Why Portugal?
Most people said, “Why Portugal?” when we told them about our Spring Break plans. I get it! It sounds a bit random because Portugal isn’t as well traveled or as popular in Europe as Italy, Greece, Spain or France. But I’m hoping to convince you why visiting Portugal is a great addition to your bucket list (and probably much more accessible than you realize!). It was recommended to us by a co-worker and because we love an adventure we started looking into it. And the more we researched, the more we felt like this would be a great way to introduce our kids to Europe!
So why Portugal? Check out my list!
Super Affordable
One of the big pulls of Portugal for us was the price! We started looking at flights to Arizona for Spring Break and were shocked to see that it was CHEAPER to fly to Portugal! We got flights for around $300 per person round trip! The prices are best in the off season, fall through spring. I recommend looking at options via Google Flights to start; it really gives you a fast look at average prices without committing to any airline.
In addition to the low airfare, we found housing, food, and even excursions to be extremely affordable. For reference, our AirBNB was only $150 A NIGHT and we had the entire floor! Kitchen, three bedrooms, two baths, a patio, washer and dryer, and an incredible host. I will link it below for you, and please tell Nathalie that I sent you! Dinners for all 5 of us ran between $60-$100. And we took a sunset cruise one night and it was only $150 total! So yeah, it’s quite a bit less expensive than we are used to in the US.
Incredibly Safe
Portugal is rated one of the safest countries in the world! And we can attest to that! We felt so safe, even walking the streets and alleyways at night with our kids. Even the traffic felt safe. There’s not the feeling of road rage or anger that we are familiar with here in the states or in some countries.
Easy to Navigate
With today’s technology, we can all navigate new places with relative ease, but combine that technology with a walking-friendly city and awesome public transport and you have solved one of the anxieties that can come with travel. You can walk, take the trolley, take a train, get an Uber, or grab a Tuk Tuk (located everywhere). Everyone is helpful, friendly, and most speak English.
Walking everywhere!
Tons of Historical Sites and Buildings
At St. George’s Castle
We loved showing our kids the sites! We visited a palace, a castle, a monastery, 1000 year old churches, towers, and monuments. We found them accessible, affordable (the castle was nearly free to get in!), and not too busy. Most of our waits were about 20 minutes or less. I do recommend purchasing tickets in advance online to speed up your wait. I’ll list the places we visited below.
The People
The Portuguese are a warm and friendly group of people, and like in America, many of them are from other places so it’s a very diverse population. We felt that they enjoyed having us in their country <3 All of our tour guides and our AirBNB host went above and beyond to make sure we had a great experience in their country, even sending us recommendations for food and activities long after the tours were finished.
Abundance of Food Choices
I really had no idea what to expect when it came to food options, and was a LEETLE concerned when I learned about how cod was one of the favorite Portuguese dishes (we don’t love seafood). But because Portugal is a land made up of people from all over the world, the food is also from all over the world! We had Italian (amazing!!) twice, plenty of Portuguese pastries (delicious), French food, tons of fresh juices and incredible brunches, and lots of gelato! So if you have some picky eaters too, don’t fret! You’ll be able to find something for everyone 🙂
The Weather
Portugal is WARM! Not all of the time like Mexico, but we went in early March and the temps were in the mid 60’s with lots of sun. It felt glorious! If you go in the off season, your weather will be a little more unpredictable but still mild.
Our Itinerary and Links!
A gift from our hostess! And a huge fruit basket!
Thursday - Saturday:
We left on a Thursday evening and arrived to our house on Friday night. Our AirBNB host had dinner waiting for us when we arrived at 10:30 pm!! Note, this isn’t typical! We were in communication about our arrival time because she likes to personally welcome her guests and check them in, and I asked about food options because it was so late. But I mention this to showcase how accommodating she was! Just above and beyond service!
In the morning we grabbed pastries from the shop next door (literally next door), and then our Tuk Tuk picked us up at the house for our 4 hour tour of the city. I’m a BIG fan of city tours in new places because they truly give you a Cliff’s Notes’ version of what’s what, places we definitely want to visit again in more depth, and you get your own personal expert.
Sibling love in the Tuk Tuk
Saturday night we ate at a delicious Italian restaurant that Nathalie recommended right down the road. However, I wouldn’t get caught up in needing a ton of food recs because there are options EVERYWHERE and most don’t need a reservation. So don’t stress on food!
Sunday:
We did a lot of walking today! After sleeping in, our first stop was Bertrands, the oldest operating bookstore in the world! We all picked out a book to take home and then grabbed brunch nearby. We walked to St. George’s Castle but had a glitch with our tickets, so after exploring this gorgeous neighborhood called Grace, we visited Oceanario, the world’s second largest aquarium. It was probably a bit young for our kids, but very well done regardless. We had an early evening because we were tired, but made sure to get some gelato in at a place down the road from our house. We. Love. Gelato.
Peacocks greeting us at St. George’s Castle
Monday:
This day was probably my favorite! We had brunch (again!) at the cutest place ever called Augusto and then went back to St. George’s Castle. It’s a very low key, self-guided kind of site and just absolutely incredible! It was built in the year 600!! And cool fact: there are tons of peacocks living all around the castle, just walking around, and that was really special and unique.
We grabbed some sangria (SO good and fresh in Portugal) and the kids got Cokes and we waited for our afternoon tour of Sintra and Pena Palace. Sintra is a town in the mountains about 30 minutes from Lisbon and about 15 degrees cooler so bring a jacket! Our guide walked us through the Palace and was so wonderful and very accommodating of our kids and their curiosities “How much did that chandelier cost?” “Why does the queen look like a man?” “If someone jumped from here what would happen?” It was wonderful to have a personalized tour. There was one sweet couple on the tour with us and we enjoyed chatting with them, too! The woman lived in Dubai and we exchanged info because we’ll be traveling there next year-I love those connections!
After learning about the palace, we grabbed some pastries from the town of Sintra and made our way back to Lisbon. We had a great dinner and a wonderful day!
Pena Palace in all of it’s glory!
Tuesday:
On Tuesday we brunched again (!!) and then visited the Monastery of St. Jerome. This was INCREDIBLE!!! We had so much of it to ourselves because they really limit how many people can be inside at once. It is just the most beautiful building and it touched my Catholic School Girl heart. The kids really loved it too and I could tell were awed by the beauty and specialness of it.
In the evening we took a 2-hour sunset cruise and that was heavenly! Again, bring a jacket, but you get the best views of the city! And it was only $140 for all of us. Plus if you use my coupon you will save an additional 15%!
Wednesday:
For our final day in Portugal we ventured to Cascais (KASH-KISH), which is a beach town that Portuguese royalty would spend vacations. We found this town to be quant and vibrant all at the same time! And the prices were even cheaper than in Lisbon! We enjoyed some time at the beach, another brunch, and walking the town. To get home we took the train and that was fun and so easy!
In summary, this was a magical vacation! I can’t recommend a visit to Portugal enough! It’s accessible, affordable, magical, and is full of history. Traveling is such a great way to expose your kids to other cultures, people, and experiences. And I really love that it shows us how we are all more alike than we are different <3 Please reach out with any questions you have!
Link to our AirBNB