Should you book ahead?
When you’re backpacking in Portugal, especially in summer, I think it makes sense to pre-book at least some of your accommodation.
I once started this blog writing mainly about Southeast Asia, where everything is dirt cheap and backpackers often travel for several months, which makes the natural inclination to 100% wing it and to be ultra spontaneous with everything.
Since I love backpacking in Asia so much my first reflex is often to recommend this travel style, but in Europe it can honestly be helpful to plan just a little bit more sometimes.
Especially in the July-August high season, hostels in Portugal can sometimes become fully booked out. I once ended up in Porto in August without a booking and struggled to find a bed… luckily, a kind hostel owner improvised a bed for me using a spare mattress on the floor next to the toilets. Not great, but I survived. Sometimes on the weekends or during a major festival, the hostels can be full too, or at least the ones you most want to stay. I had this happen in Lisbon where my favorite pick was long booked out.
Booking hostels at least a couple of days ahead makes sense, while still giving you the freedom to change your plans later. If you’re in Portugal for two or three weeks, it helps to have a rough plan for the places you most want to visit and adjust your lengths of stay depending on how you feel during the trip.
If you use Hostelworld to make your bookings, you can still have to flexibility to cancel within 24 hours before arrival.
Portugal is a perfect destination for a solo backpacking trip. The key, as often, is to stay in backpacker hostels where it’s easy to meet people. If you haven’t stayed in hostels before, you should read about how hostels work.
My number one tip is to stay in hostels that have shared family-style meals. These work wonders in getting everyone off their phones and talking to each other. There are at least several hostels in Lisbon that do this.
(I once stayed as a solo traveler at Home Hostel Lisbon where the mother of the owner cooks everyone a big dinner every day. I got to know everyone right away and had a blast!)
The other great way to meet people is to sign up for activities. Try a surfing class, some stand-up paddle (SUP), or maybe social events at your hostel if they are organizing any.
Finally, try using the Couchsurfing app to meet people in town. Fewer people use Couchsurfing to find places to stay anymore, but the social app is still alive and kicking.
There are also various meetups with Couchsurfing or “Hospitality Exchange” in their name, which aren’t linked directly to the platform, but are good spots to meet other travelers or locals.
Traveling on a budget in Portugal
If you’re on a tight budget, you can reduce some of your costs by cooking your own meals in hostel kitchens.
If you prefer to eat out, look for some local tascas, which are neighborhood restaurants that offer cheap meals. You can often get some meat/fish with rice and salad for 7 – 8 Euro or so, sometimes less in rural places. Consider making lunch your main meal, as many tascas offer a prato do dia, or a daily set meal that is extra cheap.
For an inexpensive breakfast, look for local pastelerias (a Portuguese bakery or cake shop). Just the other day I had a coffee with a small croissant and cheese toastie for 2,20 Euro. Not bad.
To further cut your costs, embrace the offseason. Don’t travel in August like seemingly every family in Europe. As a backpacker, you probably have a bit more flexibility when you can travel, and if this is the case don’t go in August. This is when the prices are highest and tourist spots are the most crowded.
Portugal is great all year round, though from about April to the end of October is the ideal period if you’re looking for sunny days.