Portugal Road Trip With a Toddler

Portugal is breathtaking. Travelling around Portugal made me appreciate each little moment. Morning coffee on a beach, looking at the ocean, tasteful veggies and, obviously, all the traditional sweets.

The cool thing about travelling with a toddler in Portugal is, that you don’t have to give up many things. In Norway, where we are right now, we can’t do trekkings, as Mia is not really interested. But in Portugal, everything is for you and your little pal.

We went there in a high season and it was still amazing. Especially the Northern part of Portugal, which is very van friendly, people helpful and sympathetic, the views spectacular. It felt like I’m in a country perfect for me. My problem is that I love to be on the road. I do not stay in one place longer than 1-2 days, as I am always curious what’s next. Tomasz got used to it, Mia is just like me. Sometimes, when we found a perfect spot and I want to stay for longer, she simply said “let’s go auto”. She’s the boss. I also love life in my campervan, which is not as photogenic as the previous one, but I love it like crazy. It means, that when I wake up somewhere on the coast with the perfect view of the ocean and I can accompany it with a good cup of coffee – it’s my private heaven. I do not mind a very small space, nor showers from a cup. But it’s me, so if you prefer a proper pressure in your shower, there’s plenty of beautiful and not pricy campsites.

To start with I just want to write that it’s almost too easy to travel around Portugal in a van. We stopped at a campground only once as there was no need at all.

Some more practical knowledge:

-internet is easy over here, you can buy 30GB SIM card which worked everwhere 😀

-highways are paid, at some parts there are only cameraswhich take pictures of your vehicle, so you have to pay it later on. We did it in a post office.

-laundry – you have Inter Marche supermarket with washing machine and dryer and well. It’slocated outside of the store,so you can make loundry (20 minutes) and meantime get some supplies. Easy and fast.

-places, where you can refill water, get rid ofgrey and black waste are almost everywhere. There is this website that can help a lot, I mostly used this one. For water you can always stop on a gas station, it’s usually next to the air machine.

-showers – we took it in a van (super easy to refill water and get rid of the grey one), but you can find some on a beach and on gas station.

-stopping for a night – there’s so many beautiful spots to stop. It’s really easy. At some point I could not believe that we’re staying in such unique spots.

-food – we did cook a lot as we like it. But, seriously, Portugal is so delicious that you want to eat out from time to time. Obviously prices in Porto or Lisbon are higher, but when we stopped in smaller towns or villages we had meals of our lifetime for a surprisingly small price. There’s so many things to try… You can also buy an octopus or fish from a fisherman and BBQ it.

Our route:

First stop was in Caminha – Vilarelho. There was this long and beautiful beach, totally empty. Just. Behind a corner there were groups of people. I remember being surprised that they all stay in one spot, when the other beach is so much better. I went back an hour later and the wind almost blew me away. Now I get it 😀 But still, the beach is amazing. I am not a sunbathing kind of a person, so for a walk it was great.

There was also a beautiful little town with delicious ice creams, pastel de nata (it was my first tasting after a break so I had like 5) and beautiful tiles everywhere. There was also a great market, but as I was holding Mia on my hands all the time, no pictures from there.

In this beautiful town, it was the first and last time we stayed at a camping site.

Braga – wow! This is a city with a history and it’s simply beautiful. I was positively surprised that there was not so many tourists. Easy to park a van – another surprise. We had lunch at Mini Sport, which was such a cool experience! Only locals, delicious fish and super nice owners. Mia loved the fish as well, so win-win. This was also the town where Mia gave her first public performance – she started to sing on a street, kept doing it for the next 30 minutes and asked herself to sing one more time constantly.

Agucadoura – has a beautiful long beach. This is a beautiful little town and we did not see any tourist over there for 2 days. Just look at this beach! I had the happiest moment over there, while sitting in the evening in our van, windows open, watching sunset. Just beautiful! At some point local men came to me and asked if that was my van. I was sure he wants me to move it, but he suggested a better place to park it. It was a much better place and he made us stay there two days.

Porto – you have a whole guide over here.

Cappella Sr. Da Pedra – beautiful little chapel on a beach. When I got there it was super foggy and it looked like a scene from a horror movie, so cool! It was 6am, I was there all by myself and I loved it. We stayed there for a night, in a parking next to a beach.

Sabrosa – we got there to see all the wineries, but it got to 42*C, even the wind was hot so we run away. But it was stunning for a moment. If you get into this area, go to Restaurant Veladouro in Pinhao, the food was amazing!

Costa Nova – this little town loves stripes and each house is covered in it. It was full during the weekend, but I can imagine that off season, it’s much calmer over there. They have a beautiful long beach, great street market and quite awesome spots to park for a night almost on a beach.

Piodao – it was a treat just to get there. The views were stunning, my ‘Sweetheart’ almost gave up a few times and we could drive only on 1st gear at some points. But we did it and it was worth it. Maybe it’s because we got there around 9pm and left before 10am, but there were no tourists at all. This is one of the most beautiful villages I saw my life. So authentic. I met a woman doing her laundry in a pond, she was so friendly with Mia. This is also the place where Mia met a tiny dog and decided to become best friends with it. She sat there, talking to it and refused to leave.

Obidos – town surrounded with a wall, you can walk around it and be scared, as sometimes I just wanted to glue to a side. Obviously, it was worth it. All buildings are white with elements of yellow and sometimes blue. Portuguese towns are so beautiful. We stopped there for a lunch break, but I can imagine that it’s really beautiful early in the morning, when there’s not so many people around.

Peniche– it’s surfers area and you feel like you’re in Australia. Boards everywhere, many cheaper places for a bite and great mood. If I was only surfing…

Ericeira – is surfers’ favourite as well. A beautiful little town not so far from Lisbon. I liked walking around the narrow streets and to find a tiny restaurant or a store. I also love that it’s all white with elements of blue. Very photogenic.

Praia de Santa Cruz – beautiful town, very friendly with an incredibly beautiful coastline.

Praia das Azenhas do Mar – this is one stunning town on rocks. It is super tiny, has an incredible restaurant facing the ocean and a small natural pool with the ocean water. In the evening you can observe fishermen and it is so relaxing.

Nature Park of Arrabida – this is something! Green, impressive with hidden beaches.

Comporta – it’s kind of a Portuguese Venice, but not at all. It is something that you want to see and experience. Long narrow wooden bridges getting you into fishermen boats. The sunset was incredible.

Praia da Vigia – another of my most favourite beaches. It’s located in Melides and it’s 40km long. There are hardly any people around and I loved it. Mia was running around, there was a feeling of space and you can do some horse riding over there! Can you imagine riding a horse on a beautiful beach? It’s the most amazing experience!

Porto Covo – this is a lovely little town. In the morning, fishermen go to look for octopus in between rocks and it feels homey. I hope to go back in winter and stay in Casa da Cabeca da Cabra , so I can enjoy walks next town ocean and feel the atmosphere of this area.

Praia do Brejo Largo -it was not easy to get there and to leave as well, we even got stuck. But it was definitely worth it. During the season the beach was almost empty, at least in the evening. It also is beautiful. You can walk around the dunes, which was pretty awesome as well.

Zambujeira do Mar – we all loved it! It’s a small town located on a rock and it’s definitely impressive. Beaches were cool, people friendly, the food good, beer cold 😉 It’s one of my favourite spots, such a sweet vibe. We were walking around with Natalie and photograph everything possible.

Praia de Odeceixe – beautiful spot for a night, but on the other side of the river. We even put some lights outside as it was so stunning over there. The beach is wide and I saw quite a few surfers. In the evening, it’s empty and perfect to wander around.

Sagres – we mostly visited the port. It is tiny but full of life. Early in the morning you can meet many fishermen and they were super friendly. They must be, as they all take care of the many cats living over there.

Fortaleza de Sagres – beautiful minimalism, stunning views, awesome walk. Even Mia did it!

Sagres is also called the end of the world and at night the sky is covered with stars which you centrally see. We stayed overnight in Raposeira, on the rocks and it was definitely worth having this drive. There was also a man driving in his van around all the crazy spots where vans usually stop and selling fresh veggies and fruits (home delivery, well… almost).

Monsaraz – I am not being original over here, but, yet again, a stunning town. I could stay there for weeks, just to watch the sunset. It’s located quite a drive form a coast, but it’s worth it! Go there! It will be hot, really hot, but thankfully there are lakes in this area, where you can cool yourself down. We did 🙂 I remember sitting on stairs, waiting for a table in a restaurant, chatting with friends and feeling happy.

Odemira – magical beach stop. Parking on a cliff, I can definitely imagine staying there for a night.

Praia dos Estudantes – definitely worth checking out and definitely very early in the morning, unless you like crowds. Lagos is a busy place during the season.

Almancil – our last stop. South is beautiful, but during the season so crowded that it made me miss north. Nevertheless, definitely worth seeing. I hope to be back, but this time of the season 🙂