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Portugal in September.... safe to wait on decisions re: flights & lodging?

Posted by (SF Bay Area) on

September is "shoulder season" in Portugal. It will be the 3rd country after 2 months in Germany and France, before heading to Mexico for another month before home to California.

I'm not sure I'll have the energy left to do a "full tour" or just a smaller tour before heading to Mexico, so I'm disinclined to make bookings for car, lodging and flights.

Portugal in September. Would it okay to wait to decide these things until I'm there?

Everyone I've spoken to LOVES Portugal so I'm torn. I also need to take good care of myself by acknowledging I'm no spring chicken.

Thanks for sharing your experienced and valuable input!

Posted by
6285 posts

NO! Not safe to wait. I'm not sure Portugal even has a shoulder season anymore, or perhaps, November thru February. We were there in April 2023 during what was supposed to be shoulder season. It was extremely busy.

Posted by
2681 posts

We are going in October and have had flights and reservations for accommodations for months.

Posted by
901 posts

I think it's safe to say September is no longer shoulder season anywhere famous in Europe, & Portugal arrivals have risen sharply this year, see Mr E on EU travel stats. If you can stand it, why not book the air fare & first week now, just to have something nailed down, then let the dust settle? You could always use Booking.com and check out rentals, consider somewhere near but outside of Lisbon for a week and go from there? The more famous places will be packed, but there's a lot to see in Portugal off the beaten track, I stayed a week in Eastern Portugal, very few tourists in medium sized towns. Enjoy Portugal, it's lovely!

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