Carvalho beach in Algarve, Portugal

Portugal Family Vacation: City & Beach Exploration

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Portugal

Places Visited

Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra, Quinta da Regaleira...

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Suggested Duration

7 Days

Fairytale palaces on a forested hilltop are yours to explore while golden beaches and Mediterranean bays provide perfect places to swim. The evocative capital city is filled with colors and charms as you arrive in Portugal to take it all in as a family in on a one-week vacation handcrafted for families. Mixing three nights in Lisbon with three nights on the Southern Coast, this private tour is enhanced by iconic experiences such as a Fado performance, and a boat trip to caves on the Iberian coast...

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Gasp at the castles and palaces of Sintra, the setting like something from a fairytale
  • Take a boat or have a kayak adventure along the Iberian coast to find enchanting caves and uninhabited coves
  • Ride the tram through Lisbon’s neighborhoods, jumping off to explore the city’s colors and charms
  • Escape to some of Europe’s most beautiful eaches as you spend three nights in Vilamoura
  • Discover the old Portuguese town of Faro
  • Spend an evening listening to the alluring beauty of Fado music
  • Stay in a family villa along the coast and a contemporary Lisbon hotel that’s within walking distance of many restaurants and cafes
  • Explore the old resort town of Cascais, giving the kids an afternoon on the beach while you are staying in Lisbon

Detailed Description

Portugal’s energy is infectious as there is a youthful exuberance found along the streets and a positivity to feel on every corner. Portugal feels like a young country, but it is not, and herein lies the beauty of a family vacation in this incredible country. The liveliness is excellent for keeping children entertained, and the beaches are a crowd pleaser for everyone in your family. The fabulous history provides something special to keep everyone engaged, and in a single day, you can live out a castle fairytale, be energized by 300-year-old city streets, then listen to the Fado as traditional cuisine is served. The next day, you can be making castles out of the sand, with a beach afternoon following a morning in a historic city.

Handcrafted for families of all ages, this one-week tour is split across two very different destinations. Lisbon has more sights than anywhere else in Portugal and is the must see when you are looking to maximize your vacation time. After three days here, you can travel south to the coast to stay in a villa on the Algarve coast at Vilamoura. While the landscape changes, there are many constants with the welcoming old cafes ideal for families, small plazas where kids run around as adults sit with a coffee or beer, cobbled streets laced with tiled facades and the enveloping atmosphere of a country that is on the up. The people are friendly as well, even in a big capital city.

Location is everything, both in the city and on the coast. In Lisbon, you will be staying in Baixa, the most central neighborhood for the easiest place to be for walking to local restaurants. Your contemporary city hotel will be followed by three nights in a private family villa, perched above the beach in Vilamoura. From the villa, it will be just a two-minute walk to the beach where the waters are shallow and safe for swimming. It is also only a few minutes to town for everything you will need for the evenings.

Lisbon’s highlights are varied, and your first day is designed to be flexible as you visit a few sights close to your Baixa hotel. The next day, you will head out to Sintra, where castles and palaces will have the kids thinking of nothing but fairytales. Coming back into Lisbon, you will stop in the old resort town of Cascais for your first afternoon on the beach. Restaurants backdrop the sand, and there is a historical atmosphere to go along with the sand. Lisbon is big and hilly, and walking with small children can be a real challenge. So take the tram instead, with number 28 connecting a full variety of Lisbon neighborhoods. You can get off to explore an area with your local guide before trundling onwards for another few stops.

Travel from Lisbon to Faro by train, the journey working out quicker than going by air. Upon arrival, there will be time to explore old Faro with a one-hour walk that will take you around all of the key sights. Your guide will then transfer you to Vilamoura and your villa by the beach, where dramatic cliffs hide caves and coves seen all along this coastline. Explore them the next day, choosing to do so either by boat or by kayak, dependent on how you are feeling and by the ages of your kids. Your last full day is left free, so you can relax on the beach and appreciate the scenery as you and your kids tucked away in beautiful Portugal. Make sure your perfect Portugal vacation is an unforgettable one by seeing additional Portugal travel ideas.

Starting Price

$1,815 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

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