Portugal Travel Planner

You asked, we answered! Where, what, and how to do it top to bottom—from our favorite locals and veteran visitors who we hounded for their intel

And by “we answered” I mean…we asked the people who really know this lovely country well, because I certainly do not! I know I’ve said this before, but as a chronic repeat traveler (Italy/France/Greece), I just haven’t spent enough time here. But Yolo isn’t about me being the expert on everywhere—it’s about identifying interesting people to tap who do know a place well, to narrow it down for you. A bunch of your questions were about road trips and day trips from cities (which, given Portugal’s small size, practically take you across the country for lunch). But the responses from locals and frequent travelers we asked make it clear that Portugal is not a place to race around. Instead, it’s about slow-travel around the small villages of the Alentejo with their traditional artisan cultures, or hiking through Arrábida National Park or the Azores, or staying in a small fishing village away from the summer resort towns…though we’ve got great intel on the chicest stays in Comporta and Melides as well. And just to give you a mini table of contents here so you don’t have to scroll endlessly, we’ve structured the questions more or less from north to south, with deeper dives on Porto and Lisbon (Lisbon Black Book coming your way in June!). 

Lisbon photos by Carly Shea

If you had to make your way from Portugal to Spain in 4-5 days, what is a good route to see highlights?