I’ve been to Lisbon a few times but usually stay fairly close to the city. I’d recommend comfortable shoes with all the hills and the funky cobblestone pavements. It is a very walkable city though!
There is a castle you should see that is an hour or so north of lisbon. It has a small town inside the castle walls
Castle of Óbidos
The waves in Nazaré are cool to see when they are huge, but they’re not super predictable. The town is very close to Óbidos.
If you are at all religious you can go over to Fatima. The museum is nice.
@mick129 I stayed by the riverwalk. It was very busy and I didn’t expect it to be so walled in but the Casa Rio had okay food. We took a nice walk along the river way out to Brackenridge park which was nice. Temps were in the low 50s so very comfortable. Took in a few breweries.
I can only offer my services as a walking tour guide to any happy mutant that winds up in Munich. I tend to concentrate more on the historical, but I also try to fit in the Munich surfers (the local surf scene on a standing wave, even in the middle of winter). No cost, I just enjoy meeting new people.
No doubt you know how far apart things are, but just in case you don’t: Perth is a six hour flight from Melbourne, so probably 7 or 8 hours from Sydney. In and around Perth, I liked the botanic gardens (called something like King’s Park), Rottnest Island (quokkas!) which is about two hours away by ferry from Fremantle. Fremantle is about an hour south of Perth and is a port city. Good market, interesting place. Perth beaches are great.
Northern Territory so much more than Darwin. Kakadu, Uluru, Katherine.
Cairns: a two hour flight from Brisbane, I think. Or a 24 hour drive (though that might be to Cape York, the northernmost point of Australia). Cairns, Townsville, Magnetic Island are relatively close together. Tropical rainforest. Daintree. Can’t remember much about Cairns but was only there overnight. Townsville has a great aquarium and museum. Magnetic Island is a short ferry trip away from Townsville. Beautiful, interesting, hippy-ish in parts. Hamilton Island and Whitehaven Beach are probably worth visiting. Part of the Great Barrier Reef. See it before it’s dead. Hamilton is resort-ish, no cars allowed. All travel by golf buggy. Whitehaven is glorious, a boat ride away from Hamilton Island.
Um, that’s all I can think of for now. If you’d like info on Melbourne or Victoria, let me know (that’s where I’m from). @Immutable_Mike is also from Melbourne so might have more info for you about here and/or other parts of Australia.
Happy to meet and show you and the missus around if you make it to Melb!
@jyoti 's advice on Queensland is spot on, especially re the Daintree (although I think the best thing about Magnetic Island is being able to rent a Moke). I’ve only been to Perth for work but we’re finally catching the train from Sydney to Perth and will have a week there and in Margaret River in early Jan, after it being cancelled twice over the last two years for various lockdowns.
I’m currently splitting my time between Melbourne and Brisbane. Melbourne has more of a European vibe than any other major city and a shirtload of Victorian architecture, and it’s short drive to temperate rainforests, while Brisbane is a bit more ramshackle; a country town that grew too fast. Of those I’d pick Melbourne.
Alice Springs is beautiful for desert walks through the Macdonald Ranges and you can organise tours to Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Worth a visit if you have the time.
So I’m suddenly going to be spending a couple of months in Honolulu on my own. Planning to use public transit where possible, but not averse to renting a car for short periods (not the whole two months). Any advice? Not a surfer as an old shoulder injury makes swimming a challenge.
If alternative music/culture is your thing, there’s a bar in Bairo Alta called Boca do Inferno. Good fun, but doesn’t get going 'til much later than you think.
IIRC, that’s true for all Portuguese night life. 11 pm everything is dead and you think you’ve missed all the fun, then by 2 am everything is hopping!
Lucky!
I’d rent a car for at least one day. You can get to the best snorkeling spots early in the morning before they get too crowded.
The botanical garden is really nice if you like that kind of thing.
2 months is a long time for that little island. If you’re open to making side trips to nearby islands I bet people here would have some good advice.
). I’ve only been to Perth for work but we’re finally catching the train from Sydney to Perth and will have a week there and in Margaret River in early Jan, after it being cancelled twice over the last two years for various lockdowns.