A 10-day road trip through Portugal

Every year my friend Becky and I head off on a travel adventure together, and over the past two decades we’ve been all over the world – from far-flung places such as Argentina and Brazil to closer-to-home destinations like Northumberland and Antwerp. This time around, we decided to explore a country that has become a favourite for both of us, embarking on a 10-day road trip almost all the way through Portugal.

I aways enjoy visiting Portugal, but what I loved most about this trip was how varied it was. Starting in the Algarve in the far south and ending in Porto in the north, it took us to stunning beaches, coastal lagoons, fascinating cities, hilltop towns, idyllic countryside and the spectacular Douro Valley. It was also the perfect mix of relaxation and activity, and we found plenty of beautiful but affordable hotels to stay at along the way.

If you’re interested in doing something similar, here’s our full itinerary, together with accommodation links, recommendations on what to see and do in each place, and a few useful tips. I’ve also included suggested tweaks for those who have more or less time to play with.

Days 1 & 2: Olhão & the Ria Formosa Natural Park

After flying to Faro Airport and picking up our hire car, we drove 20 minutes east to the fishing port of Olhão – one of the more authentic and less touristy coastal towns in the Algarve. I instantly fell for its narrow streets and jumble of whitewashed buildings, many clad in ornate tiles or draped with bougainvillea. It was a joy to stroll around in the rose-gold glow of early evening, watching boats pootle out to sea and spotting nesting storks atop chimneys and church towers. There’s also a wonderful morning market, plus an array of great restaurants – my favourites were Chá Chá Chá, a relaxed tapas place with tables spilling out onto the cobbles, and Terra i Mar, which serves freshly grilled catch of the day overlooking the harbour.

Olhão is the gateway to the protected Ria Formosa Natural Park – a coastal lagoon with marshy channels, wading birds and swathes of white sand – and we spent our second day exploring on a boat tour with family-run operator Sabino. We opted for a five-hour trip, with a stop on the island of Farol (home to a towering lighthouse and a long beach lapped by crystal-clear water), a seafood lunch in the working fishing community of Culatra, and time to swim off near-deserted sandbanks that looked like they belonged in the Maldives. We had a fantastic time and our guide João was a fount of knowledge about life, flora and fauna in the park, but if budget is tight you can travel around on the public ferries instead.

The base for our time in Olhão was Pure Formosa Concept Hotel [AD – affiliate link], which has minimalist white rooms, underground parking and a stunning rooftop pool terrace and bar with sweeping views over the town and lagoon. It’s quietly stylish and very comfortable – and, with rates starting at less than €100 per night, it’s excellent value too. I’ve also heard great things about adults-only B&B Casa Céu and beautifully designed Casa Modesta [AD – affiliate link], but as neither have twin rooms we had to discount them for this trip.

Day 3: the Alentejo countryside

On our third day, we left Olhão and headed north into the Alentejo – a rural, sparsely populated region that covers almost a third of Portugal. It’s a very pretty part of the country, with vast cork forests and olive groves, gently rolling fields, wildflower meadows, hilltop villages, and cattle snoozing under trees.

Our main destination was the area’s capital, Évora. By motorway it’s a three-hour drive from the Algarve, but we chose to wind our way up through the countryside on the slower but much more scenic N2, breaking our journey with a night at beautiful – and cheap – little hotel Casa do Roxo [AD – affiliate link]. Set by a lake on the edge of a farming hamlet, it’s run by Jorge and his family, who swapped Lisbon for a quieter life a decade ago. The building is a contemporary take on traditional Alentejo barns, with sleek white walls, olive-shaded terraces, a concrete-floored communal lounge with soaring ceilings, and six simple but stylish rooms clad in cork and pine. We absolutely loved it, and spent a very relaxing evening watching the sun set over wine, cheese and bread (there’s no restaurant nearby, but there’s a well-stocked honesty bar and you’re welcome to bring your own food).

Day 4: Évora

After breakfast in the sun at Casa do Roxo, we continued on to Évora – an enchanting city with a long history. It was founded by the Celts, conquered in turn by the Romans and the Moors, transformed into a centre of learning in the Middle Ages, and attacked by Napoleon’s forces during the 19th-century Peninsular War. Today it’s a UNESCO World Heritage site, with beautifully preserved buildings and a lively cultural scene.

I’d actually visited Évora before, during a very intense heatwave in 2015, so it was a joy to return and explore at a more manageable 27C! We spent the afternoon strolling around its tangle of winding lanes, taking in the ruins of the Templo Romano, the eerie catacombs of the Capela dos Ossos (‘Chapel of Bones’), the colonnaded Praça do Giraldo and the stunning view from the top of the cathedral. We also traced the route of the Roman aqueduct that zig-zags its way into town, with tiny houses built into some of the arches, and stopped to sample local wines at Rota dos Vinhos do Alentejo, which offers tastings for €5 per person. As for food, we had a delicious meal at Momentos – a cosy restaurant serving up modern takes on traditional Alentejo dishes, all made using organic produce from nearby farms and explained at your table by friendly chef Jorge.

We stayed overnight at Évora Olive Hotel [AD – affiliate link] – a modern, minimalist place on the edge of the old town with large and very quiet rooms, an outdoor pool, free parking, and a striking spiral staircase in the lobby. I’d also recommend Imani Country House [AD – affiliate link], where I was based during my last visit, although it’s a 15-minute drive out of the city.

Day 5: Cromeleque Dos Almendres & Tomar

Our fifth day started with a visit to Cromeleque dos Almendres – the largest cluster of Neolithic menhirs on the Iberian Peninsula, located a short way outside Évora (and very close to Imani Country House). It’s set at the end of a dusty dirt track, but it’s worth the car-rattling journey to see the site’s 90 or so megaliths, protruding like giant stone fingers from the hillside. No-one really knows why they were placed here or what the symbols etched into their sides mean, but it’s a fascinating and mysterious place.

From there, we embarked on a two-hour drive northeast to Tomar, a small town topped by the magnificent Convento de Cristo – a gothic fortress that was once the headquarters of the Knights Templar, becoming a friary after their dissolution in the 14th century. We headed straight up to it to explore the tiled cloisters and rambling gardens, before dropping back down the hillside for a wander around Tomar’s sleepy alleyways and a tacky but fun dinner at medieval-themed restaurant Taverna Antiqua on the main square.

We stayed overnight in the area but I’m not going to recommend our hotel, as it was a fair drive out of town and a little chaotic. Instead, I’d suggest taking a look at O Paço [AD – affiliate link] near Tomar’s historic centre.

Day 6: Coimbra

We left Tomar early the next morning and drove an hour north to Coimbra, Portugal’s medieval capital and home to the country’s oldest university. Rising above the languid Rio Mondego, it’s a lively and atmospheric city with cobbled, graffiti-scrawled alleyways spiralling up to a monolithic cathedral. We had a peak at the elegant courtyards and towers of the university, whose central Paço das Escolas occupies the former royal palace, before taking in some art at the Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro and sitting down for a tapas lunch with a view on its restaurant terrace. By far my favourite part of Coimbra, though, was the botanic garden – a serene oasis in the heart of the old city, with meandering paths, towering palms, burbling fountains and frog-filled ponds.

We had originally planned to stay in Coimbra for the night but our trip coincided with a Coldplay concert and hotel rates had skyrocketed, so we made it a day stop and then carried on to our next destination, Aveiro (below). If you want to spend longer in the city, I’ve heard good things about Sapientia Boutique Hotel [AD – affiliate link].

TIP: Don’t take your car into central Coimbra. The steep, narrow streets get snarled with traffic and there’s hardly anywhere to park. Instead, head to one of the public car parks on the other side of the river and walk across the Santa Clara bridge to the old city.

Day 7: Aveiro

An hour north again from Coimbra took us to Aveiro, a fishing town backed by a coastal lagoon, with a network of canals meandering through its centre. It’s famous for two things – colourfully painted wooden vessels called moliceiros, which were once used for harvesting seaweed and now take tourists on tours, and its many Art Nouveau houses, constructed during its heyday in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We saw the town from the water on an hour-long boat trip (there are loads of operators with booths along the canals, and they all offer pretty much the same thing), then strolled around in search of as many Art Nouveau buildings as we could find. We also stopped for cocktails in the tiled courtyard of the landmark Casa de Chá, which is painted sky-blue and adorned with stone sunflowers, and browsed the selection of contemporary Portuguese crafts on sale at Cais À Porta.

The town gets packed with coach parties during the day but takes on an altogether quieter, more relaxed atmosphere in the evenings, so I’d recommend spending at least one night there to experience it at its best. We stayed at the historic Aveiro Palace [AD – affiliate link], which first opened its doors in 1937. The rooms aren’t particularly stylish, but its canalside location is hard to beat and there’s a beautiful lounge where you can sit back and watch the boats sail past. It also has a parking arrangement with a nearby shopping centre, so it’s ideal for those arriving by car.

Day 8: the Douro Valley

The penultimate stop of our trip, two hours northeast of Aveiro, was the Douro Valley – another place I’d been to before but which I was more than happy to revisit. Snaking from Porto to the Spanish border, it’s one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, with steeply terraced vineyards plunging down towards the river and green hillsides dotted with tiny white-stone villages.

We booked into Douro Palace Hotel [AD – affiliate link] for its location near Aregos station, which meant we could get out of the car and explore by rail. We first took the train as far as Peso da Régua, the Douro’s main hub, where we stopped for lunch and a port tasting at the Museu do Douro. From there, we boarded a three-hour boat cruise upstream to the pretty little town of Pinhão, where we picked up another train all the way back to Aregos. It was a lovely way to see the area from two different perspectives, zipping along the riverside track and then sitting back on deck with a glass of wine as we glided slowly up the water.

As for the hotel, it turned out to be fantastic in its own right. Consisting of modern wings built around an old blue-tiled house, it has a glass-walled spa, an outdoor pool and its own vegetable garden and farm, where many of the ingredients for the on-site restaurant are sourced. Best of all, it’s designed so that every room has a balcony with a sweeping view over the river and the hills beyond. On my previous visit to the area I stayed at winery hotel Quinta do Vallado [AD – affiliate link], which has tastings, tours and very stylish interiors, so I’d highly recommend that, too.

TIP: The trains to Peso da Régua run every hour or so but the ones back from Pinhão are less frequent, so check times in advance at cp.pt. You can buy tickets on board, but you’ll need to pay with cash. If you end up with a few hours to spare in Pinhão, there are several restaurants and wine bars.

Days 9 & 10: Porto

From Douro Palace Hotel, we followed the course of the river on an hour-long drive west to Portugal’s vibrant second city, where we stayed at the stunning 1872 River House [AD – affiliate link] for a couple of days before our flight home. I’ve shared a full guide to Porto in a separate post, but here are a few photos to whet your appetite. Suffice it to say that it’s a beautiful place and well worth visiting, either as part of a wider trip or on a standalone break.

TIP: You won’t need a car in Porto, so save a couple of days’ rental fee by dropping it off at the airport first and taking the tram into the city centre.

Practicalities & alternative options

We found driving in Portugal to be largely stress-free, with a good road network and very little traffic outside the towns and cities. Parking, however, can be tricky, so research car parks in advance and check the situation at each hotel. Motorways have tolls, so ask for a hire car with a transponder that automatically registers the charge and adds it to your rental fee – it means you can zip through the subscription lanes (marked with a green V) and don’t have to stop each time to pay. Bear in mind that you’ll be charged a premium for one-way car hire with different pick-up and drop-off locations.

Make sure you have some Euros with you, as Portugal isn’t as cashless as many other European countries and you’ll likely come across restaurants, cafes and parking metres that don’t accept cards.

We didn’t visit Lisbon this time around, but if you wanted to include Portugal’s capital on your itinerary you could slot it in between Évora and Tomar (ideal if you have 14 days to play with rather than 10), or shorten the trip and end it in Lisbon rather than Porto. See my hotel picks for Lisbon here.

If you wanted more coastal time, you could easily swap the Alentejo interior for a day or two by the sea in the Costa Vicentina National Park or Comporta, before heading back inland to Évora.

Finally, if you’re short on time, you could do the southern or northern sections of our itinerary only, perhaps travelling from the Algarve or Porto to Évora and then flying back from Lisbon. The Douro can also be done as a day trip from Porto – ether on one of the many boat cruises or via the train from the city’s São Bento station.

Please note this post contains affiliate links (all clearly marked), which means I will receive a small commission on any resulting bookings. You won’t pay any more by clicking on these links than you would by visiting the websites directly, and it helps to support the free content I create here.

Third Pure Formosa Concept Hotel and third Évora Olive Hotel images courtesy of the respective properties; all other photography by Abi Dare