Portugal in ten days

Why this route

Three bases, ten days, no wasted mornings. Porto gets three nights, Lisbon four, the Algarve three, and the train line down the coast does the connecting. This is the anti-checklist Portugal: fewer places, held longer, which is how Portugal actually wants to be visited.

Lisbon sits in the middle on purpose. It is the biggest of the three, it has the day trips if you want them, and four nights means you can waste an afternoon without arithmetic guilt.

The stops, and why each one

1. 1

   PortoDouro · 3 nights

   Picked for the food you asked for. Known for Livraria Lello and Douro cellars.

   • Livraria Lello A bookshop with a staircase so photogenic it now charges admission, redeemable against a book. Go at opening or not at all, and buy the book: it is the only way the price makes sense.
   • Douro cellars The port lodges across the river in Gaia, where the barrels rest. A tasting explains the difference between tawny and ruby better than any menu, and the walk back over the bridge at dusk is the best free thing in the city.
2. 2

   LisbonEstremadura · 4 nights

   Picked for the food you asked for. Known for Time Out Market and Belém tower.

   • Time Out Market The old Ribeira market with the city's better kitchens installed in stalls around the edge. Order from three of them, share, and go at an odd hour unless you enjoy hunting for a seat.
   • Belém tower The little fortress in the river that saw the caravels out and, sometimes, back. The queue to go inside moves slowly and the view is better from outside it. The custard tarts up the road are the other reason people come here.
3. 3

   AlgarveFaro · 3 nights

   Picked for the coast you asked for. Known for Benagil cave and Ponta da Piedade.

   • Benagil cave A sea cave with a hole in its roof and a beach inside it. Reachable by kayak or a boat from Portimão, and no longer by swimming alone. Early trips get it half empty and better lit.
   • Ponta da Piedade Ochre stacks and arches at the end of the headland, with a staircase down to the water and boatmen who will take you through the arches. Sunset turns the whole cliff the colour of the rock.

Day by day

One card per night. Unplanned days say so, because a printed lie about a museum helps nobody.

1. D1Porto
   • Arrive and settle in
   • Livraria Lello
   • 15 min across town · bus, tram or a short taxi
   • Douro cellars
2. D2Porto
   • Ribeira and the bridge in the morning, the cellars across the water in the afternoon, and dinner wherever the tiles look oldest.
3. D3Porto
   • Out along the river to Foz for the sea air, or the train up the Douro valley if you would rather spend the day looking at vineyards.
4. D4Lisbon
   • Train from Porto · about 3h40
   • Time Out Market
   • 20 min across town · bus, tram or a short taxi
   • Belém tower
5. D5Lisbon
   • Alfama on foot, downhill, with no route: the miradouros are the reward and the tram is for when your knees have had enough.
6. D6Lisbon
   • Sintra for the day. Book the palace ahead, go early, and accept that it is a day out rather than a morning.
7. D7Lisbon
   • The other Lisbon: LX Factory and the riverside walk, or a ferry to Cacilhas for grilled fish and the view back at the city.
8. D8Algarve
   • Train from Lisbon · about 2h50
   • Benagil cave
   • 1h10 across town · bus, tram or a short taxi
   • Ponta da Piedade
9. D9Algarve
   • A boat morning into the caves along the cliffs, then the afternoon on whichever beach the boatman recommends.
10. D10Algarve
    • The coast path between coves, west from Lagos, with a swim at each end and lunch somewhere with no menu in English.

Getting around

• Train to Lisbon · 3h40 · 208 mi
• Train to Algarve · 2h50 · 150 mi

Paperwork: Schengen applies to most visitors. Check your own passport's rules before you book anything.

What it costs, honestly

Expect somewhere between €2,041 and €2,881. These are estimates from typical rates, not quotes, and they move with the season.

Excludes travel insurance, bag fees and shopping. Excludes getting to Porto: that depends on where you start. How these figures are estimated

Worth knowing

• The Porto to Lisbon trains are quick and frequent; Lisbon to the Algarve is longer, so treat that day as a travel day and plan nothing ambitious at the far end.
• Sintra makes an easy day out from Lisbon. Go early or book the palace entry ahead, because everyone else has the same idea by mid-morning.
• Summer is beach season and priced like it. June and September buy the same coast with room to move.
• Porto is hills and cobbles. Comfortable shoes are not a suggestion.

Questions people ask

Is ten days too long for Portugal?

No. It is too long for a Lisbon city break and about right for this: two cities with real depth and a proper stretch of coast at the end.

North to south or south to north?

Either. This version ends on the beach, which is the better ending after two cities. Flip it if your flights are cheaper the other way.

Do I need to rent a car for the Algarve?

Only if you want the small coves beyond the towns. The route as written works on trains, buses and the odd taxi.