Hi all-
You've been so helpful as of late, I thought I'd turn to you again. Our Portugal trip has been cancelled for this summer and hotels are only offering vouchers for the same amount for a limited time period. I am wondering if anyone has traveled to Portugal during late December/early January? If so, what would be the positive vs. negative? We had planned a 3 week excursion this summer, so we'd have to shorten it, but we don't want to lose our money on the hotels.
Thanks so much.
I am wondering if anyone has traveled to Portugal during late December/early January? If so, what would be the positive vs. negative?
I have not been to Portugal, but I suspect one positive would be the weather, vs most of the US at that time of year
And for more reasons than normal, crowds would be less than what one would encounter in Summer.
The hard/impossible question to answer is what tourist infrastructure will be functioning
Good luck
Whereabouts in Portugal would you be going? Many towns along the Algarve can be dead in winter but being the furthest south is the mildest.
Lisbon and Porto are relatively mild - around 12-15 degrees daytime, but it’s a very wet time of year and gets more than double the average rain that London sees. Nights are cold and you will need warm clothing.
It wouldn’t be my choice of time to visit.
It’s still debatable if intercontinental tourism will have resumed by December.
I have been in portugal in summer 18. It is a great place and has its own charme. There are also a lot of indoor activities such as museums eg. But i would prefer summer over winter..
Winter can be very lovely in Portugal - when it’s not raining. In normal years, there are almost no tourists and the clear days are glorious. And, depending on where you live, the temperatures comparatively are quite nice most of the time. But, as stated earlier, that’s the rainy season and there can be a good amount of rain. The good news is that it rarely rains all day.
At the end of the current State of Emergency - May 2, they may start opening things up a bit. I would think more might be known about opening up the country by mid summer.
If you were to come in the winter, I would suggest the big cities - not the Algarve.
We were there late November. Weather was OK, a bit damp in Porto but otherwise quite acceptable. I'd do it again but I'd hold off a week of so to see the Christmas decorations lit up. Looked like pretty impressive displays as they were being put up.
I was just in Portugal this past December. I arrived about the 12th and departed on the 26th. It was fun to see the holiday decorations in each town. I did get into some heavy rain that started when I was in Porto and followed me back to Lisbon (I did a loop tour). It was due to a very nasty storm - but rain is definitely something to prepare for. If the crowds were less than summer, then I would hate it in summer because it still felt quite crowded to me in some places. Although, I was able to go right into some popular sites due to no or very short lines for places I heard would be crazy other times of the year. Cascais, outside of Lisbon, was wonderful and sunny and perfect temps for me as I don't like hot weather and 65-70 degrees to me is marvelous! Lisbon and Porto had lots of options for day trips, walking tours, indoor and outdoor sites, and plenty of wine and port tasting! It was cooler to the north of Lisbon and windy along the coast. Obidos, Evora and Sintra were nice smaller towns to visit with plenty to offer along with being close to Lisbon. If you can take some rainy days, then I think it is a wonderful time to see Portugal.
I’ve spent several weeks in Portugal in December and loved every second of it. The weather was mild and comfortable in all places except The Douro Valley which was cooler (jacket weather).
Aside from Lisbon, tourists were not in large numbers. The majority of travelers were actually Portuguese people returning home for the holidays. There was quite an uplifting holiday spirit in both Coimbra and Porto. Being a part of this was quite fun.
The only downside to winter travel in Portugal is having restaurants and attractions close down on you. This especially was evident down south in The Algarve.
Anyway, I don’t like hot weather, so I have preferred to visit Southern Europe in winter, the offseason. Andalusia and Catalonia were especially wonderful.
