Portugal is not only renowned for its history, the beaches of the Algarve, delicious food, or its two cities, Porto and Lisbon, but also for being the cheapest destination in Western Europe. Therefore, after three trips to Portugal, it is time to discuss one of the most important aspects of a trip, namely: the budget.
Travel Budget for Portugal
On our last trip, we realized that Portugal is the perfect destination for those who want to travel on a limited budget, both for longer vacations, such as road trips, and for city breaks.
Unlike other countries—especially Germany and Italy—you can feel the difference between the season and off-season in Portugal, with accommodation prices being much lower in the autumn-winter months compared to the peak period (July-August).
Another thing that makes Portugal a sought-after destination is precisely the ratio between what it offers and the costs, or in other words: with a small amount of money, you can buy/do many things.
But let's get straight to the point.
Accommodation in Portugal
During our visits to Portugal at different times of the year, we noticed that prices vary greatly from season to season, as well as from one city to another. While in Lisbon in September, we found accommodation for 30 euros, in Porto in August, we could barely find an Airbnb for 80 euros.
Additionally, in September we also went to the Algarve, during a period when not only were we able to enjoy the beach, but we also rented apartments for 60-70 euros per night.
If you are looking for accommodation, here are our recommendations:
LISBON.
- Lisbon Art Stay Apartments Baixa
- Rossio Boutique Hotel – RECOMMENDED FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCE!
- Lisbon City Apartments & Suites by City Hotels – RECOMMENDED FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCE!
- Planet House by Trius Hotels
ALGARVE.
- Hotel Sol Algarve by Kavia
- Flor da Rocha
Transportation in Portugal
If you plan to explore this country, the most convenient option would be to rent a car. A car will not only help you reach your desired destinations faster but also provide you with flexibility and the opportunity to visit many other places that would be harder to reach by public transportation.
For our trip from Lisbon to the Algarve, we rented a car directly from the airport, from Europcar. At that time, October 2023, we paid 47 euros/day (including the device for the Via Verde highway and full insurance).
Road Tolls
Just like in other European countries, Portugal has a well-established highway system that operates on a toll basis per kilometer of motorway.
In this regard, the car you rent has a small device mounted on the windshield, called VIA VERDE. This device records all highway tolls, and at the end, the company from which you rented the car will charge the amount recorded by the VIA VERDE device to your card.
For the Lisbon-Faro–Lisbon trips, as well as those in the Algarve, we paid 57 euros.
If a car is not a solution for you, then you can opt for public transportation. For distances between cities, you can use trains – Comboios de Portugal. Compared to other European countries, or even their neighbor – Spain, traveling by train through Portugal is quite cheap. To give you an idea, a train trip between Porto and Lisbon costs around 34 euros.
Travel Budget for Portugal
- LISBON – For trips around Lisbon – Cascais, Belem, and Sintra, you can use interurban train lines. If you have a Lisboa Card, trips on the Sintra, Cascais (this is also the train that will take you to Belem), and Sado routes are covered by this card, and if you do not have a Lisboa Card, then you can purchase a Tourist Travel Card valid for 72 hours.
- PORTO – For the most part, the same rules apply to the city of Porto. The price of trips within and outside the city is calculated based on the zone. Thus, a trip from São Bento station to Aveiro – a super nice destination for a day trip – costs 5 euros.
- ALGARVE – While in Lisbon and Porto a car is not necessary, things are a bit different in the Algarve. Portugal's Golden Coast is superb, a paradise for beach and water sports enthusiasts, and a region that has extremely much to offer – charming towns and sensational natural landscapes. If you plan to add this region to your itinerary, my number one advice would be to allocate at least 4 days. And if you don't want to make the Algarve part of a road trip, then you can reserve 7-8 days for this region.
Regarding transportation, I would encourage you to rent a car. This way you will be sure to reach all the beautiful places in the Algarve, all the beaches that put this region of Portugal on the map.
Tourist Attractions in Portugal
While the Algarve is a more suitable destination for relaxation, beaching all day long, and nature, Lisbon and Porto abound in tourist attractions and increasingly interesting activities. In the super travel guide for Lisbon, we talked about some activities and attractions that you must add to your list (I invite you to read that article), and about what we managed to do in a single day in Porto, we wrote here.
As for time allocation, I would say that for Lisbon you should allocate at least 4 days (two days for excursions to Belem and Sintra and two days for exploring the city), and for Porto I would say that two full days are more than enough (one day for the city center and one day for Vila Nova de Gaia, the place where most wine tasting tours take place).
- What You Can Visit in the Algarve – Faro – the capital of the region, Albufeira, Lagos, Praia da Marinha, Praia do Camilo, Portimão, Silves, Benagil Caves, Cabo de São Vicente.
- What You Can Visit in Porto – Torre dos Clérigos, São Bento Station, Cais da Ribeira, Dom Luís I Bridge, Vila Nova de Gaia, Livraria Lello e Irmão. + day trips to Aveiro and Braga
- What You Can Visit in Lisbon – Lisboa Story Centre, Praça do Comércio, Bairro Alto, Time Out Market, Santa Justa Elevator, Antigo Convento do Carmo, and Lisbon museums. + excursions to Belém – Torre de Belém and Jerónimos Monastery, Sintra, and Cascais.
If you plan to visit many museums and monuments, my recommendation is to purchase a tourist card. For Lisbon and Porto there are such cards, which not only give you free entry to museums and other attractions, but also free public transport. We used the Lisboa Card and were extremely satisfied.
Restaurants and Food
Food at supermarkets tends to be a bit cheaper than in other countries, which is an advantage for those who usually rent an apartment with a kitchen and cook something.
When it comes to restaurants, we have had various experiences. We fell into the trap of tourist restaurants, where we paid a lot for half-cooked fish (restaurants on Rua Santa Augusta in Lisbon should be avoided), but we also found smaller restaurants outside the tourist areas where we ate well and cheaply.
For Lisbon, our number one recommendation is Time Out Market. There, you will have a wide range of restaurants, the food is absolutely delicious, and the prices are average (around 10 euros per meal portion).
But let's make a list of some estimated prices:
- Fruit salads at the supermarket – 2-3 euros
- Water at the supermarket, 1.5 liters – 0.70 – 1.00 euro
- Bread (supermarket) – from 0.11 euro
- A box with 6 pastéis de nata at Casa da Nata – 5 euros
- A meatball with goat cheese and cod at Casa da Bacalhau (Lisbon) – 5 euros (meatball + a glass of Port wine = 8 euros)
- A menu with shawarma, fries, and juice (at a randomly found fast food) – 4.5 euros
- A meal portion at Time Out Market – between 8 and 15 euros (main course) and between 5 and 7 euros (appetizer)
- Breakfast menu – sandwich, coffee, and pastéis = approx. 6 euros
- Pastéis de nata (at the supermarket) – 0.35 euro each
- A Big Mac meal = 7 euros
- In Portimão, at Casa Da Rocha, we ate fish soup, melon with ham, and two Portuguese-style beef steaks for 30 euros.
Despite the fact that Portugal is becoming an increasingly sought-after tourist destination, it still remains a country that can be visited on a low budget. In the week spent in Portugal, we always tried to keep our budget under control.
Of course, the travel budget is different from person to person, depending on each one's preferences and the activities each wants to do. We always considered that we are somewhere in the middle, that it can be both more expensive and cheaper, which is why articles of this kind are subjective.
I hope my article was useful to you and that you will have a storybook vacation in Portugal.
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