We had breakfast at the Boeira Garden Hotel around 8am and then checked out. From Porto, we drove south on a more westerly route than our drive north from Lisbon a few days earlier.

We drove about two hours and stopped at Nazare on the coast. You may be familiar with Nazare from the documentary ‘100 Foot Wave.’ A few months a year it gets these crazy huge waves just offshore and attracts the world’s best daredevil surfers and thousands of onlookers. Unfortunately, in late May, there are no huge waves.

It was easy to find free parking on the south side of town right by the beach. My wife walked the beach, looking for shells, while I took pictures and walked along the boardwalk exploring the town.

After we had been there for an hour or so, we parked along the boardwalk for an hour so my wife could explore the far end of the beach. I grabbed a snack at a beachfront restaurant while I waited.

From Nazare, we drove on about another 40 minutes to Obidos. This is a walled town with a castle that dates back to the Middle Ages. Parking was a bit of an adventure, but we found a spot just outside the castle gate. We explored the castle and the town.

My wife found a well-reviewed tapas restaurant just outside the city walls, so we walked down and had lunch. It was probably our best lunch of the trip: fried squid, fried runner beans and pork cheeks. She also said the sangria was excellent. I was driving that day so none for me.

I went back up to the castle, drove the car around, and picked her up. We drove on about another 45 minutes to Sintra and the Penha Longa Resort. I’ll have a full review of this hotel in another post.

We enjoyed another day driving through Portugal and appreciated the ability to take different routes between Porto and Lisbon to explore a bit more of the country.

Next up: One Day in Sintra Plus a Beach

If you enjoyed this post (or have questions), let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please use one of my links.