Portugal Upgraded — Self-Launched: Lisbon to Porto by Train

Land at Lisbon Airport and take the metro (Aeroporto–Saldanha line, ~€1.85 / £1.60) or the Aerobus into the centre — far cheaper than the €20 taxi the tour operator suggests. Check into a hostel or guesthouse in Baixa or Alfama. In the evening, walk into Alfama and eat at a small tasca: grilled sardines or bacalhau with a glass of vinho verde (€12–15), then catch an inexpensive fado set in a neighbourhood bar. Many Alfama bars charge only a drink minimum rather than the €30–50 cover of the tourist fado houses — ask at your hostel which ones are authentic.

🚌Metro from airport ~£1.60; everything else on foot

🛏Hostel dorm or private room in Baixa/Alfama (~£24)

• →Self-guided orientation walk: Praça do Comércio, Rossio, Alfama lanes
• →Fado performance in a neighbourhood tasca (drink minimum ~£8)

Take the suburban train from Lisbon Rossio station to Sintra (~45 min, €2.30 each way / ~£2). Pre-book a timed Pena Palace ticket online (€20 / ~£17) to skip the long queue, or buy the combined Pena + Moorish Castle ticket. Walk or take bus 434 up the hill. In the afternoon, visit Quinta da Regaleira (€15) for the initiatory well — a highlight the group tour skips. Return to Lisbon for a free evening: ride the Santa Justa lift (€6) or climb to São Jorge Castle (€15) for sunset over the river.

🚌Rossio–Sintra train ~£4 return; Sintra bus 434 ~£3

🛏Same Lisbon hostel (~£24)

• →Pena Palace timed entry ~£17
• →Quinta da Regaleira ~£13
• →Optional Santa Justa lift ~£5

Take a Rede Expressos or FlixBus coach from Lisbon Sete Rios to Évora (~1h45, €12–15 / ~£11). Drop bags at a guesthouse inside the walled old town. In the afternoon visit the Chapel of Bones at Igreja de São Francisco (€6) and the remarkably intact Roman Temple of Diana (free). Wander the Praça do Giraldo, try an Évora speciality — pork with clams or a pastel de nata from a local pastelaria — and walk the old aqueduct at dusk.

🚌Coach Lisbon–Évora ~£11

🛏Guesthouse in Évora old town (~£28)

• →Chapel of Bones entry ~£5
• →Roman Temple of Diana (free)
• →Old town and aqueduct walk

The tour's cork-harvesting farm visit is normally booked through a local operator; the self-launched equivalent is to email a Montemor-o-Novo cork estate or an Alentejo rural-tourism outfit in advance and join a small farm visit plus tasting lunch (€30–40 / ~£30). Alternatives if nothing is running: rent a bike in Évora (~€15/day) and ride the quiet Alentejo lanes, or take the local bus to Montemor-o-Novo and explore the hilltop castle. Back in Évora, visit the Cathedral (€4) and, if it appeals, the Clock Museum.

🚌Local bus to Montemor-o-Novo ~£4, or bike hire ~£13

🛏Same Évora guesthouse (~£28)

• →Cork farm visit and farmhouse lunch ~£30 (book directly ahead)
• →Évora Cathedral ~£3
• →Clock Museum ~£4 (optional)

A longer travel day: bus or train from Évora to Lisbon, then train north to Tomar (~4.5–5h total, €25–30 / ~£24 with advance tickets on cp.pt). Leave luggage at the Tomar station lockers or a café, then walk up to the Convent of Christ and Templar Castle (combined ticket €12 / ~£10) — the Charola rotunda and the Manueline window are the highlights. The site has good English signage, so no guide is needed; audio guides cost ~€3. Continue by regional train to Coimbra in the evening (~1h, €8).

🚌Évora–Lisbon–Tomar–Coimbra trains/bus ~£30 total

🛏Hostel or pensão in Coimbra (~£26)

• →Convent of Christ and Templar Castle ~£10
• →Optional audioguide ~£3

Book a timed ticket for the University of Coimbra tour (€15 / ~£13), which covers the Porta Férrea courtyard, the Chapel of São Miguel and the extraordinary Baroque Joanina Library — bat colonies and all. Afterwards walk the Botanical Garden (free) and have lunch in the Baixa. In the afternoon take the Alfa Pendular or Intercidades train from Coimbra to Porto Campanhã (~1h10, €15–22 / ~£15 booked in advance). Settle into a hostel in the Ribeira or Bolhão area and eat a francesinha or a cheap grilled fish dinner.

🚌Coimbra–Porto train ~£15

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Porto (~£25)

• →University of Coimbra guided visit incl. Joanina Library ~£13
• →Botanical Garden (free)

In the morning join a 6-bridges Douro river cruise (€15–20 / ~£16) — book the same day at the Ribeira quay or online. Cross to Vila Nova de Gaia and do a port cellar tour and tasting at one of the big lodges (€15–20) or a smaller quinta for a more personal visit — all bookable direct, no group needed. Spend the afternoon in Ribeira, visit the São Bento station azulejos (free) and, if you're happy to queue early, the Lello Bookstore (€8). Sunset from the Jardim do Morro viewpoint is free and the best in the city.

🚌On foot plus a €2 metro or bus hop

🛏Same Porto hostel (~£25)

• →Douro 6-bridges cruise ~£16
• →Port cellar tour and tasting ~£16
• →Lello Bookstore ~£7 (optional)

Final morning for a last pastel de nata and a wander along the Douro. Porto airport is 30 minutes from town on metro line E (~€2.50 / ~£2) — no need for a taxi transfer. If you have a late flight, store bags at the hostel and explore the Bolhão market.

🚌Metro to airport ~£2

🛏Departure day — no overnight

• →Bolhão market and free morning wander