Highlights of Our Six-Week Exploration of Portugal

Portugal is becoming a favourite with travellers around the world. Beautiful beaches, stunning cliffs and vistas, charming helpful people, and fabulous cuisine, pastries, chocolate, and wine. What’s not to like?

You’ll enjoy pastry perfection throughout Portugal

One thing we learned as soon as arriving in Portugal is that they have fantastic pastries everywhere you go. They are light, flavorful, and highly creative. We had our own kitchen facilities at the Airbnb properties we stayed at, and so we really enjoyed picking up different pastries at each of the grocery stores and bakeries that we visited. The walnut torte purchased at the Apolonia store above was one of our favourites. The Portuguese custard tarts (known as Pasteis de Nata locally) are also worth trying. Look for the ones with a burnt-looking top as they have the richest flavour. 

Cascais is sure to captivate

It’s just a short hour’s drive west from Lisbon to Cascais, a coastal community of 214,000 residents. We have American friends who moved to Portugal a couple of years ago and they chose Cascais as their base due to its great location and safe, laidback lifestyle. Although we only had a brief visit there (that was made even shorter due to a stomach issue I succumbed to) we could truly appreciate why our friends chose this community with its vibrant waterfront and creative expression. The rugged cliffs of Cascais are quite stunning, offering unlimited opportunities to hike and great places to spot local fishermen looking for that tasty catch of the day.

A diversion to the Obidos Chocolate Festival

The International Chocolate Festival held in Obidos, is a must for chocolate lovers visiting central Portugal. The festival is held within the medieval stone wall built to protect the village in the 8th century. The fortress and castle were completed between the 12th and 14th centuries and add a magical feeling to your visit–complete with whimsical characters.

You can enjoy the whole day exploring the historic grounds of the Obidos Chocolate Festival. Don’t be surprised is this gal asks you to do a selfie with her.

The main street in the old village of Obidos is narrow and intriguing. Give yourself time to explore the small shops and cafes and enjoy a shot of Ginja (sour cherry liquor.)

During the chocolate festival you’ll also have the opportunity to meet chocolatiers and buy some amazing chocolate. The chili chocolate from Chuate Chocolate Artesanal was by far the best Portuguese-made chocolate we purchased at the festival. I truly wish I’d bought more.

Exploring the Algarve Region

If you’re a beach lover, you’ll really enjoy the Algarve region of Southwestern Portugal which includes about 200 kilometres (124 miles) of beautiful sandy beaches lined with organically sculptured sandstone cliffs–a blend of Miocene bioplastic limestone and sandstone dotted with seashells. The shells get washed ashore and become lodged in the sandstone that grows over time to become new towering cliffs. They are quite fascinating and unique to the region.

The close-up shown above was taken at Praia do Vale do Olival and shows just how many seashells are embedded in the sandstone cliffs in the Algarve region of Portugal.

The beach at Sao Goncalo de Lagos is especially beautiful with its high sandstone cliffs and inviting shoreline. We loved exploring the stunning beach at Lagos and its cliffs. We then headed up the cliff to enjoy a delicious lunch of fresh seafood–complete with a view that can’t be beat.

Exploring the caves of the southern Algarve

One of the highlights of our six-weeks in Portugal was the boat tour we took with Tridente Boat Trips. We were staying right on the beach in the laidback community of Armacao de Pera, so it was super easy for us to take this fascinating trip. The small boat coasted right onto the beach (with the aid of a tractor) to pick us up and then did the same to drop us off. We never had to get wet or sandy in the somewhat cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean–which was a blessing on the relatively cool day we joined the tour. As we were in the Algarve during some inclement marine weather, the boat tours didn’t run for nearly a week. We were fortunate that they resumed before we had to leave.

The Benagil Cave Tour with Tridente Boat Trips was stunning. You feel micro-sized within its towering walls. © Doreen Pendgracs

If you’re a fan of sand sculptures, Sandcity in Lagoa will leave you gobsmacked

We love being outdoors and were thrilled with the variety of activities that pushed all the right buttons for us. Sandcity–located just outside of the community of Lagoa–is home to the largest display of sand sculptures in the world and did not disappoint. There are approximately 120 sand sculptures of various shapes and sizes, all sharing a common theme. The 2024 theme was ‘World Travel’ and included sculptures indicative of each participating country’s culture or architecture. The weather had been unstable earlier in March, so their opening was delayed. But fortunately, Sandcity opened in early April just before we were leaving for home, so we got to fully enjoy the incredible talent displayed by the artisans who created the sculptures. We even got to see some of them repairing post-storm damage to their sculptures and adding on to existing ones. Definitely a great place to spend a few hours.  

The sand sculptures you’ll enjoy at Sandcity may depict sights and culture from around the world. All are beautifully hand carved and inspiring. We loved this sculpture depicting the wackiness of Willy Wonka.

Find evidence of the Knights Templar in Silves, Portugal  

History buffs may be captivated by a trip to medieval Silves–a small historic community located 15 minutes north of Lagoa and 12 kilometres (7.45 miles) from the coast. Castelo de Silves is an active archaeological site where 12,000 square meters is being excavated–much of which is accessible to visitors to explore. As a fan of the Knights Templar, my husband was intrigued by the fact that these masters of the Crusades had been inhabitants of Silves during the late 12th century.  

Silves is best known for its stunning castle and abundance of white storks (fondly nicknamed the mascots of the Algarve.) You can spot the giant white birds nested on top of buildings, amid the town’s infrastructure, and in trees. All photos contained in this post and on this site are © Doreen Pendgracs.

Things to consider when planning a trip to Portugal

1. The weather can be varied and unpredictable. We were there from late February until early April. It was surprisingly cooler–and wetter–than we expected, but we did also have some fabulous weather. Be prepared by bringing a variety of clothing ranging from a light coat to beachwear. The instability of the “winter” weather will also affect what outdoor attractions are open, so be sure to check directly with the places you plan to go to find out if they’re operating as advertised.
2. Portugal is welcoming and the people are friendly. This is particularly helpful in finding places, as there aren’t enough street signs and the GPS isn’t always reliable.
3. Portugal is not known for tooting its own horn, so most folks don’t know how wonderful it is. The wine is incredible for the price and you can get store commissioned brands such as the Porco Preto Vinho Tinto (red wine) from the Alentejano region that is available at Lidl stores for less than 5 euros a bottle. You can get a truly excellent wine from the recommended Alentejano region for twice that amount at any major grocery store.
4. Carefully check costs you may incur with the local airlines. We unexpectedly had to pay the equivalent of $150 Canadian (equivalent to approximately $110 USD) at the airport counter of TAP airlines for our two carry-ons.
5. Most of all, have fun. Appreciate the amazing culture and history of this fabulous country, knowing you can always go back for another visit if you don’t have time to do all you hope to. We certainly plan to, with Porto and Sintra (both World Heritage Sites) already on our list for round two of our Portuguese adventures.
6. Lisbon is a great and dynamic city, but Portugal is so much more than the capital. For more on Lisbon, please read this post.
7. Much more useful information on traveling to and within Portugal is available at Visit Portugal.  

Sharing is Caring!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post highlighting the favourite parts of our Portuguese journey. If so, I hope you’ll share it with your friends and colleagues. Have you been to this amazing country? If so, please share your own favourite highlight in the comment thread following this post. And if you’ve not yet been to Portugal, what’s holding you back?