before being dropped off at our hotel. All monuments are closed on Mondays, though, so we were only able to see everything from the outside.
We decided against having a big dinner and just explored the Baixa district and grabbed a quick pizza. Our hotel was located right outside of Baixa, which was completely rebuilt when a massive earthquake leveled Lisbon and the surrounding areas in 1755.
Also, drugs are apparently decriminalized in Portugal, so there were a ton of people in Lisbon trying to sell to us.
Our final day in Lisbon was pretty laid back. We rode the Elevador de Santa Justa up to the Barrio Alto district to visit the Museo Arqueologico do Carmo, which is built inside the ruins of an old convent that was destroyed during the earthquake. No pictures were allowed, but there were a ton of old tombs and mummies.
Sticking to the theme of the trip, I got us lost again and we walked up about 30,000 flights of stairs until we realized weren't walking towards our hotel. We stopped at a hole in the wall local restaurant called El Rei D'frango for a late lunch and it was yummy. After lunch, the wife spent the rest of the day spending all of my money and I napped before dinner at a new restaurant called IIIMPAR. Good steaks. We decided not to go out on the town since we had a flight early in the morning, thus ending our Portugal adventure.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $200/nt
Misc.
Lisbon is very, very hilly.
The airport is a nightmare. They recommended we arrive 3 hours early and we needed every minute. I believe the wife had to show her passport 8+ times in the airport between security lines and duty free stamps/reimbursements.
Overall, I wish I would have spent a bit more time in Lisbon, Sintra, and Tomar to be able to see things a bit more in depth.
Duration: 2 nights
Hotel: Hotel Avenida Palace
Our driver concluded our tour of Sintra in the early afternoon and we began the short trek to Lisbon. We planned to see the Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery, and Padrao dos Descobrimentos before being dropped off at our hotel. All monuments are closed on Mondays, though, so we were only able to see everything from the outside.
We decided against having a big dinner and just explored the Baixa district and grabbed a quick pizza. Our hotel was located right outside of Baixa, which was completely rebuilt when a massive earthquake leveled Lisbon and the surrounding areas in 1755.
Also, drugs are apparently decriminalized in Portugal, so there were a ton of people in Lisbon trying to sell to us.
Our final day in Lisbon was pretty laid back. We rode the Elevador de Santa Justa up to the Barrio Alto district to visit the Museo Arqueologico do Carmo, which is built inside the ruins of an old convent that was destroyed during the earthquake. No pictures were allowed, but there were a ton of old tombs and mummies.
Sticking to the theme of the trip, I got us lost again and we walked up about 30,000 flights of stairs until we realized weren't walking towards our hotel. We stopped at a hole in the wall local restaurant called El Rei D'frango for a late lunch and it was yummy. After lunch, the wife spent the rest of the day spending all of my money and I napped before dinner at a new restaurant called IIIMPAR. Good steaks. We decided not to go out on the town since we had a flight early in the morning, thus ending our Portugal adventure.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $200/nt
Misc.
Lisbon is very, very hilly.
The airport is a nightmare. They recommended we arrive 3 hours early and we needed every minute. I believe the wife had to show her passport 8+ times in the airport between security lines and duty free stamps/reimbursements.
Overall, I wish I would have spent a bit more time in Lisbon, Sintra, and Tomar to be able to see things a bit more in depth.
This post was edited on 12/6/17 at 10:11 am
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