Good Wine Gal Travels: Portugal

Portugal 2024 - Planning & Arrival in Lisbon

If the world is your oyster, then Portugal is the pearl. And I've enjoyed a lot of oysters. After my trip to Portugal this past spring where I spent 6 weeks traveling from the bottom to  the top, the warmer south to the cooler north, I had an epiphany: Portugal is a jewel. It's safe, beautiful, affordable, accessible and likely in the DNA of everyone on the planet. 

My itinerary included a yoga retreat, a beach stay, the Women in Wine Expo in Porto, a trip down the Douro River Valley, a flight to the island of Madeira with food and wine overarching it all. The goal was to travel with a light footprint - only carry-on luggage, traveling by bus and train, walking as much as possible while visiting famous wine producers, beautiful beaches, and staying at affordable guest houses. Having visited Lisbon and the peninsula in 2018 as part of my wine studies and wine buying career, this trip was going to be devoted to an easy pace. What started with air fare FOMO turned into one of the best adventures of my life - a six week solo travel adventure around Portugal.

Unique, Historic, Picturesque & Tasty

Whatever they tell you, it's true. Unique, historic, picturesque, and tasty. It is unique by its location on the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Atlantic ocean on the western shore, covered with sandy beaches along hundreds of miles of coastline from north to south. The sea has shaped everything from history, floral and fauna, food, transportation, climate, humidity and access. It's a gateway to the world, which, over the centuries has been instrumental in shaping Portugal's fortunes. Explorers sailed in search of the new world returning with plants and animals that today appear as a staple in the Portuguese diet. Walled cities and castles that date back 1000 years are visible in almost every town as a permanent reminder of the conquests and battles fought to establish permanence. In fact, the Diana Temple stands in the heart of old walled town Évora. Perched at the highest point near the cathedral square and a stone's throw from  Cartuxa Wine Bar,  this temple is believed to have been built in the 1st century AD during the reign of Cesar Augustus. Uncovered in the 19th century, it remains one of the most important ruins in Portugal and reminds all who stand before it, of life 2000 years ago. Évora is incredibly special, but then so are many of the towns and cities I visited.

Portugal is like a fairytale. In fact, in Coimbra, Harry Potter came to life as the university graduates donned robes much like those worn at Hogwart's. As they strode through the cobble stone streets with their black capes floating behind them the magic of Harry Potter and Coimbra collided before my eyes. 

​In Portugal, looking for clues to origin and influence becomes a game. After the fall of the Roman empire other tribes, especially the Ottomans, occupied the region and left their architectural influences behind in places like Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, and Evora which makes history buffs orgasm. Ruins date back thousands of years. 

And then there is natural beauty, like that of a sunset set against this backdrop of columns overlooking the land as far as the eye can see, or sinking into the sea as crashing waves roar on golden sandy beaches. The beauty of people gathering for a dance party that carries on in the streets until 4 in the morning is just as likely. Portugal is social, amiable and friendly.

Celebrating is something the Portuguese do daily. People gather everywhere, whether to eat, to listen to live music or drink a glass of wine. Local cuisine emphasizes grilled fish, olive oil, sea salt, juicy lemon, and crusty, fresh baked bread, and sweet desserts. In Portugal, drive 30 kilometers and discover new - a dish, a delicious wine and a cultural heritage that varies ever so slightly from town to town. So much so that the variety of tastes, sights and sounds of Portugal cannot be explored in one trip. ​

Airfare From Vancouver, BC

If you are wondering how to get to Lisbon from Vancouver, BC return. for less than $1300, here is the formula I used (booking late in March) for an April departure. It’s not for everyone but I found this to be an good alternative to a long haul flight as all had a mandatory stop. My favorite airline is Air France and I love flying into Paris. It’s affordable, the wine onboard is good and the food is usually better than Air Canada. Leaving from Vancouver at 1:30 pm in the afternoon is civilized and arriving in Paris at 8 am is reasonable. Plus the flight is not always full. Having said that traveling in economy lately, it feels like overbooking rules. Plus I often ask myself: Are the seats getting smaller? Are the seats closer together? I've been flying since I was 9 years old and air travel has changed so much. Five decades later, what used to feel exciting and special, has become somewhat dreaded and exhausting. 

Research on flights indicated that Vancouver to Lisbon had no direct flight available. International flights from Vancouver were $2000 for routing with one stop either in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich or Amsterdam. From Vancouver, Air Canada routing was through Toronto or Montreal with a layover of four hours but I felt that could be problematic. Any delay and who knows what would happen. In the end, I chose a red eye on Air Canada from Vancouver to Toronto for $137 and then TAP (airline of Portugal) for a direct flight from Toronto to Lisbon leaving around 6 pm and arriving in Lisbon at 6:30 am Lisbon time. The cost was less than $900 including taxes. The layover in Toronto was about 12 hours (a bit long) but I was offered a hotel room where I slept for 4 hours, showered and headed back to Pearson International.

I traveled with carry-on luggage consisting of a knapsack as my personal item, under 7 kg and a small suitcase on wheels that matched the exact measurements for both carriers weighing just 10 kg. All flights offered free luggage check and that left me with one empty hand. As I was traveling solo, and all flights were shorter than 8 hours, I did not select a seat. With no hurry and no interest in business class, I saved about $300 and was no worse for it. In fact, I enjoyed meeting other travelers and being a part of the traveling community.

Using Travel Apps - Expedia & AirBnB

For points collectors, you may know what I mean when I say, I had so many points that the first two weeks of my trip were covered as was my airfare. Crazy good. I have a TD First Class Travel Visa which costs me $139 a year. It offers great benefits regarding insurance for flight interruption, cancellation, lost luggage, car rental and hotel upgrades. It lets me book through Expedia and this has mostly been great. The only caveat is that the car rental insurance doesn’t cover 3rd party liability and if you are a defensive driver like me, you know that lots of folks are not good drivers and under insured. That resulted in car rental fees for three days in Madeira at $100 CDN a day which was expensive.

Airbnb in Portugal offered some really great listings both private rooms and private apartments in all price ranges with every manner of style and comfort. Yes, taking a package tour has all these things worked out for you in advance which saves time but I wanted to try this. It required a lot of detail. for example: where is the train station; bus drop off;  and thank goodness for Google maps. The best AirBnB stay was in Viseu where I had a palatial home with full kitchen and guest rooms to myself. 

The surprise was the new city taxes aimed at tourists. This tax varies from city to city and is completely at the discretion of each council. There was confusion as to how the taxes would be collected and whether or not Airbnb hosts were responsible to collect and remit. One host actually was incensed when I wanted to pay through the app instead of directly in her hand. Since then I think this has been sorted.  

Conclusion

If the world is your oyster, then Portugal is the pearl. After six weeks traveling solo in Portugal, I had an epiphany: Portugal is a jewel. It's safe, beautiful, affordable, accessible and likely in the DNA of everyone on the planet. If you have not yet had the chance to visit, 2025 is calling. 

​Things to remember when travelling in order to enjoy it to the max:
Jet lag is real so plan to accommodate extra sleep and time adjustment. I have found staying in a hotel close to the center of everything makes it easy to take life in four hour sips. It's the way my body works. Not putting pressure on myself to show up in and around the hot spots until I'm ready has been a blessing. 

Researching and planning travel is time consuming and exhausting. To make itl easier, I am offering a tour to Evora, heart of Alentejo just 1.5 hours from Lisbon for  6 days and 6 nights in October. It might be perfect for you if you love food, wine, history and culture. Message me by emailing [email protected] or checking out Good Wine Gal on Facebook or Instagram. More to come on travel adventures in 2025 with me, Good Wine Gal.  Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2025. Cheers!