This summer myself and my best friend Marta decided to go on a road trip around Portugal. It was one of ours childhood dreams! As we’ve managed to discover so many incredible places in a very short time, I have decided to put a little guide together for you with my favourite 5 places that I am sure you’d absolutely love and should not miss when visiting Portugal. Our trip was seven days long and we’ve started off in Seville where we’ve rented the car from Hertz.
Algarve beaches
Looking for beautiful beaches and most magical sunrises and sunsets? Algarve has it all! It was the first stop of our road trip and we’ve spent 3 days visiting the most beautiful beaches on the coast. We’ve managed to visit Praia de Marinha, Praia do Vau, Praia do Camilo ( my personal favourite!), Praia de Ponta de Piedate and Largo de Praia. We’ve also made it to the famous Benagil Cave – thanks to Marta as she brought me there on a kayak, haha! And this place also got us absolutely speechless. I have never seen a place like this before! PS. Tip here is to get there as early as possible as it gets very crowded.
Carvoeiro
One of the most charming little towns on Algarve coast- personally my favourite! This place somehow reminded me of Cinque Terre and Mykonos at the same time. I think it’s a perfect place not just for a beach day but also for a little evening stroll. There’s a lot of cute shops and cafes. We’ve also dined at the little restaurant called Boneca. The location was absolutely gorgeous- hidden between the rocks and overlooking the ocean. To be honest the food wasn’t that good, however I still think the location is worth it! Maybe go there for a little snack or a glass of chilled Rosé wine!
Lisbon
How could you visit Portugal and skip beautiful capital? Impossible! It wasn’t my first time in Lisbon, however in the past I visited this city in the winter and the vibe wasn’t the same. Even though we’ve only spent a day there, I could really „feel” this city. Lisbon in the summer is just something else! It’s so warm, lively and vibrant. I absolutely loved all colours and beautiful tiles on every corner! We’ve started our day with a brunch at Heim Cafe– we LOVED it! It was so delicious and reasonably priced. After brunch we went for a stroll around the city. To be honest we didn’t really have this day planned properly. Myself and Marta have decided to be spontaneus and just get lost. We’ve walked around beautiful Alfama– the oldest area of Lisbon, Baixa– Lisbon’s historic heart, Bairro Alto – the bohemian area of Lisbon decorated with vivid street art. We’ve also stopped for a drink at famois El Miradour de Saint Lucia– such a stunning place, very crowded but still magical. The views from here are incredible.
We’ve also managed to take a photos of 100000 tiles, and that ONE Instagram-famous shot with the yellow tram (Yay!) For lunch we’ve headed to H10 Duque de Loulé hotel’s rooftop. If you go, I highly recommend trying their Vegan Burger! I normally don’t eat burgers but this one was absolutely divine!
Our last stop before leaving Lisbon was Fábrica De Nata. How could we possibly leave this town before trying the famous Portugese pastry- Pastéis de Nata and Porto wine? I am going to make one little comment here- SOOO GOOOD!
Costa Nova
Not going to lie- this place was on my bucket list for so long! This was probably my most favourite stop during our road trip! Costa Nova is located about 15 min drive from Aveiro and it’s famous because of the beautiful, striped colored houses and a beautiful beach front. The colorful houses are known as palheiros which in Portugese means haystack. They were used by fishermen to store their finishing nets. Through the years they’ve been converted into beautiful houses for holiday makers. To me this place felt really Scandinavian for some reason! I loved strolling around this place. It has such a vibe and compare to other places we’ve visited it felt really calm and peaceful. Next time I’d love to stay there over the night in one of these houses! They were so cute! Also the beach was soo lovely! I would highly recommend stopping here for at least a night or two!
Águeda
Another place I was really looking forward to! Águeda is located only 23 km away from Aveiro so if you like, you’d be actually able to visit these two places in one day! Àgueda is a small town famous from the Umbrella Sky Project– almost every single little street is decorated with beautiful, colorful umbrella installations. Oh how pretty that was! If you visit this city in July, August or September you can also admire beautiful street art. I would recommend visiting this city for at least an hour or two as it’s quite small but worth stopping at for a coffee and pastel del nata in one of their cute cafés under colorful umbrellas!
Nice tips, really enjoyed reading your article!