9 Day North Portugal Itinerary – Points Hotels

The 9 Day North Portugal Itinerary guides visitors through Lisbon, Coimbra, the Douro Valley, and Porto. As with many vacation itineraries, where you stay influences the experience. Oftentimes travelers want to stay in the center of the historic cities. Staying in the heart of the city is key to a rich cultural experience. By staying in the city center, you limit time spent in transit which provides more opportunities for exploration or relaxation. Unfortunately, the desirability of the city centers often means that accommodations in the heart of the city are more expensive. This is where staying at North Portugal points hotels is beneficial.

Staying at points hotels is the practice of booking a hotel using loyalty program points to eliminate the high cost. The following post identifies the best neighborhoods and areas for booking accommodations in each city of the itinerary. More specifically, this post outlines opportunities to stay on points during this journey of North Portugal.

Why a Chain Hotel?

In addition to outlining the optimal neighborhoods, this guide includes the best hotels that are bookable with the most popular points programs (Hyatt, Hilton, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), and Marriott). Staying on points is a great way to reduce the total cost of a trip. Points can allow anyone to afford 3 and 4-star accommodations in the city center for free or near free.

I will be the first to admit that many of the major hotel chains don’t provide the same experience in these historic cities as you would get if you were staying in a local B&B or guest house. However, with the proliferation of boutique hotels in these chains and cross-brand partnerships (like Hyatt’s partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World), you can get much closer to the boutique feel while staying on points than you could in years past.

One goal of this website is to show methods of aspirational travel that may not otherwise be possible to you. I encourage the use of points if it allows you to take some of these once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Shown below are some of the best hotels for staying on points located along the itinerary route.

Lisbon Hotels

The best locations to stay in Lisbon are the historical neighborhoods close to the riverfront. These neighborhoods include Bairro Alto, Chiado, and the Alfama. An additional area to consider is the area around Parque Eduardo VII. This area is further from many of the main attractions (except for the Gulbenkian) but is adjacent to a metro line and provides easy access to the main neighborhoods listed earlier.

The Lisbon map below identifies the best locations to stay in blue shading. The points hotels are also identified below. Click on the image to visit an interactive Google map.

Coimbra Hotels

Coimbra is much more off the beaten path than Lisbon. For this reason, there are almost no hotels that participate in points programs. The only hotel in Coimbra that participates in a points program is Quinta das Lagrima. Unfortunately, Quinta das Lagrima is located outside of the optimal lodging area for Coimbra. Coimbra also doesn’t possess much of a public transportation network; therefore, getting to the sites from this hotel is very difficult. Coimbra is a good opportunity to stay at an independent hotel.

Douro Valley Hotels

The Douro Valley, similar to Coimbra, is a location with very few major hotels. That fact is probably for the better to get the most enjoyment from your time in the Douro Valley. This area is full of quintas which are great places to stay. In addition, there are several superb guest houses in the town of Pinhao. Both of these options are good choices for this part of the itinerary. Also, because most activities and sights in this part of the itinerary are accessible by car, staying in a particular zone in the city is not required or recommended. Find the experience most interesting to you and your budget during this part of the trip.

Porto Hotels

The final leg of the itinerary ends in Porto. Due to Porto’s size, there are several hotels where points can be used. The best locations to stay in Porto are the neighborhoods of the Ribiera, Clerigos, and Bolhao. These areas contain most of the sights, restaurants, and nightlife. Unfortunately, there are only 3 points hotels located within these neighborhoods. For this reason, I have also included 3 more hotels in this guide. While these 3 hotels are not located in the prime areas, they are very close to metro stops which can take you to the ideal neighborhoods quickly.

The Porto map below identifies the best locations to stay in blue shading. The points hotels are also identified below. Click on the image to visit an interactive Google map.