Fly into Lisbon and out of Porto if you want the widest choice of nonstop flights from the United States on arrival day and a short flight home. Fly into Porto and out of Lisbon if you want the trip to build toward the capital and end near the Algarve. Both work. What matters more is the road between them, which we plan as a travel day with stops rather than a transfer.
See how we route it: 7-Day Private Portugal Tour: Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Douro. Or talk to a planner, who replies within one business day.
The open-jaw question
An open-jaw ticket, into one city and out of the other, means you never double back. It can cost a little more than a round trip, and availability from some U.S. airports is thinner. Lisbon has the most nonstop service from the United States, which is why most of our clients land there. Porto has fewer nonstops but is an easy departure airport, and the drive north from Lisbon lets you finish in the Douro Valley with the wine country as the last memory.
Round trip to Lisbon
If the fare difference is large, fly round trip to Lisbon and let us route you north and back on two different roads. The outbound leg can run inland through Óbidos, Tomar and Coimbra. The return can follow the coast through Aveiro and Nazaré. You see twice as much of central Portugal and repeat nothing.
What the road between them holds
Aveiro, with its canals and painted boats, is a 45-minute stop. Coimbra has one of Europe’s oldest universities and the Joanina Library, which needs a timed ticket we book for you. Óbidos is a walled medieval town that takes an hour to walk. Tomar holds the Convent of Christ, the Templar headquarters and a UNESCO site, and pairs with Batalha and Alcobaça for a monastery day. Nazaré is for the big-wave coast and a fish lunch. Our planners choose two or three of these around your interests, with a licensed driver-guide at the wheel, so the day between Lisbon and Porto becomes one of the best days of the trip.
How we decide for you
We look at your home airport first. From Boston, New York, Newark, Washington, Miami and Chicago, Lisbon nonstops run daily most of the year. From elsewhere you will connect in any case, and then Porto first is just as easy. Then we look at your dates, since Porto and the Douro are at their best from May to October, and your ending, since clients heading on to the Algarve or to Spain usually prefer to finish in Lisbon.
Travel planning is complicated. We make it easy. Tell us your dates and your home airport and a planner replies within one business day.
