Portugal

The start of my search for home. The cheapest of all west European countries and one with a wealth of culture. The further inland you go the more charming it gets. Information here is based on my personal travel & research- updated: (Dec 2011)

(click on a topic heading to skip to that section)

» Memorable places in Portugal

» Ways into Portugal

» Portuguese Food

» The Portuguese People

» The Portuguese Language

» Do's & Do not's

» Places to stay

» Potential for home?

» FAQ's on Portugal

Some memorable places I have been

Sintra: the start of my journeys. A beautiful palatial town surrounded by high castle toped mountains. A 45 minute train ride from Lisbon, and by far the most romantic place I have seen. (hint) have a look at my stories section to uncover a hidden adventure here!

Lisbon: check out Barrio Alto after dark. A hybrid and eclectic mix of art cafe's, music and good food. Safer than the guide books say!

Praça do Comércio - The center of Lisbon and one of the best spots to walk down and take it all in. Then head off to Chiado for more shopping and people watching
Belém - An area filled with great buildings, monuments and history. HEad to tourist info first and pick up a free map.
Barrio Alto - During the day funky cafes and great cityscape views. At night party central.

Faro: Well, it's got a big church, a harbor and a HI youth hostel. Check out the old train tracks near the harbor for a taste of local life and bring a book. 7 Euro by train to Lagos.

Evora: Check out the Capela dos Ossos (chapel made entirely monks bones), Some nice roman ruins in the middle of the town. Check out the aqua duct as well. 2hrs from Lisbon via bus 11 Euro.

Lagos: A place to find a party hostel or three. Otherwise a local guesthouse and some amazing boat trips through great rock formations.

Ways into Portugal (link to top)

I took the overnight bus from Barcelona to Lisbon. I also took a bus from Seville to Faro, it was a rare bus to find at the time. Otherwise local buses take you straight along the coast of Spain across the border and onto Faro. I experienced no immigration on any route. Though the Lisbon to BCN bus was strict with carry on luggage, even arguing to put my camera in the luggage compartment. Instead I hid it under my shirt!

The Food (link to top)

Fish dishes aside, try the little custard cream pies (Pastéis de Nata). Also, My favorite beer comes from Portugal - Super Bock Negro, a dark carbonated beer. After that, Cherry spirits and a wide choice of world cuisine.

The People (link to top)

Friendlier than Spain. The further you travel into the remoter parts of Portugal the more you will see this. But even in the big cities I found the Portuguese to be more than welcoming.

The Language (link to top)

Portuguese can read a little like Spanish, but pronounced is very differently. Polish people pick it up quickly due to a similarity. Try the basics, all the tourist areas are English speaking to a degree.

Do's & Do not's (link to top)

Don't speak spanish. It's not Spain. If in doubt, mess the word up rather than speak Spanish. It's not a sin, but I found speaking Portuguese badly, was better than one spanish word. Eat varieties of the food, and talk with the locals.

Places I stayed (link to top)

I was lucky, I knew people and stayed with them. Though in Lagos, go for a guesthouse rather than a party hostel if you want to sleep. I stayed at both ends. But would go back to the then new www.carlos-house.com and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cheap but clean good place to stay. Evora's hostel was not open when I was there. A guesthouse was around 30 Euro for a room, most are located off the main square.

Potential for home? (link to top)

You know, I always had a hunch about about Portugal. I don't know if it's me, or anyone else gets this feeling about a place before they arrive? But I had that about Portugal. There, people were friendly, it was easy going and the quality of life was good. A mix of old world and new. People tending to fields by hand, and other's running big computer company's.

I struggled with the language though. I found spanish hard enough (I am not a linguist!). The phonetics of Portuguese are an extra step. Moving to Portugal would need more for me than what I found in my travels there. It didn't have that ultimate home feeling. It had something good, but no click if you know what I mean? I won't ever rule it out. But for me, it was: obrigado Portugal, pero adeus para agora.

FAQ's on traveling to Portugal

(link to top)

How much is a daily budget in Portugal?

Well, 35 Euro's a day for a backpacker using a dorm hostel and some travel should be ok. The average hostel is around 15 Euro a night.

Food is relatively cheap compared to the rest of Europe. With a sandwich costing around 3 Euro and a restaurant meal costing about 7-8 Euro.

Transport by rail is cheapish, as is the bus. I found it a lot cheaper than a lot of Europe, but then I was not at the tourist beach resorts.

Is Portugal just about beaches?

No! Go to the north or inland and see mountains, culture is oozing out of this country. Read my extracts about an adventure I had there for a feel of it's history. Lisbon, has a great underground culture too. Just ask the locals if they think the city is sinking! A large area of the old buildings are built on wooden foundations. It is really an undiscovered country overshadowed by it's popular neighbor.

How to get to/from the airport to Lisbon city?

It's not far. A bus (Saldanha/Marquês de Pombal/Rossio/Cais do Sodré) will cost under 2 Euro. While a taxi will cost about 10 Euro.

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Please keep in mind all the above is based on my own personal experience in Portugal. It's not intended to be a guide. If the information here can help you on your own travels then that's a good thing!