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:

Portugal in February

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).

  • Portugal in February

But there’s another very important factor, which is frankly a game-changer:

There’s sunshine

It’s sunny pretty much ALL the time.

Portugal in February
Portugal in February

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.

Portugal in February
  • Portugal in February

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.

A cafe in Porto Covo, Portugal
Porto Covo in February

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.

  • Portugal in February

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.

Portugal in February

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

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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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Portugal in February
Portugal in February