1 week Portugal Itinerary

Looking for a quick Portugal trip itinerary? I've got you covered!! 

As you know, Kevin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Portugal in October of 2021. We brought Ollie boy (who was 7 months at the time). Because our other children were at home with grandparents, and we didn't want to leave them for too long, we had about a week in Portugal to celebrate...and what wonderful days those were! 

I wanted to break down all the information for you in case you wanted to follow a similar outline! 

Lisbon, Portugal

The last stop on our anniversary trip to Portugal was its capital city of Lisbon. 

Up until then we had explored the incredible Algarve coast with it's sunny cliffs and delicious seafood....we had sipped Port wine and soaked in the painted blue tiles in the magical city of Porto, so when we arrived in Lisbon to POURING RAIN...it was a bit of a rough start. 

But...the next day and a half, even through the clouds and rain, Lisbon shined. 

Is Livraria Lello worth visiting? (Porto, Portugal)

If you're wondering you should visit Livraria Lello, the famous bookstore in Porto, Portugal...the answer is a resounding YES! 

I absolutely loved it. 

It's certainly one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world (the prettiest I've ever stepped foot in!), and heralds back to another age of opulence and  lavish details. Opened in 1906, the bookstore still sells books today. For most of it's existence, it was free to walk into the bookstore. However, in the last few years Livraria Lello was getting thousands of visitors a day with less than 5% purchasing books...so now the bookshop charges a fee to enter. If you do end up purchasing a book, they deduct your ticket price which is nice! 

Porto, Portugal in the Fall

It's been a hot minute since I shared about our Portugal trip, but my goal is to get all the pictures up on the blog in the next few weeks! If you missed it, we went to Portugal for our 10 year anniversary in the Fall of 2021. We were traveling with our 3rd child, who at the time was 7 months old and still nursing:) I did not know much about Portugal before we visited, but wow, it truly is a magical country! 

Best family friendly hike in the Algarve (near Lagos, Portugal)

Before heading to Portugal, I did a quick search online to see the highlights of the Algarve...and BOY was this coastline the MAIN ATTRACTION! If you need to know anything about Southern Portugal's famous Algarve coast, it's that it's absolutely magnificent and breathtaking! Knowing that, we wanted to spend the majority of one of our days here exploring. 

I looked up a few hikes. Because we had Ollie, we knew we didn't want to do anything too strenuous or get caught on a long hike and not be able to turn back in time for his needs. On a whim, I noticed a hike on the cliffs that was close to Lagos, and relatively easy. While this hike is breathtaking and fun for everyone, it can definitely be labeled family friendly as all ages could walk along the paths! 

The hike started at Ponta da Piedade. We plugged that into our GPS in our rental car, and it took us right to the parking lot. Thankfully there was plenty of parking, and we got Ollie out and strapped into the Ergo 360 (a total must when traveling with a baby!). 

There is a trail that runs along the cliffs, and the nice thing is you can kind of choose how far you want to go. We spent a few hours meandering the trails and drinking in the incredible view. There were people from all over the world here, and it was fun to meet and chit chat! 

There is a massive staircase down one of the cliffs that absolutely worth walking down. You can see some beautiful arches and the the ocean from the bottom. Ollie got a little hungry down there so I gave him a quick nurse as nobody was around. Halfway through his nurse, a tourbus group of about 100 Japanese tourists descended down the stairs and were walking all around me taking pictures of the scenery. It was hilarious! 

Just as a sidetone for traveling with a baby, never be afraid to nurse anywhere! Breastfeeding a baby is a total natural thing to do, and if your baby is hungry, feed him! People from the world over are so kind and gracious:) So don't be scared to feed wherever you are! 

At the end of our hike, we found a cute little cafe near the parking lot that had a view of the cliffs and ocean. It was absolutely delicious. I ate the vegetable paella, Kevin got a ham and cheese sandwich and Ollie nursed! 

If you are close to Lagos, this is a must see trail!! Enjoy!

{random side note...usually we don't eat at the tacky places by the parking lots, ha! BUT...we honestly found in Portugal that the food is good EVERYWHERE (whether a tacky road side stand or a cliff view restaurant!) We were shocked at the level of cuisine in Portugal, it was amazing!} 

The best Airbnb in Portugal

If you're looking for the dreamiest, most authentic, and best Airbnb in Portugal, look no further! For those following along on IG, you would know that Kevin and I booked our trip to Portugal just days before we arrived. With a tip from Rick Steve's to stay in the quaint town of Salema in the Algarve (on the southern coast), I did a quick AirBnB search, and this one caught my eye. 

From the minute I saw it, I was sold! 

And I can vouch that it is only better in person:) 

Best Resort in the Algarve....Vilalara Thalassa

Because our trip to Portugal was in honor of our 10 year wedding anniversary, Kevin and I thought it would be fun to splurge for 1 night of the trip on a really amazing resort in the Algarve. In our 10 years of marriage, we've been budget travelers through and through...so it was rather exciting to think of living that upgraded life for a night, haha! 

It didn't take long for me to find the PERFECT place! Every time I googled best place to stay in the Algarve, Vilalara Thalassa Resort kept coming up. I took one look at the pictures, and was hooked! I'm a sucker for beautiful places (both the aesthetic of the resort...but also the natural surrounding beauty). This one checked both boxes.