Portugal Spring Break 2027

Overnight base Drive Train day trip Flights Alternate

Book & pack

This tab is for family only

It has the booking checklist and the shared planner. Sign in with your family account to see it.

Family sign in

Stay & money

This tab is for family only

It has where we stay, the budget and the tour notes. Sign in with your family account to see it.

Family sign in

Good to know

Weather, late March

Place	High	Low
Lisbon	64–67°F	52°F
Porto	61–63°F	47°F
Algarve	66–68°F	52°F

Typical averages. Expect some showers, especially in Porto. Pack layers, a rain jacket and good walking shoes. Lisbon is very hilly.

Vegetarian food

Lisbon has a large Indian and Goan community, so Indian restaurants are easy to find, plus many vegetarian and vegan places.
Traditional Portuguese food is meat and fish heavy. Ask whether vegetable soup is made with meat stock.
Pastries and cakes are fine. At traditional restaurants, though, the default vegetarian dish is often an omelette (omelete) or scrambled eggs (ovos mexidos), and bread soups (açorda) usually come with an egg on top. Ask before ordering.
Use the HappyCow app to find options near each stop.

Say it: "Sou vegetariano" (I'm vegetarian). "Sem carne e sem peixe, por favor" (no meat and no fish, please). "Sem ovo" (without egg) for egg dishes.

Getting around

Porto: the metro runs from the airport to the center in about 30 minutes. Each person needs a reusable Andante card. With bags, an Uber or taxi for four costs about €25–35. The old town is walkable.
Douro Valley: trains leave from Porto's São Bento station. Tickets don't sell out, but buying online at cp.pt saves the line.
Rent a car only for the drive south (Mar 29–30). Drive times: Porto–Aveiro 45 min, Aveiro–Coimbra 45 min, Coimbra–Batalha 55 min, Batalha–Nazaré 25 min, Nazaré–Óbidos 40 min, Óbidos–Lisbon 1 h. Expect a one-way drop-off fee.
Lisbon: get a reusable Navegante card (€0.50) for each person and load a 24-hour pass on days with lots of rides. A single ride is €1.90. Tram 24 or 12 is calmer than tram 28, which is crowded with pickpockets.
Sintra and Cascais: about 40 minutes by train from central Lisbon.
Holidays: Good Friday (Mar 26) is a public holiday and some monuments close on Easter Sunday. Jerónimos is closed Mondays, so Belém is on Friday.

Practical

Paying

Cards and Apple or Google Pay work almost everywhere, including metro machines. Use a credit card with no foreign transaction fee
Bring two cards from different banks and keep them in separate bags
When a card terminal or ATM asks, choose to pay in euros, not dollars. The dollar option costs more
Tipping is optional: round up, or about 5–10% for good table service
The bread, olives, butter or cheese placed on your table when you sit down (the couvert) is not free. Each item you touch is added to the bill, often €1–3 per person. If you don't want it, say "não, obrigado" and have it taken away

Cash

How much: about €250–350 for the whole trip. Start with €100–150 and top up once. Cash covers small cafés and bakeries, market stalls, tips, tuk-tuks, a few small shops, and €1–2 coins for lockers and public toilets.

Before you leave: order about €100–150 from your US bank (Chase, Bank of America and others deliver to a branch or your home in a few days). Ask for €5, €10 and €20 notes
In Portugal: withdraw from Multibanco ATMs run by Portuguese banks. A debit card without foreign ATM fees helps, such as Schwab or Fidelity, which refund ATM fees
Getting small notes: ATMs mostly give €20 and €50. Withdraw odd amounts like €90 or €140 to get some €10s, and break €50s at supermarkets like Pingo Doce or Continente
Avoid: airport exchange counters and blue-and-yellow Euronet ATMs, which have poor rates
Carry €5–20 notes day to day; small cafés often won't take €50s. Spend leftover coins before flying home

Phones, power and time

Plugs are the round two-pin European type at 230V. Bring adapters; phone and laptop chargers work as is
eSIM: a 10–20 GB Portugal plan valid 10+ days runs about $10–25 per phone. Skip 7-day plans; the trip is 9 days. Two adult phones are enough, with kids on hotspot or Wi-Fi. Phones must be unlocked
Before buying, check your US carrier: some plans (such as many T-Mobile plans) include data in Portugal, while daily passes (around $10–12 a day per line) add up fast
Recommendation: if your carrier doesn't include Portugal, buy a 15-day, 10–20 GB Portugal plan on both adult phones from Airalo, Saily or Nomad, whichever is cheapest on esims.io that week. Keep your US line on for texts and bank codes, with data roaming off for it. Use hotel Wi-Fi for big downloads and video calls
Portugal is 4 hours ahead of New York until Mar 28, then 5 hours
Emergencies: dial 112. Pharmacies have a green cross sign

Driving with kids

Children under 12 and under 135 cm (4 ft 5 in) must use a child seat or booster in the back. Reserve a booster seat for any young child
Some motorways have electronic-only tolls. Ask the rental company for a Via Verde device
Taxis and Uber or Bolt are exempt from the booster rule: kids 3 and up ride in the back with a seat belt. Book Bolt XL or Uber XL so kids sit in back with room for bags. Pre-book a transfer if you want a booster anyway
A US license works; an International Driving Permit from AAA is cheap insurance
Rentals are usually manual. Request an automatic early if you need one

Entry rules

Passports must be valid at least 3 months after you leave Europe and issued within the last 10 years
The EU's Entry/Exit System takes fingerprints and a photo at your first arrival, so expect a longer line in Porto
ETIAS, the EU's online pre-travel authorization, was expected to launch in late 2026. If it is live, each of you needs one; it costs €20 for adults and is free for kids

Daily rhythm

Lunch runs about 12:30–2:30 pm and dinner from about 7:30 pm. Some kitchens close in between, so pack snacks
Many museums close on Mondays; this plan avoids them that day
Good Friday (Mar 26) is a public holiday and Easter Sunday has reduced hours
Tap water is safe to drink

Packing

Layers and a light rain jacket each; evenings are cool
Walking shoes with grip for hills and slick stone sidewalks
Two or three plug adapters
Small day backpack, worn in front on trams
Refillable water bottles
Snacks for gaps between restaurant hours

Staying safe

Portugal is US advisory Level 1, the lowest level
The main risk is pickpockets on trams, at viewpoints and in Baixa. Use a cross-body bag and front pockets
Bracelet scam: near Praça do Comércio and other big sights, someone ties a "free" bracelet on your wrist or hands you a sprig or photo, then demands payment. Keep hands in pockets, say "não, obrigado" and keep walking. Tell the kids too
Other tricks: men in Baixa and Rossio quietly offering "hash" (it's fake; just walk on), clipboard "petitions" that cover a pickpocket, and street sellers of Sintra or fado tickets. Buy tickets only from official sites or stations
Wear shoes with grip: the polished stone sidewalks get slippery in rain
Share a photo of each passport with yourselves in case one is lost

Alternates to review

Options I left out of the main plan. Each day card also lists its own under "Alternates to consider".

Stories behind the places

Short history notes to read on the train or at dinner. The Story links next to each stop in the plan jump straight to the right card.

The country

Portugal

Portugal became a kingdom in 1143 under Afonso Henriques, and its borders have barely changed since 1297, among the oldest in Europe
Its alliance with England, signed in 1373, is the oldest alliance in the world still in force
In 1498 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon around Africa and reached Calicut in Kerala, opening the sea route to India. Goa stayed Portuguese until 1961
Moors ruled much of the land from 711 until the 1100s. They left behind words, irrigation, and the taste for glazed tiles: azulejo comes from an Arabic word for polished stone
On 25 April 1974 a nearly bloodless army coup, the Carnation Revolution, ended almost 50 years of dictatorship. Soldiers put carnations in their rifle barrels

Back to the plan

Days 1, 3, 4

Porto

People have lived on the cathedral hill since about the 8th century BC, at the end of the Bronze Age. The Romans called the river town Portus Cale, the name that later became "Portugal"
Port wine is named after the city, but the grapes grow far up the Douro. English merchants in the 1600s added brandy to stop the wine spoiling on the voyage north, and the sweet, strong style stuck
The port lodges sit across the river in Gaia, where the cooler, north-facing bank suited ageing barrels. Flat rabelo boats once floated them downstream
Locals are nicknamed tripeiros (tripe eaters): legend says in 1415 the city gave all its meat to the fleet sailing to conquer Ceuta and kept only the tripe. Prince Henry the Navigator was born here
São Bento station's 20,000 tiles, painted by Jorge Colaço in the early 1900s, show battles, royal arrivals and country life
The Dom Luís I bridge (1886) was designed by Théophile Seyrig, a former partner of Gustave Eiffel
J.K. Rowling taught English in Porto in the early 1990s. Lello is often called a Harry Potter inspiration, though she has said she never visited it. The black capes of Portuguese university students are a likelier influence

Back to the plan

Day 2

Douro Valley

In 1756 the Douro became one of the first wine regions in the world with legally fixed boundaries, set by the Marquis of Pombal to protect real port from fakes
The terraces were cut into hard schist rock by hand, over centuries. The whole landscape is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Pinhão station is decorated with blue tile panels of grape harvests and river life; look for them as you arrive
Grapes were traditionally crushed by foot in stone tanks called lagares, and some estates still do it for their best port

Back to the plan

Day 4

Coimbra

Coimbra was Portugal's capital from 1131 to 1255, before Lisbon
Its university, founded in 1290, is one of the oldest in the world still running, and settled here for good in 1537
The Joanina Library (1720s) keeps a colony of bats that come out at night and eat the insects that would damage the books. Staff cover the tables each evening to catch the droppings
Students still wear long black capes, and each cut or tear in a cape is said to stand for someone they love

Back to the plan

Day 4

Aveiro

Canals cut through the town from a coastal lagoon, which is why it's nicknamed the Venice of Portugal
The moliceiro boats were built to gather moliço, seaweed from the lagoon used to fertilize fields. Their tall prows are painted with bright, often cheeky cartoons
Ovos moles were invented by local nuns, who used egg whites to starch their habits and needed a use for the leftover yolks. They have protected EU status, like Champagne
The salt pans around the lagoon have produced sea salt since Roman times

Back to the plan

Day 5

Batalha, Alcobaça and Conímbriga

Batalha means "battle". King João I built the monastery from 1386 to give thanks for winning the Battle of Aljubarrota against Castile, which kept Portugal independent
The Unfinished Chapels were never roofed: building stopped after about a century, and they've stood open to the sky ever since. Henry the Navigator is buried in the Founder's Chapel
At Alcobaça, King Pedro I and Inês de Castro lie in carved tombs facing each other. Inês was murdered on his father's orders; legend says that as king, Pedro had her crowned after death
Conímbriga was a Roman town, and Coimbra takes its name from it. Its mosaic floors still lie where Roman families walked on them

Back to the plan

Day 5

Nazaré

An underwater canyon, about 5 km deep and over 200 km long, ends right at Praia do Norte. It funnels ocean swells into some of the biggest waves on Earth
In 2011 the American surfer Garrett McNamara rode a wave of about 24 m (78 ft) here and put Nazaré on the world map
Older fishermen's wives traditionally wore seven layered petticoats, and you may still see them in town

Back to the plan

Day 5

Óbidos

King Dinis gave Óbidos to Queen Isabel as a wedding present in 1282, and for centuries it passed from queen to queen. It's still called the Town of Queens
The walls you can walk on are mostly medieval, built over older Moorish defenses
The local cherry liqueur, ginjinha, is served in tiny chocolate cups that you eat afterwards (adults only)

Back to the plan

Days 5, 6, 8, 9

Lisbon

Often called one of Europe's oldest cities: Phoenician traders used the harbor long before Rome existed as a power. Lisbon is built on seven hills
Afonso Henriques took the São Jorge Castle from the Moors in 1147 with help from crusaders on their way to the Holy Land
On All Saints' Day, 1 November 1755, a huge earthquake struck while churches were full. A tsunami and fires followed, and much of the city was destroyed
The Marquis of Pombal rebuilt Baixa as a grid with flexible wooden frames inside the walls, among the first earthquake-resistant buildings in Europe. You'll stay in that rebuilt grid
The Carmo Convent was left roofless on purpose as a memorial to the earthquake
Praça do Comércio was once the royal palace square; the palace fell in 1755. The Santa Justa Lift (1902) is by Raoul Mesnier du Ponsard, a Porto-born engineer, not Eiffel as people often say

Back to the plan

Day 7

Sintra

Kings and nobles summered in Sintra's cool hills for centuries. The whole area is a UNESCO cultural landscape
Pena Palace was built from the 1840s by King Ferdinand II, a German prince, on the ruins of a monastery. He mixed Moorish, Gothic and Manueline styles in bright colors, an early fairy-tale castle
Quinta da Regaleira was built around 1900 for a millionaire, António Carvalho Monteiro, nicknamed "Monteiro of the Millions". The 27 m initiation well has nine landings, often linked to the nine circles of Dante's Inferno
The Moorish Castle on the next hill dates from the 700s–800s, when the Moors guarded the Lisbon region

Back to the plan

Day 8

Belém

Ships for the great voyages left from this riverbank. Vasco da Gama set off for India from here in 1497
Jerónimos Monastery was begun in 1501 and paid for by the spice trade. Vasco da Gama's tomb is inside. He died in Kochi, Kerala, in 1524 and was first buried there before his remains were brought back to Portugal
The monks of Jerónimos created the custard tart. When monasteries closed in the 1830s, the recipe passed to the bakery next door, Pastéis de Belém, which has guarded it since 1837
Belém Tower (1519) originally stood out in the river. Look for a carved rhinoceros head, said to be inspired by a real rhino sent from Gujarat to the king in 1515
The Monument to the Discoveries dates from 1960. In the pavement in front is a giant world map showing the voyages, a gift from South Africa

Back to the plan

Portugal, Porto to Lisbon

Book & pack

This tab is for family only

Stay & money

This tab is for family only

Good to know

Weather, late March

Vegetarian food

Getting around

Practical

Paying

Cash

Phones, power and time

Driving with kids

Entry rules

Daily rhythm

Packing

Staying safe

Alternates to review

Stories behind the places

Portugal

Porto

Douro Valley

Coimbra

Aveiro

Batalha, Alcobaça and Conímbriga

Nazaré

Óbidos

Lisbon

Sintra

Belém