Portugal is one of my favourite countries to visit, Portugal has historic cities, world-renowned cuisine, natural landscapes, and spectacular beaches. The weather and the variety of landscapes is why you should visit, this is a great vacation location.
Day 1 - Lisbon
You will need to start your days early in Portugal as most tours start at around 8:30, so starting exploring Lisbon can be done starting 8:00 - 8:30. For the first day of your trip you will need to wear comfortable shoes as you will be walking a lot since most sites are close to each other. Since this is your first day, you will need to arrive the day before.
When it comes to getting around Lisbon, public transportation such as the bus, the metro, and the train are available all over Lisbon, you can get a reusable paper VivaViagem card at a station and then top it up for every trip and it can be used through the entire city. It is also better to get a transportation when going uphill and then walk downhill to enjoy the city. Uber and Taxify are also a great option and not expensive, but public transportation is cheaper. Scooters are also available through apps such as Lime, Tier, or Wind and they are a quick way to get around the city, but you have to be 18 or older to use them.
You can check my travel guide on Lisbon where I include everything you need to see, how to get there, best accommodations, best times to visit, and much more. You can also check my travel itinerary to follow.
Day 2 - Cascais & Lisbon
Cascais is a coastal resort town near Lisbon, it is filled with beautiful white houses, flower filled streets, and amazing beaches. It is Lisbon's residents weekend or holiday escape. Cascais is connected to both Lisbon and Sintra, so it is easy to go on a day trip from any of them. Cascais can be reached easily from Lisbon, you can take the train from Lisbon which takes around 30 minutes. Train leaves every 10 minutes so make sure to book your ticket at the station and hop-on as there is no seat reservation.
I created a travel guide for Cascais where you will find all the details on how to get there, how to move around in Cascais, accommodation if needed, best times to visit, and what to see/visit. You will only need half a day in Cascais so you can go back to Lisbon to continue exploring.
Spend half a day in Cascais and then go back Lisbon. You will find a lit of thing to do in the travel itinerary I created for Lisbon.
Day 3 - Day Trip to Sintra
Sintra is a resort town in the foothills of Sintra Mountain in Portugal, it is a UNESCO site with hilltop castles and exotic gardens. You can take a train from Lisbon's Rossio station, you will find a train that departs every 20 minutes from there, and the train ride only takes 40 minutes. Keep in mind that on Sundays the train leave every 1 hour instead. A one-way ticket from Lisbon to Sintra costs 2.25€ and it can be easily bought from a machine or a ticket booth or counter.
Once you arrive in Sintra, there are two bus lines that pass by the palaces and castles, these are line 434 and line 435. You will need to decide which bus line to take prior based on the sites you want to visit. If you are going on a day trip from Lisbon where you will spend half a day, then chose one bus line, but if you plan on staying longer then you can take both to explore more sites.
You can buy bus tickets at the bus itself or at the train station, buses run every 15-20 minutes starting from 9:15 am. You can return on a hop-on hop-off bus which would cost 6.90€. I created a travel guide for Sintra where you will find all the details on how to get there, how to move around in Sintra, accommodation if needed, best times to visit, and what to see/visit.
You will only need half a day in Sintra so you can go back to Lisbon to continue exploring, but you will be spending more time in Sintra that Cascais.
Day 4 - Porto
It is time to move from Lisbon to Porto, this is where you will be staying until the end of the trip. Porto has an airport with a lot of international flights arriving from different locations, so you can see if there is a flight available from where you are visiting. However most flights go into the capital, Lisbon, so it is also possible to get to Lisbon and then take a direct train or a bus from there to Porto.
A train ride takes around 3 hours and it cost between 26€ and 60€, take the train from Gare Oriente. A bus ride takes between 4 to 5 hours and it cost between 25€ and 37€, take the bus from either Sete Rios or Gare Oriente. I love to use Omio to book most train or bus rides in Europe in general.
When you make it Porto, it is easy to explore on foot as most sights are within a walking distance from each other so make sure to wear some good and comfortable walking shoes. Simply make sure to buy tickets for the trams and funicular railway in case you get tired of walking. Also, using Uber to get around Porto is a good idea as well as Uber is not expensive in Portugal in general.
You can check my travel guide on Porto where I include everything you need to see, how to get there, best accommodations, best times to visit, and much more. You can also check my travel itinerary to follow.
Day 5 - Day Trip to Aveiro
Aveiro is a city located on the west coast of Portugal along Ria de Aveiro Lagoon known as the "Portuguese Venice". This city is distinguished by its canals that are navigated by colourful boats which are traditionally used to harvest seaweed.
A Bus ride from Porto to Aveiro takes around an hour and it costs around 12€. A train ride from Porto would take 1h for 3.55€. Take the train from Campanhã or São Bento stations and take the yellow line, trains run every hour.
I created a travel guide for Aveiro where I shared best times to visit, how to get there, how to move around in Aveiro, accommodation if needed, and what to see/visit.
Day 6 & 7 - Porto
You will find a list of things to do on day 6 in my travel itinerary I created for Porto. The 7th and last day is where your trip will end. You can either leave from Porto depending on where you are going next, or you can go back to Lisbon and leave from there.
What To Do Before Travelling To Portugal
🪪 Get Your Visa
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✈️ Book Tickets
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→ Go to WayAway
📱 Buy A Travel SIM-Card
Stay connected easily with Airalo SIM-card. Activate one before your trip and enjoy hassle-free communication during your time in Portugal!
→ Go to Airalo
🔒 Choose Insurance
Ensure peace of mind during your trip to Portugal by having comprehensive coverage against any unforeseen circumstances.
→ Go to VisitorsCoverage
How To Get To Portugal
There are 3 main international airports in Portugal that you can easily reach from anywhere in the world, and they are: Humberto Delgado Airport or Lisbon Airport (LIS) in Lisbon, Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport or Porto Airport (OPO) in Porto, and Faro International Airport (FAO) in the Algarve region. If you are an international traveller then you can reach Portugal through one of these airports.
You can also reach Portugal by train or bus depending on where you are in Europe, but you will easily be able to get to Portugal.
I like to use Omio to find either trains or buses whenever I am travelling in Europe. If you are looking for cheap flights to get to Portugal, then your best option would be to use WayAway.
How To Move Around Portugal
Public transportation is great to use in Portugal, and you can also use Uber which would be a great option then it is actually cheap in Portugal and available in most cities whether big as Lisbon & Porto, or even small like Aveiro. You can book trains or buses from one city to the other, and take public transport to move within each city. Some cities can be explored on foot so you wouldn’t need to worry about moving around them, and also some cities are bike friendly so if you like to bike you can do so. You can also use scooters in most cities to explore.
You can book trains and buses through Omio to move from one city to the other, which as I mentioned before is my favourite app to use whenever I am travelling in Europe, and I have used it multiple times when I was in Portugal.
Best Time To Visit Portugal
You can visit Portugal all year long, I visited it twice so far, once in the winter and another in summer and I enjoyed both times. The ideal time to visit would be fall and spring which would be between March & October, during those times there will be fewer tourists and the prices would be cheaper as well. Also, during those times the weather is nice, it is neither hot nor cold, and there still is sunshine. But keep in mind that it would depend even more based on each city.
The best times to travel Lisbon would be between September and November, or March and May. During these two periods the weather is nice and cool, and it is going to be less crowded compared to other times. High seasons months are July and August, which means the streets are much more crowded than usual and the accommodation prices are higher as well. If you are a fan of festival, then June is the month for you. June is the month of festivals in Lisbon so it would be a perfect time to visit.
In comparison to Lisbon, Sintra is a little bit cooler as it has its own microclimate. The best times to visit is from April to June, and from September to November, but keep in mind that Sintra will always be busy and crowded as it one of the best places to visit in Portugal.
Cascais is very busy during the summer times, which is why the best times to visit is during Spring specifically late spring, as well as early summer, before the holidays begin. During this time the weather will be warm and nice but the water will be cold all the time as Cascais sits at the mouth of river Tagus which is the opening of the Atlantic sea.
Porto is a beautiful place to visit any time of the year but during the winter it rains a lot there. The best times to visit would be late spring or early autumn as it is sunny and the temperatures are much cooler, and also it won't be as crowded as during the summer as there are less tourists during these times.
The best times to visit Aveiro would be between March and September, the weather is nice and sunny during that period. You need 2 days to stay in Aveiro so it would be great if you want to go during the weekend. If you plan to visit between September and March, be aware that it gets cold at night in Aveiro as well as windy.
Accommodations In Portugal
You can find a lot of different accommodations in Portugal that would suit every budget, so if you are on a budget you won’t have to worry, and also if you want something luxurious you will be able to find a lot. Be aware that some cities are more expensive than the others.
For example; Aveiro has gained a lot of international exposure during the past few years, most options can be found in the city centre but keep in mind that most hotels as well as family-run housings are a bit overpriced. You can find a lot of great Airbnbs in Aveiro and that would be my favourite option, but in comparison to Lisbon and Porto, Aveiro is slightly more expensive. Which is why it is better to stay in Porto and go on a day trip to Aveiro, which is what I did.
Same thing goes for Sintra & Cascais, it would be better to stay in Lisbon and go on a day trip there, since you only need one day to explore both of these locations.
You can book your accommodation through Booking.com, which is the one I use the most, or if you wan to stay in a hostel you can book through HostelWorld. You can also use Agoda, Trivago, or Vrbo to book your accommodations. I know most people have a favourite website or app to use, so just choose what you prefer best.