One Week in Portugal

I survived the jet lag of returning from my first ever trip over seas to the beautiful country of Portugal! I thought I would kick off the travel section of my blog with my travel tips and suggestions for visiting Lisbon, Porto, and Lagos. I did this trip in 7 days with two days being travel days. I would first of all suggest making this trip a 9 day trip to be able to get the most out of it but you can definitely see a lot in 7 if you are very planned out and decide what things are a must and prioritizing those. So let’s jump right in!

Itinerary: Lisbon: Porto: Lagos

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon
Day 2: Porto
Day 3: Lisbon & Sintra
Day 4: Lagos
Day 5: Lagos
Day 6: Lisbon
Day 7: Travel Home

Day 1: Arrive in Lisbon

We took a red eye for this flight landing in Lisbon around 5:30 am. One thing to note when landing is your check in time, most places don’t let you check in till around 2 or 3pm which in my opinion isn’t ideal when your battling jet lag and lack of sleep on the airplane. Which didn’t really occur to me when I booked my flight. If this doesn’t bother you I would book a facility that can store your luggage so you don’t have to track around the city with a weeks worth of baggage. There are plenty around, we stored ours at a hostel near some sights like the Santa Justa Lift and a square so we had things to do.

On day one I would start of by grabbing yourself a day pass for the metro it’s costs around 6 euros. You can use this to ride the Santa Justa Lift (5 euros) and the 28 Tram (3 euros) which will tour you around the city as well as access to the metro and buses. The metro system is easy to navigate and useful. We also Ubered a lot and it was fairly inexpensive compared to US rates. So in Portugal on day 1 these are some of the things we did and saw….

First off get yourself one of the infamous Patel de natas ( it’s an egg yoke tart) you can thank me later. We tried too many places to name but found Manteigaria to be by far the best.

See the sights from the top of the Santa Justa Lift.

Ride the 28 Tram. We unfortunately didn’t get to ride it because they had issues and waited in line for over an hour but the track around the city has some beautiful sights.

Take in the beautiful architecture of the Praça do Comercio.

Be wildly confused by all the stores that sell massive amounts of sardines and other canned fish.

Day 2: Porto

On day 2 we headed to the beautiful city of Porto. Remember earlier when I said I would extent the trip 2 days if I could. Porto is why. We started the day by hopping on the train which was about a 4 hour train ride. So we made it there around lunch time and had to to catch the 7pm train pack to Lisbon so here are a few things you can enjoy in Porto. Honestly just walking threw the winding cobblestone stone streets and soaking in the culture was enough for me. Porto was one of my favorite places that we visited. Here are some highlights….

Grab lunch at Café Sao Nicolau. Really enjoyed the food here and a close walk to the next two destinations.

Great photo op spot at Igreja Do Carmo. Porto is filled with the most decorative and ornate tile work. This church was of no exception. …..You may have to fight off other ladies trying to get there own insta pics but if you’ve ever been to an outlet mall on a weekend you should be fine.

Next up a short 2 minute walk from the church is the famous Livaria Lello also know as the Harry Potter bookstore. Jk Rowling got inspiration from this bookstore when writing Harry Potter. You do have to pay a 5 euro entrance fee but they give you a voucher for 5 euros off a book. So basically buy a book and you go in for free. Also I found the staff here to be particularly sweet and knowledgeable.

Day 3: Sintra

First off I definitely recommend getting into Sintra early! It is a quick 40 minute train ride into the mountainside that is home to many castles and palaces. You will need a full day if you are planning on visiting multiple sights. Unfortunately we got a late start on this morning and were only able to see the Pena Palace up close but were able to see a few others off in the distance. I thought the outside and grounds of the Pena palace where much more interesting rather than touring the inside. I would save time not doing the indoor tour and hop over to another one of the sights in the area. Here are a few pics from the beautiful Pena Palace.

Day 4 & 5: Lagos

On day 4 we hoped on the train once again to head down to the algarve in southern Portugal. At this point it’s a great time for a change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the city to sink into the slow magical Lagos coast.

Check out the beautiful beaches! There are so many! This one was taken at Praia dos Estudantes.

Visit the Benagil cave. However I recommend doing a paddle board or kayak excursion so that you can get the full effect. We did a boat tour and this was about the best view of it we could get. Which did not do it justice in my opinion.

Eat local cuisine! If you live seas food this is your place. Lots of barbecued fresh fish.

Visit Praia do Camilo! This was my favorite spot in Lagos. Make sure to go before sunset however if you want to see the aqua colored water.

Day 6: Lisbon

For our last day in Lisbon we tried to fit in as much as possible. Like visiting the Sé which is the big cathedral in Lisbon. We also went to time out market which is a smorgasbord of food. Here are some pictures from our last day in Portugal.

Get a piece of chocolate cake at Landeau Chocolate. It’s the only thing on the menu for a reason.

Visit the pink street which is Lisbon’s old relight district. They have a bunch of restaurants off the street.

I hope you guys found this travel diary helpful for planning your own trip to Portugal. Some other recommendations for accommodations would be to stay in the Barrio Alto or Chiado area in Lisbon we stayed in the Alfama area which is the oldest part of the city and certainly very beautiful but that area was a little more bustling with more things to do in my opinion. When staying in a Lagos I would look for a place closer to the beaches there isn’t a lot of transportation. We ubered most of the time but there were moments where there wasn’t one available. If you do end up visiting Portugal please sent me pics of your trip I would love to see them!