Portugal travel budget

View of Commerce Square in Lisbon, Portugal

Dear Wandering Spirit,

is Portugal expensive? How much does accomodation and food cost on a trip to Lisbon? How much pocket money would you need when moving around Porto? Keep reading the Portugal travel budget for more information!

Disclaimer Prices are accurate as of May 2018, so may not reflect current cost.

Travel to Portugal

Travel by plane / train / car

Low-cost flight to Lisbon, return fare, around 90 € / 97 $ per person. Dependant on your departure place.

Both full-service and low-cost airlines serve Lisbon, Porto and Faro airports. If you are planning a spring holiday or a holiday in the peak season, book your travel months in advance to stay on budget. 💸

Main modes of transport

Public transport in Lisbon (7 Colinas Card, rechargeable – cheapest solution for transport only vs. Lisboa Card 24h, 48h, 72h – includes several attractions);

In Porto you can walk if you book accommodation far away from the city centre or you can buy single fares with an Andante Card (covering the airport area too) or a Porto Card;

In Coimbra you can walk as the city is not too big.🚶

Transport around the cities

Bus or train from one city to another is the cheapest solution. If you don’t have much time though, I recommend you rent a car (15-20 € / 16-21 $ a day for a small car).

Accomodation in Portugal

Where to stay in Portugal

Double room incl. breakfast and free wi-fi costed around 50 € / 55 $ per person per night.

In Lisbon, I recommend you staying in Baixa and Chiado districts (Lisbon downtown). If you want to be close to the cafés and restaurants, then look for Bairro Alto accomodations.

I recommend you staying either in Ribeira or Baixa / Sé districts when visiting Porto. In the first one, you enjoy the beautiful view of the iron bridge on the Douro river. Baixa / Sé is the district just above Ribeira and is a trendy location for party-makers, couples and groups.

Where to eat in Portugal

I booked mid-range hotels, guest houses and B&B with breakfast included.

Regarding the meals, I opted for street food at lunchtime (10 € / 11 $ per person) and complete meals for dinner (20 € / 21 $ per person, wine not included).

You should definitely try the local cuisine, so look for typical restaurants instead of chains! If you like fish, try the cod (bacalhau), as it is served in many different ways, or the giant red shrimps (carabineros). Last but not least, Portuguese are famous for their canned sardines. You can order them as appetizers (petiscos).

If you like street food, a bifana sandwich awaits you at every corner. It is made of marinated pork, spices and white whine. When in Porto, it is a must to eat the famous hot sandwich called Francesinha served with fries.

Finally, ask for a pastel de nata in pastry shops (pastelerias). 🥧 This iconic Portuguese dessert is made of butter, sugar, eggs, flour and cinnamon. The crispy sweet custard is a delicious snack with a hot coffee (bica).

Sight-seeing / Activities

Museums & Activities

Very much depending on the activity, you can estimate around 10 € / 11 $ per attraction per person but you can alternate zero cost days and days with activities.

Some examples:

Belém Tower (Lisbon) – standard ticket 6,00 € / 6.5 $
Saint George’s Castle (Lisbon) – standard ticket 10,00 € / 11 $
Jerónimos Monastery (Lisbon) – standard ticket 10,00 € / 11 $
World of Discoveries Interactive Museum of Portuguese history (Porto) – standard ticket 13,00-15,00 € / 14-16 $

Shopping & Souvenirs

Around 20 € / 21 $ daily per person.

When in Portugal, you might want to buy some souvenirs for friends and family. For food lovers and gourmets, tinned sardines of all kinds are available. A bottle of Port wine, vinha verde (flavourful white wine) or Ginjinha (cherry liqueur) are also great treats.

Hand painted tiles named azulejos are also available in each size. You can also get this famous Portuguese patterns on small soaps, cotton bags, towels, and pillowcases. Last but not least, the Barcelos rooster is a very common souvenir in Portugal.

Unexpected costs

I always count 100-150 € / 110-160 $ per trip just to be sure.

During my stay in Portugal, I partially cut these costs as I took with me travel aids like international power plugs, a small self-aid kit, etc. and I downloaded some useful apps (travel guides, etc.).

I came up with only 50 € / 55 $ extra travel costs in the end, but this depends entirely on you folks.

Portugal Travel Cost Breakdown

7 days in Portugal Estimated cost per person per day (as of May 2018):

One-time costs

Flight 90,00 € / 97 $
Extra costs 50,00 € / 55 $

Recurring costs

Accommodation 7 x 50,00 € / 7 x 55 $
Transport from/to cities 7 x 15,00 € / 7 x 16 $
Transport within cities 7 x 7,00 € / 7 x 8 $
Food/drinks 7 x 30,00 € / 7 x 32 $
Activities/Pocket money 7 x 30,00 € / 7 x 32 $

around 152,00 € / 164 $ per person per day.

Travel Organizer Portugal

Let us get down to the nitty-gritty to Portugal North Germany at best.

Currency – Portugal’s currency is the Euro (€). As orientation,
1 € corresponds to 1 $. Use one of the many money converters for real-time results, like themoneyconverter.com.

Language – Portuguese is Portugal’s national language. English is the second most spoken language, due to the many international workers and tourists.

Power plugs – Voltage is 230V, frequency is 50 Hz. Sockets are of type C & F.

Weather – Portugal is one of the sunniest European countries! Sunglasses are your best friend here and, when temps go up, sun screen should be always in your bag. Portugal has a Mediterranean climate, mild in winter, and hot in summer. Along the coast, it is chilly. On the Azores islands UTC +0, close to the coast and inland UTC +1.

Main cities – Lisbon in the capital city, followed by Porto, Coimbra, and Faro in the south.

National public holidays – Catholic festivities, plus Liberty Day (Apr 25th), Labor Day (May 1st), Portugal Day (Jun 10th), Republic Day (Oct 5th), Restoration of Independence (Dec 1st).

Top 3 festivals – Festival of the Crosses in May, Festival of the Red Waistcoat (3 days in July), São Martinho (Nov 11th).

Check out my Portugal travel journal for more info about what to see and do during your stay in this beautiful country!

Also, subscribe riccivagabondi travel blog now to get many other useful travel recommendations.