Preferred time to visit Portugal

I have been in mid to late February and in September. September the weather is better, anymore I suppose it can get into the 80's. February was pleasant, some rain (a few days in 3 weeks), warm enough to sit on the beach, but not swim. February may also coincide with Carnival (Mardi Gras), but it is not widely celebrated with big events, so you can choose to seek out something, or avoid easily. May would also be pleasant, weather wise.

As for crowds, September and late May would be the busiest of the options, January/February much less so...but anymore, the big cities seem to busy year round.

I was in Portugal from mid-May to early June just before Covid. The weather was mild and mostly sunny. I don't remember any rain, not too hot for walking tours (I too dislike hot weather). The only places that were crowded were the Pena Palace in Sintra and Obidos in mid-morning. I believe both of them are always crowded.

Our trip there was in September 2023 and the weather and temperatures were great. Honestly, I’d go whenever I could get a good deal and adjust my activities accordingly.

After living here for almost 11 years, the first two weeks of October is ideal. It’s still warm but not hot, the rains haven’t started and the tourists have decreased. The other advantage of October is that the sea is as warm as it gets during the year - if swimming is something you enjoy. My second favorite would be late May.

January and February are the wettest and coolest months, but the lowest tourist crowds. The sunny days in winter are pretty spectacular, but you could get several or none.

Thank you all for the insight. I'm definitely leaning towards late September/ early October. That would also lessen the chances of winter weather impacts affecting my departing flights from home. How far in advance should I look for hotels? I usually start about 6 months ahead. My budget for hotels in the US is usually about $200-250 per night. So looking for something similar in that range. Lower would be nice of course but I want to be realistic.

Booking six months in advance is pretty ideal to me. You would have a better choice of places. I like booking with places that I can cancel, just in case. The price range you mention should get you lots of nice options.

We just returned from two weeks in Portugal. We did not get a drop of rain until driving to the airport to leave. We stayed in Zambujeira do Mar for 3 nights to do some Fisherman's trail walking. We got some pretty hot temperatures-85 to 90 degrees -but it was okay. I swam and was surprised how freezing the water was but it made a nice contrast to the hot days. Porto was the coolest weather of all the places we went and still about 80. The whole trip was lovely and we just got used to the heat.

Thank you for the report back from your trip. I'm still leaning toward the last week of Sept maybe first 2 weeks of Oct. Regarding the hot days, were your accommodations very warm or did they have AC? I'm a wimp so I'll probably try to get something with AC even if itis out of my price range for a few nights. I'd much rather have it and not need it.

I've been to Portugal in the months of April, May, June, July only.
My wife has been there also in August, September, October and also March (her sister lives in Lisbon).

I loved May, it was green, lush and not hot. The ocean water is still somewhat too cold for my taste, so not exactly like the Mediterranean or like Florida, so you won't be able to swim comfortably, if you care for going to the beach. If you are used to California water temperatures even in summer, then the water in Portugal will be ok even in May (California's ocean water is always freezing to me).

Late September/early October is also nice, the water is warm enough to swim (although it's never as warm as the Mediterranean or Florida, not even in August), but daylight is shorter than May or June.

If you don't like hot, then I do not recommend mid June through mid September. This past July was really brutal in Lisbon.

I echo the recommendation for end of September or early October. We just returned after a two week stay in the southern part (didn't make it up to Porto and north). The weather was warm but not hot. And it didnt cool down as much in the evenings as I expected. We only had one bit of rain in Tomar. Short sleeves and capri pants every day was just fine.

I'm planning to arrive in Lisbon on Nov 17, spending 3 weeks...
Lisbon -> Porto -> Coimbra -> Nazare -> Lagos -> Lisbon

My wife is very concerned about possible "cold" temps...any thoughts on what we can expect a month from now?
For reference, here in East Tennessee, it's been in the 40s most evenings (eg quite chilly) and upper 60's/low 70's during the daytime (nice, especially with sunshine!).