Visiting Portugal for the first time was without a doubt the highlight of my Spring 2022! I traveled here in early May with my best friend and we split our time between Lisbon and the Algarve Coast, both of which had unique things to offer. Lisbon is a city, of course, so it felt more “alive”. There are lots of people out and about all day, buses and cars weaving through traffic, train stations at a convenient location no matter where you’re staying, and a huge variety of restaurants to choose from. On the Algarve Coast we got to see some of the country’s most beautiful natural landscapes and overall, it felt a lot more slow paced. We were able to rent a car and drive everywhere stress-free and there were only a few places that we went to that felt crowded and even that didn’t ruin the experience at all! I’m a nature lover at heart so exploring the beaches, cliffs, and caves along the coast was my favorite part of the whole trip but I also really enjoyed our time in Lisbon so I’m super happy with my first time experience here!

Day 1: Arrival in Lisbon

Flight details: We flew Lufthansa from LAX to Lisbon and had a short layover in Frankfurt. This was my first time flying with this airline and overall, it was a good experience!

Our flight arrived in Lisbon around 3:30 pm and we decided to take an Uber to our hotel instead of navigating the buses and trains with our luggage. Getting an Uber here was actually a pretty smooth process and I’d definitely recommend it if you are staying in the city your first night. The Uber app will let you know where to meet your driver and you can follow the signs in the airport to reach the pick-up location. We got picked up in a small lot right outside the airport doors and our driver was really nice! He pointed out notable streets and landmarks as we made our way to the hotel. I believe our ride was only about $7 which was really cheap and worth having a private ride.

The Lumen Hotel

The hotel we stayed at our first night was The Lumen Hotel. We picked this one because it’s in a convenient location in the heart of the city and it does a really cool light show every evening. The light show, projected on the walls of the hotel’s interior garden, is a visual representation of the history of Lisbon — a really cool introduction to the city for our first night! The hotel and rooms were really clean and modern, had everything we needed for our stay, and included breakfast with a wide variety of food options. I have no complaints about our stay here and would definitely recommend to any first time visitors.

Once we checked into our room, got showered and refreshed after a long day of travel, we decided to walk around to explore a little and find a place to eat. We ended up choosing a cute little crepe place called Becot Crepes & Brunch. It was on a quiet street, our meals were delicious, and the employees were really nice! We didn’t really have anything specific to do or see this day so we kind of just walked around for a bit before heading back to the hotel. We watched the light show and then went to bed early to get some rest before the next day!

Day 2: Drive to Algarve Coast + Praia da Luz + Old Town Lagos

On our first full day in Portugal, we got up early, had breakfast at the hotel, and then picked up our rental car to drive to the coast. We technically could have gotten our car the day we arrived and then drove straight to the coast, but we chose to stay overnight in Lisbon to rest up instead of adding another 3 hour drive to our already long travel day. Plus, it was easier to pick up our car in the city since we were coming back to the city for the last few days of our trip (versus getting the car at the airport and having to bring it back to the airport).

Rental car details:

We used Sixt for our rental car and had no issues during our trip so I’d definitely book them again! I believe it was about $425 for 4 days with insurance, and the office was only a 5 min walk from our hotel.

The drive to the coast:

Driving in Lisbon is a bit hectic (nothing new if you’re used to driving in a bigger city like Los Angeles), but once you get out of the city, it’s a pretty quiet drive! It took about 3 hours to get to the coast and a good chunk of the way honestly reminded me of Central California - lots of farmland with random little towns along the way. If you’re doing this drive and happen to be looking for a rest stop, Área de Serviço de Grandola is about at the halfway point and there are bathrooms and a small store / restaurant here.

Where we stayed:

Our specific destination was Praia da Luz, a town in the western Algarve region. We chose this area because it’s close to a lot of the coastal spots we wanted to visit but wasn’t right in the hub of the busy tourist area. We booked an airbnb right in town with a beautiful view of the beach! Besides the view and how close we were to everything, I wouldn’t recommend the specific Airbnb we stayed in, so I’m not going to link it, but we loved the town and there were lots of other options available. I would definitely read reviews and manage your expectations if you are trying to save money. (Cheaper options are cheaper for a reason.)

Exploring Praia da Luz

Praia da Luz is a very small town so it didn’t take long to see the most of it. We walked down to the beach, through some of the side streets, and then got gelato at a little shop on the way back to our airbnb!

Old Town Lagos

Lagos is a beautiful, historical city on the Algarve Coast that’s very tourist friendly due to the picturesque town itself, the dramatic rock formations along the coast, and it’s wide array of restaurant and shopping options. Once you get into Old Town, the cobblestone streets are very narrow and crowded with people, so I definitely recommend mapping to a parking garage and walking around from there. Just exploring the streets was a fun experience because of the unique architecture and the colorful walls and doors! We wondered around for a bit before stopping in a small Italian restaurant, Pomo - la pasta bio italiano, for dinner. There I had the BEST lasagna I’ve ever had in my life.

Day 3: Ponta de Piedade + Student Beach

Our first few days in Portugal were pretty relaxed, consisting mostly of exploring the towns and trying local restaurants, so I was super stoked for our first outdoorsy adventure! We woke up early and drove about 10 minutes away to Ponta de Piedade for sunrise. This location is one of the first things to pop up on google when you search the Algarve Coast so getting to see it in person felt surreal! It was beautiful before the sun came up and it just kept getting better and better as the sun finally rose up over the horizon and the rock formations scattered along the water. The photos we took here are probably my favorite from the whole trip!

After walking along the cliff trails for a bit, we drove back to Praia da Luz for breakfast at a restaurant in town called Cafe Bombordo (I had crepes again lol). Then we drove back toward Lagos to see some of the other beaches there. We visited Batata Beach and Student Beach, both of which are really beautiful and have cool little rock arches / tunnels to walk through, but since they were pretty crowded mid-day, we didn’t hang out too long here. Student Beach has a really cool stone bridge above the beach that would probably look amazing in photos at sunrise or when the tide is lower and you can walk under it.

We grabbed lunch in Lagos (Poke Lagos - very fresh and delicious!) and then headed back to Praia da Luz for a chill evening.

rock bridge at Student Beach, Lagos, Portugal

Day 4: Algor Seco + Benagil Cave Tour + Praia de Marinha

The next day we had a tour of the famous Benagil Cave booked for 9:30 am and we made a quick stop at Algar Seco on the way. Algar Seco is a rocky cliff area with unique caves and rock formations accessible by stairs and boardwalks. The most notable cave has two “windows” with a view of the ocean and the coastline to the right of the cave. We were the only people around during the time we visited but I imagine it could get crowded here very quickly during the day because the cave is really small.

Out of all the travel blogs I read and research I did before traveling to Portugal, seeing the Benagil Cave is one of the most recommended things to do! It’s definitely pretty touristy (as expected by any major landmark / attraction) but I really do think it’s worth the visit! Unless you’re a really strong swimmer, the only way to access the cave and the beach under it is via boat, paddle board, or kayak. We booked a stand up paddle board tour through Get Your Guide (about $55 per person) and had the best guide, Bruno! After checking in, we watched another group (with a different guide) launch onto the water and one girl got WIPED OUT by a wave so we were feeling a bit nervous at first, but Bruno gave us all a quick lesson on paddle boarding and helped us safely get onto our boards and past the rougher waves near the shore. Once on the water, we tried standing up on the boards and paddling around for a bit but because of the waves we spent most of our time paddling from our knees. We finally paddled into the cave, brought our boards up on the shore, and had some time to walk around and take photos. Bruno even shared some info about how it was formed and pointed out unique formations in the rocks. It was pretty crowded in the cave on the day we went because all the tours from the day before (including ours) got rescheduled, but we still managed to take some cool photos on the beach without too many people in the background! I highly recommend a dry bag if you plan to bring a camera or at least a waterproof case for your phone. This is the dry bag I used and it worked great!

We were pretty exhausted after being on the water, so we grabbed lunch at a nearby restaurant, O Rustico (I got poke again and it was delicious), then headed to Praia da Marinha, a BEAUTIFUL beach with clear blue water and cool rock formations along the coast. We hung out for quite a bit and just relaxed, people watched, and took photos. There were a good amount of people here but it wasn’t overwhelming because there is a lot of space to move around and find your own little spot. I highly recommend this place for a beach day! PS: if you’ve never been to a beach in Europe, just know that it’s pretty common to see people topless even if it’s not specifically a “nude beach”.

Day 5: Drive back to Lisbon + Cascais Pit Stop

The next day we packed up early and made our way back to Lisbon, where we would spend the rest of our trip. Since we had extra time before our airbnb check-in, we decided to stop in Cascais, a small seaside town that’s highly recommended as a day trip from Lisbon. We found that it was actually pretty car friendly and were glad that we stopped while we still had our rental car instead of taking a train or bus here. Unless you want to hang out for awhile at one of the beaches or visit every single notable building, you honestly only need an hour or two to see the main highlights. The first stop we made was Boca do Inferno, a sea cave that had collapsed, leaving behind a chasm and sea arch. Then we parked near the town center and explored on foot, stopping at a couple of the palaces and historical buildings (mostly just to view from the outside), before finding a place to eat lunch. We ended up eating at a restaurant called Hot Dog da Praca and the meal we had here was one of my favorites from the entire trip!! Although I didn’t find the town of Cascais very exciting in itself, I would make a trip back here just to get another one of these hotdogs. They were THAT good. Highly highly recommend!

After lunch we continued our drive back to Lisbon, checked into our airbnb, returned the rental car, and had an early dinner at a Ramen restaurant nearby.

Airbnb details

The airbnb we stayed at in Lisbon was SO nice, spacious, and in the perfect central location. I would stay here again 100%!

Day 6: Day Trip to Sintra

For our first full day in Lisbon we decided to do a day trip to Sintra, home to some of the countries most famous castles! To get here we took a 45 min train ride from the station near where we were staying and then got a tuk tuk ride from the Sintra train station up to the Pena Palace entrance!

Tuk Tuk Info

Tuk tuks are motorized three-wheeled passenger carts that make a good alternative to taxis in areas where the roads are narrow and busy since the drivers can easily weave through the streets to get you where you need to go. You need euros to pay for your ride but don’t be afraid to negotiate a price if you feel like you’re being overcharged. Our tuk tuk driver originally quoted us 10 euros each for a ride to the palace but Tida talked him into taking us for 14 euros total.

Pena Palace

This colorful hilltop castle is one the main highlights of Sintra so we booked our tickets online in advance to avoid having to wait in line and we arrived right when they opened to have the best chance of avoiding crowds - this totally worked out in our favor! We were able to take lots of photos without other people in them and see most of the castle’s exterior before it got busy. We even met a cute couple while taking pictures and did a mini photo shoot with them!

Once more people arrived, we took our tour of the palace interior. It was cool to see the 19th century architecture and how all of the different rooms were set up but unless you’re a history buff and reallyyyy enjoy that stuff, I wouldn’t say it’s a MUST. We were there pretty early in the morning and the line was already long. It’s basically a one way line that weaves through the halls and rooms of the palace and it can be slow moving at times. We actually ended up skipping ahead of quite a few tour groups who had a guide that stopped and talked about each room for awhile.

Once we got back outside the palace, we stopped at the little cafe at the exit to grab some food, then made our way through the palace gardens as we headed to our next stop. There’s actually a lot to see in the gardens, so if you have time, definitely stroll around and enjoy the scenery.

The Castle of the Moors

The Castle of the Moors is about a 10 minute walk from the Pena Palace gate that you exit the gardens from. This castle is not actually a castle, just the castle walls, but it feels more like the “medieval” vibe you probably think of when you envision a castle. You can walk all along the walls and get a really cool view of the city below. We booked our tickets online HERE and the option to “skip the line” was included, but it wasn’t too busy on the day we went.

view of castle of the moors sintra portugal

girl in black outfit standing on castle wall in sintra portugal

Quinta da Regaleira

Our next and final stop of the day (after a quick lunch break in Sintra on the way) was Quinta da Regaleira, another historic palace on a beautiful property featuring footpaths, lakes, fountains, a chapel, and what we were most excited about - the Initiation Well (shown below). A spiral staircase takes you from the top of the well to the bottom where you will find a network of underground tunnels. This was pretty cool to see for sure but I honestly felt really overwhelmed. There is a line to get in from the top and you basically have to walk single file down to the bottom and it seems like you aren't able to really pause too much or you’ll get rushed forward. I’d say that if you’re really wanting photos here to come early but know that you aren’t really supposed to lean over the edge into the middle or sit on the ledges at all.

The well was the first thing we stopped at here and afterwards we kind of just roamed the property a bit before heading home because we were exhausted. We tried taking an Uber to the train station but quickly realized that Uber drivers wouldn’t do pick ups here because it’s a one way road and the drive up and down isn’t worth it to them. After a few canceled rides, we started the walk to the station and found a tuk tuk driver to drive us the rest of the way so that we could catch the train on time.

We booked our tickets online HERE and getting to skip the long line to buy them at the entrance was so worth it!

view from bottom of initiation well at Quinta da Regaleira in sintra portugal

tower on property of Quinta da Regaleira

Day 7: Alfama + Tram 28 + Timeout Market

For our last day in Portugal, we decided to explore more of Lisbon! We started by taking a ride on the famous Tram 28 to Miradouro Portas Do Sol, the most photographed viewpoint in the city. It overlooks the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon, Alfama, with its traditional red roofs and churches. Apparently this is an amazing sunrise spot - the name actually translates to “Gate of the Sun”.

Next, we got brunch at a nearby restaurant called Antu. I got a cappuccino here solely because it comes with the name of the restaurant on the top and it was actually SO good! I’m not normally a big coffee drinker, but this cappuccino has inspired me to try them more often when I travel.

After brunch, we walked around the town for a bit, stopped in some shops, and eventually made our way to the Time Out Market, a food hall with a wide variety of food and dessert options. This is a place that I’d consider a MUST if you’re in Lisbon! We got lunch here and then came back later for dinner. I think it’s fun to walk around and pick a place to eat based on what you see, so I’m not going to list out everywhere I bought food, but I will say that Manteigaria is a highly recommended place to try pastel de nata, a traditional portuguese egg tart! We tried them earlier in our trip and these were much better!

View from Miradouro Portas Do Sol in Aflame, Lisbon, Portugal

Day 8: Fly Home

Our return flight was at 6 am so we got an early morning Uber to the airport and spent the rest of the day traveling.

And that concludes my Portugal itinerary! I really loved the balance that we had on this trip between the city and the coast and although we obviously didn’t see everything each place had to offer, I feel very satisfied with my experience! Hopefully my itinerary gave some inspiration and location ideas, but if you’re planning your own trip and happen to have more time to explore (or just have different interests), there are a ton of other beautiful beaches and activities to do on the Algarve Coast and in Lisbon, there are lots of historical buildings and museums you can visit.