One Week Portugal Itinerary on a Budget: A 7-Day Plan for Under $700

You can do a full week in Portugal (Lisbon, Sintra, and Porto) for around $650 per person, not counting your flight. That covers hostels or budget guesthouses, trains between cities, food, and the big sights. The trick isn't skipping things. It's spending your money where Portugal is already cheap (wine, pastries, trains) and not wasting it where tourists usually do (airport taxis, sit-down dinners every night, paid viewpoints when free ones are better).

Here's the exact 7-day route, what each day costs, and where the money actually goes.

The quick answer: your week at a glance

Days 1-3: Lisbon (base yourself in Alfama or Graça) Day 4: Day trip to Sintra Day 5: Train north to Porto Days 6-7: Porto and the Douro riverfront

Fly into Lisbon and out of Porto if your airline allows it. A "multi-city" or open-jaw ticket usually costs the same as a round-trip and saves you a four-hour backtrack at the end.

Days 1-3: Lisbon without the markups

From the airport, take the metro (red line) into the city for about €1.80. A taxi is €15-20 for the same trip, so this is your first easy save.

Lisbon rewards walking, which is convenient because walking is free. Spend your first morning getting lost in Alfama, the old Moorish quarter where laundry hangs over the alleys and you'll stumble into a fado bar by accident. Climb to the Miradouro da Senhora do Monte for the best free view in the city. It beats the castle, and you don't pay €15 to get in.

For food, eat where the prices have no English translation. A bifana (pork sandwich) runs €3-4. A proper lunch with the prato do dia (dish of the day) and a glass of wine is €8-10 at a tasca. Save the famous pastéis de nata at Manteigaria for €1.30 each. Buy two.

On day three, ride Tram 28 early (before 9 a.m., or you'll stand the whole way), then cross to the LX Factory under the bridge for cheap eats and bookshops in a converted industrial complex. Budget about €45/day in Lisbon including a hostel dorm bed (€20-28).

Day 4: Sintra, the fairytale day trip

Sintra sits 40 minutes from Lisbon by train, and the round-trip ticket is roughly €5. This is the day people overspend, so here's the move.

You cannot see everything, and trying to will exhaust you and your wallet. Pick one palace. Pena Palace (€14) is the colorful one on every postcard; the Quinta da Regaleira (€12) has the spiral initiation well and gothic gardens that feel like a video game. I'd choose Regaleira. It's more fun to wander and less of a crowd crush.

Skip the tourist shuttle bus loop and walk the wooded paths between sights, or take bus 434 only when you're tired. Bring a sandwich from Lisbon; food in Sintra's center is marked up for day-trippers. Total for the day: about €30 including transport and one palace.

Day 5: The train to Porto

Book the Alfa Pendular or Intercidades train from Lisbon to Porto in advance on the CP website and you'll pay €15-25 instead of the €40 walk-up fare. The ride is about three hours through cork forests and vineyards, and it's genuinely one of the nicest parts of the trip. Sit on the left for river views near the end.

Arrive in the afternoon, drop your bag, and walk down to the Ribeira, Porto's riverfront. Dinner tonight is a francesinha if you're hungry enough, a ridiculous sandwich stacked with meats and smothered in beer-tomato sauce, around €9 and easily shared.

Days 6-7: Porto and the Douro

Porto is smaller and steeper than Lisbon, which makes it cheaper to cover on foot. Start at the Livraria Lello only if bookshop-as-tourist-attraction appeals. The €8 entry is refundable against a book, so it's not a total loss. Otherwise, your free highlights are stronger.

Cross the Dom Luís I Bridge on the upper deck for a view that costs nothing, then walk down into Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port wine cellars line the south bank. A tasting tour runs €15-20, but you can also just buy a glass on a terrace for €3-4 and watch the rabelo boats.

Use your last day for the Bolhão Market, the azulejo tiles inside São Bento station (free, and the entrance hall is wrapped in painted tile panels), and a slow lunch. If you have energy and a little cash left, a budget Douro Valley bus tour exists, but the city itself is enough for two days.

Porto runs slightly cheaper than Lisbon, so figure €40/day with a hostel.

What it actually costs

| Category | 7-day total | |---|---| | Accommodation (hostel/guesthouse) | €165 | | Trains and metro | €45 | | Food and drink | €210 | | Sights (1 Sintra palace, port tasting, etc.) | €60 | | Buffer / coffee / pastries | €60 | | Total | ~€540 (about $580) |

Nudge it to $650 with a couple of nicer meals and you're still well under budget. Stay in private guesthouse rooms instead of dorms and you'll add roughly $200 for the week.

How to shave even more off

Travel in shoulder season (March to May, or late September into October). Prices drop, crowds thin, and the weather still cooperates. Drink the house wine. It's often €2-3 a glass and genuinely good. Refill water bottles. Portugal's tap water is safe and free. Book trains the moment your dates are set. The cheap fares sell out first.

Seven days, three of Portugal's best places, and change left over for a second pastel de nata. That's the whole point.