Where to Go in Portugal: My Trip Through Lagos, Porto & Lisbon

Basic Overview 

Who: just me, it was my first solo international trip!

When: Wednesday through the next Thursday in mid-October 2023

Flight info: Flew from the East Coast to LIS airport & flew out of LIS airport as well

Where in Portugal: LAGOS (2 nights) → PORTO (3 nights) → LISBON (2 nights)

Transportation: Check out my transportation section below for more details on the trains

• Long Distance transportation: Bus from Lisbon to Lagos. Train for Lagos to Porto and from Porto to Lisbon. 
• Lagos (in the Algarve): Ubers, taxi, walking
• Porto: Ubers, mainly walkable 
• Lisbon: Trains, metro, bus, tuk tuks, Ubers, walking 

Where I stayed: Hotel in Lagos, AirBnb in Porto and Lisbon. Looking back, I should have stayed in a hotel in Lisbon. 

Food: In Lagos, the food was amazing. In Porto and Lisbon overall the food was average to below average and the reservation system for some of the restaurants I chose to go to had very long waiting times. 

Luggage: 1 roller carry-on suitcase and a book bag (personal item)

Weather: The weather was incredible – sunny, warm (but not hot)! The day after I left that entire week was raining. One of my tour guides did mention the amazing weather was rare for mid-October. 

Type of Vacation (aka THE VIBES): Mostly adventure and seeing all the sites 

Day trips and Excursions: 

• Lagos: Paddle boarding in the Algarve caves (I was supposed to do this at Bengali cave, but ended up doing it at another location) 
• Porto: Douro Valley wine tasting 
• Lisbon: Sintra 

LAGOS 2 NIGHTS

Hotel/Lodging: I checked into Carvi Beach Hotel and I have no complaints about it and would stay here again. I chose this hotel because I wanted to stay closer to the beach area to watch sunrise and be by the water versus in the Lagos city center and it was a great choice! The hotel has beautiful views, it’s clean, and breakfast was included. I booked pretty last minute, so the only decently priced room left was the ‘Standard Triple Room’ which was literally 3 twin sized beds lol! There was a nice outside space for the room as well but my specific room did not have an ocean view (which I knew ahead of time) but there are rooms with ocean views that may be available.

DAY 2: PADDLE BOARDING & ALGARVE CAVES, EXPLORING OLD TOWN LAGOS

Quick backstory: In the midst of my flight being delayed, I got a message from a Bengali Cave tour that I pre-booked that it was cancelled which was so disappointing because I was looking forward to it. I checked the weather and the waves which were fine, so I didn’t know why it was cancelled. However, since I really wanted to do some kind of water activity exploring the caves, I immediately went to GetYourGuide.com and booked another tour with a new tour company to the Benagli cave. About 30 minutes later, I received an email from the new tour company informing me that Bengali Cave was shut down by the government the same day I was flying to Portugal out due to over tourism, overcrowding, and fatal accidents. The new tour company offered an alternative location to Bengali cave and I agreed! The alternate location was in the Boião area around Praia Do Barranco.  

All in all, even with the hiccups, I enjoyed the paddleboarding and seeing Portugal from the water was breathtaking.

I went with BROTHEROOTZ company and would recommend them (it was about $53.00 USD at the time of booking in 2023).  

After I got back to my hotel, I quickly showered, got ready, and caught an Uber to the ‘downtown’ area of Lagos and arrived there around 3:30 pm. Here’s what I saw while there:

• Arco/Porta de Sao Goncalo
• Roamed the streets in the Old Town
• Visited the Museu de Lagos – Rota de Escravatura and I would definitely recommend this one
• Ate at Casa de Prego which I was not a fan of
• Went to Gombá Pastelaria for some coffee and a sweet treat
• Avenida dos Descobrimentos – this is the street by the water with vendors and shops
• Green House
• Walked by the waterfront
• Relaxed and watched the sunset by Fortaleza da Ponta Bandeira

PORTO 3 NIGHTS

DAY 3: TRAIN RIDE TO PORTO, PORTO WALKING TOUR, EXPLORING PORTO

I Took an uber from my hotel to the Lagos train station and arrived around 5:50am for my 6:10 am train. I booked an early train because I wanted as much time in Porto as possible and because it’s a long route (~6h48m) and cost me 73.55 Euros for the first class seat which was worth it for me (the regular cabin was ~55 euros) for the extra space and single seat. I booked my ticket on cp.pt which is the CP – Comboios de Portugal company. Purchase your long-distance train tickets from the cp.pt website which is the official website. Do not use third party sites such as railninja.

• I took a train from Lagos Station to Porto-Campanhã station [time table was 6:10 am to 12:58 pm]. This is not a direct route, you do have to transfer trains, but it is easy because the trains used the same platform so I didn’t have to walk anywhere to catch the next train. My route was Lagos Station to Tunes station on the Regional (R) train and then from Tunes station to Porto Companha on the Alfa Pendular (AP). I got to Tunes at 7:10 am and the AP train came at 7:29 am.
• My Airbnb was near Sao Bento station, so I took the train/metro from Porto-Companha to Sao Bento station from Campanha station which was easy to figure out with Google Maps as there are many lines that take this route since it is only one stop away and I did need to purchase a separate train ticket which was fairly straight forward using Google Translate app and I arrived to Sao Bento station around 1:40pm. 

WALKING TOUR & EXPLORING

I got a cup of coffee from the Sao Bento station (which is a BEAUTIFUL train station) and jetted to my Airbnb because I had a walking tour booked. I arrived at my Airbnb around 2:15 pm (it was a little hard to find due to construction) then changed quickly for my free walking tour. I did a free walking tour of Porto with Sandemans that started at 3pm. While it is free, it is encouraged to tip at the end of the tour. The tour was a good introduction to the city and helped me get my bearings of the city and see many places from the outside such as Clergios Tower, Livaria Lello, Porto Cathedral, and Porto City Hall that I didn’t necessarily want to take a detailed tour of. In hindsight, I should have done a food/walking tour combination, it would have made it more interesting, but I definitely recommend some sort of city tours if you can do it early on in your trip. There are many kinds like Vespa, biking, running, walking, food tours etc.

After the walking tour, I headed toward the direction of CAIS DA RIBEIRA while making some stops along the way at Castro to get my hands on Pastéis de Nata and that was the best one I had on the trip, Prato Do Infante D. Henrique, and stopping for cute photographs along the way as well.

DINNER: After strolling around Cais Da Ribeira, I took the stairs up to Luís I Bridge for sunset and it was a hard walk up, but absolutely stunning and so worth it. There are other ways to get to the top level of the bridge, but I ended up walking. I then strolled around in the direction of my Airbnb in search of some food and ate dinner at Cantina 32. It was a great atmosphere and service – one of my dishes was amazing and the other was just okay.

DAY 4: DAY TRIP TO DOURO VALLEY

I woke up early to get ready for my day trip to DOURO VALLEY. I made coffee in my Airbnb and the only place open for food that early and was nearby and on the way was Starbucks, so I got a breakfast sandwich from there and headed to the meet up location.

The Day trip was great. I am not a huge wine drinker, so I didn’t sample everything, and the trip was still worth it despite that. The tour was with a small group with an amazing guide, we drove to the Duro valley, stopped for photos at picturesque places, visited local wineries and tasted their wines, olives, olive oils, bread etc. The tour cost also included all the wineries, lunch at Taberna Do Rio, and a 1 hour boat cruise on the Douro river which was stunning. I would recommend the tour which I booked through GetYourGuide and the tour company was DailyTours (the cost was $144.81 USD at the time of booking in 2023). Taking this tour with a small group made it so much more enjoyable.

Afterward, I had dinner reservations at Cantinho Do Avillez which I was excited about because it has a Micheline star, however, the food was simply tasteless, I was shocked but thankful I only ordered a couple of appetizers to get a feel of the place before getting a main course. I then went to see Capela das Alma’s de Santa Catarina also known as the Chapel of souls from the outside and then got a Pasteis De Nata and some gelato on the way home.

All in all this was a great but packed day.

DAY 5: FREE DAY IN PORTO 

I left this day open to explore and didn’t have a hard and fast agenda, so I had a later start to the day and here’s where I went 

Started off at Cafe Alma for coffee and breakfast and then strolled around Porto and saw pretty buildings.

I then made my way to Epoca for lunch which I was so excited about due to raving reviews, but it turns out their menu underwent a dramatic change and my meal was mediocre (as you can tell, I wasn’t having the best food experiences). However, I was able to see a different part of Porto which was nice.

Afterward, I headed to Jardim de Passeio Algre by Uber around 12:30 pm and walked along the beautiful coastline towards Farolim de Felgueiras and Farolim da Barra do Douro which are two beautiful lighthouses that you can walk right up to. The waves here can get very high during certain times of the year to the point where you cannot walk to the lighthouses, but fortunately, when I was there, the water was relatively calm. I spent some time walking even further along the coastline, exploring the nearby neighborhood, and sitting near the beaches that had beautiful rocks and just taking it all in. 

I went to a restaurant LUCA in that area that was recommended. I got there about 30 minutes after they opened, but they already ran out of food by that time, so I couldn’t eat there – you can see the food trend with me and Porto wasn’t going well which was sad because I am a foodie but even with that, Porto was still my favorite out of all the cities in Portugal I visited. 

I then took an Uber back to the main part of town, grabbed some food from this hole in the wall shop near Crystal Palace Gardens (aka Jardins do Palácio de Cristal). I headed to the Crystal Gardens after my meal around 3:30pm and explored the park which was beautiful and I HIGHLY recommend it; there were beautiful birds, gardens, views of Porto and it was very peaceful.

I then went to Mercado Bom Sucesso which has some food stalls and shoppes. Cool place to visit if you’re in the area and have time. I then made my way to Jardim do Morro for sunset and I HIGHLY recommend this area as there’s live music and incredible views. Since I saw sunset from Dom Luis Bridge before, I wanted to see the sunset from higher views and walked up to Miradouro da Serra do Pilar which is in front of the Monsteiro de Serra do Pilar which is a monastery and watched the sunset from the viewpoint there and it was STUNNING as it overlooks Jardim do Morro and Porto. It was such a sweet and special time and is one of my favorite memories from Porto. There was smooth live music playing, perfect weather, beautiful buildings and a stunning sunset, God is just so good. That was just the perfect way to end my visit to Porto which is officially my favorite city out of the three that I visited. I then headed to my hotel to pack up and get ready for my early train to Lisbon the following morning.

LISBON 2 NIGHTS

DAY 6: TRAIN TO LISBON & EXPLORING LISBON  

It was time to head to my last city, Lisbon! Since it was an early morning, I took an uber to the train station. For my long-distance AP train to Lisbon, I took the 6:32 am highspeed (AP) train from Porto Campanha station to Lisboa Santa Apolonia station [train timetable was 6:32 am – 9:30 am]. From Santa Apolonia station, I took the metro on the ‘Azul’ aka blue line to get to my Airbnb (looking back, I should have gotten a hotel instead of an airbnb). Also, the metro/train system was very easy to figure out here with Google Maps. I was so excited to be in Lisbon as I’ve heard so much about it. I was a little tired from all the sightseeing and walking in Algarve and Porto, but still wanted to make the most of my last couple days.

Pro-tip: Lisbon has A LOT of stairs and hills, so mentally prepare. Even when you look it up in maps apps, even though it seems close, be prepared for the hills LOL!

After dropping my stuff off at my Airbnb, I then got breakfast at Augusto Lisboa which was delicious, but there was a long wait, so keep that in mind. Afterward, I went to explore by foot to the following places and stopped at other places in between:

• Praça do Commércio
• Rua Augusta
• Praca da Figueria 
• Rossio Square
• Miraduro de Sao Pedro de Alcântra – a beautiful viewpoint 
• Museu da Farmacia 

I then took an Uber to Taberna Sal Grosso for my 2:00 pm reservation (booked before my trip). This place was delicious and I definitely recommended it!

I then headed to my Airbnb to get changed and continue the exploring. 

• Conserveira de Lisboa which is a famous sardine shop, I picked up some cans of sardines there
• Pink Street and Green street – I would definitely skip these if you’re low on time.
• Bandeira da Europa to walk around and watch the sunset which was stunning

DINNER

Went to eat at Taberna Da Rua Das Flores – they had an interesting system at that time where there was no reservations, so if you want to eat there, you basically have to get there early, line up and whomever they can fit gets a table and whoever is left can put there name down and come back to see if there’s a table available a few hours later. I had to come back, but it was okay because while I waited, I took one of the beautiful Tram ride (there is the number 12 tram and E28 tram) and then came back and had dinner before going home. The food was good and I would go back, but I wouldn’t wait again if I didn’t already have a reservation ahead of time, unsure if it’s worth the time suck.

DAY 7: SINTRA DAY TRIP FROM LISBON

This day, I took a guided tour to the town of Sintra that I booked via GetYourGuide and I highly recommend it. Sintra is a town with a collection of many castles and palaces. I went with Lisbon Ahead Tours company and it a small group tour with a great informative guide. The cost was $72.87 USD at the time of booking in 2023, HOWEVER, not all of the entrance fees to the castles are included in the booking price, so be mindful of that. I grabbed some coffee and a small breakfast, found my tour guide and we left Lisbon around 8:00 am. Since there are a lot of castles, for my tour,  the options were:

1. Pena Palace
2. Quinta da Regaleira and the Initiation Well
3. Monserrate Palace  

I went inside Pena Palace, the Initiation Well, and Monserrate Palace and surrounding gardens. I saw the Quinta da Regaleira from the outside and explored the gardens. I HIGHLY recommend doing Sintra with a guided tour rather than trying to do it on your own if you’re doing this as a day trip. The castles are so spread apart and the public transportation there looked like a true headache with all the lines and buses for tourists. The tour guide has special parking, keeps you on track to make sure you hit all the spots, and takes the stress off. We also had a good amount of free time in Sintra to explore, go into shops, and eat. I ate at lucnh at Tascantiga and it was AMAZING 10/10 recommend and redeemed most of my food woes for the trip. 

After a great time in Sintra, we got back to Lisbon around 4:00pm. I went to my Airbnb to freshen up and headed right back out to finish up seeing the last few things on my list

1. Jeronimos Monastery – I was only able to see it from the outside, but would visit inside if you have the chance. I got there by bus
2. Belem tower – I walked from the monastery 

From Belem tower, I took a tuktuk back to the main area of Lisbon and happened to get the sweetest driver who took me to:

3. Monument to the Discoveries 
4. Viewpoint of April 25 Bridge (that had a view of Cristo Rei)
5. Docs de Santo Amaro
6. Dropped me off at the Cais de Sodre stop which is by the water

I watched the sunset by the water and then headed to dinner. For my last night, I wanted to try O Velho Eurico, but they had a strange reservation system as well where you may have to wait over 2 hours for a table. The food was good, but not worth sucking up so much precious time, so definitely get a reservation ahead of time if you can!

Afterward, I headed back to my Airbnb to pack and get ready for my flight the next morning. The next day, my flight was in the morning, so I left my Airbnb early, took an Uber, and headed back home.

Overall, I LOVED my trip to Portugal! My favorite city was Porto, then Lagos, and then Lisbon.

Portugal will always have a special place in my heart and I can’t wait to return!

TRANSPORT:

Here are the details of some the long distance trains I took along with the costs/price of the tickets at the time if booking. Below you can find the details of my train journeys. As mentioned above, it is recommended to purchase your tickets directly from the cp.pt (which is the official Comboios website) and book them in advance as they are cheaper the earlier you book. Do not use third party sites such as railninja for your journeys in Portugal specifically.

Abbreviations: R – Regional, AP – Alfa Pendular, IC – Intercidades

LISBON to LAGOS (ALGARVE) 

LAGOS (ALGARVE) to PORTO

PORTO to LISBON

Seating chart on some of the AP trains

• This photo was helpful for me to choose my seats while I was booking. This isn’t for all the trains, only a select few.

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