Sea stacks and cliffs on the Algarve coast near Lagos at sunset
Trip planning

Backpacking Portugal: a 2-week hostel route

Lisbon, Sintra, the surf coast, Porto and Lagos by train and bus, with hostel picks for every stop.

By Portugal Best Hostels Fares checked 6 Oct 2026 13 nights, 5 stops

Portugal is easy to backpack by public transport: the main cities sit on one north-south rail line, and coaches reach the coast towns the trains miss. This route runs from Lisbon to the Algarve in two weeks, with one day trip and an optional island.

Every hostel below is pulled from our own hostel data for that city, ranked by rating, and links to its full page. Journey times and fares come from the train and coach operators' websites, checked on 6 Oct 2026. Where we couldn't read a fare on the operator's page, we left it out.

The route at a glance

  1. Lisbon Days 1–4 4 nights
  2. Sintra Day trip from Lisbon
  3. Ericeira or Peniche Days 5–7 3 nights
  4. Porto Days 8–10 3 nights
  5. Lagos Days 11–14 3 nights
  6. Madeira (optional) +3–4 days by air

Lisbon

Days 1 to 4 Sleep in Lisbon

Most flights land here, so start in the capital. Spend the days between Baixa, Alfama and Belém, and the evenings in Bairro Alto or Cais do Sodré, where most of the city's hostels and bars are.

Four nights gives you three full days in the city plus the Sintra day trip below, without moving your bag.

Top-rated hostels here in our data

Compare every hostel in Lisbon by neighbourhood Party hostels in Lisbon

Sintra

Day 3 or 4, as a day trip Sleep in Lisbon

Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle and Quinta da Regaleira sit in the wooded hills above the town, and UNESCO lists the whole area as a cultural landscape. It's a suburban train ride from Rossio station, so keep your Lisbon bed and go for the day.

Go on a weekday and catch an early train: the palaces sell timed tickets and the hill roads are busiest from late morning.

Search Sintra tours and palace tickets on GetYourGuide

Ericeira or Peniche

Days 5 to 7 Sleep in Ericeira or Peniche

Three nights on the surf coast between Lisbon and Porto. Ericeira is the closer of the two to Lisbon, a fishing town with surf schools and surf hostels. Peniche and the Baleal peninsula are further north, with beach breaks on both sides of the peninsula.

You don't need to surf to enjoy either. If you do, book a lesson through your hostel or a surf school and check what your insurance says about surfing first.

We haven't added Ericeira or Peniche hostels to our data yet. Our surf guides below list the surf hostels in both towns.

Surf hostels in EriceiraSurfing Peniche and BalealAll surf spots

Porto

Days 8 to 10 Sleep in Porto

Porto's riverfront Ribeira, the Luís I bridge and the port wine lodges across the river in Gaia are the classic first day. The historic centre is UNESCO-listed and small enough to walk.

Use the third day for the Douro valley upriver, by train or on a tour.

Top-rated hostels here in our data

See every hostel in Porto Search Douro valley day trips on GetYourGuide

Lagos

Days 11 to 14 Sleep in Lagos

Finish on the Algarve. Lagos has a walkable old town, beaches you can reach on foot and the cliffs and sea caves of Ponta da Piedade just south of town.

Day 11 is mostly travel from Porto, so you get two full beach days before heading to Faro or Lisbon for your flight on day 14.

Top-rated hostels here in our data

See every hostel in Lagos Hostels in Faro and the rest of the Algarve Search Ponta da Piedade boat trips on GetYourGuide

Madeira (optional)

Add 3 to 4 days Sleep in Funchal

Madeira is a flight from Lisbon or Porto, not a bus ride, so treat it as an add-on. The draw is walking: the levada paths follow old irrigation channels through the Laurisilva, a laurel forest on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Top-rated hostels here in our data

See hostels in Madeira

Getting between stops

Trains are run by CP (Comboios de Portugal), the Ericeira bus by Carris Metropolitana and the long-distance coaches here by FlixBus. Train times are from CP's timetables (the fastest service of the day), coach times are FlixBus's own route figures, and train fares are CP's full single fares unless marked return. FlixBus "from" fares are the lowest price it advertises for the route; the price on your date may be higher.

There's no direct coach from Ericeira to Porto that we could find on FlixBus. From Ericeira, take the bus back to Lisbon and the train north; from Peniche, the coach goes straight to Porto.

Leg How Time Fare
Step 1Lisbon (Rossio) to Sintra Suburban trainCP 40 min €5.10 return
Step 2Lisbon (Campo Grande) to Ericeira Bus, line 2740Carris Metropolitana 68 min (daytime) not shown for this line; check on board
Step 2Lisbon to Peniche CoachFlixBus 1 h 10 min from €2.98
Step 3Peniche to Porto CoachFlixBus 4 h 15 min from €7.47
Step 4Porto to Lagos CoachFlixBus 7 h 30 min from €10.98
Step 4Porto to Lagos Alfa Pendular to Tunes, then regional trainCP 6 h 13 min €59.30 + €4.95
Other useful legs: Ericeira via Lisbon, and getting back to Lisbon
Lisbon to Porto Alfa Pendular trainCP 2 h 48 min €35.70 (2nd class)
Lisbon to Porto Intercidades trainCP 3 h 13 min €28.05 (2nd class)
Lisbon to Porto CoachFlixBus 2 h 30 min from €4.48
Lisbon (Oriente) to Lagos Intercidades to Tunes, then regional trainCP 4 h 11 min €23.45 + €4.95
Lisbon to Lagos CoachFlixBus 3 h 40 min from €4.98

Sources, checked 6 Oct 2026: CP Lisbon suburban fares · Carris Metropolitana line 2740 · FlixBus Lisbon to Peniche · FlixBus Peniche to Porto · CP Alfa Pendular fares · CP Intercidades fares · FlixBus Lisbon to Porto · FlixBus Porto to Lagos · CP Alfa Pendular Porto to Faro line fares · CP Intercidades Lisbon to Faro line fares · FlixBus Lisbon to Lagos · CP Sintra line timetable · CP Lisbon–Porto timetable · CP Porto–Faro–Lagos timetable · CP Algarve regional fares. Train connections at Tunes are only guaranteed under normal operating conditions, per CP.

What beds and transport cost

This is the floor, not a daily budget: the cheapest checked dorm bed among the picks at each stop, times the nights you spend there, plus the cheapest checked fare for each step of the route. Food, tours and nights out come on top, and we don't guess those.

Item Detail Unit price Total
Beds in Lisbon 4 nights €20 €80
Beds in Ericeira or Peniche 3 nights no checked price yet not counted
Beds in Porto 3 nights €20 €60
Beds in Lagos 3 nights €20 €60
Step 1: Lisbon to Sintra CP, suburban train €5.10 return €5.10
Step 2: Lisbon to Peniche FlixBus, coach from €2.98 €2.98
Step 3: Peniche to Porto FlixBus, coach from €7.47 €7.47
Step 4: Porto to Lagos FlixBus, coach from €10.98 €10.98
Beds and transport (3 of 4 stops have a checked bed price) €226.53

Bed prices come from each hostel's page on this site and carry the date they were checked. Stops without a checked price are left out of the total rather than estimated. Fares are the cheapest per step in the transport table (the coach via Peniche), checked 6 Oct 2026.

FAQ

How many days do you need to backpack Portugal?

Two weeks covers this route (13 nights) at an unhurried pace: Lisbon with a Sintra day trip, three nights on the surf coast, three in Porto and three in Lagos. With ten days, drop the surf coast or shorten Lisbon; with three weeks, add Madeira or the Douro valley.

Is it better to travel around Portugal by train or by bus?

Use both. The train is the easy choice between Lisbon, Coimbra and Porto and on the suburban line to Sintra. Coaches fill the gaps the railway doesn't reach, such as Ericeira and Peniche, and run direct between Porto and the Algarve.

How much does a hostel bed cost in Portugal?

Across the 40 hostels on this site with a checked price, the cheapest dorm bed ranged from €13 to €40 a night when we checked. Prices change by date and season, so check the live price before you book.

Which order should I do the route in?

North to south, as here, if you fly into Lisbon and out of Faro. If you fly into Porto, run it in reverse. Either way, keep Sintra as a day trip from Lisbon and do the surf coast between Lisbon and Porto.

Can I add Madeira to a Portugal backpacking trip?

Yes, but it's a flight from Lisbon or Porto, so give it at least three or four extra days. The island is best for walking the levada trails.

Travel insurance for a hostel trip: check what your policy says about theft from a dorm and about surfing before you go. Our travel insurance guide lists what to look for.

Portugal Best Hostels

We build our guides from the hostels' own listings, current booking pages and the transport operators' timetables, and we date every price. We haven't stayed in every hostel on this route, and we don't claim to.