2 weeks road trip in Portugal: Coimbra and Geres

We are going on a road trip in Portugal!

This year, El boyfriend and I decided that we were going to go on a great big road trip in Portugal for our summer vacation. I was ecstatic!

Of course, I immediately went on Instagram to check out the most popular pictures that used #VisitPortugal. ~For inspiration~.

With Portugal as my future backdrop, my Instagram travel influencer dreams have been renewed with intense vigor. Only to be crushed 5 minutes later because el boyfriend took one look at my suggested places and said, “Nope”.

• Too crowded.
• Only the tourists go there.
• Just no.

I got the message.

So after a lot of back and forth, we agreed that he was going to plan our itinerary. Between the two of us, he would know which places are worth going to while still avoiding the summer tourist crowd. He is from Portugal, after all.

The route

We ended up with a plan to go to places we both haven’t been to (mostly), far away from the maddening crowd. On the road for 2 weeks, driving through Portugal, going to new places, embarking on a completely new adventure, with my favorite person. What can possibly be better than that?

The itinerary:

1. First stop was in Ansião to rest up, meet el boyfriend’s family, and borrow a car (hehe)
2. From Ansião, we’d make a day trip to Coimbra which was just 30-45 minutes away.
3. Afterward, we’ll set off for a 3-hour drive to Geres up North. The only national park in Portugal.
4. Then afterward it’s back down south to visit towns in Algarve. A 6-hour drive from Geres!
5. And a 3-hour drive back to Lisbon to spend a few days there before heading back home to Barcelona.

It was ambitious, for sure. And a lot of long driving was to be involved. But we went ahead with this plan anyway and hoped for the best.

But apart from knowing where we were supposed to go, we didn’t plan much.

We wanted to keep things flexible. And most importantly, light. This was a vacation, after all. What we wanted more than anything else was to just chill. To not worry too much about details. And just let our lefts and rights dictate what’s going to happen to our day.

I have to admit that this type of vacation is very difficult for me who likes to plan things down to the minutest details.

But as you can see, we survived. So here we are… with me now sharing our road trip in Portugal adventure. Just in case someone, somewhere out there is planning a trip to my new favorite country in the world and would like some inspiration.

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Road trip in Portugal 1st stop: Coimbra

I wrote about the first leg of our road trip in my previous post, where I met el boyfriend’s parents and that turned out well. But it wasn’t just all about trying to make a good impression with el boyfriend’s parents. We also went to Coimbra!

Coimbra used to be the capital of Portugal before Lisbon. And it’s also the home to one of the oldest universities in the world, Universidade de Coimbra; which, by the way, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. Voltaire, as in the author, once wrote that the University of Coimbra has decided that burning people alive in a slow fire is the most reliable way to stop earthquakes.

But this is not what makes the University the coolest part of the city. At least for me. Instead, here’s why:

Their uniforms! It’s super cool! All black, cape, hat, tie, black tights – but with a subtle difference per faculty, apparently. The uniforms look so serious and official. With a touch of Hogwarts. You wouldn’t think at all that the student underneath all those clothes is probably drunk half of the time in between his/her Defense Against The Dark Arts classes. True story. At least according to el boyfriend who attended the university himself. And he was probably talking about Maths instead DAD. But it’s the same banana.

Since we only had half a day to spend in Coimbra, we spent that time just walking around the old city.

You can bet that I paused a lot and sighed “This is amazing!”. Alternated by “I want to stay here forever”.

My only regret is that we didn’t get to go inside La Biblioteca Joanina.

I mean look at it. This is exactly how I imagined the library in Hogwarts looks like. I think I read somewhere that Biblioteca Joanina was actually one of JK Rowling’s sources for inspiration. Or maybe I was just imagining that. I could just picture myself, wearing the uniform from one of the university’s departments – cape and all (because I would be perusing the library in the middle of winter and I don’t trust the heating in these old buildings). Running my fingers along the spine of those beautiful books. Doing my research. Writing my final paper by candlelight (fire hazard, sure. but remember that this is still all just in my head).

Damn… Accio all the forbidden books!

And then it was time to go home. Although we didn’t spend the night there, the city is chock-full of cute hotels and bed and breakfasts for those looking to stay longer. Which I would totally recommend.

Road trip in Portugal 2nd stop: Geres

On the 3rd day of our great big road trip in Portugal, we made our way up North of Portugal. With 270 kilometers in between, we looked forward to a 3-hour drive to Geres from Ansião.

But since we started our drive out of Ansião late, we had to make a quick stop for lunch before continuing on to Geres.

Portugal is a master of pork dishes. Anthony Bourdain, in his book, A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal, talked about how he got lured to visit Portugal by his Portuguese boss by his promise of a fattened up pig just for him. If that is not hospitality, I do not know what is. He also talked about the harshness and cruelty of the ritual to kill the pig. But he also talks about the respect that the Portuguese have for what the pig had to offer by not wasting a single thing. And most importantly by doing the pig justice by making every dish perfect. Ok, he may not have said all those things verbatim – but that was my interpretation ok!

So we went to Mealhada.

Also lovingly known as Terra do Leitão. Avenue Resturacão (so aptly named) in Mealhada is lined with restaurants dedicated to this heavenly dish.

But first, what is Leitão?

And this is the part where I’ll ask the vegetarians and the vegans to close their eyes.

Let me start it off with, Leitão is one of the most acclaimed gastronomic achievements of Portugal. Also, it’s a spit-roasted suckling pig. But not just any spit-roasted suckling pig. It’s a spit-roasted suckling pig that is bursting with the flavor from a multitude of herbs that I do not know how to pronounce – and garlic. The meat, tender and moist. And the skin, the kind of crispy that melts in your mouth. Served on the side with gravy swimming in pepper.

We picked Rei dos Leitoes out of all of the restaurants in Avenue Resturacão. We figured that somebody who had the gall to name themselves the king of spit-roasted suckling pig must know the hell of what he’s talking about.

By the time we were done eating, my arteries were clogged, but my belly was happy. I did have tea afterward to help with the blood flow a little bit. In terms of damage, I think we shelled out around 50€. And that’s for 2 people, including drinks and dessert. Which just goes to show that in Portugal, they don’t scrimp out on the quality regardless of how cheap things can get.

I hope the vegetarians and the vegans are still with me.

Back on the road.

Then we were really off this time. The road up to Geres was winding. As in we were going up and down the side of mountains kind of winding. Rumor has it that Cristiano Ronaldo (yes, that one) has a humongous house on top of one the mountains we went through – even though it was technically illegal. So does a bunch of other famous people. Except for Madonna.

We booked a suite for 3 nights at Hotel S. Bento da Porta Aberta (9.1 rating over at Booking.com). We had 2 balconies in our suite, both with an amazing view of the mountains we just drove through.

Geres, being a national park, of course, has a ton of nature-y/outdoors-y activities. Hiking. Trekking to the falls. It also has a huge river – so water activities are quite popular to do in this area.

What exciting activities did el boyfriend and I embark on?

Nothing. One of the points of this road trip in Portugal was to take it easy. So we just wanted to be surrounded by green things, be able to breathe fresh air, and most of all – be away from people for 2 weeks. If you’re into these kinds of things too – then Geres is also perfect for you.

So we spent most of our time, hanging out by the river. Watching the people who were into doing active things. Waiting for sunsets. And downing one beer after another. In between coffee. And to be honest, I could have stayed in Geres for the rest of my life just looking out to the river while I hydrate myself with beer.

We also ate super well in Geres. And by well, I mean, we had a ton of amazing food, and wine, for the price of nothing if you compare it to eating in Barcelona.

And a word of advice: always ask if the serving is good for 1 people or 2. We’ve made the mistake of ordering a dish each and we ended up with food good enough for a family one too many times.

We didn’t have any particular strategy for picking out the restaurants in Geres. We just closed our eyes and pointed. Which is not really a huge risk in Portugal. Everywhere you go promises of amazing food.

A side trip to Cabeceiras de Basto.

The first time I visited Cabeceiras de Basto, it was in the middle of winter last year for a 24hour binge drinking to celebrate one of el boyfriend’s best friend’s birthday. So I didn’t get to see much of the place.

Apparently, Cabeceiras de Basto is just a 45m drive from Geres, so we got ourselves invited to spend another day there. I was determined this time not to just enjoy the company (like last time), but also to take stock of the little town I’ve lovingly called – middle of nowhere, Portugal.

When we arrived, el boyfriend’s friend met us in the center of the town and we immediately started our adventure with a couple of beers in the main square.

The entire population of Cabeceiras de Basto is around 16k (as of 2011). The population in the center is definitely much smaller than that. It’s so small that by the time we finished our drinks, our friend just waved at the bar owner from our table then we went on our merry way. Apparently, that wave was enough of a guarantee that payment will be made next time. The population is small enough for everybody in the town to know each other. That makes bar tabs impossible to run away from.

We moved to another spot for more beers. This time by the river. And we spent the entire afternoon just sitting there, talking about – pretty much everything that came to our minds.

Many beers later, we ended up spending the night in town. We got invited to have dinner at el boyfriend’s friend’s place – where they were going to do a Barbeque.

After dinner, I told el boyfriend.

This is what summer nights are supposed to be like.

Unlimited bottles of vinho verde. Picanha and pineapples fresh from the grill. Dessert straight from a nearby bakery’s oven. And friends old and new, trying to make conversation work despite the language barrier between me and them.

By the time we left Cabeceiras do Basto to go back to Geres, I wanted to stay there forever too. But we couldn’t leave the town without eating first!

We had lunch at Restaurante a Cozinha Real de Basto as it came highly recommended by el boyfriend’s friend. And I got introduced to my new favorite food in the entire universe, Rojões.

At this point of our trip, I was starting to become too confused about which place should I retire at: Coimbra, Geres, or Cabeceiras do Basto?

We still have Algarve, and Lisbon remaining in our route but my heart was already full. I’ve already fallen head over heels in love with Portugal.

Road trip in Portugal: 10 Quick tips

Before I continue on with the rest of our route, here’s a summary of tips for those who also want to do a road trip in Portugal:

1. We booked our 1.5 hr direct flights from Barcelona via TAP Airlines. We never fly anymore via other airlines whenever we go to Portugal because TAP prices are so competitive compared to other budget airlines. And since TAP is not a budget airline, the seats are comfortable. And you get a free snack. 😀
2. While a little bit more pricey, we often book hotels for our stay (over apartments in airbnb) as they are regulated by the city and has a lesser negative impact on the city’s real estate situation. We book our hotels via Booking.com .
3. For the beer drinkers – Super Bock and Sagres are the 2 main brands of beers in Portugal. When in the North, Super Bock is the drink of choice.
4. Be polite and say please. Always punctuate your requests with a “se faz favor” and get a smile with your extra cold glass of beer. “Uma cerveja, se faz favor!”
5. And when you are given what you asked for, always say thank you. Or “obrigado” if you’re male, or “obrigada” if you’re female. Add a “muito/a” at the beginning if you’re feeling extra grateful.
6. When ordering food, always ask if the food is too much for 2 people. The Portuguese plates are extra generous. So make sure you don’t end up ordering food that’s really good for an entire family.
7. Speaking of food – do you have allergies? When in the smaller towns of Portugal, not all restaurants will have allergy guides in their menus. Best to be prepared and know exactly what you are allergic to and know how to communicate that. Just saying lactose and gluten is not enough information that your chef can work with. Same if you’re vegan.
8. Weather in Portugal is extremely — extreme, for a lack of a better word. Even in the middle of summer. During the day, when the sun is up – it’s a short and a tshirt kind of weather. But at night, the weather can be unpredictable. Sometimes it’s super warm, sometimes it can drop below 20. So bring a light jacket, just in case.
9. Yes, the tap water is safe to drink.
10. For our roadtrip, we had our own car. But if you want to follow our route, you can just as easily rent a car in Portugal.

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I’m almost at a word count of 3000 and I still have 3 stops to go in this great big road trip in Portugal story. So I’ll stop here for now and leave the rest of the story for later.

I hope this has helped you in planning your own trip to Portugal. And you weren’t planning any trip to this wonderful country, just yet – I hope this post has pushed you towards that direction.

Up next: Tavira and Lagos in Algarve.

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