Portugal in 7 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Seven days in Portugal: the full Lisbon, Porto and Algarve loop
Seven days is genuinely the minimum for a real Lisbon-Porto-Algarve loop; anything shorter should skip a region rather than rush all three. Budget roughly EUR 800-1150 total for two before lodging, spread across CP train fares, one rental car for the Algarve leg, and the Benagil boat tour. Book the Pena Palace timed slot on parquesdesintra.pt before you land, and go in spring or autumn if the dates allow; summer packs Sintra, Lisbon’s tram 28 and the Algarve’s beaches at once, and the overtourism strain in Lisbon and Porto is real, not a marketing exaggeration.
Tighter on time? The 5-day plan covers Lisbon, Sintra and Porto and nests inside this one; the 3-day plan is Lisbon and Sintra alone. This route also covers the Alfa Pendular and the Douro in more depth than a Porto-only trip; see the standalone Porto itinerary if you’re skipping the rest of the country entirely.
| Day | Focus | Getting there | Rough cost for two (EUR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Alfama, Baixa, free miradouros, Tram 28 | On foot, tram or metro | 40-70 |
| Day 2 | Belem: Jeronimos, Belem Tower, Pasteis de Belem | Tram 15E or bus | 70-110 |
| Day 3 | Sintra (Pena Palace), then Cascais | CP Sintra line ~40 min, bus 403, CP Cascais line ~40 min | 90-140 |
| Day 4 | Porto: Ribeira, Livraria Lello, a Gaia port lodge | CP Alfa Pendular ~2h35-3h15 | 140-220 |
| Day 5 | Douro Valley: Pinhao train, a river cruise | Regional/Intercidades train from Porto Campanha | 90-160 |
| Day 6 | Travel day: Porto to the Algarve, rental car pickup | Alfa Pendular to Lisbon, then Intercidades to Faro | 130-190 |
| Day 7 | Lagos, the Benagil cave boat tour | Rental car on the toll-free A22 | 90-150 |
Book these before you go:
- Pena Palace timed ticket : the on-site office sells out fastest in summer; book the earliest slot you can get.
- Livraria Lello ticket-voucher : mandatory paid entry, EUR 10 Silver or EUR 15.95 Gold, credited toward a book bought inside.
- Your Porto hotel : book for two nights around the Douro day trip.
- Your Algarve hotel : Lagos puts you closest to the Benagil boats and the A22.
- A Benagil cave boat tour : July and August tours genuinely sell out; book before you land, not on arrival.
Where to base yourself across seven days
Alfama or Baixa in Lisbon, the Ribeira in Porto, then Lagos for the Algarve leg, three walkable cores linked by CP train and one rental car. Lisbon’s tourist tax, EUR 4 per person per night capped at seven nights, applies only to your Lisbon nights and shows up at check-in, not in the online rate. Porto and Lagos both run cheaper per night than comparable Lisbon lodging, a real saving on a trip this length.
Day 1: Alfama, Baixa and the free miradouros
Walk Alfama’s steep lanes to Sao Jorge Castle’s viewpoint, then the three classic miradouros, Senhora do Monte, Portas do Sol and Graca, all free. Tram 28 covers the same hills but is also the city’s best-documented pickpocket run; board at the Martim Moniz terminus for a seat, or take bus 737 to see similar ground with far fewer crowds.
Day 2: Belem’s monasteries and the original custard tart
Jeronimos Monastery runs close to EUR 18 and Belem Tower EUR 8, or the combined Belem Bundle for EUR 21 per person covers both plus an audio guide. Ignore the free-Sunday window; it is reserved for Portugal residents with a citizen card, not visiting tourists. Close at Pasteis de Belem for the original pastel de nata, about EUR 1.50 a tart, made to an 1837 recipe.
Day 3: Sintra’s Pena Palace, then Cascais on the way home
The CP Sintra line runs about 40 minutes from Rossio; Pena Palace costs EUR 20 combined or EUR 14 park-only. Rather than backtrack through Lisbon, take the 403 bus from Sintra straight to Cascais, then the CP Cascais line back into Cais do Sodre, about 40 minutes; same total travel time, one extra coastal town included.
Day 4: Porto, on the Alfa Pendular
The Alfa Pendular covers Lisbon to Porto in roughly 2h35 to 3h15; buy the ticket days ahead rather than at the counter, since CP’s advance fares run well under the EUR 35.70 walk-up tourist-class rate. Spend the afternoon on the free Ribeira waterfront, then Livraria Lello, a paid EUR 10 Silver or EUR 15.95 Gold ticket-voucher credited toward a book, worth ten to fifteen minutes and no more. Close with one port lodge tour in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the river from Porto proper; Sandeman’s runs from around EUR 23 per person, and one tour is plenty.
Day 5: the Douro Valley, Porto’s best day trip
The Linha do Douro train follows the river out to Pinhao, and a basic Rabelo boat cruise there runs around EUR 30 per person, scaling toward EUR 77 with lunch included. A guided wine-estate tour covers the same ground with tastings built in if you’d rather not manage the train and boat separately.
Day 6: the travel day nobody plans for, Porto to the Algarve
There is no easy direct link south, so treat this as a genuine travel day. Take the Alfa Pendular back to Lisbon, roughly 2h35 to 3h15, then a CP Intercidades train on to Faro, about three hours, with second-class fares that sources quote anywhere from roughly EUR 20 to EUR 30; check the exact figure on cp.pt before you book, since it moves. Pick up a rental car at Faro airport rather than in Porto; driving the whole coast-to-coast distance yourself burns a full day for no scenery worth the tolls.
Day 7: Lagos, the Benagil cave boat, and the toll-free A22
The A22 motorway across the Algarve has run completely toll-free for cars since a 2025 change, a genuine saving over the old transponder hassle on Portugal’s other motorways. Drive to Lagos, then book the Benagil cave boat tour from Portimao rather than Lagos itself; shared tours from Portimao start around EUR 10 to 17 per person against roughly EUR 43 from Lagos, the same cave either way. Spend the rest of the day on the beach before returning the car and flying home from Faro.
Is 7 days enough for the full Lisbon-Porto-Algarve loop?
Yes, and it is genuinely the shortest trip length that should attempt all three regions. Six to seven days covers the travel time between Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve without turning any one leg into a rushed overnight; anything shorter should drop a region instead of compressing all three, per how the connections actually work.
Should you rent a car for the whole week, or just the Algarve?
Just the Algarve. CP trains handle Lisbon to Sintra, Lisbon to Porto and the Douro day trip more cheaply and with less stress than driving, and Lisbon’s hills make a car actively unhelpful in the city itself. Pick the rental up at Faro airport on Day 6, not earlier, and only for the days you actually need it.
Portimao or Lagos for the Benagil boat tour?
Portimao, on price. Shared boat tours from Portimao run roughly EUR 10 to 17 per person against about EUR 43 from Lagos, and both reach the same sea cave. Lagos is still worth basing yourself there for the beaches and the town itself; just drive the short hop to Portimao specifically for the boat.
The one thing to book weeks ahead
Not the hotels, the Benagil tour and the Faro rental car. Both genuinely sell out in July and August, and the toll-free A22 only saves money if you’re not also paying peak walk-up prices for a boat that filled up without you.