Portugal solo?
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Anonymous
| 45yo mom Thinking of going without my husband and teens next fall. It’s a bucket list trip for me and they are not interested. I speak some Spanish but not a word of Portuguese. How hard will it be for me to navigate? Should I consider an organized tour instead? |
Anonymous
| You'll be fine on your own - English is widely spoken. Can't believe your DH and kids don't want to go - it's one of my favorite places in Europe! |
Anonymous
| Go! It’s wonderful and so many people speak English. I’ve only been to Portugal with my family, but do a lot of solo travel in general and would 100% be comfortable going there on my own. |
Anonymous
| I did this trip solo.. I got an apartment, learned to ride the train, and found their version of Whole Foods. I also hung out at the mall. some people spoke Portuguese to me and I was able to eek out thank you and good morning. I took myself on a free ( read donation based) walking tour and met others. I felt very safe and left my child behind with his wonderful father. Lisbon felt super safe to me and it was great as a single woman. |
Anonymous
| For those who have been, do you prefer Lisbon or Porto for a first visit as a solo female traveler? |
Anonymous
| I know 2 single women, both in their 50s, who’ve done Portugal solo. One woman did it twice. Said it was very easy to navigate. |
Anonymous
I liked Lisbon but I think you would be fine starting in either city. |
Anonymous
| Portugal is the only place I've traveled to solo - on two separate trips, at 25 and again at 36. It's a wonderful country for a solo female traveler and I always felt safe. I personally prefer Lisbon over Porto but both are great. I also recommend Sintra and Braga - have not traveled to the Algarve but have heard it is lovely. English is widely spoken in the cities and I also learned a few phrases in Portugese to get by. Traveled by bus and stayed in a variety of AirBnbs and hostels - I don't think you'll need an organized tour. Go and have the best time! |
Anonymous
| I’ve been twice alone, including Lagos in the south. Most people speak English but even if they don’t, they will try very hard to help you. |
Anonymous
| My vote for Lisbon. Lots to see and do. Also Sintra and Cascais are east day trips. Enjoy OP!! |
Anonymous
Agree with this. I took a day trip to cascais and it was great. However the water was unbearably cold. |
Anonymous
| For your trips to Sintra and Cascais, do you get there via public transport or drive? |
Anonymous
Train - it’s super easy. You could also drive if you wanted to.. |
Anonymous
Buses are also frequent and cheap in Portugal. And easy to use. They are the luxury coaches with WC. Sometimes faster than the train so check. |
Anonymous
For Sintra specifically, train is best option. We researched it and did it this past summer. Now going to Sintra is another story. Overcrowded tourist trap of a town. We wished we had just stayed with the Lisbon vibe rather than fighting the Sintra tourist crush. If you go, make sure you book the Pena Palace in advance. Can't speak for Cascais. We read good things...but the Youtube videos made it look underwhelming. We only had time for one of Sintra and Cascais and chose Sintra. Also, a lot of online reading makes the Algarve sound cheesy, but we loved Lagos. |