A question we wondered: is Portugal in February a good idea?
Well now we’ve just spent pretty much the whole month of February in Portugal and experienced quite a chunk of the south, from wandering around Lisbon to walking the whole Rota Vicentina trail.
And we can tell you that tricky ol’February is quite the sublime time of year in Portugal. Read on for the 5 things we found:
The temperature dips up and down
When we first stepped out to explore Lisbon, we were both a bit surprised by how cold those narrow streets could be. The temperature varied a lot: some days it was 11, others 20. The night could be 3 or 10. If that sounds chilly, well, it sometimes was – particularly in those shady 500-year-old streets (or ‘urban canyons!’ as Luke liked to call them).
But there’s another very important factor, which is frankly a game-changer:
There’s sunshine
It’s sunny pretty much ALL the time.
This to us is the big draw of Portugal in February: clear, deep blue skies all day long. It’s sunscreen and glasses AS WELL as coats. Oh hell, we had to pack it all!
Maybe this was just fluke, but we didn’t walk in the rain once. Not for the entire month, and we were outside every day!
And to prove it really isn’t too bad, we actually camped a lot of the month and it was just fine: campsites were open and we just made sure to wrap up cosy at night.
We loved it, especially as a break from grey England.
The quiet
We found there were other reasons to be in Portugal in February too. Even though we were visiting Lisbon, Alentejo and the Algarve -some of the most popular areas in Portugal- for us they were quiet undisturbed places, perfect for exploring at our own pace.
And oh yes still completely fall-in-love beautiful at this time of year, like always.
On the Rota Vicentina itself we walked free for hours, hardly seeing anyone. We had whole rafts of beautiful cliffs and coastline entirely to ourselves – it was amazing.
It’s open – and cheap
We didn’t really need to book ahead anywhere and found most campsites, cafes, restaurants and all that open. Can’t even explain how much less stressful this makes everything!
And these places were not only open but cheaper, being off-season. We’d be sitting in the window seat of a café looking directly out on the blue sky and ocean, sipping 1€ coffees (have we mentioned this is a vital part of our walking routine?), and feeling pretty lucky.
Local life goes on
Without the hordes of tourists! We walked into a carnival in Porto Covo, caught the fishermen returning to harbour as normal at Porto das Barcas, and watched the die-hard surfers floating offshore at Arrifana. It was such an interesting and beautiful travel experience, unhurried and relaxing.
So there it is. We’re pretty sure you could head to Portugal in March or April and find something similar. But if you just can’t wait until then -er, like us- and you’re looking for somewhere in Europe, we’d say Portugal in February is a pretty good bet.
By the way: we like exploring places on foot, and were in Portugal walking the Rota Vicentina. Find our blog posts on that walk here
Follow our adventures on our social media pages too:
Are you tempted by Portugal in February? If you’ve got any questions about it, us, our walk or anything like that just let us know in the comments below ↓
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Good choice 🙂 🙂
We really do think so!
Thank you very much for your great blog about rota vicentina! Great pictures! We will start walking next week from Porto Covo to Cabo Sao Vicente.
Thank you very much guys! You’ll have a great time – enjoy the walk 🙂
Wow, THANK YOU!!
Everyone around told me I was not doing a good choice, but being pregnant of 6 months with my husband lack of vacations, I had NO TIME TO WAIT!!
So your post convince me to book 👍🏻
That’s great news! So glad you went ahead and booked something. Have a great, relaxing holiday, and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy :):)
For a report of the complete Rota Vicentina: https://www.oranginas.nl/en
Hi there, great posts thank you.
I am walking the trail porto covo lagos early March but have not decided on north or South bound. Any reasons we should not go north, as it seems most people go south? Thanks so much
So sorry this is late. Hope you had a wonderful walk heading north or south. We headed south because the northern trail head was closer to Lisbon and we wanted to go to southern Spain afterwards! Also, I like walking south, into the sun, watching it move from your left to your right as the day progresses…
Hi, I’m flying into Porto mid February. I want to visit Obidos but can’t find the information if Castle and all tourist attractions are open in Feb especially in Obidos. Any information in the matter would be greatly appreciate.
Thanks
Hi Amit, We haven’t actually been to Obidos. We’ve been to Porto, Lisbon and walked the Rota Vicentina south to Sagres. Obidos Tourism Office is open everyday of the year apart from 1st Jan and 25th Dec. I reckon the castle will be open the same days! Happy searching and planning,
Luke