The Portugal Travel Guide: 60 Best Things to Do (Printable + iPad)

Planning a trip to Portugal is exciting, and surprisingly overwhelming.

Lisbon and Porto could each fill a week. Then there's Sintra's palaces, the medieval monasteries, the Algarve's cliffs and caves, the Douro wine valley, two Atlantic island groups and a festival calendar that peaks every June. It's hard to tell what's genuinely worth your days, and how to actually book it.

This 21-page printable travel guide gathers the 60 best things to do in Portugal, organized by region. Every entry has a fact-checked write-up on what it is and why it's worth it, plus a detailed "Plan it" line: 2026 prices, where to book, timed-entry rules, opening days, best time to go, how to get there and the tourist traps to skip.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• 60 places, foods, festivals and experiences across 10 regions and themes
• A detailed "Plan it" tip on every entry (tickets, timing, transport, pitfalls)
• A one-page "Before You Go: Portugal in 2026/27" checklist: entry rules, transport, what to book ahead, money, meal times and safety
• A planning intro for each region: how many days it deserves and where to base yourself
• 2027 dates for Madeira's Flower Festival, São João in Porto and Carnival
• Up-to-date rules such as Madeira's 2026 hiking reservations and Benagil cave access
• A progress page to track each region and the whole country
• Two editions: a printable PDF, and a 27-page tablet edition for GoodNotes, Notability and other iPad note apps, with a tappable contents page to jump between regions

EXPLORE PORTUGAL BY REGION

Lisbon: Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery, Alfama and São Jorge Castle, Tram 28, Praça do Comércio and Time Out Market

Porto: the Ribeira and Dom Luís I Bridge, Livraria Lello, the Port cellars of Gaia, the Clérigos Tower, São Bento station

Sintra and Historic Towns: Pena Palace, Quinta da Regaleira, Cabo da Roca, Óbidos, Évora, Coimbra and Conímbriga

UNESCO and Medieval Portugal: Guimarães, the Convent of Christ in Tomar, Batalha and Alcobaça

Beaches and the Coast: Ponta da Piedade, Praia da Marinha, Falésia, Benagil, Nazaré, Ericeira, Sagres and more

The Islands: Funchal, Madeira's levadas, Porto Santo, Sete Cidades, Furnas and Pico

Nature and Outdoor Adventure: the Douro Valley, Peneda-Gerês, the Arouca 516 bridge, Serra da Estrela and the Ria Formosa

Beyond the Classics: Monsanto, Piódão, Marvão, Cascais, Arrábida, cork farms in the Alentejo and Elvas

PLUS THEMED SECTIONS

Food and Drink (pastéis de nata, bacalhau, Vinho Verde and the Alentejo, percebes) and Festivals and Living Culture (fado, São João, Queima das Fitas, Santos Populares, Torres Vedras Carnival).

PERFECT FOR

• First-time Portugal travelers
• Food and wine lovers
• History and architecture fans
• Couples and honeymooners
• Families planning a big trip
• Anyone deciding between Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve and the islands
• Bucket-list keepers who like to tick things off

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

You'll receive 2 PDFs. No physical item will be shipped.

• Print edition (21 pages): print at home on US Letter or A4
• Tablet edition (27 pages): open in GoodNotes, Notability or any PDF app on your iPad and tick items off with your pencil; tap any region on the contents page to jump to it

PLEASE NOTE

Opening hours, prices, booking rules and festival dates change. Prices are approximate and subject to change; please verify time-sensitive details on official sites before you travel. This is a guide to what's worth doing, not a day-by-day itinerary. The cover photo is illustrative. Researched and written with the help of AI tools.

Made by Global Trip Insight. For personal use only.