Part of that question can be answered by your travel style. Do you like to take time to relax and get to know a locale or is your goal to see as many places as you can squeeze in? It’s not necessarily quantity versus quality, it’s how you personally define quality.

But much of that question is going to be answered with facts. How big is your destination? How far are your desired stops from one another? It can seem like tedious work but with the right tools, you can collect this information rather quickly. I am a visual person so my natural choice is Google Maps.

It’s super simple to create a Google Map – here’s a crash course if you need one. I tend to label my map with the destination + travel dates or name it after its functionality (ex. Santorini Beach Guide). You can share your map with your travel buddies and give them editing privileges if planning is a collaborative effort.

And beaches/small towns/vineyards/etc. You may not know all the places you want to see yet, but start building a visual catalog. For my Portugal trip, our desired destination, Algarve, is an entire region, so we have to decide which towns and beaches we want to visit.

Summer sent me this article with awesome recs for beaches. Great info, but so overwhelming to me because I couldn’t visualize where these places were in relation to each other. Were they all even feasible to visit in one week? I added each beach to my map with a pin and copied each beaches corresponding paragraph into the pin info so I could really see the information from the article in the context of a map.

It’s important to understand how much time you will be in transit, especially during a short term trip with little time to waste. You can collect this information with simple Google searches (“Lisbon to Lagos” produces results identifying driving time and transit times for bus and train) or by clicking “Add directions” in Google Maps. The second option is particularly helpful since we are considering renting a car and making multiple stop offs as we explore the region on our own.

 

So now to answer some questions for my own trip to Portugal. How big is your destination? According to one guide, “Portugal is more than twice the size of Switzerland but is one-fifth the size of Spain, and could fit into Brazil 90 times.” For all my Americans, Portugal is roughly the size of Maine and slightly smaller than Indiana.How far are your desired stops from one another?


Lisbon: The capital of Portugal and second oldest capital in Europe after Athens. Lisbon is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and, according to myth, was built upon seven hills. It consists of a number of “villages” and neighborhoods within the city, an iconic bridge, monuments for days, loads of street art and vintage trams.


Sintra: A UNESCO World Heritage Site largely popular with tourists due to its three famous palaces. Sintra is a 40-50 minute train ride or 30 minute drive from Lisbon making it the perfect day trip.
Driving Lisbon to Sintra


Lagos: A popular tourist destination centrally located along the southern coast of Portugal. Lagos is a 4 hour train ride or 3 hour drive from Lisbon. Across the river to the east, Meia Praia, a long stretch of sandy beach, is worth a visit.
Driving Lisbon to Lagos


Aljezur: A quiet small town away from the typical tourism scenes of the Algarve, Aljezur is located 30 minutes north of Lagos on the west coast of Portugal. Praia da Amoreira is a beautiful beach on the north side of the Ribeira de Aljezur. Praia da Arrifana and Praia de Vale Figueiras are also nearby.

Odeceixe: Another small and peaceful town located about 15 minutes north of Aljezur. The Praia de Odeceixe is popular for being one of the most sheltered beaches, offering great stretches for surfing and swimming.

Sagres: The southwestern-most point of Europe, Sagres is where Henry the Navigator once set up his school of navigation. Today it is famous for its stunning views. Sagres is about 30 minutes southwest of Lagos.

Albufeira: A well-known and popular destination for those on holiday, this picturesque town is brimming with resorts. It is about 50 minutes east of Lago by car and an hour and a half by train. Praia da Marinha is about halfway between Albufeira and Lagos, offering the iconic limstone rock stacks often photographed. Praia da Falésia is another beach10 km east of Albufeira with a beautiful cliffscape. If you’re looking for somewhere close by that is quieter and more peaceful, you could look at staying in Carvoeiro. For more information on this location, see here – www.affinityvillas.com/blog/post/the-enduring-charm-of-carvoeiro

Tavira Island: A sandy island and bird habitat located a little over an hour east of Lagos. Tavira Island is easily reached by boat from the town of Tavira.

Praia de Cacela Velha: The shallow water of this beach keep the water warm. The nearby village of Cacela Velha is pretty and peaceful. This beach is an hour and 20 minutes east of Lagos, almost at the Spanish border.

Train Schedules

We are searching for lodging in Lagos and after calculating driving direction I learned all of the beaches we pinned are within a two hour drive in either direction. I added the distance times to my pins so I can easily recall the information when I am planning later.My Portugal Google Map >

Stay tuned! The next step will be taking all this information and mapping it out as a loose itinerary on a calendar so we can really see what we can do with our time.

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