Lisbon Day Trip

[woot]

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Hello all, I'm heading to Portugal with my wife in February and have rented an RE Himalayan for a day in Lisbon (might make it 2) while my wife socializes with a friend. Currently thinking I will ride up to Sintra then maybe just back to Lisbon to tour around the city. Is anyone familiar with the area and able to make recommendations?

Also, the rental place said my license is valid but should consider an International driver's license incase it is not clear to Portuguese authorities what my license covers. What is everyone's thought on needing an International license? do I even have time to get one by February?

 

[Ash]

You can get an IDP at CAA very quickly (no membership required):

International Driving Permit - CAA National

Get all the information you need for driving while abroad, including what an International Driving Permit is, and how to obtain one.

www.caa.ca

 

[STARSHIP]

Sounds like a nice day, watch for the buses on the road up to the castle in Sintra as it is very narrow and twisty and the bus divers are aggressive and take both lanes in the curves.

Lots of nice riding in the park and consider going to Cabo da Roca and the remote beaches in that area.
Think your wife will also want to visit the castle too.

Fond memories there.

 

[sburns]

Yeah Lisbon and Sintra are very nice. I really like Porto too bad it wasn't closer that could have been nice as well.

 

[Lightcycle]

Hello all, I'm heading to Portugal with my wife in February and have rented an RE Himalayan for a day in Lisbon (might make it 2) while my wife socializes with a friend. Currently thinking I will ride up to Sintra then maybe just back to Lisbon to tour around the city. Is anyone familiar with the area and able to make recommendations?

My recommendation is to get out of the city as quick as you can. Lisbon is pretty congested and the only benefit to being on two wheels is being able to lane split and find parking. The best riding roads are up in the mountains towards the interior of the country.

We spent a couple of weeks riding around Portugal during one winter and wandered mainly around the Algarve, which is the southern coast (due to the weather). May be a bit far from Lisbon, but fantastic roads and amazing beaches down there.

If you are confined to the city, then maybe trundle around the old quarter, it's very pretty there.

 

[timtune]

What LC said. Lisbon will be hard to navigate. When we got lost it took about 3 locals to get us back in our proper direction. Again the Algarve is gorgeous but likely too far.

 

[caje]

I rented a bike in Lisbon a few months ago, it was a great experience. I'll echo the other comments that riding in Lisbon/Sintra wouldn't be that fun with all the congestion...I rode straight out of the city once I got the bike. First out west to Cascais, then through the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais and then up north along the coast finishing in Peniche. There are some really nice curvy roads with beautiful scenery.

I went with LX Rent: LX Rent: Motos & Scooters - Motorcyle Rental Lisbon, Portugal. They speak English and didn't require an international drivers license. You can also rent all the gear through them too.

One thing to keep an eye on is all the speed cameras, there are tons of them there. Here's a map that the locals use: RADARES de Portugal em tempo Real. Make sure to click on 'Mostrar locais habituais' to show all of them, otherwise it will just show the temporary ones by default.

 

[woot]

Yeah Lisbon and Sintra are very nice. I really like Porto too bad it wasn't closer that could have been nice as well.

We are going to take a car to Porto. The wife doesn't ride and it will be February so it will be cold. She would be wanting a direct route at a slow speed. I would have to rent a bike large enough to carry both of us and our luguage. I've learned from a few cold trips that I'm better off just doing a day or two on my own on the bike if I can.

 

[woot]

So my wife's friend is in Cascais which is where I am going to get the bike. My plan was to ride the longer coastal road to Sintra, maybe explore some of the little windy roads along the way (to something like Cabo de Roca as recommended by Starship) then go down through Lisbon (which I will have explored on foot the prior day) then back to Cascais. I'll actually explore Sintra the following day with my wife.

Would it be worth just heading into the hills north of Lisbon aimlessly? I prefer nature over cobblestone and churches but I'll take exploring a city over superslab/straight Ontario county lines.

 

[tat2]

Also, the rental place said my license is valid but should consider an International driver's license incase it is not clear to Portuguese authorities what my license covers. What is everyone's thought on needing an International license? do I even have time to get one by February?

Takes like 15min in a CAA store. Its ideal to translate details of your English license to other languages for local Police just in case. Not very expensive. It's not required to have one but it could help.

 

[Lightcycle]

Would it be worth just heading into the hills north of Lisbon aimlessly? I prefer nature over cobblestone and churches but I'll take exploring a city over superslab/straight Ontario county lines.

Check the weather. It's cold around the Lisbon area in February, especially if you're heading up higher in altitude. People do go skiing in the mountains in Portugal in the wintertime.

We were there at the end of January and the only comfortable option on a motorcycle was staying as far south as we could.

 

[woot]

Per usual they did not have the bike I requested so I ended up on a CB500X. It's been 7 years of riding Harley's so it was a nice change-up.

I rented in Cascais and followed the coast up to Sintra then back down through Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais. Absolutely beautiful ride. Once I got back to Cascais the wife still wasn't home so I smoked a bowl and headed along the coast into Lisbon. Traffic was pretty heavy so I tried lane splitting / filtering for the first time. It's clear that there is a different driving culture in Europe. Never would I feel that safe riding between cars in Ontario. Once traffic started moving, whichever car I was next to stayed put until I got in. Not once did I even have to think about finding a spot back in line.

I had a car for the Douro Valley and those were the most fun roads I've ever driven. Slightly too cold to take the bike there this time of year but it would be amazing to return with a bike one day.

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