Recently, I visited Europe for the first time, with Portugal being my 22nd country and one of my favorite destinations overall. I spent four nights in two cities, Lisbon and Porto, though I also did day trips to explore the surrounding regions of each city.
While it could be pricey at times compared to some other European destinations, it was a beautiful place to visit and you can definitely spend more time here than I did. This is my complete budget breakdown of everything I spent, from hotels and food to attractions, transportation, and more.
For the sake of convenience, I’ll be converting all the prices to US dollars. At the time, €1 was equivalent to about $1.16 USD.
Hotel Prices in Portugal
While I am not the type of traveler who stays in hostels, guest houses can be a great way to save money while still getting a private room. Think of them more like independent accommodations rather than typical hotels. These are the two I stayed in while in Portugal.
Lisbon: Charme da Graça Guest House ($85 per night for a single room with private bathroom)
This was in a good location near a miradouro, or viewpoint, overlooking the city. At night the area lit up with pop-up stalls selling food and drinks, with plenty of sit-down restaurants as well. Before you arrive, you will be texted on Whatsapp with the codes to get into the building, hallway, and room respectively. There was also a key inside the room, so you don’t have to manually enter the code after that. The room itself was modest, but had some basic amenities like a small table, cups, and a hairdryer. There was no AC, but I thought the fan worked well enough. The room also had a small window overlooking the city. Do be wary of actually getting there – Lisbon is a very hilly city, and it was a rough climb from the nearby Santa Apolónia train station. Also, the guest house is on the third floor, and there is no elevator. If you don’t want to carry your bags up a few flights of stairs, consider staying elsewhere. However, it is a very walkable area and quite lovely overall.
Porto: Caldeira Guest House ($80 per night for a double room)
This was a cozy stay in a busy area, mainly at night. The building also appeared to serve as a restaurant, although I never saw it operating as one, just someone manning a desk or watching TV in the main room. It was an easy check-in process, though you do need to carry bags up a flight of stairs. The room itself was pretty small, but it had AC, a small table, and a private bathroom, and it served its purpose just fine. The main appeal here was its surroundings. It was only a few minutes’ walk from the São Bento train station, and there are plenty of spots to catch a bus. Several landmarks are only a short distance away, such as Livraria Lello and Clérigos Tower. The river is a little further, but it is a remarkably nice walk.
Overall, I spent ~$330 on accommodations in Portugal.
Food Prices in Portugal
Portuguese food could be rather expensive, though I would say it was absolutely worth the price. However, snacky items could often be found at a good cost. There also didn’t seem to be a huge difference between cities in terms of expenses.
Most restaurants were around $20-30 per meal. Including several cheaper places such as McDonald’s (a travel tradition of mine), I spent $152.64 for 7 meals, or ~$21.81 on average. For sit-down restaurants specifically, I spent $114.02 for 4 meals, averaging around $28.51. Keep in mind that Portugal does not have a tipping culture!
Of course, I also had plenty of snacks. I had pastries a couple of mornings, ice cream and gelato on hot days, as well as a bottle of peach nectar from a stand. I even tried a small cup of a drink called ginja, a sweet cherry liqueur popular in Portugal. Shops and pop-ups selling treats like these were easy to find, usually at reasonable prices. Altogether, I only spent $30.57 on 7 different things, or around $4.37 each.
In total, I spent $183.21 on food in Portugal, or around $45.80 a day, which I thought was pretty reasonable, all things considered. My advice? Have one good sit-down meal per day, and mix it with cheap snacks and quick-service options. That way you’re getting to experience Portuguese food while not breaking the bank.
Transportation Prices in Portugal
Truth be told, I really didn’t spend much on public transportation in Portugal. Most central areas in Lisbon and Porto are pretty walkable (though hilly), and for my excursions transport was provided.
Within the cities, I only bought a Navegante card for Lisbon, but I spent much more than I needed to. I spent $12.18 to buy a card and top it up with 10 uses, which was way too many. I only rode the train twice, in-between Oriente (the major station) and Santa Apolónia (the smaller one near my hotel) – in fact, my card wasn’t even checked once. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay, of course.
The same was true in Porto, with only two short 4-minute train rides between stations. I actually panicked a bit with the second ride, as I didn’t see anywhere to pay – I had read you could pay with credit card. But I didn’t want to miss my bus out of Portugal, so I took a risk and just got on. I probably should have paid somewhere – but I just didn’t see anywhere to do it as the ticket machines didn’t give me an option for it.
Even the train cost from Lisbon to Porto was only $36.54 for a two and a half hour ride, and it was fairly comfortable.
As such, I only spent $48.72 on transportation, and realistically it should even be less!
Prices for Activities in Portugal
Portugal offered several fun activities, with one major one in each city I visited.
From Lisbon, I took a full-day tour for $99.64. It was definitely a little pricey, but it was worth it for what I got to see. We took a bus to the town of Sintra, from where we visited Pena Palace. This was a gorgeous and colorful palace built high on a hill, and it gave a great view of the surrounding area. There were options to either visit the exterior only or have the interior included, and I chose the latter. While there were a lot of people there and the lines were rather long, it was still pretty cool.
After spending some time there, we eventually returned to Sintra, where some of our group got to see the Quinta da Regaleira, an estate with extensive gardens and several other buildings. It featured places ranging from a chapel to a tennis court and even something called the Initiation Well, a deep spiral staircase and carved tunnels symbolizing Freemasonry and rebirth. The mansion itself was nothing special on the inside for me, but I loved the architecture of the whole area and especially the well.
From there we visited a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at nearly the westernmost point of Europe, and had a beautiful drive along the water. We stopped in the city of Cascais for lunch, which felt like a proper beach town, before ultimately getting back to Lisbon around 5 pm. It was really a great trip and I would highly recommend doing something similar.
In Porto I did a lot more activities. The biggest one was another full-day tour, this one to the Douro Valley about an hour east for $95.73. This was definitely my favorite of the two. The sights from the van ride were just beautiful – so many rolling hills and small towns nestled in the valleys. But we saw plenty of other things besides just the views.
First off was Amarante, a peaceful town overlooking a small river. The main sight for us was the old monastery and chapel, part of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
From there, we drove to the Douro River and did a cruise for about 45 minutes. This is prime wine country, and it is chock full of vineyards and wineries on every hill. The hills are terraced, almost what you might imagine rice fields in China would look like. It was stunning.
We also got to visit a winery, Quinta de São Luiz. While I am not a wine fan myself, it was interesting to learn about the history as well as the winemaking process, and we got to taste some as well. It was definitely wasted on me, but I did try all the varieties!
The last stop before heading back to Porto was an overlook above the valley, which was an incredible vantage point, and then we went just down the hill to grab some lunch (which was provided as part of the tour). I was quite mesmerized by the terrain around us – the many green terraced hills with a shining blue river running through them. Overall we were gone around 10 hours. You should definitely consider doing an excursion to this area if you visit Porto!
In Porto itself I did three main activities. The first was the 6 bridges cruise for $22.88, which was around 45 minutes and took us along the river through the city. I would recommend this one, as it is a very pretty ride and you get to see a lot of cool architecture built on the hills along the water.
I also climbed Clérigos Tower for $5.80, an 18th-century structure which overlooks the city and is especially nice around sunset. Just be wary that it is a lot of climbing, and the stairs are a little thin!
Last but certainly not least was Livraria Lello. This bookstore was founded over 100 years ago, and is an extremely popular tourist destination – so book tickets in advance! Many think it was an inspiration for Harry Potter, though J.K. Rowling has confirmed this is not the case. But once you see the inside, you can certainly understand where people might think that. While my ticket was $18.50, the cost also goes towards special Livraria Lello-edition books. For example, I bought 1984 by George Orwell, which I had never read before, and only had to spend an extra $8.05 on the book. While I don’t think this spot is for everyone, if you like books and/or intricate wooden architecture, check it out!
Overall, I spent $250.60 on activities in Portugal, or $62.65 a day.
How Much Did I Spend to Go to Portugal?
International Transportation (Bus Costs)
Obviously, I had to get to Portugal somehow. But this was part of a wider Europe trip for me, so international travel was actually rather cheap.
I was in Spain before Portugal, having spent two days there as well as visiting Gibraltar. My last morning was in Seville, and I took a bus from there to Lisbon, with a “layover” at Faro Airport in Portugal. It was about a 6 hours’ ride total, and cost me $42.97 through FlixBus (a good option for Europe especially, as I learned).
I also returned to Spain via bus, through a much longer route – Porto to Madrid. This was about 9 hours, which wasn’t super fun, but it was cheaper than flying. Surprisingly, it was actually less expensive than the first bus, only costing $34.98.
As such, I only spent $77.98 on those two bus rides.
Overall Costs
Altogether, I spent $812.53 for 4 nights in Portugal, which comes to around $203.13 a night, which is actually pretty decent. Including the bus prices, it only takes it to $890.51, or around $222.63 a night. Just keep in mind that these totals don’t include international flights, which could significantly increase the overall cost depending on where you’re coming from.
With all that in mind, is Portugal worth visiting?
My answer is unequivocally yes. I had a wonderful experience there, and saw a lot in 4 nights. I loved the winding alleys and stairwells throughout Lisbon, along with the many miradouros overlooking the city. Sintra offered gorgeous palaces and landscapes, while Porto was probably one of my favorite cities in Europe, with its winding river and hillside architecture. The Douro Valley was another highlight, with its incredible landscape of terraced hills and vineyards.
If I had to make one major recommendation, it would be to either spend more than four nights in Portugal or consider combining it with a visit to a neighboring country. There’s much more to explore than I could fit into this short trip! And if you do want to visit multiple countries, Spain is an especially convenient pairing. Once you’re in Europe, traveling between countries by bus, train, or plane can be relatively affordable, so it’s worth considering where else you can visit.
Ultimately, Portugal offers a fantastic mix of beautiful cities, historic sites, incredible landscapes, and delicious food. While wasn’t the cheapest destination I’ve visited, I thought the experiences were well worth the cost. Whether you spend a few nights exploring Lisbon and Porto or take a longer trip through the country, I’d absolutely recommend adding Portugal to your bucket list.