Hi Everyone,

I plan to travel to Portugal Dec/Jan for three weeks, if any one has any advice on campsites..places of interest..best way to get to Portugal ie. boat from Portsmouth or drive down through France (Brrr might be a bit cold) etc i would be very grateful to hear from you.

Thanks in advance.

Nigel.

I wouldn´t advice a visit to Portugal in December, you will find a lot of rain and probably cold everywere you go except the south, i would recommend the spring.
Well, regarding you getting here, i sugest driving through France, it will get cold but should be fast and easy.
-Camping sites are not hard to find and i think that if you get to the center of any medium or small city or town you can see signs to one.
-The north is very nice and worth visiting, though very rainy that time of the year.
-I think be best road to see in Portugal is hooking up with the Rio Douro in Spain and following it downstream to Porto, or Oporto.
-Porto is an interesting city to visit, i sugest at least one full busy day seing it, and one night in the Ribeira, the shores of the Douro in Oporto and Gaia.
-Braga is a nice place to visit, it´s one of the most beautifull cities of Portugal, you should feel confortable there, it´s an easy city to visit and since it´s nocturnal activity is quite pleasant in the peak of the student activities, it´s north of Oporto.
-During the winter the Serra da Estrela is covered in snow, could get very cold indeed but very beautifull.
-Coimbra has got one of the oldest universities in the world and is worth a visit, you can also find very nice scenic roads along the Mondego.
-Lisbon is a must see, it´s got about everything.
-Heading farther south, you should do bit of exploring the planes of the Alentejo or Ribatejo.
-The Algarve is very much worth a visit, though you will not find the weather in wich this region really becomes alive and at its best.

If you have any doubt or want further advice feel free to ask.

[This message has been edited by Pedro Rocha (edited 02 September 2003).]

Thanks Pedro for your detailed reply, i think i will leave Portugal till the Spring and maybe goto South of Spain instead.
Again thanks for your help, rgds Nigel.

Nigel:

I've been to both Portugal and Spain on my bike, and I much prefer Portugal - in my opinion the people are much more friendly.

Outside of the big cities, and outside of the 30 km wide strip across the bottom of Portugal that has recently been colonized by the Brits, simple hotel or 'pension'
accommodation is very inexpensive - not a heck of a lot more than camping in the UK or Ireland.

It is true that you will get rain this time of year, but it is not a monsoon or anything like that, if you are planning to go to Spain anyway, try going through middle to southern Portugal first, you might get a nice surprise.

hi nigel we have done portugal on the st1100 its great.we are also planning going again this year .i also found a realy good biker hotel near porto they also do camping if you need any more info let me know .