How Many Days Do You Need in Portugal?

How many days do you need in Portugal? It depends on what you want to see, but even a short trip can be wonderful. Here’s how much time to allow, with suggested routes for 5 days, a week, 10 days and two weeks.

Quick answer: 7 to 10 days is ideal for a first trip: enough for Lisbon, Sintra and Porto, plus either the Douro Valley or the Algarve. With 5 days, focus on Lisbon and Sintra, or Lisbon and Porto. With 2 weeks, add the Algarve, the Alentejo or Madeira.

By trip length

• 3 to 4 days: Lisbon and a day in Sintra. See 4 days in Lisbon.
• 5 days: Lisbon and Sintra, then 2 days in Porto. See 5 days in Portugal.
• 7 days: Lisbon, Sintra and Porto, with a Douro day trip. See 7 days in Portugal.
• 10 days: add the Algarve. See 10 days in Portugal.
• 2 weeks: a road trip or train trip from Porto to the Algarve. See the road trip and 2 weeks by train.

How long for each place?

• Lisbon: 3 to 4 days. See how many days in Lisbon.
• Porto: 2 to 3 days. See how many days in Porto.
• The Algarve: 4 to 7 days. See how many days in the Algarve.
• Madeira: 5 to 7 days. See how many days in Madeira.
• The Azores: 5 days on São Miguel, 10 or more to island-hop. See Azores island hopping.
• The Douro Valley: a day trip, or 1 to 2 nights. See the Douro day trip.

Tips

• Don’t rush: fewer bases and more time is better than moving every night.
• Flights: fly into Porto and home from Lisbon or Faro to avoid backtracking.
• Season: see the best time to visit Portugal.

More: first time in Portugal and the best places to visit.

Prices and details change, so please double-check before you travel. Spotted something out of date? Tell us in the groups.