By Danielle Lockwood.
I don’t know how to put into words how much I deeply love the country of Portugal. I am completely obsessed and very angry with myself for not visiting sooner. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to ›Europe throughout my life and it wasn’t until my 30th birthday that I finally added Portugal to the itinerary. Best. Decision. Ever. My fiancé, then-boyfriend, Brady, took me to Europe for my 30th birthday and we decided Portugal would make up the majority of the trip as neither of us had been. With so many stunning parts of this country to explore, it was very challenging to determine how to see the best of Portugal in one trip.
Not only is Portugal absolutely stunning, with so much to do and see, it is SO cheap. I’m talking have a beautiful bottle of wine with every meal for 10 euros cheap. Our wallets were bleeding after our first few days in London so we were relieved that we could live like kings here.
Unfortunately, Brady and I only had a week in this beautiful country. We could have easily spent a month here. We decided to split up our time into three parts. Start in the northern part of Portugal, the city of Porto. Then travel down to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Then make our way down south to Lagos, in the Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal. Each place offers such different landscapes and experiences. In future blog posts, I will dive into each city separately as there is just too much to cover in one post. Keep reading for how to see the best of Portugal in 1 week!
Portugal Itinerary
-Arrive in Porto (make sure not to miss your flight to Porto as there are only a few flights per day, we flew from London and stupidly missed our first flight. Be smarter than us.)
-Porto- we spent 2 nights here
-Take the train from Porto to Lisbon (3 hour train ride)
-Arrive in Lisbon (we spent 3 nights here)
-Rent a car in Lisbon and drive to Sagres. The drive took us about 3 hours and 40 minutes because we took the scenic route but if you want to get down there a bit quicker and hit the beach, I’d suggest taking the toll road as you’ll shave off some time
-Spend a few hours in Sagres and then drive the half hour to Lagos
-Arrive in Lagos (we spent 2 nights here)
-Drive from Lagos to Faro (about an hour long drive)
-Stay in Faro for the night (we had an early fight)
-Fly out of Faro Airport
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Porto
We started our tour of Portugal in Porto. This is the northern part of Portugal, known for its Port wine. We spent the least amount of time here and wish so badly that we could have had more time. We visited in June and the weather was warm but quite breezy. I found Porto to be the coldest of the 3 parts. I would suggest a light jacket during the day and a much heavier jacket at night. Porto is a great city to walk around and explore. There is fabulous wine tasting, great food, and stunning sights to see. If you have the time I would do a day trip to the Duoro Valley, right outside of the city. We, unfortunately, didn’t have the time to make it to Duoro Valley but I hear the picturesque views (and the wine) make it a spot in Portugal that you must visit!
Lisbon
The next stop of our Portugal trip was Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, a bustling city right on the ocean. Lisbon is where I spent my 30th birthday. This city has everything; beautiful beaches, incredible restaurants, unique bars, and stunning sights. Lisbon is just a three hour train ride south from Porto. Tickets cost about 19 euros and the train ride is lovely. Once in Lisbon, there are so many day trips that you can take to locations right outside of the city. Our favorite was the trip to Sintra, the city of castles where Portuguese royalty would spend their vacations. Also to add, the dining here is EXQUISITE. We had the most beautiful meals every day and night for a fraction of what we would pay in Los Angeles. It was the perfect place to spend a 30th birthday. I will of course dive into all of this in future blog posts but make sure that Lisbon is on your list!
The Algarve
I hate to play favorites here but Lagos in the Algarve may have been my favorite part of the trip. We only had a few days here and man do I wish that we had spent more time here. The beaches are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Each coastal view is made up of cascading rocks pouring into the sea. Each hillside is more dramatic than the next. The sunsets are unbelievable and there is so much to explore. Here you will find jaw dropping caves to explore, incredible seafood, and bustling nightlife. The weather here is the hottest of Portugal so make sure to soak up as much time as you can on the beaches. To get here we rented a car from Lisbon and decided to take a road trip. Driving down the southern coast of Portugal is beautiful. The drive wasn’t too bad, just three to four hours and you feel like you have arrived in another world!
That concludes my overview of how to get to the most incredible places in Portugal in one week. Portugal is a magical country and will need an in depth post of each city to even begin to do it justice. Stay tuned for future posts where I will dive into my experience in each city of Portugal.
Have you been to Portugal? Comment below with your recommendations!
Xx,
Danielle and Simone
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