Portugal from the UK

Best time to visit

Monthly breakdown for the UK travellers planning a Portugal trip.

Best value

Apr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct

Peak season

Jul · Aug — Hotter, busier and more expensive

Getting there

Flight time

~2.5–3 h

Why Portugal?

The Algarve has been a fixture on the British holiday calendar for decades, and Faro remains one of the busiest charter and package routes out of the UK, with golf courses, coastal resorts and beach towns built up specifically around that demand.

Lisbon and Porto have grown into separate draws in their own right, with low-cost carriers running frequent direct services from London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh that make a long weekend of trams, custard tarts, port cellars and river views straightforward to plan.

Beyond the flight time, the appeal is practical: prices for food, wine and accommodation still undercut Spain, France and Italy for comparable quality, English is widely spoken in tourist areas, and Portugal's status as Britain's oldest ally, dating to the 1373 treaty, has left an easy familiarity that shows up in everything from menus to airport signage.

Where to stay

• Lisbon — Portugal's capital pairs hillside trams and Belem's riverside monuments with a restaurant and bar scene that has drawn a steady stream of UK city-break traffic since budget airlines made the route cheap.
• Porto — Smaller and generally cheaper than Lisbon, Porto's old town runs down to the Douro river and gives direct access to the port wine trade the city is named for.
• Faro (Algarve) — The main airport gateway to the Algarve, Faro serves the string of golf resorts and beach towns along the south coast that have long been a staple of UK package holidays.
• Vila Nova de Gaia — Facing Porto across the Douro, Gaia is where most of the historic port wine houses keep their cellars and offer tastings, making it a short-hop add-on to a Porto stay.

A UK traveller can expect to pay roughly £40–£80 a night for a mid-range double room outside peak season, with mains at restaurants typically £8–£15 and a glass of house wine around £2–£4; Algarve resort accommodation and July–August rates in Lisbon and Porto both run noticeably higher.

Plan your trip

• Portugal travel guide
• Events in Portugal

Package holidays vs booking independently

Compare packages from the UK-based operators against building your own trip.

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