Portugal Favorites
Portugal is a colorful, vibrant, affordable country that oozes a sense of ease, culture and history. It is having its “moment” as the darling of Europe and caught on an excellent place for U.S. residents to retire. After our trip I can see why! From the cities, to the countryside to the rocky historic coastline, it is easy to navigate. We wandered full of wonder and delight, learned a lot along the way and met some of the kindest people you will ever meet. I can’t recommend it enough. We worked with Amy Annis of Ciao Bambino Travel and she arranged some amazing private tour guides and drivers for some excursions that helped us learn so much more and made the popular spots much easier to visit (skip the lines!). The links below are to a few of our favorite locations and properties. Stargazing, winetasting and olive grove tours at Sao Laurenco Barrocal felt like the Wild Rice Retreat of the Alentejo with 300 years of experience. Pine Cliffs and Algarve was a dream - the rocky cliffs, powerful ocean, views for days, and warm April temperatures were a balm for my wintered-out soul.
I love how Amy blended our trip to spend time in the City; Lisbon - a very walkable city with day excursions to Belem, Cascais, and the famous Pena Palace in Sintra; time at the Beach - four nights in the Algarve (loved our hotel linked below and the beaches of Lagos!); and four nights in the countryside - the historic town of Evora was a dream and an easy drive into Spain if you want to keep exploring.
The buzz about Portugal is for real - I can’t wait to go back and explore the Duoro Valley, Porto and the north.