Travel Muse Magazine

I think this might possibly the most asked question in the Portugal Reddit boards. I’ve answered it countless times for my fellow travelers excited for their upcoming journeys. So I thought I’d share my hot tips here too. You can apply the gist of this advice to any travel, anywhere if you’re staying at a hotel (yet another reason not to AirBnB).

First, let me say if you are currently planning/booking your overseas travel, pick a flight that gets you in around 10am. This helps curb some of the jetlag after your transatlantic flight. But depending where you’re flying out from or the ticket deal you find, you may have no option but to arrive at 6am (which is what we did in Paris last year and you’ll be fine then too, don’t worry). This past June, we arrived in Lisbon at 10:30am. This was ideal and the time frame I recommend.

TIP: Make sure you head to the bathroom right after getting off the plane and fill up your water bottle in the airport’s free water filling stations.

The first thing that sucks up time is customs. Lisbon is notorious for long customs lines. We lucked into a 45-minute wait.

TIP: If no one in your party is under 18 and you have an American passport, you can cut that down to like 15-minutes by getting into the much shorter line for electronic passport holders.

After customs, you claim your luggage, which doesn’t take long at all. We used these off-brand air tags to know where our stuff was. It was all ready by the time we got there. Next, you head out to the “Uber” area and wait for your pickup. Your driver will pull into a numbered space and tell you which one via in-app text update. It goes fast!

TIP: Have the Bolt & Uber apps downloaded and your hotel info already saved so all you have to do is click to order your car “now.” This is better than a timed pickup because you really do’t know what your customs timing will be. Bolt and Uber are both good here. Sometimes one will be much faster or much cheaper, so check both.

This, all in all, is your first hour of arrival in Portugal. We were in our Bolt by noon and 30 minutes later at our hotel in central Lisbon. The airport is truly in a great spot here, unlike Paris and London!! Yay, Lisbon!

TIP: We stayed at the Hotel Gat Rossio, which I rec. Read about my experience there.

Take a few minutes to adjust yourself for the day in your hotel lobby’s bathroom. Change, brush teeth, put on good walking shoes. No need to rush and you’ll get a good refresh. Also adjust your stuff, putting a phone, powerbank charger, wallet, water bottle, sunscreen into a travel-size sling pack. Now, check all your other stuff with your hotel and pre-check in. You can ask them to text when your room is ready, or just come back after 3pm.

TIP: Bag-check is a service every hotel I’ve stayed at in the last 10 years offers everywhere I’ve been across North America and Europe. And it’s easy to double check with your hotel before you book, if you’re unsure. I wouldn’t book a place that doesn’t offer this free service!

And now it’s time to be off on foot. Take a leisurely walk around Lisbon towards coffee! I highly rec the famed-for-good-reason Cafe A Brasileira in Chiado. Depending where you are, depends on length of walk here, of course. (We did the same for our Paris trip last year with pre-planning a cafe as destination number one when leaving your hotel on foot after your stuff is dropped off.) A good refueling is exactly what you really need. Definitely works to revive in all the ways. Then carry on like a normal day with whatever you want to do most.

I think it’s always smart to start day one with a self-led walking tour. You get some much-needed leg stretching and a good feel for your home for the week (or however long you’re visiting). We did a pass-by of the Carmo ruins by Santa Justa (I would rec the free back way vs the lift to the viewpoint), world’s oldest bookstore, Pessoa statues, Time Out Market for long late lunch, browse the open air market next door, wonder thru Pink Street just to do it, stroll along river walk stop to take in the views. See the self-guided walking tour map I made below. After that, we walked back up to the hotel for showers and another new outfit refresh. And back out for more exploring by foot and dinner.

Day 1 is always fueled with adrenaline excitement of finally being at my long planned destination. And I pack it up good. If you don’t, you’re likely to lay down on the hotel bed and just go to sleep and that will mess you up for the entire trip. So I do a lot of leisurely walking and plan for it to be my earliest to bed day, knowing the next day is always my earliest to get up day based on adjusting to time. But for me, as long as you don’t take a nap and make it to 9p local time before laying down, then I can successfully bridge that awkwardness of time zone mental fog and be set for the trip ahead!

If all of the above sounds like too much walking for you, I would instead suggest planning a beach day in Cascais. Do all of the above with the changing in your hotel and refresh with nice coffee/breakfast… then take the 40 minute train (2.45 euro each way) to Cascais and go swim in the beautiful water to refresh, rent beach chair with umbrella for the day at a beach club. (They’re about 40 euro for the day for two chairs with the umbrella, which also gives you access to their bathrooms and food/drink service.) You could also nap in the sun, if you really need it (set an alarm on your phone). Tho, again I don’t rec napping on day 1. There’s also great museums and gardens to explore in Cascais plus shopping and good food for a lunch. We did not rent the beach club chairs on this trip, but I thought about it. Do note that beach clubs rent chairs on a first come, first served basis, so by the time you get there, it may not be an option. But that’s okay too. We were fine just relaxing on the sand and playing in the water. A beach day could revive and refresh and easily pass the time to the 3p check in.

If you go to Cascais, read my tips here.

Have fun! Let us know what you end up doing and if it worked or not. Always great to hear what others do for future ideas!!

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