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.

Why the number of days matters

Portugal is small, but it’s easy to underestimate it. Lisbon and Porto each deserve a few days, the best day trips take a full day, and the Algarve is a holiday in itself. The islands of Madeira and the Azores need their own flights and their own time. Work out what kind of trip you want first: cities, beaches, wine country or a mix.

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.

Sample routes

5 days: Lisbon and Porto

Day 1 and 2 in Lisbon: Alfama, the castle, Baixa and Belém. Day 3 in Sintra. Day 4 take the morning train to Porto and explore the Ribeira in the afternoon. Day 5 cross to Gaia for a port cellar visit, then fly home from Porto.

7 days: the classic first trip

Three nights in Lisbon with a Sintra day, then the train to Porto for three nights. Use one Porto day for the Douro Valley, by tour or by the scenic train along the river. If you prefer culture to wine, stop in Coimbra on the way north instead.

10 days: cities and beaches

Follow the 7-day route in reverse, starting in Porto, then go south from Lisbon to the Algarve for three or four nights of beach time. Fly home from Faro.

2 weeks: the full loop

Porto, the Douro, Coimbra, Lisbon and Sintra, then Évora in the Alentejo for a night or two, and finish with four or five days in the Algarve. Or swap the Alentejo for a week on Madeira.

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.
• Sintra: a full day, or a night if you want to see more than two palaces.
• The Algarve: 4 to 7 days. See how many days in the Algarve.
• Évora and the Alentejo: a day trip from Lisbon, or 2 nights to see the hill towns too.
• Coimbra: half a day to a day, easy to break the journey between Lisbon and Porto.
• 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.

Getting between places

• Lisbon to Porto: the fastest Alfa Pendular trains take just under 3 hours. See Lisbon to Porto by train.
• Lisbon to Sintra: about 40 minutes by suburban train from Rossio station.
• Lisbon to the Algarve: about 3 to 3.5 hours by train to Faro, and similar by car or bus. See Lisbon to the Algarve.
• Porto to the Douro: about 2 hours by train to Peso da Régua, and a little longer to Pinhão.
• The islands: Madeira and the Azores are flights of about 1.5 to 2.5 hours from Lisbon.

Tips

• Don’t rush: fewer bases and more time is better than moving every night. Aim for at least two nights in each place.
• Flights: fly into Porto and home from Lisbon or Faro to avoid backtracking.
• Car or train: trains work well between the big cities. A car makes sense for the Alentejo, the Douro and the quieter parts of the Algarve. See driving in Portugal.
• Arrival day: count your arrival and departure days as half days at most.
• Season: see the best time to visit Portugal. In summer you’ll want more beach days. In winter, focus on the cities.

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.