🌞 Best time to travel to Portugal: a local’s experience

Tomorrow is April 1st, and it will be a year since I have lived in Portugal. And I’ll tell you without exaggeration: traveling around this country is a pleasure in any season. It is constantly warm here and the sky is clear almost every day.

Portugal is small – from north to south 560 km, and from west to east 220 km. However, the temperature and amount of precipitation differs slightly in different regions. To the north, near the ocean, it is rainier and cooler, to the south it is sunny and hotter.

To understand when is the best time to go to Portugal, it is important to consider what kind of holiday you prefer.

• If you are on the beach, welcome to the Algarve and Alentejo regions in July-August.
• If you want to travel and see the country, it is better to go when it is not so hot, for example, in the second half of spring or the first half of autumn.
• If you dream of surfing, the ideal time for beginners is from April to October. And those who are ready to conquer more powerful waves should come from November to March. 

Summer in Portugal officially begins on June 21, but crowds of tourists appear here about a month earlier. It's been a little freer since September. As for the main cities – Lisbon and Porto, they are full of people all year round.

My recommendations for the best time to visit Portugal:

In my opinion, the best periods to visit Portugal are late spring and early autumn. There is no sweltering heat, it rarely rains, and if it does, it doesn’t last long. And the air smells like floral perfume is being sprayed around you. 

And in May the vineyards turn green – one of the main attractions of the local landscapes. By October they turn purple, which is even more impressive.

Late spring and early autumn are the best times to explore authentic Portuguese towns. During this period, it will be comfortable to explore both mountain ranges with incredibly picturesque landscapes and admire the setting sun sinking into the ocean. 

What to do if you have a vacation in the summer?

Please note that the ocean off the Portuguese coast is cold throughout the year. In the hottest months – July and August, it warms up to +20. We are talking about the territory from Lisbon and below, where the main tourist beaches are located. Cooling off in the heat is fine, but you’re unlikely to be able to splash around endlessly like in the Indian Ocean.

Daytime temperatures in the south and central part of Portugal average around +30, the sky is often clear, and rain is very rare. The air near the ocean is more humid, making it more pleasant to be there. If you are planning to travel inland, I recommend choosing locations with rivers, lakes and natural pools – there are plenty of them in Portugal.

The Atlantic from Porto is even colder. And the beaches from Lisbon and above are more suitable for surfing than for swimming. The air temperature here in summer is lower – somewhere around +25, it is windy and sometimes it rains. For those who don't like heat, it's very comfortable.

I now live in the city of Mangualde, in the center of the country. In summer it is stuffy and hot here, there is no rain at all. To cool off, I like to go to the ocean just below Porto – under the city of Aveiro there is a long coastline with beautiful sandy beaches.

Does it make sense to go to Portugal outside of the tourist season?

November and December are considered not the best months for a vacation in this country because they can be very rainy. But, for example, I was traveling a lot at this time last year. While it rained endlessly in the central part, in the south it was sunny and warm with rare, short-lived precipitation.

In January and February, it becomes cooler in Portugal – at night the thermometer approaches zero, and snow falls in the mountains. By the way, not all houses here have central heating. People are saved by heaters and fireplaces, which are even found in apartments. To avoid freezing, it is important to choose warm rental housing. But traveling at this time is very pleasant. During the day it is sunny and about +10-15. There are much fewer tourists – you come to places where there are usually a lot of people, and they are just for you.

Warming comes in March. The only thing that still reminds us of winter is the lack of leaves on the trees. In April, nature finally wakes up, and in May… the new tourist season begins.

Have a nice holiday in Portugal! If you have questions, leave them in the comments – I will definitely answer and share more details.