Questions about Portugal

Portugal is a great recommendation. I enjoyed Portugal on my own last summer (2022) for about 10 days. I flew into and out of Lisbon and spent a few days in Porto. I didn't find hordes of people even at that time of year. (Admittedly, I lived in Italy, so perhaps my "hoards" meter is skewed.) I walked a lot in both places, stayed at Airbnbs, used public transportation, took the Rick Steves walking tours, and had a fantastic time. I felt safe (I'm a 50-ish white male).

After numerous independent trips to Europe, mainly Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK, we are venturing to Portugal next spring to explore a place that will be new to us. As we travel to enjoy hiking and scenic wonders as well as cities and historic sites, we are choosing a mix of independent and a one-week guided walking holiday in the Eastern Algarve (not the more crowded western Algarve).

You might take a look at the tour we are planning; it is a British company ( actually a member-owned cooperative but non-members are welcome). Their one-week holidays in Europe are very reasonably priced, compared to RS and other tours, in part because they do not move around and cover as much ground.

You might take a look at their brochure for a trip offered in April:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays-and-tours/walking-the-eastern-algarve-coastal-trails?format=pdf&vid=3659

Sounds like a vote for Portugal Jeff. I enjoy slow travel more than moving fast from one thing to another. It seems like your trip was maybe like this? Did you stay mostly on the west coast between Lisbon and Porto?
Lola, I checked out the link and it sounds interesting, but I can’t find a price listed. Did I miss something?

No, you did not miss anything. The dates and prices are not in the brochure, they are on a previous page on the website. Here you go:

https://www.hfholidays.co.uk/holidays-and-tours/walking-the-eastern-algarve-coastal-trails

The April 2024 trip (April 7-14) is £1679 for a single room, priced without flight from the UK. That is $2135 at the current exchange rate. If you want to book the group flights from London, that price is £1979, and includes transport from the airport to the hotel in Tavira.

We are adding a few nights in Lisbon and Faro on our own to the trip, ut hotels seem quite inexpensive there.

Rick Steves has a good reputation he would be my first choice for a guided tour.

Spring is more rainy, I would choose
October, temperatures are still good, rarely rains and the summer crowds will be gone by October.

If you're doing independent travel, research as much as you can, how to get around, medical care in emergencies, points of interest, etc.

Hi, Kathy, Yes--It was slow and in-depth. I like the freedom of going it alone (was in Vietnam and Cambodia by myself this summer) rather than with a tour, although tours have their benefits. I was in Lisbon and Porto exclusively.

October is likely the optimum time to visit Portugal. Fewer crowds, still warm and little rain - especially the first half of the month.

Thank you to each of you for your comments. I have pretty much decided to go the beginning of October for the reasons you mentioned. I previously planned 2 trips to Italy and unless things change, I’ll do a tour this time to see how I like it. It’s nice to have a plan. 😎

HI Kathy.
Lisbon in October is gorgeous. We were also there in May some years ago and it was also very nice. I would think that just about anywhere in the country would be nice in the fall. We are going in February/March (Algarve) and it is supposed to be quite lovely then, too. We really enjoyed Portugal - European in many ways yet you feel the Moorish influence. The food is great, the people are nice and for Europe, it is still pretty affordable. RS' tour is surely great (we have done 3 of his and loved them all) but you could also try Road Scholar (if you are a senior) or G Tours. Road Scholar welcomes solo travellers. I don't think you can go wrong in Portugal.
Sharon

Sharon,
Fall is my favorite season, so it always holds my heart. Your input is valuable and I’m toying with the idea of a tour Oct 2. Enjoy your adventuring!

Having to pay the single supplement ($1095) )is a big addition to the cost of the tour and I’m not sure how I feel about it. But it does make me reconsider……
How do you feel about?

Kathy, I'm a solo female traveler planning a trip on my own to Portugal in the fall. It's an easy peasy trip for me because it's a nonstop flight, I can base myself in one city and not have to schlep my bags with me like I did on a 3 week trip to Eastern Europe, and there is enough to see right around Lisbon with a train or bus ride so there isn't much in the way of travel complexities to worry about.

Personally, I wouldn't pay $1000 single supplement for a trip to destinations in Europe. I feel Europe is easily doable for a single person to do on their own without needing to take a tour (unless you are highly extroverted and need to be with a group of people). I did 3 weeks in Eastern Europe on my own and I was fine.

Hi Daisy,
I know it’s a lot plus the price of the tour. I’m not in any hurray to decide, still gathering info. Staying in Lisbon, will you drive to other areas or take public transportation? I’m interested in where you will be visiting. Will you be concentrating only on the areas around Lisbon and maybe south to the beaches?

Hi Kathy, I'm staying in Lisbon for the entire trip. Planning to take trains to places such as Sintra, Cascais, and Belem. Will take a few day tours by bus to sights further north. I have no problem using the metro or trams in the city but generally I prefer to walk even if it's a few miles. I can see and experience the culture better that way and I tend to get motion sickness as a passenger in buses or taxis. The tuk-tuks look like fun but I'm pretty sure I'd get motion sickness by the bouncing around.

I might add that I plan to use a tour for a trip to the Middle East next year as I feel it's safer for a solo female in that particular region. However, the single supplement does add a lot of cost to the trip. One tour operator charges $2000 for a single. I do not plan on using that tour operator. The one I'm looking at now is $800, I believe.

As an older single, I do not wish on sharing a room with a complete stranger. People don't seem to realize that you don't know what you're getting. Someone could be a heavy drinker and come back to the room at 1 AM stumbling around and noisy. I need my privacy.

To everyone, I have decided to go with Rick Steves and something worked out in my family where I won’t have to pay the single supplement myself. I’m very grateful. And I agree, I don’t want to room with someone I don’t know. The dates for early to mid October are booked, but Sept 18 is open. I assume this is still a good time?

Kathy, I wonder if you were able to start the RS tour as you were looking for September 18 (today). I’m also a solo traveler and have once shared a room with another lady while on the RS Heart of Italy tour. That tour was about 10 years ago. It turned out okay but I have to say, I couldn’t share a room with a stranger now. The lady was nice enough and respectful for space BUT she was a smoker and although she didn’t smoke in the room or on the balcony, her clothing smelled after coming into the room after a smoke break. That bothered me. So, if I sign up for another tour,I definitely will pay the single supplement. Lesson learned. Also, I get up 2-3 times a night to use the loo and that would be disruptive to any roommate.

Hoping you are enjoying Portugal. My independent trip to Portugal is coming up in 10 days and I’m getting excited.

Hi Linda,
My trip is actually Sept next year 😄, but I’d love to be there now! I did take the single supplement for the same reasons you mentioned. After a long day out and about, the last thing I need is disrupted sleep. I hope you have a wonderful and safe time on your trip, and it is everything you hope it will be.
Kathy

My trip to Portugal with RS is booked for Sept next year. The itinerary doesn’t include Sinatra and I’m wondering if that is because it is so crowded? Should I include that on my own prior to the tour start? Would you suggest that or should I add the days to Porto at the end?

Very glad to hear you are signed up for the RS Portugal tour. I did it in May 2023, and it was outstanding. Rick Steves' lead guides for this tour are exceptional...and are passionate about sharing their country. Re whether to go to Sintra before the tour, that's a question only you can answer. I recommend reading what people say about Sintra. Some people absolutely love it. I chose not to go because 1. I really don't enjoy big crowds 2. I didn't want to devote an entire day before the tour just to Sintra. 3. I could better diversify my time by seeing the castle in Lisbon's Alfama then doing something else in the afternoon.

We took Rick Steves Portugal tour the end of last September. There were still hoards of people. The weather was warm, not hot but breezy with some rain. It was a great trip.

I think you will be happy with your September travels. We just returned from 10 days in Portugal. (Sept. 9-19th.) Flew into Porto from Geneva. After a few days in Porto, we rented a car and drove to Lisbon, stopping for a night in Coimbra, Tomar, Azenhas do Mar & 2 nights in Sintra.

We had cloudy weather in Porto, then sunny and clear weather until the 2nd to last day in Lisbon. (It rained that morning, but was clear in the afternoon.) Temperatures were very pleasant. (Mid 70s to low 80s.) Crowds were definitely present, but we were able to navigate around them......Until we arrived in Lisbon. Unfortunately, 2 huge cruise ships arrived the same day as us, making it wall to wall people and tour groups. Fortunately, I'm an early riser, so I was able to enjoy the city on early morning walks. (I love watching the locals in villages, towns & cities come to life in the mornings.) But by noon, the city became uncomfortably crowded.

This was our 7th trip to Europe, but the first time we traveled in September. Last year, we were in Tuscany in June. There were 3 heatwaves, each with temps over 100 degrees. We don't do well in hot weather, so we decided to try September. Will definitely plan next year's trip for September again. The weather seems to be much more manageable. Although........

Trying to plan a trip around the seasons is no longer a guaranteed prediction. Prior to Portugal, we spent 10 days in Switzerland. We had beautiful, warm, clear weather during our 5 days in the alps. But locals told us we were lucky.........The previous week, it had snowed! ;)

I'm sorry.....October travels!

Thank you to those of you I haven’t responded to you. It’s so helpful to hear your advice. I’m glad to hear you loved the tour because that encourages me. I found the comment about not going to Sintra interesting because I was also concerned about the crowds that I read are present. That said, I do know there are crowds in all the big cities. I’ll give it some more thought. It’s a decision between Sintra for the day or arriving in Lisbon one day early and just spending a day and a half wandering the city before the tour starts. I didn’t think about cruise ships, ugh, and is it the same in Porto?

Regarding Sintra.........
Sintra is a gorgeous area. It's 1/2 way up a mountain range that separates Lisbon from the ocean. Sintra has its own micro-climate. It's lush & green, full of flora & fauna. There are coastal redwoods, coastal cypresses, and huge rhododendrons & hydrangea. The environment was much different from any other area that we visited in Portugal.

The Pena Palace is the sight that will probably be the most crowded. I had read that it is really not worth touring the interior of the palace because you're just herded along in a line, vs. moving at your own pace. I prepurchased tickets for the 1st time slot (9:30am). We arrived around 9:10am, and the line was already quite long. So we opted to walk the exterior of the castle and the serene gardens (park) which surround it. We were very happy with our decision, especially visiting the lush gardens.

The next morning, we visited the Moorish Castle. It was quite interesting.......Like something out of a medieval movie! It wasn't nearly as crowded as the Pena Palace, and we were able to walk at our own pace. I would think the crowds would be even less in October.

The village of Sintra is about a 20min. cab ride to the palaces. There is an abundance of taxis, Ubers, & tuk-tuks that can take you up and down to the castles. We stayed at a beautiful Quinta (Quinta Velha), between the village and the palaces. There was a shortcut path down to the village, which we walked for dinner, then took a cab back to the Quinta.

Personally, I highly recommend visiting Sintra. If you want to avoid crowds, I would be selective with tours & accommodations. But just the fact you're going in October, makes it seem like the crowds might not be as daunting.