Plan your Portugal hostel trip
The route, the timing, the paperwork and the small things a dorm bed needs, in one place.
Start here
New route guide Backpacking Portugal: a 2-week hostel route Lisbon, Sintra, the surf coast, Porto and Lagos, with hostel picks for every stop and checked train and bus fares.
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For students First nights for Erasmus and international students Hostels for your first nights in Lisbon, Porto and Faro, getting from the airport, and where students find rooms.
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All planning guides
Everything to sort before the first night
Each guide answers one job. Prices and fares carry the date we checked them, and anything we couldn't check is left out.
Route and timing
- Backpacking Portugal: a 2-week hostel route Lisbon, Sintra, the surf coast, Porto and Lagos, with hostel picks for every stop and checked train and bus fares.
- Best time to visit Portugal What each season means for beaches, cities, surf and hostel availability.
- First nights for Erasmus and international students Hostels for your first nights in Lisbon, Porto and Faro, getting from the airport, and where students find rooms.
Before you fly
- eSIM for Portugal Airalo, Holafly, Saily and Yesim compared on price, data and network, with dated prices.
- Travel insurance for hostel trips What to check: medical cover, theft from a dorm, surfing, and what EHIC and GHIC do and don't cover.
- Hostel packing list Padlock, towel, earplugs and the rest of what a dorm bed actually needs.
- Visas and entry Where to check the official entry rules for your passport.
Where to stay
All city guides
Hostels in Lisbon Trams, miradouros and Bairro Alto nights. 16 hostels listed 
Hostels in Porto The Ribeira riverfront and port cellars across the Douro. 11 hostels listed 
Hostels in Lagos Cliffs, beaches and a walkable old town. 5 hostels listed 
Hostels in Algarve Faro, Albufeira and the rest of the south coast. 4 hostels listed 
Hostels in Madeira Levada walks and laurel forest in the Atlantic. 5 hostels listed Why Portugal
A small country with a lot packed into it
Lisbon to Porto is under three hours on the fastest train, the surf coast sits between them, and Lagos is under four hours south of Lisbon by coach. That's why a hostel route works so well here: you can see the capital, a palace town, a surf village, a river city and a beach town in two weeks without a single flight.
Eat the way the country does: pastéis de nata in Lisbon, a francesinha in Porto, bacalhau anywhere. Then use the planning guides above for the practical side.
See the 2-week route- Lisbon Belém's Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery are a UNESCO World Heritage site, a tram or train ride west of the centre. UNESCO listing
- Sintra Palaces in the hills west of Lisbon, listed by UNESCO as a cultural landscape, and an easy day trip on the suburban train. UNESCO listing
- Porto The historic centre, the Luís I bridge and the riverfront are UNESCO-listed; the port wine lodges sit across the river in Gaia. UNESCO listing
- Douro Valley Terraced vineyards upriver from Porto, listed by UNESCO as the Alto Douro Wine Region. UNESCO listing
- Madeira The island's laurel forest, the Laurisilva, is a UNESCO natural site, and the levada irrigation paths are its walking trails. UNESCO listing
Getting around
Trains and coaches cover the whole route. Book on the operators' own sites; the backpacking guide lists checked journey times and fares.
- CP (Comboios de Portugal) National rail: Alfa Pendular and Intercidades between Lisbon, Coimbra, Porto and the Algarve, plus the Sintra and Cascais suburban lines.
- Rede Expressos The national coach network, useful where the train doesn't go, such as Peniche and much of the coast.
- FlixBus Low-cost coaches on the main north-south routes, including Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve.