10 Days in Portugal with our 10 Month Old

In September we spent 10 full days in Portugal with our 10 month old, Asher. We spent 3 nights in Lisbon, 3 nights in Albufeira (Algarve region) and 3 nights in Comporta. This was our first international trip with a baby and we learned quite a lot – woven into the itinerary are some golden nuggets of info for traveling with an infant!

Day 1 – Lisbon | Getting Settled

We arrived from our red eye flight from Washington, D.C. at around 11am local time, and checked into our apartment around 2pm. After refueling with delicious sandwiches from Prado Mercearia, we took a nice long nap. We awoke refreshed, and spent the evening walking around and exploring Lisbon. NOTE: We did not rent a car in Lisbon, it is entirely unnecessary in my opinion unless you plan to leave the city each day. We took an Uber from the airport to our apartment (about 20 minutes and less than 10 euro). NOTE: Pay the extra money and get a seat for your infant on an international trip (there are lots of conflicting opinions on this one) but we were LUCKY and had an open seat next to us on our flight and I am not sure what we would have done without it. Our baby slept the entire 8 hour overnight flight in his car seat on the plane.

I could rave on and on about our accommodation in Lisbon, so let me first and foremost share more about where we stayed and why it was 10/10 for us.

Day 2: Lisbon | Castelo de Sao Jorge, Time Out Market, Church of St. Dominic, Baixa-Chiado, Alfama (Fado)

• Breakfast at our apartment
• Visited Castelo de S. Jorge (a 5 min walk from our apartment, 10 Euro per person for entry, bought ticket at the castle). NOTE: If you have a baby, you WILL skip the lines, literally anywhere in Portugal. They were so incredibly kind and kid-friendly and pulled us out of every single line we were in to the front.
• Stopped for pastéis de nata at Santo António on our walk back, very very good!
• Nap time for Asher, wine run for us
• Lunch at Time Out Market (about a 20 minute walk for us). We got cod in every variety – cod cakes, cod stew, etc. and of course, pastéis de nata!
• Explored Bairro Alto & walked down Pink Street (not worth it… it’s seen better days)
• Visited the Church of St. Dominic (Igreja de São Domingos), which was truly beautiful and free to enter
• Nap time for Asher (and maybe another wine run for us)
• Afternoon of shopping, dining, and exploring more of the city by foot in Baixa, Chiado, and Alfama. We just walked and walked and walked – stopped in for wine here, stopped in for music there. No rhyme or reason to where we stopped and it was wonderful. I highly recommend walking Alfama at night and listening to the Fado music echo throughout the narrow cobblestone streets.

Day 3: Lisbon | Belém Tower, Monument to the Discoveries, Lisbon Cathedral, Chapitô à Mesa

On our last full day in Lisbon we had our heart set on jumping on the tram to Belem to visit a few spots a bit outside of our immediate area. We didn’t make it to Jerónimos Monastery which was on our list, but holy cow, the line outside to get in was almost half a mile long. No telling how long that endeavor would have taken.

• Breakfast at our apartment
• Tram 15 to Belem – 3 Euro per person, ~30 min ride from Praca da Figueria (Baixa) where we chose to board
• Visited Belém Tower – 6 Euro per person, bought our entry passes on my phone as we walked from the tram to avoid the kiosk lines
• Walked to the Monument to the Discoveries – 10 min walk from Belém Tower
• Tram 15 back to Lisbon – 3 Euro per person, ~30 min ride back to Praca da Figueria (Biaxa)
• Nap for Asher, I went shopping and to the grocery store
• I cooked us all lunch with items I got from the local grocery store
• Lisbon Cathedral (Sé de Lisboa) in the afternoon, 5 min walk from apartment, 2.50 Euro per person – STUNNING
• Dinner at Chapitô à Mesa (so good, highly recommend. Views are 10/10 as well and the staff were so sweet with Asher)

Day 4: Lisbon to Albufeira | Travel Day!

We started our day with a big breakfast and checked out of our gorgeous apartment in Lisbon. We took an Uber back to the airport to get our rental car (highly recommend pulling the “I’m traveling with a baby” card because we waited several hours in line even though we had reservations). Once we finally got our car we drove the 2.5 hours to our resort in Albufeira. We spent the afternoon at the resort and the beach it was located on, once you see the pictures you’ll know why we spent so much time there during our stay. More on the resort below! NOTE: During this trip I booked several different types of accommodations (apartment, resort, and Airbnb) to see what I would prefer while traveling with a baby. So these are honest reviews of how I felt they held up while traveling with Ash and also based on how WE like to travel. We like to eat the local food, be close to hikes, beaches, etc., and we rarely enjoy being held up at a resort.

Pine Cliffs Resort, Algarve – The Luxury Collection

A few things I loved about staying here with a baby

• Very kid-friendly at restaurants – lots of menu options, high chairs, and friendly staff.
• Direct beach access is amazing and the beach itself is stunning.
• Beach restaurant is YUMMY, best food we had at the resort by far.
• Breakfast buffet was fantastic, especially for our little one, so many good and healthy options.
• The room and balcony was baby-friendly, and they gave us a baby bath tub which was quite helpful.
• Lots of pools so easy to find a spot for us to swim with Ash.

A few things I didn’t love about staying here with a baby

• It was harder to get out and about to explore the area because everything was a 20-30 min drive from the resort.
• Food was average and not authentically Portuguese in any way, so we ate a lot of what we eat at home.
• We only had 1 bedroom, which was my mistake – but they didn’t have any two bedroom rooms for us to upgrade to (I find it very important to have Ash in a separate room from us during travel).
• COST: It was wildly expensive for what I felt like we got ($2,065 for 3 nights) – and no laundry, kitchen, or other amenities that would have made things a bit more convenient for us. You’re definitely paying for location / being right on the beach.

Day 5: Praia da Marinha, Seven Hanging Valleys Trail

Unfortunately, bad weather was upon us – we knew that the rest of our trip could be spoiled by rain and storms (which seems to be pretty rare, so lucky us), so we spent the day at one of the most stunning beaches I have ever laid my eyes on – Praia da Marinha.

• Parking is about a 1 mile walk from the beach and you need to take a lot of stairs to get down to the beach itself – prepare for having to carry all of your beach supplies a mile down the road then down the steps. There is a small parking lot much closer but it was blocked off once full so they detoured everyone to this larger parking area about 1 mile away. We just had the baby carrier and a backpack so it was easy for us, but in case you wanted a stroller and other supplies be prepared to trek around with them.
• Hike the Seven Hanging Valleys Trail! A hike and beach outing in one? NOW your talking! This is a 12km out and back trail that connects Praia da Marinha and Praia da Vale Centines – it is an easy hike and absolutely stunning (see the photos below). The best part is that since it is an out and back hike you can turn around whenever you want. We didn’t have hours to hike because we also wanted to enjoy the beach during Ash’s awake time, so we hiked for about an hour and a half then came back and visited the beach.
• If you are NOT traveling with a baby, I highly suggest renting a kayak and exploring by ocean. Gosh what I would give to have been able to do that. This is a great example of how we still had an amazing time but it was different / more limiting with a little one with us.

Day 6 – Old Town Albufeira | Resort Day

Rain arrived as predicted. The weather was incredibly crumby so plans of exploring more beaches and hikes were put aside and instead we drove into Albufeira town to walk around and explore the “old town” area. Honestly, it wasn’t great and I wouldn’t recommend it… that said it was something to do while the weather was poor and not every outing is going to blow your mind.

I didn’t love it because (1) it felt tremendously touristy and (2) it seems like a dirtier nightlife scene, but during the day. We did have a really good meal at Cafe In-certo, if you do find yourself roaming this area.

This day turned out to be a bit of a wash, and while I wish I had found something better for us to do, it was fine and we sort of gave Ash a break from all of the ‘go-go-go’ of the past few days.

Day 7 – Travel Day | Albufeira to Comporta (Stop in Carvoeiro)

After a few mediocre days in the Algarve (mostly due to weather and feeling a bit trapped in our resort), we checked out of Pine Cliffs and started making our way to Comporta. We had some time to kill in the morning, so we visited a little fishing village I read about called Carvoeiro. It was quite cute. We had a nice walk, ate some very good poke, and were on our way to check into our Airbnb in Comporta.

• 9:30am checked out of Pine Cliffs
• 10:00am – 1:30pm Carvoeiro, ate at Levels, yummy poke
• 2:00pm – 4:30pm Drive to Comporta
• 5:00pm Grocery shopping
• 6:30pm Dinner at our Airbnb
• 9:00pm Ash in bed, movie / wine for us

Day 8 Comporta | Praia da Comporta, Gomes

Let me explain first why we decided to stay in Comporta, and then let me tell you what I learned about it while staying there.

I found this town while reading in preparation for this trip – it was noted as one of the best kept secrets of Portugal, a stunning and sleepy coastal surf town just south of Lisbon. It felt like the perfect low-key place to spend our last few days in Portugal. Let me tell you, it was all that and MORE – Comporta is a complete and total gem. However, when I popped into the town to do some shopping while Asher napped, I noticed something unexpected. HUGE price tags – pillows for $350 and dresses for $1,300. Huh? What was I missing?

What I didn’t know was that Comporta is a ‘secret’ because it is where celebrities go on vacation. During our private wine tasting (more on that below), we learned that Cristiano Ronaldo owns a home in Comporta and George Clooney is in the middle of building one. There were some pretty big celebrities and politicians who were dubbed frequent vacationers and visitors of this sleepy town. I won’t rave on and on about how neat that is, but it did put the town into perspective for me.

• We spent most of the day at Praia da Comporta – yay for sunshine!
• I shopped during Ash’s afternoon nap (SUCH good shopping). They converted a large warehouse into a market for the best retailers across Portugal to base at during the summer.
• Unbelievable dinner at Gomes – Gomes has a restaurant AND a market,. Their market is beautiful and we found lots of unique foods to take back to the U.S. with us.
• Wine and movie back at our villa

Our Comporta Villa

We stayed at this gorgeous Airbnb about 10 mins outside of Comporta town. The décor and aesthetic was 10/10, utility (kitchen, laundry, baby-friendliness) was 10/10, but we did have an ant problem. I won’t understate how unfortunate that was with a baby crawling all over the floors. The neighborhood was a bit strange. From reviews years ago I saw it was a new neighborhood with a lot of new construction, so I assumed that would have been pretty wrapped up by the time we stayed there but it wasn’t. It seemed most of the houses were still half-built. Regardless, we loved our villa, and our hosts. We enjoyed the kitchen, main living space, and pool / outdoor area. It was very peaceful and convenient.

• COST: $1,700 for 3 nights
• LOCATION: 10 mins drive from downtown Comporta & Praia da Comporta
• BABY FRIENDLINESS: They provided a high chair and we had a fully equipped kitchen / laundry room and bedroom for Asher. It was great for little ones (except for the ants, of course.

NOTE: IMPORANT – Your map will not accurately reflect where things are in town. Google maps was entirely incorrect. This was frustrating at first, but the town is so small that if you walk around and ask the right people, you will find what you are looking for!

Day 9 – Comporta | Praia do Carvahal, Almo, Adega da Herdade da Comporta, Sal Burger

This was our last full day in Comporta, which was heartbreaking. We spent the morning exploring a nearby beach (Praia do Carvahal), came back for an early nap for Ash, then had a big afternoon. We did a wine tasting at Herdade da Comporta, followed by a PHENOMENAL lunch at Almo, and then Adam and I drank wine and swam in our lap pool while Ash napped in the afternoon. We actually went out of burgers for dinner (for shame) and packed in preparation for our travels back to the U.S. the following morning!

• Praia do Carvahal – this beach is very similar to Praia do Comporta, but it was nice to spend the morning somewhere new
• Adega da Herdade da Comporta – I could write an entire blog on this beautiful experience. Without reservations we wandered into this winery and requested a tasting. Our host was so kind and gave us a complete tour of the winery, shared the rich history of the winery itself, as well as the town of Comporta and the Alentejo wine region. I cannot recall how much it was, but it was definitely less than 40 Euro total for the two of us. We walked away with a couple of bottles of wine to take home to the U.S. with us and a deeper appreciation for this special town.
• Almo – while we went to Almo for lunch, their dinner menu looks just as yummy. Again, the best service and the kindest staff. Get their kombucha!
• Sal Burger – this felt like a sin. After some of the best food of my life at Gomes and Almo to get burgers on our last night in Portugal. I do regret this, to be far. I felt like we had so much to do (packing, cleaning, etc.) that I wanted something quick. In fairness, meals in Portugal were SO LONG with a baby, and that was easily the hardest part of traveling with a 10 moth old for me, so maybe I was just tired at that point. The burgers were good, if that is something you want.

Day 10 – Travel Day! Back to the U.S.

Comporta is about 1.5 hours away from Lisbon Airport – so with a 12pm flight we took off from our Airbnb around 8am and had a very smooth drive, rental car return, check in, and flight back to the U.S.! With full bellies and hearts, we felt like we had accomplished something massive taking our infant on a lengthy international trip. Where to next? …