how to be a traveler

1. Weather in December is pretty mild.

The temperature was 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit. We didn’t need a winter coat – just a light jacket.

2. Tipping in restaurants is not obligated but it is common to add 5-10%, or round up your check.

3. Public transportation in Lisbon is reliable.

It comes on time and frequently, and there are lots of different modes you can take – funiculars, subways, trains, and trams. This is a great guide on how to navigate the system. In Porto, there are trams but it’s a very walkable city, and you end up taking trams just for fun – not necessarily because you need to get from point A to B.

4. Ubers are ridiculously cheap.

It costs more to buy one bus ticket from the Sintra train station to Pena Palace than it would have to get an Uber for the five of us to the castle. If you are traveling with a group, it may be also cheaper to just Uber from Lisbon city center to Pena Palace than it is to hop on the train. The ride will be about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the traffic. Around Lisbon, we also mostly took Ubers – again, since we had a group with us, and a lot of times, it was quicker and cheaper than looking for/taking the metro.

5. The official language is Portuguese, but English is widely spoken. 

6. The currency is the Euro.

Credit cards are widely accepted, including American Express at lots of merchants.

7. No Visa is required for US citizens, as long as your stay is under 90 days.

8. You’ll need at least 3 days each in Porto and Lisbon.

I feel like we saw and did everything we wanted to do while we were there. I would probably skip the full day winery tour though – that took up too much time.

9. The train from Lisbon to Porto takes about three hours.

So, a day trip wouldn’t really be worth it. You would need more than half a day to explore each of the cities.

10. In Lisbon we stayed at the Marquês de Pombal Hotel, which is located by Lisbon’s main avenue.

It was convenient because there was a metro station that was a two minute walk away. But, there weren’t a lot of good restaurants in the area, and not much to do nearby, except for Wonderland Lisboa (Christmas market). We also stayed in the Rossio neighborhood at Tesouro da Baixa by Shiadu at the end of our trip. This was more centrally located but you’ll just have to be careful with the restaurants since there are more tourist traps in the area. There’s also a lot of shopping nearby. In Porto, we stayed in the Bolhão neighborhood at Pestana Porto – A Brasileira. All of the major tourist attractions were close to our hotel, and walkable, with a bunch of good restaurants nearby.

11. Both Lisbon and Porto have lots of hills.

Google maps might say that it’s a 5 minute walk but with the incline, it takes longer than that. It will also tell you the elevation and whether the path is up or down, so you can decide if you want to walk or not.

12. Porto is small – everything is 10-15 minutes walking distance.

Lisbon is much bigger and you’ll probably need to take the metro to get around (or as I mentioned, Ubers are super cheap).