"Am I crazy to go so far north in Portugal and not see the Minho river valley? " Yes, especially if you have the time.

As far as the rest of your adventure, ever place on your wish list can be reached by rail (www.cp.pt), including Santiago (with a connection out of Vigo), but it will take some strategic planning to make it happen.

The only area you'll have a problem visiting without a car in is the Minho River Valley. You can get to Valença by rail, but that's as far as you can go. From there you'll need a car.

First do not need to drop off the car in Portugal and then pick up another for Galicia to avoid a huge drop-off fee?

I love Evora but that would take you out of the way. If you head north try to work Amarante in your trip, it is beautiful town.

@Robert2533

Thank you for your reply. I think I'd rather not see both the Douro valley and the Minho valley -- or would I be crazy not to see both?

@Aduchamp1,

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure what I should do about the car. One possibility is to make a loop from northern Portugal around Galicia and come back to the airport in Porto to drop off the car. The other is just to pay the drop off fee. The other is to rent 2 cars (but hanging around car rental offices is not my favorite thing to do). I've yet to really figure out the costs, or a flight back.

Thanks for the tip about Amarante.

We did this itinerary:

Portugal 3 weeks: Lisbon,picked up rental car and drove to Evora, Obidos, Coimbra, Guimares, Porto where we dropped our rental car.When we left Porto, we had our hotel get us a driver to take us to Vigo, Spain to get our next rental car. We spent a month in N. Spain and SW France, dropping car off in Barcelona at the end.
The cost of the driver was much less than the rental car drop off fee in another country.

Also if you stop in Vigo and it is the right time of year and you have the time, try to take the ferry to Islas Cies.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/feb/16/beach.top10

And if you are staying in Santiago, here is a hotel we liked a lot. It is about a 15 minute walk to Cathedral.

Trafona do Peregrino.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/a-tafona-do-peregrino.en-us.html?aid=306395;label=santiago-de-compostela-tn7DUxb7f8u9YQp8GCVKlAS12914860469%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=14289bad4b62f2b916117709817d46c7;dcid=1;srfid=06075e3cd1e23b2031fbff221d323b15X68

We've spent a week in both the Douro valley and the Minho, and need to return to see what we missed the last time.

Having made several trips to Portugal and Galicia the last few years, I know it would take me the better part of two months to follow the itinerary you've proposed if I actually wanted to enjoy the experience. I hope you have enough time set aside for this adventure.

@HappyTrvlr,

Thank you very much for posting. That is very useful information to me.

@Aduchamp,

We are not staying in Santiago. Our projected in itinerary is Ourense, Lugo and a' Coruna.

@Robert2533,

I am not sure what to make of your remark. I have taken more than a dozen enjoyable road trips in Spain, France and Italy. What is difficult about Portugal or Galicia?

We traveled in the area you mention although in a reverse fashion. We started in Porto, drove up to Santiago and then visited Coimbra, Evora, etc. and finally dropped off the car in Lisbon. You might want to take a look at my trip report; click on my name to find it.

My thoughts are that it takes time to explore an area, and that includes the Douro and Minho river valleys, especially the Minho. There is so much to see on both side of the river. I would easily spend three weeks there alone.

Unless you have family or a reason to stay in A Coruna, I would not. It is essentially a boring town.

@Michael,

thanks. I will take a look at your report

@Aduchamp,

I do have a reason!

@Robert,

I travel a lot through Europe, and return many times to many countries. I also have discovered in traveling that many places don't seem to interest me as much as they interest other people, so I feel lucky to have 3 or 4 weeks to see what I suspect, first blush, will interest me, and if it is not enough, then Portugal is actually quite easy to get to from where I live.

Ok, i got abit confused and i need help from the experties out there
I am flying to portugal in apr, will land in lisbon then want to visit evora,sintra,coimbra,cabo da roca,obidos,guimare,Duorovalley and minho
I need to know what is the sufficient time i should spend in each city and how should i plan the visits of the cities according to the locations, what cities can be combined and do i sleep over in lisbon or in each city, after wards i plan to go to spain too..