Are you planning to visit Portugal, yet you have no idea how to start planning your trip to Portugal? Before you plan your trip, you must know the steps to follow when traveling to Portugal.
Here is a complete guide on how to start planning your Trip to Portugal. You can always start with nitty-gritty research, booking a trip, and nitpicking the tourist sites to visit. Continue reading and explore what you should do before you start planning your trip to Portugal.
Start Planning Your Trip to Portugal
The first thing you should do before you start planning your trip to Portugal is to check the visa requirements. However, you have the upper hand if you belong to countries like the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, and other EU countries. You can stay in Portugal with a nationality from any of these countries for ninety days without any visa.
In the future, e-visas are much anticipated, enabling online documentation processes. The ETIAS-issued online visa will allow you to do the paperwork online even before you visit Portugal. This E-visa facility is expected to touch the canvas of reality in 2025.
However, the first step to start planning your trip to Portugal, if you are a non-EU resident, is to look for visa requirements.
Also, you can start by researching the country a bit. You can search for general prices in the country and the best places you can visit. By doing thorough research, you will be able to find out the places that suit your likes and dislikes.
Book Your Flights
The second thing to start planning your trip to Portugal with is booking your flights for your trip. When you book your flight to Portugal, you will know Lisbon has the biggest international airport in the country. It is named Humberto Delgado Airport, and it is where you will land.
However, The Porto Airport is also an international airport where flights from outside the continent land. The number of flights to this airport from different continents is also escalating with time.
On the other hand, If you are on a European trip and arriving in the country from any of the EU countries, you may land at Faro Airport. You can mesmerize yourself with the view and also prioritize your budget.
One good news is that you can check for the TAP Air Portugal Stopover Program. Under this program, you can hop onto different locations in Portugal between 1 and 10 days on a flight. It is just like a bus tour, but here, your conveyance is an airplane.
List Your Tourist Spots
With Portugal being the country you are visiting, listing your tourist spot can be stressful and exciting at the same time. There are hundreds of places worth visiting in Portugal; hence, handpicking the places for your short tour can be a tough job.
No matter how much you extend your stay in Portugal, you will always be missing places that no one ever wants to drop from their plan. However, there are places that match your vibe, and you can prioritize them over other places.
If you are an introverted person and want a more private person, you can visit crowdless beaches located in the Eastern Algarve. Furthermore, you can also visit places like Silver Coast located between Lisbon and Porto. To be more specific, you can visit places like Aveio, Ericeira, and Nazaré.
On the other hand, if wine is what you look for while enjoying, Evora can prove to be the best place for you. Furthermore, you can also get a thrilling view of ossuaries here in Evora. If you are a history lover, get hit by nostalgia while roaming in ancient cities like Coimbra.
If you are a religious person and love visiting monasteries, well, there are plenty of monastery stops in Portugal that are recommended by UNESCO. These include places like Alcobaça, Batalha, and Tomar, and if you have made it to these places, Obidos is a walled town that you will never want to miss.
In addition to this, if you prefer unexplored places, you can visit places like Peneda-Gerês National Park or Monsanto. These places have mesmerizing landscapes that are far off the beaten path and have historical significance.
However, if your stay in Portugal is long enough, you can further visit places like Madiera and/or the Azores Islands. All of these places have a lot to offer. If you are there for 2 -3 days, you can make your whole Portugal trip all about Madiera and Azores Island.
Set your Budget
After you have booked for Portugal and plan your tourist spots, you can budget up the tour. You can approximate the total expanse of your tour. You can sum up all the expenses, including airfare, bus rent, hotel expenses, shopping, etc.
You can get your per-day budget while staying in Portugal by dividing the total budget by the number of days you will be staying in the country. After you have your per-day budget, you can keep your expenses under your expected budget.
Advance-Book Some Interesting Activities
Do you want to make the most out of your trip to Portugal? One of the best things you should do when you start planning your trip to Portugal is book interesting activities. You should always advance the book for events that are really popular among the masses.
For instance, if you are anticipating the day trip to Sintra, you will have to book the tour as early as you can so that you don’t miss this day tour. Sintra is among the best places in Portugal that will serve you the looks and a deep insight into local culture and heritage. Hence advance booking is always worth it.
Likewise, if you want to visit places like Douro Valley, you should always book yourself for a day tour to Douro Valley before time. Only then will you be able to enjoy these places during your stay in Portugal.
Finalize Your Visiting Spots in Portugal
Your heart might be filled with feelings of thrill and excitement when you start planning your trip to Portugal. However, it might be a hectic task when it comes to selecting and finalizing the exact place where you have to go in Portugal. This is an important task to do as you must be confirmed about your final destination in Portugal.
There are multiple options that will fascinate you as visiting areas; out of these, your choice depends upon your taste and priorities. Moreover, you can schedule your visit to more than one popular place in Portugal in your one or two-week tour. You are able to do so only if you are aware of the top attractions in Portugal.
Portugal is a popular country in Europe for having vibrant cities, towns, and villages enriched with a wealth of allure and beauty. The most prominent and attractive places include Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, Madeira, Douro Valley, Algarve, and many others.
If you are an introverted person by nature and prefer peaceful areas with less crowd, Algarve will be an ideal place for you. It has calm and quiet beach towns where you can enjoy your leisure time and can escape from all the noise and stress of a busy life.
So, once you start planning your trip to Portugal, search out “Where do people go on holidays in Portugal?” This article will provide you with more detailed information that is necessary for finalizing your visiting spots in Portugal.
Arrange Your Accommodation in Portugal
Yes, your stay in Portugal is an important factor that you should keep under consideration as you start planning your trip to Portugal.
You should do thorough research on the hotels, villas, and vacation rentals located in your destination areas in Portugal. Find out the budgets required for these accommodations and their exact locations.
Keep in mind that you should always choose a place to stay that is close to your visiting spot so that you can reach it easily whenever you want. For example, if you are going to visit Duoro Valley, you can book your stay in a hotel or vacation rental that is situated closest to it. Original Douro Hotel is a nice place that offers you comfortable and luxurious accommodation in Duoro Valley. The best thing about it is that Duoro Valley is easily reachable from this hotel.
There is generally a saturation of tourists and travelers in the finest places of Portugal due to their popularity. So, if you want to get an ideal place for accommodation, it is necessary to have a booking in advance lest it should be late you lose it.
If you are going to spend your vacations in Portugal with your family or spouse and prefer privacy, you can choose a vacation rental to stay. You can get a list of the best vacation rentals in Portugal. There you can enjoy a homely feeling having comfort, privacy, and freedom to move along with a luxurious stay.
There you go; you have a comprehensive guide on how to start planning your trip to Portugal. Now you can practically pursue the plan and enjoy the best vacations ever in your favorite tourist country.
