10 days in Portugal - how to plan your dream Portugal vacation

Portugal’s weather is perfect for stripping off on the beach, with long hours of sunshine and mild temperatures, from late April right through to the end of October. July and August see the highest temperatures, and biggest crowds, particularly in the Algarve, although even then it’s not a massively complicated endeavour to find a quiet village away from the hubbub.

Portugal is a small country, and travel distances are never great. Having said that, driving remains the best way of getting around in a limited amount of time, and excluding Porto, parking tends to be either free or an insignificant sum of money, which counters the need to pay tolls on most of the major road network.

If you don’t drive, trains connect all the major cities in Portugal and buses pretty much everywhere in between, though you’ll have to do some careful scanning of timetables to minimise your time spent waiting.

More than just the Portugal of the package vacation brochures, Portugal’s far south is awash with excellent sandy coves backed by attractive sheer cliffs, championship-quality golf courses, and less developed inland regions for those seeking out an off the beaten track adventure of southern Mediterranean scrub and traditional villages unchanged by time. Spend your days in the Algarve beach hopping towards the quieter sands of Cape St Vincent to check out all the things to do on the Costa Vicentina, and the nights in and around the huge choice of restaurants and nightspots of Faro.

Drive around three hours north along the coast and you’ll reach Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. The general air of faded grandeur and the melancholic sounds of the region’s Fado music mask a confident and youthful city which can be explored to the max with the help of Mr Hudson’s Lisbon City Guide. Above all else, be sure to check out the capital’s extraordinarily authentic food scene, a hidden gem that’s ripe for exploration, by discovering spice route flavours in Lisbon.

No Portugal itinerary should exclude the day trip from Lisbon to Sintra, a fairy-tale town of colourful turreted castle walls thanks to the Palacio da Pena, Michelin-starred restaurants, and peaceful parkland once a favourite escape for the Portuguese royal family.

Slightly further south, your Portugal vacation continues the next day at Cascais, a once quiet fishermen’s village of small alleyways lying on the coast close to mainland Europe’s westernmost point, Cabo da Roca. Be sure not to miss a stroll or cycle along the seafront promenade before heading into the wonderful old town.

Portugal’s beguiling second city completes your journey north. With a heart enclosed within centuries-old walls, it’s a walkable city which hides its vast array of attractions in plain sight – be that a quaint church or family-run winery – all the better given the sometimes-steep inclines you’ll have to do battle with for the best views. Our Porto City Guide has all you need to know.

It would be easy to spend a full three days amid the delights of Porto and its people, however, should you want to get out of the city there are a number of nearby places to visit in Portugal. Sometimes called the ‘Venice of Portugal’, Aveiro has its very own form of gondola, the barcos moliceiros, from which to explore its network of canals, while Nazaré is the best known of several surfing hotspots that include Peniche and Baleal. Finally, there’s no hiding the fact that Porto is famed for its wines, which can be sampled in exquisite surrounds in the nearby Douro Valley.