3 fantastic weeks in Portugal
Itinerary
Our 3 week road trip in Portugal was part of a longer trip through Spain as well. We arrived in Portugal from Malaga. We spent about a week in The Algarve, then drove our way up the country to Lisbon, Porto and finally to Saojo in the far North, before heading back to Spain via the Duoro Valley.
Why and when to go
We absolutely loved Portugal. If you are into lovely seaside towns, beautiful beaches, wild coastline, medieval fortified towns, whitewashed villages, historical cities with lovely old buildings, wine valleys and quiet national parks with quaint hillside villages then you will love Portugal as well.
We went in the shoulder season – in autumn. It was still warm enough to swim and obviously less crowds.
Where to stay
We booked our accommodation through http://www.airbnb.com or http://www.booking.com. We look at ratings and reviews so choose carefully. We like boutique accommodation( definitely no chain hotels) that offers charm with an outdoor balcony and either a view to the sea or old part of town if possible. Pick some along the route that have a washing machine available as well!
Is driving safe in Portugal
In a word – yes. We are from NZ so our cars have the steering wheel on the different side of the car and we drive on the other side of the road. However I found driving easy in Portugal.
With a car you have such great flexibility to get out and about and see so much more. We loved exploring the small villages and towns – sometimes the road was a narrow alley way which made it interesting!
We hired a manual Peugeot 2008 SUV from Record Go in Barcelona. Total amount including cover protection was $NZ2290(1220 euro) plus an additional cross border cost into Portugal 200 euros – total car hire 1420 euros. We had unlimited mileage and our excess was 1100 euros which we would have got back through our travel insurance if we had an accident(which we didn’t have fortunately!) We rented from October 1st – November 13th – ie 44 days @ 32.30 euros per day. We had 20 days in Portugal.
Google maps is your friend. We purchased an Airalo esim( electronic esim) for our 3 month trip – http://www.airalo.com. We paid $US100 for 90 days that gave us 50GBs of data. We mainly used it to navigate as when we got to our accommodation we always had free wifi.
Money
We use a Wises travel money card, also called a currency card. It is a type of a card which allows you to keep multiple currencies, and use the card while travelling the world with no hidden fees to worry about. You can hold up to 40+ currencies in your travel money card, and convert them at the mid-market rate with the free Wise app.
Unlike travelling with cash, you don’t even need to have the money converted beforehand — simply use the travel money card in stores, coffee shops, online or withdraw from ATMs, and it will convert the amount automatically for a low fee.
Costs
We were pleasantly surprised at the overall costs of our road trip.
We tended to have breakfast where we stayed, lunch when we were out and about and then after a day travelling and exploring were more than happy to just prepare a meal at our accommodation. We generally then chose apartments which had a small kitchen. We much prefer that style of accommodation as it is usually bigger and more homely than a hotel. Our average cost for accommodation per night was 80 euros. We stayed in some fabulous places – not luxury but homely and charming.
Wine and beer were always available at excellent prices. Usually for 4 – 5 euros you would get a very drinkable bottle of wine. Bakeries were good value for lunch and there are numerous supermarkets to get provisions for breakfast and dinner.
Our total cost for the trip for the two of us for 20 days in Portugal was 3620 Euros( 181 euros per day)
This included accommodation, food, drink, car hire, petrol, parking, travel insurance, mobile e sim, entry to all the sights we visited and sundry expenses along the way.
Highlights
The Algarve
Simply fabulous. We stayed a week in 3 different places – starting in Tavira and then moving to Carvoeiro and finishing in Luz. All top spots. The whole coastline is fantastic with little bays and limestone cliffs to explore along with some very old and quaint historic villages.
There are many fabulous towns and villages to visit along the southern coast of Portugal. If you are into just walking the streets and enjoying the narrow alleyways and cute houses then you will love The Algarve.
We took a drive out to where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean and discovered a very quaint village called Bergau with a fabulous beach.
Evora
From The Algarve head North towards Lisbon. We drove as much of the coastal route as possible and stopped for lunch at a small town called Vila Nova de Milfontes – before heading to our next stop, Evora. The coastline is rugged and largely deserted.
Evora has a lot of history with roman ruins and a very impressive Cathedral that is worth paying a few euros to wander inside and up to the ramparts.
Lisbon
Everybody who we talked to before going to Portugal raved about Lisbon.
We loved Lisbon but our first impression was that it was a bit rundown! That first impression was a bit harsh and perhaps it is more rustic charm than rundown! We enjoyed wandering the streets and viewing all the interesting and colourful buildings everywhere.
Parking can be an absolute nightmare in many of the larger towns. Normally we stayed in the old part of town and parking just doesn’t exist.
We discovered a website http://www.parkimeter.com. If you download this app and put your address where you are staying it will give you all the available car park buildings in the area, how far away they are from your accommodation and the cost. It was an absolute game changer when we discovered it. Also ask your host where you are staying for the best parking option. However they often just give you the nearest rather than other nearby options which may be considerably cheaper! We didn’t mind an extra 5 – 10 minute walk to save a reasonable amount of money – especially if you plan to park the car for 3 days!
It is easy to get around – use the tram or train system. Use Google maps to get you where you want to go. Put your end location in, press “directions ” tab and then click on the icon that looks like a train and Voila!
Lisbon is definitely just a great place to wander and enjoy – both during the day and night. Head to Belem where there is an impressive Monastery and its worth a quick walk to check out Belem Tower.
Sintra
A lot of tourists take the short trip to Sintra, when staying in Lisbon.( It is only about 30 minutes drive)
We visited Sintra a couple of times – when we left Lisbon to head for the coastal village of Azenhas do Mar for a couple of nights and also while we stayed there.
You need to book a visit to the Palace of Pena if you wish to do that. Was it worth it from our perspective, probably not! You book a time slot and it is crazy busy inside and you just follow very slowly the people in front of you. It wasn’t that memorable.
However the whole area in and around Sintra is lovely. If you are up for walking then that is the only way to see the whole area – both in the town and surrounds.
Azenhas do Mar is about an hour from Lisbon, on the coast, which was home for a couple of nights.
The village sits on the Atlantic Coast, west of Lisbon. The coast is rugged and the village is wonderful.
Obidos
What a wonderful old fortified town to wander through and enjoy. Built in the 12th century it is still a very vibrant town where locals live and work!
Costa Nova
The guide books tout Aviera as the “Venice of Portugal” ! If you are expecting anything like Venice you will be very disappointed! Yes there is a canal and in one small part it looks a bit like Venice but there the resemblance stops in my opinion!
However across the river on the coast from Aviera is Costa Nova. It is a charming seaside village, with a top beach, striped houses and a lovely board walk.
Porto
We loved Porto – our favourite city in Portugal.
Set above the Duoro River on either side it has everything – charm, vibrance, top restaurants, port tasting(of course), colour, great history and architecture with many small backstreet lanes to explore.
Hire a bike for a day and head to the Atlantic. Very cycle friendly along a coastal path.
Viana do Costello
What a surprise package around 1 1/2 hours drive north of Porto. It is a relatively small town on the coast. Dominating the skyline is the Santa Luzio Cathedral which is worth taking a drive up the hill and having a look around.
Saojo – Peneda Geres National Park
We headed inland to the hills to Peneda Geres National Park. As you drive into the park you get a sense of isolation and a totally different feel from anywhere else in Portugal.
Personally, if you are visiting Portugal, it is a must see. There seemed to be very few tourists visiting and yet it was only an hour from Viana do Castelo and 1 1/2 hours from Porto. We love walking in the countryside and through small mountain villages – if that is also your thing then take a visit. It is very relaxing and a good breather from the big smoke of Porto.
Saojo is a very small village with old granite houses and small alleyways to explore. There isn’t much there so get any breakfast or dinner provisions before you hit the national park.
Take a walk from Saojo and follow the old ancient paths through the valley and countryside. There are lots of walks that are “fairly” well signposted along the way. We walked about 3 hours and didn’t see another soul.
Duoro Valley
Duoro Valley is spectacular. Drive to Peso da Regua, cross the bridge then take the N222 which hugs the river until it winds up the hill – this then provides lovely views back down the valley. Its on the way to Spain, so if that is where your are heading it is perfect.
We loved Portugal. It is a relatively small country but each region and town offers something very different.
Rent your house out
Our trip to Portugal was part of a 3 1/2 month trip in Europe. We rented our house out in Auckland NZ through Furnished Rentals. This paid for half our holiday! They organised everything for us so you can rent out and be totally worry free – just enjoy the extra income that goes into your bank account every month.
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