Presumably you'll be flying to Lisbon, were you intending to hire a car? I think you'd need it for most places on the Silver Coast. Another option to consider would be Cascais which is on the coast near Lisbon and doesn't need a car. I'm briefly passing through parts of the Silver Coast area next week (or is it the week after???) so might get a feel for it then.

Lisbon itself is very hilly. I would agree with steve8482 about Cascais.

Hello superbok!, I have put a report on a hotel on the Lisbon Coast although it is from a few years ago, it is on the Algarve page as there is no other one to put it on. It is about 3/4 of the way down the page and the hotel is the Sana Estoril Hotel, there is a web address at the top and this gives the main page for the Sana hotel group if you want to try any of the other ones, but this is a good one anyway.
Also on the Algarve Resort Report I put a small bit about the to resorts of Estoril and cascais, this should give you a bit about the area and what there is to see. If you need any more info just let me know.

Dave.

Thanks for info, yes i will be hiring a car as i would like to explore the silver coast which looks a bit isolated on the map?
Steve if you get any ideas when you are out that would be great.

Cheers All

SB.

My daughter works for the Pestana Group and I would be remiss if I didn't point you in the direction of their great hotels they have in the Silver Coast.

http://www.pestana.com/hotels/EN

Superbok

Things didn't go exactly to plan so didn't get very far! But, one thing that stands out is that Isolated + Public Holiday means Closed. I would be wary of staying anywhere that did not guarantee a restaurant being available on the big dates or you could end up hungry and miserable! With this in mind I'd opt for one of the more established resorts. Cascais has been mentioned and wouldn't need a car all the time which would save money. I did make it to Figueria da Foz which is "off the beaten track" as far as the British are concerned but still quite well set up. Theoretically it could also be reached without a car but in practise the flight+train/coach timetables would probably not match up, it is also worth checking flights to Porto if you go this far north as it would be closer. In case of inclement weather it has the option of a day trip into Coimbra (which is much easier by train). In between, a friend recommends Ericeira (although he's only been in summer) and Nazare sounds worth investigating - which is what I would have done if I had spotted that June 10th was a public holiday and hence no buses!

You do realise that the sea on the Silver Coast is the North Atlantic and at Christmas/New Year will be no warmer than the south of England?

Steve,

Thanks for info and link i do appreciate it, yes i realise the weather will no be the same as the algarve but that is ok!
Looks like we will be going to Foz and at least it will be new for us to explore, and we have some days to find somewhere for NYE either way it beats the mother-in laws!!
Thanks again.

SB.

If you are going to go south of the river to the Costa De Caparica forget it as at the moment it is just a building site all along the front with a new hotel being built near the roundabout at the bottom of one of the streets leading to the front and the sand dunes have all been demolished, thanks to EU funding it looks like they are spending vast amounts to regenerate the area between the road and the beach to make it into a lively resort, not many bars (as we know them) in the area but plenty of little cafes.