Great value for money
Why go on holiday to Portugal?
To lap up sunshine in the resorts but also to savour a rich variety of landscapes and historic towns. Visiting the undulating plains of the south, the dramatic mountain ranges, or the lush valleys of the north to take you far away from the crowds.
Portugal is great for kids - and the Portuguese are especially welcoming to them with lots of special kid-things for them to do. And Portugal offers great value for money!
How much does it cost?
At time of writing, you can expect to pay from £350 for a week self-catering in a villa in the Algarve in September (four sharing). Flights from £110 return. A double room in a mid-range hotel will cost you about £40 in high season and can drop as low as £25 in low season.
When should I go?
The Algarve is popular year-round and pleasant in the temperate winters (average temperature 16C/65F in Faro) as well as the scorching summers (28C/90F in July-August).
Portugal-wide the weather is good from April to October. The wettest season is November-March; the soggiest regions are in the extreme north and the central mountains.
The ski season runs between January-March and the only really good skiing is in February.
Braga's Easter or Holy Week Festival features colourful processions, and the Festa de Sao Joao in June is biggest in Porto where everyone dances through the streets. In Albufiera the Festa da Ourada on August 15 has a beach procession and party.
What should I do when I'm there?
Horseride in the Algarve and Alentejo, Lisbon and Ribatejo, Minho and Tras-os-Montes. Play golf in southern Portugal, which is jam-packed with championship-standard courses.
The more upmarket Algarve hotels offer tennis courts, professionals and lessons. The north (Minho, Moura, Castro, Laboreiro and Douro) has good fishing, the Algarve has deep-sea fishing.
Watersports include surfing, windsurfing, sailing and scuba diving. Walk in Portugal's 10 unspoiled, uncrowded national parks. Ski in Torre in the Parque Natural de Serra Estrela.
Where's best for beach holidays?
There are two main areas for beach holidays: the Algarve and the Lisbon coast around Estoril and the Caparica peninsula.
The Lisbon coast has an abundance of former palaces, mazes of cobbled streets, the cosmopolitan Estoril and sophisticated Cascais resorts. On the Setubal Peninsula you can get to hidden beaches by narrow-gauge railway during the season.
The main resorts in the Algarve surround Albufeira, which stretches 10km taking in many smaller villages. Ferragudo, Alvor and Praia do Vau are more peaceful resorts centred on tiny fishing villages.
Vilamoura is a purpose built resort with excellent sports facilities, which also serve nearby Almancil prettily nestling in olive and citrus groves. Cabanas has a beautiful beach and is 5km from the prettiest town in the Algarve - Tavira.
What else can I do?
Visit Lisbon. The laid-back capital has time-warp architecture, seven hills, waterside views, funiculars and trams.
See the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos, Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Museu do Azulejo, the Castelo Sao Jorge, the Capela de Sao Joao Baptista.
The lovely town of Sintra high on a hilltop, surrounded by lush woods and verdant valleys, has a beautiful medieval palace and grand mansions.
In the Algarve, visit Portimao's pretty squares and streets and Lagos' fortress and harbour. Take inland tours of the mountains and valleys, stopping at the tiny villages with their churches and squares.
Where's good for nightlife?
Albufeira is the disco hot spot. Elsewhere in the Algarve, Lagos and Portimao have busy bars in the harbour areas, and Vilamour and Almancil share a happening scene with waterfront cafe-bars, discos and a casino.
Cabanas and Luzia have traditional bars and relaxed nightlife, Monte Gordo has lively bars and a casino.
On the Lisbon coast: Estoril is where the rich and famous hang out in genteel alfresco bars and restaurants, Cascais is for a more international youthful disco vibe.
Lisbon and Porto have clubs, discos and bars - in some of them the haunting 'fado' or Portuguese blues is performed. Bar hop through Lisbon's Bairro Alto.
What's the food like?
Portuguese food is cheap, delicious and served in gut-expanding portions.
Classic Portuguese meals include sardinhas assadas (charcoal-grilled sardines), pasteis de bacalhau (cod fishcakes) and caldo verde (a soup of cabbage and potatoes with slices of sausage).
Seafood dishes such as linguado grelhado (grilled sole) and bife de atun (tuna steak) are appetising staples. Meals can be washed down with Portugal's good-quality wines (vinhos) or port.
For breakfast try the delicious custard pastries and a cup of lovely coffee - you won't regret it.
What should I buy?
Port wine. Visit Vila nova de Gaia across the river from Porto to buy at source. Viana do Castelo in the Minho region has embroidered linen and cotton and lacework.
Ceramics -the black pots of Tras-os-Montes, the unique cabbage leaf crockery of Caldas da Rainha and earthenware jugs from Estremoz. Azulejos (decorated tiles) are made in Lisbon and the Algarve - they're not cheap but they are good value.
More expensive are the hand-stitched rugs of Arraiolos, woollen blankets from Alentejo, and the filigree jewellery of Porto. Leather goods are good value. Honey, olive oil and cork goods also make great gifts.
What is there for children to do?
The Algarve has at least three huge water slide parks along the N125 road. The Zoomarine aquatic park at Guia includes a dolphin show and performances from seals and parrots.
Kids love the Planeta Aventura which is a night-time theme park near Quarteira. Lisbon and Porto have tram museums, a naval museum and horse and cart rides all of which should appeal to children.
Portugal dos Pequenitos is a Coimbra theme park especially for kids. Portugal is generally child heaven.
Tourist office
Portuguese National Tourist Office, Portuguese Embassy, 11 Belgrave Square, London, SW1X 8PP. Tel: 0845 3551212
Portugal
Did you know?
You can adopt a wild Iberian wolf on your visit and help to stop this species becoming extinct, through Grupo Lobo or at the Centro de Recuperacao do Lobo outside Lisbon.
Language
Portuguese
Visas
None required for EU citizens.
Getting there
Direct flights to the capital Lisbon, Porto and Faro from Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Leeds-Bradford, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Stansted and Teeside.
Flying time from London
Two hours 45 minutes
Getting around
Buses are the quickest way to get around, although trains are cheaper. Car hire is readily available but fuel is expensive. Local transport includes trams, buses and cheap taxis. Lisbon has a metro system. There are ferries and boats between some coastal towns.
Currency
Euro
Costs
As a rough guide: pint of beer £1.50, average meal £8-10, litre of petrol 60p.
Weather
The popular Algarve is pleasant in the temperate winters (average 16C/65F in Faro) as well as the scorching summers (28C/90F in July-August). Portugal-wide the weather is good between April to October. The wettest season is November-March; the soggiest regions are in the extreme north and the central mountains. The ski season runs from January-March.
Time difference
None, it's on GMT
International dialling code from the UK
00 351
Voltage
220V, 50Hz
Opening hours
Shops open 9/9.30am-1pm and from 3-7pm, as there is a long lunch. Most closed Saturday afternoons and Sunday. Office hours are weekdays 9am-1pm, then 3-5pm. Banks open weekdays 8.30am-2.30/3pm. Museums open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-12.30pm, then 2-5pm.
Health - Before you go
You do not need any vaccinations to visit Portugal and none are recommended.
Health - When you are there
Portugal has reciprocal health arrangements with the UK. You'll need to take an EHIC form (from post offices) to claim any medical expenses.
Warnings
Be careful driving or walking near traffic as Portugal has one of the highest per capita road accident rates in Europe. Atlantic currents in some coastal areas are dangerous, so be careful on beaches not identified as safe. Don't risk sea swimming if unsure.
Emergency
National emergency for police, fire, ambulance, dial 112. British Embassy, Rua de Sao Bernardo 33, 1200 Lisbon, Tel. 1 392 4000.
Customs
Bargaining is acceptable in markets but be prepared, as the Portuguese are very good at it. In churches and small villages away from resorts, dress conservatively. In religious festivals remember that the procession is solemn and the party starts afterwards - don't confuse the two.
Pets
Portugal is part of the Pet Travel Scheme, which requires stringent health checks by vets and the correct paperwork.
Tipping
Tip around 10% in restaurants; loose change is enough for a snack. Taxis appreciate about 10%.
Tourist office
Portuguese Tourist Office, 22-25A Sackville Street, London, W1X 2LY. Tel. 09063 640 610. (60p a minute)
Reviews for : Portugal
After two days of uninterrupted sunshine, the dark clouds gathered and the heavens opened. Normally, a nightmare scenario on any holiday, but did we care? Not one iota.
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Have just returned from a week's holiday in Vilamoura we were very lucky with the weather - it was quite hot whilst we were there.
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Here I am, loitering on my terrace, the Algarve sun pouring down, a wall of palm trees rustling away and the blue Atlantic dressed with dancing white caps.
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Billie and Chris were not at home. Or perhaps they were in, but still sleeping off a big seafood lunch.
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Gingerly we spread the towels - and then ourselves - on to the damp sand, trying hard to ignore the hired sun umbrella which was already broken in two places and leaning at a dangerous angle.
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The look on my two year-old daughter Gaby's face as she took her first ever steps on a sandy beach will be a memory I'll cherish for the rest of my life. A huge smile came across her face as she wrestled free from her pushchair, ran down some steps and skipped excitedly towards the seafront.
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Time has been of the essence for me this year - and about time too. Top of the agenda it went, and I needed a holiday to go with it.
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We stayed at Hotel Garbe, Armacao de Pera, during the last week of February and first of March 2001. It had the best location of hotels there: the only one on the beach, so no road to cross. Front door opens onto the High Street, so very handy! We took two bus tours one week; the next we hired a car as we felt more at ease by then. It was wonderful freedom to explore the "hinterland" and interesting little towns along the border river with Spain and car-hire was very cheap at that time of year. We enjoyed every minute despite unseasonable rain and wind this year.
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The last time I went to Portugal, I stayed in a hotel that had the reputation of being 'the Fawlty Towers of the Algarve'.
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We passed through Seville on our way back from Portugal, by which time it was too late to stay any longer than a single night. What bad planning!
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No one gave the scruffy-looking man in a bright blue hat and matching shirt a second glance as he diligently practised his shots with his tutor on the exclusive Pinheiros Altos golf course.
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TG, read the letters on the T-shirts of the guides who greeted us at Porto airport. What did they mean? Four-year-old Joseph jumped up and down by my side, as I asked the tall man next to me.
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More likely than not, if Britain had a long-established chain of state-owned hotels, it would not be much good. John Prescott would probably be in charge of it by now. There would be long waiting lists to get in.
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First, a confession: I have a weakness for port. It has been my downfall more times than I care to remember. After too much wine, I become maudlin and argumentative. After too much port, I become a caveman. It is just so maddeningly drinkable.
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Serendipity is the happy knack of discovering wonderful places by accident - something that can turn a good trip into an unforgettably great one.
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The people of Lisbon have a keen regard for shoes. It is one of the first things you notice. Everyone is wearing 'proper' shoes, stylish - if rather formal - affairs, with leather uppers and good thick soles. And they look after their footwear, too.
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We had about four days to spare for a quick break and wanted to go somewhere where we had the option of both a lazy beach hotel holiday and the cultural draw of a city. We chose the Lisbon area.
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Estoril in Portugal is far away from New Orleans, but sitting on a hot, clear night, listening to the crickets compete with the American band playing at the Jazz Festival, it suddenly seemed a very small world.
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I have a confession to make. I'd never even heard of Alentejo in Portugal before my visit in October.
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A group session of Tai Chi on the clifftops is not what you might associate with a holiday in the Algarve.
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