Solo Travel In Portugal – Tips & Places!

After living in this wonderful country and travelling extensively, I can wholeheartedly confirm that solo female travel in Portugal is a fantastic idea!

If you’re on the fence, I honestly wouldn’t give it a second thought. Portugal is one of the best places in the world for women to travel alone, and I have been to enough places to know!

I lived in Porto for several months and fell in love with this charming city that feels quite different to cosmopolitan Lisbon. Both cities are well worth visiting, and so are the beach towns. You don’t need to pick between a city break and a beach holiday: a solo trip to Portugal can include both!

PORTUGAL ESSENTIALS

Accommodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld

Getting there: flight (Skyscanner)

Activities: GetYourGuide / Viator

Getting around: train (Omio), bus (Flixbus) / car

SIM cards: Airalo e-SIM (Portugal)

Guidebook: Lonely Planet Portugal

Is Portugal good for solo travel?

Yes! With a sparkling safety record, plenty of English spoken, and well-developed tourist infrastructure including fantastic hostels and affordable public transport, Portugal is one of the best places for solo travel in Europe.

I recommend solo travel in Portugal because it’s more affordable than places like Italy, France and the UK, but it benefits from great infrastructure that I’ve found to be slightly lacking in Balkan and Eastern European countries (that’s not to say I don’t rate these places for solo female travel, they’re just more of an adventure). Portugal is the perfect middle ground.

Yes, there are extremely low levels of crime and it’s even been ranked the 5th safest country in Europe. And I can’t help but notice that the four countries above it are some of the most expensive places in the world, so if you’re looking to balance safety and spending, I think we have a winner!

It’s also worth noting that it’s a progressive country with positive attitudes toward women, POC, and LGBT+ travellers (although more rural places are obviously more conservative). So it’s not just a general lack of crime that makes Portugal a great solo female travel destination but also its treatment of all types of travellers.

Since Portugal has almost no violent crime, the worst thing you’re likely to experience is pickpocketing in crowded places especially during the summer months. Wear a secure cross-body bag and keep an eye on your belongings.

Read next: complete guide to solo female travel safety

Bad things about Portugal for solo travel

• Seasonal – you have to be mindful of the seasons because, in the summer, places are very crowded
• It’s not the cheapest place to travel compared to Asia, Eastern Europe and parts of Latin America, but it’s also not too expensive. To be honest, I’m clutching at straws here because, really, there are very few downsides to travelling alone in Portugal!

Best places to travel solo in Portugal

From cities to beaches, here’s where I recommend for solo female travel in Portugal!

Where to stay in Porto for solo female travellers

There are more than 15 hostels with a ‘superb’ rating (over 9/10 stars) on Hostelworld, something you barely ever see! To summarise, the hostels in Porto are world-class. Beds start from €12.

For the best price-to-review ratio, you can’t beat Lost Inn Porto (beds from €17 right in the heart of the Old Town) and Pilot Design Hostel (beds from €12.50 and lots of fun activities and events going on).

• Cherry liquor at A Ginjinha
• Bifana sandwiches at O Trevo 
• The best pastel de natas at Fabrica da Nata 
• More sweet treats at historic bakery, Confeitaria Nacional 
• Upscale seafood at Versículo d’O Faia 
• Authentic seafood dishes on a budget at O Gaiteiro

I can’t deny Sintra is an absolute stunner but it’s also one of the busiest and most crowded places I’ve visited in my life (and I went on a weekday in May so I can’t imagine what it’s like on an August weekend!) so I have mixed feelings about the place.

This town a 45-minute train ride from Lisbon has several attractions, the main one being Pena Palace. Wandering the exterior was the highlight for me because the inside is very crowded. I also loved wandering the quiet, misty and peaceful grounds.

In Sintra, you can also visit the Moorish Castle and Quinta da Regaleira with its beautiful Initiation Well. You can easily spend a whole day in Sintra, or stay overnight to explore the attractions at your leisure. For solo female travel in Portugal, it’s a safe option but not necessarily the most social one because there aren’t any hostels.

If the Algarve in summer sounds too busy and pricey for you, consider the Central Portuguese coast instead. All these places are safe for solo travel in Portugal with great infrastructure.

Nazare: put on the map for its ‘big wave surf’, this is somewhere for pro surfers only! However, for other types of surfers (including non-surfers), this gorgeous beach town is worth visiting to watch professionals tackle waves up to 15m tall!

Peninche: this is a chilled beach town for surfers of varying abilities. With wide open beaches, wonderful views from the lighthouse and lots of pleasant cafes, it’s not as busy as the Algarve and makes for a great alternative.

Although I’m mainly talking about the coast here, there are some fantastic towns and cities in Central Portugal to visit like Coimbra (a historic student city) and Obridos (a UNESCO walled town).

More challenging places to travel solo in Portugal (but don’t rule them out!)

These are the places in Portugal that I believe are truly spectacular and worth visiting but not naturally as well-suited to solo travellers as the places above. However, there are always workarounds as I’ll share…

The Azores islands

To be transparent, I haven’t yet been to the Azores but they look stunning. Myself and the friends I made when I first moved to Portugal decided to go and work remotely on a Portuguese island and we picked Madeira, so the Azores (the other island cluster further west) remain on my bucket list.

Like the Madeiran islands, the 9 Azores islands are known for their stunning volcanic scenery and outdoor activities like hiking and soaking in thermal baths.

The Azores have no crime and the locals are very friendly. I still remember a story I heard about a solo woman who arrived in the Azores and asked a cafe worker how to get to her accommodation across the island. He replied, oh just borrow my car outside and I’ll collect it tomorrow!

Despite the friendliness of the locals, for solo female travel in Portugal, the problem is the same as in Maderia: no public transport and not many hostels.

Best season to visit Portugal

Although I didn’t find it quite as seasonal as my solo travels in Croatia, I can’t deny that Portugal requires some planning. I personally found Lisbon heaving in May so wouldn’t have wanted to visit in August! Likewise, the Algarve beach towns struggle with overtourism in the summer.

Summer (July-August): this is the most popular time to visit Portugal with the highest temperatures. Daily averages are around 28°C (82°F) but in recent years with a changing climate, it can get much hotter (the highest recorded temperature during the 2022 heatwave was 47°C). Expect to pay higher prices on accommodation and flights.

Spring (March-June): shoulder season is a great time to visit with lower temperatures and fewer crowds. Be prepared that it can still rain, especially up north. Average temperatures are around 23°C in Lisbon and 17°C in Porto.

Autumn (September-November): like spring, this could be the ideal time for a solo trip to Portugal. I was wearing a t-shirt well into October in Porto, and the south will be even warmer.

Winter (November-Februry): winter in Portugal is mild. Temperatures are usually between 10°C (50°F) and 17°C (62°F). The Algarve is mild and dry, however it’s not beach weather.

Lisbon is the best city for a winter break because Porto in the north is notoriously rainy. I visited Lisbon in December when it was sunny and only chilly in the early mornings and evenings. It was ideal because I got a great deal on accommodation in the Bairro Alto area which I couldn’t have afforded in summer.

Cost of Portugal solo travel

Portugal is somewhere in the middle of Western European prices (it’s certainly cheaper than the cost of travel in the UK, Germany and Italy and FAR cheaper than the Nordic countries) and the cheaper Balkan countries like Albania and Serbia where I was spending €10 a night on accommodation!

The pricier places are Lisbon and the Algarve, especially in the city centres. After 3 months in Porto, I found my local joints where wine was €2 and a 2-course meal was under €10! Oh, how I miss living there!

Average Portugal prices:

• Bed in a hostel dorm – €12-30 (with higher prices in Lisbon and the Algarve)
• Private room in a budget hotel – from €25
• City Metro and bus rides – €1.50-2.50
• Flixbus rides – €10 can get you across the whole country!
• Train rides – €5-30 depending on distance
• Meal in a restaurant – €5-15 (in Porto, I found lots of local joints on the lower end of these prices!)
• Glass of wine – €2+ (in Porto, I found riverfront cafes serving 5 glasses of port for €5+).
• Local beer – from €1!

Getting to Portugal

The best-connected airports are Lisbon, Porto and Faro (for the Algarve). I use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights, searching by ‘whole month’ when I’m flexible for the best rates. From these airports, you can easily and cheaply reach towns and cities using public transport.

Look out for flights with TAP Air which is Portugal’s main operator. These are often the cheapest.

Getting around Portugal

This is a very easy country to navigate. Your options during solo travel in Portugal are:

Train: there’s an efficient train network. I took several Porto day trips by train (to Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Guimarães and more) from the two main stations, São Bento and Campanhã. In Lisbon, the main station is Santa Apolónia and it connects places such as the Algarve; use Omio to book seats.

Bus: I used the Flixbus to travel all over Portugal. My journey from Porto to Lisbon only cost €5.99 and my journey from Lisbon to Faro was €7.99!

Car hire: these start from €10 a day and give you maximum flexibility when travelling around the Algarve. But it’s not always worth it for one traveller. Use Rentalcars.com to book.

Pro tip #1 – I recommend downloading offline maps, either using Google Maps or Maps.me. This way you can get around without internet (but note that Google Maps directions won’t work offline, just the map view).

Pro tip #2 – use the Rome2Rio website to research how to get between any two places. It works all around the world.

Best hostels in Portugal

• LISBON: Goodmorning Solo Traveller Hostel – (privates, 4, 6, 8 or 10-bed and woman-only dorms, plus 3 free meals a day) from €28
• PORTO: Lost Inn Porto (beds from €17) – right in the heart of the Old Town
• PORTO: Pilot Design Hostel (beds from €12.50) – known for fun activities and events.
• FARO: Hostellicious (beds from €30) – a clean, social hostel where it’s easy to make friends
• LAGOS: Olive Hostel (beds from €25 inc. 4 bed female dorms) plus a cute house cat!

Best activities for solo travellers in Portugal

• Wine tours in Porto – either group day tours to the Douro Valley or port-tasting tours in Vila Nova de Gaia
• Food tours – I loved the tour I took in Porto with Taste Porto and in Lisbon with Taste of Lisbon
• Surfing tours in the Algarve – I didn’t do this after many chaotic and unsuccessful surfing attempts around the world! However, you can try anything from lessons to multi-week surf camps
• Free walking tours – I’ve done these in Porto and Lisbon, as well as many other cities around the world. They’re fab!
• Kayaking trips in the Algarve – I met a bunch of other women travellers while doing this.

Insurance for solo female travel in Portugal

Although Portugal is a safe place for solo female travellers, I always recommend getting travel insurance. Although you’re unlikely to be victim to a violent crime, it’s possible that you could be pickpocketed in Portugal, and you could fall sick and need emergency treatment anywhere.

I use True Traveller: it costs £30 (€40) per month for world coverage for a year. When I’ve claimed, they’ve had the money in my account within days. They cover pre-existing health conditions and will cover you if you’re already travelling and/or don’t yet have your flight home booked. Click to get a quote.

True Traveller is just for European residents (including UK) so, for other nationalities, I recommend Hey Mundo and for long-term digital nomad travellers, I suggest Safety Wing.