Portugal & Spain: A Family Visit That Became a European Road Trip

Destination / route

Portugal and Spain

Travel dates

2024

Trip type

International family trip

Stress level

High

Portugal & Spain: A Family Visit That Turned Into a European Road Trip

Like our trips to Brazil, Portugal started with family.

Hellen’s sister lives in Portugal, and her mom was there visiting as well. We don’t get many opportunities to have everyone together, so when the chance came to visit, we decided to turn it into a family trip—and see as much of Portugal as we reasonably could along the way.

We flew into Lisbon, picked up a rental car, and almost immediately headed north.

Our destination was Braga, where we’d spend the next few days visiting family and using the city as our base for exploring northern Portugal.

And honestly, the drive there was one of my favorite parts of the entire trip.

Three Hours Through Portugal

The drive from Lisbon to Braga took us roughly three hours.

For someone visiting Portugal for the first time, it was a fantastic introduction to the country.

Instead of flying into Lisbon and staying in the middle of the tourist areas, we got in a car and watched Portugal change around us as we headed north.

We drove through the countryside, passed smaller towns, and got a glimpse of everyday Portugal that we probably wouldn’t have experienced if we’d spent the entire trip in Lisbon.

By the time we reached our hotel near Braga, we’d apparently gone far enough off the normal tourist path that we became the attraction.

I Don’t Think They Got Many Americans

When we checked into our hotel, the people at the front desk seemed genuinely confused.

Not because there was a problem with our reservation.

They seemed confused that someone from outside Portugal had actually booked a room there.

We got the impression they didn’t see many international tourists.

Which, of course, made me like the place even more.

This wasn’t a hotel surrounded by tour buses and souvenir shops. We’d somehow managed to find a place where we were clearly not the normal clientele.

Perfect.

We unpacked, established our little base camp in northern Portugal, and got ready to explore.

But exploring Portugal wasn’t actually the main reason we were there.

Family Was the Reason We Came

The next morning, we went to Hellen’s sister’s house.

And that’s important because, just like our trips to Brazil, this wasn’t really a sightseeing vacation with a family visit squeezed into it.

It was the opposite.

We had traveled to Portugal because Hellen’s sister lived there and her mom was visiting. Getting to explore Portugal was the bonus.

We spent time together, visited their home, and then used our remaining days in the north to explore the surrounding area.

Having a rental car gave us the freedom to make up some of the trip as we went.

And that’s exactly what we did.

Give Me a Rental Car and Some Castles

Northern Portugal turned out to be perfect for the way I like to explore.

We’d get in the car and take day trips to different towns and areas, looking for castles, old buildings, and whatever else seemed interesting.

We weren’t trying to race through a list of the “10 Things You Absolutely Must See in Portugal.”

Sometimes we knew exactly where we were going.

Sometimes we just explored.

One day, we headed toward Peneda-Gerês National Park, excited to see another part of northern Portugal.

We got there...

and it was closed.

So much for that plan.

But that's one of the advantages of traveling with a rental car. The day wasn’t ruined. We simply changed the plan and kept driving.

We explored the surrounding area, saw more of the countryside, and enjoyed being somewhere completely different from home.

That’s one of the things I remember most about Portugal.

Not everything needed an attraction attached to it.

Sometimes driving around Portugal was the attraction.

And Then We Accidentally Added Another Country

At some point during our stay in Braga, we realized something.

Spain wasn’t very far away.

When you’re from Indiana, driving a few hours usually means you’ve reached Ohio, Illinois, or Kentucky.

In Europe, apparently you can accidentally end up in another country.

So naturally, we decided to do exactly that.

We crossed the border and made a day trip to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

And I’m glad we did.

Santiago was beautiful.

Walking through the historic city, surrounded by old streets and architecture, felt completely different from the places we’d been exploring in Portugal.

There was also something wonderfully ridiculous about the spontaneity of it.

Our entire Portugal-and-Spain adventure essentially started with:

“We’re pretty close to Spain. Want to go?”

Absolutely.

It also gave Ollie another country to add to his growing travel list.

Not bad for a day trip we hadn't originally planned.

Our family trip to Portugal had officially become a Portugal and Spain road trip.

Back Down to Lisbon

After about three days using Braga as our base, it was time to head south.

But instead of driving straight to the airport and leaving, we decided to spend our final two days in Lisbon.

It almost felt like starting a second trip.

We’d spent the first part visiting family, driving through the countryside, exploring northern Portugal, and wandering wherever the rental car took us.

Now we got to experience the capital.

We walked around Lisbon, explored the city, saw some of its famous sights, and tried to fit as much as possible into the short amount of time we had left.

And then we went to Sintra.

That created a problem.

Drove into Spain.

Drove back across Portugal.

Changed hotels again.

Explored Lisbon.

Visited Sintra.

Then finally headed home.

We were constantly figuring out where we were going next.

And we loved it.

That’s the difference.

Sometimes we want to unpack once, sit by the pool, eat whenever we’re hungry, and let a cruise ship take us somewhere new.

Other times, give us a rental car and let’s see where we end up.

Portugal was definitely the second kind of trip.

We Need Another Portugal Trip

We originally went to Portugal because of family.

We left wanting to return because of Portugal itself.

Next time, I’d like to slow things down.

I’d love to spend more time exploring Lisbon, rather than squeezing the city into the final two days of the trip.

I’d especially like to return to Sintra and explore more of the castles, historic towns, and older cities around Lisbon.

And I’d happily head north again.

There’s still so much of Portugal we haven’t seen.

That’s probably my biggest takeaway from the trip.

We went to visit Hellen’s family.

We drove through the Portuguese countryside.

We stayed somewhere that seemed surprised to see foreign tourists.

We searched for castles.

We arrived at a closed national park and explored anyway.

We crossed into Spain for the day.

And then we finished the trip wandering through Lisbon and Sintra.

Portugal wasn’t originally supposed to be the star of this family visit.

Somewhere along the way, it became one of the places I most want to go back and explore again.

Sintra Was the Problem

Not because we didn’t like it.

Because we liked it too much.

Sintra and the area surrounding Lisbon were filled with exactly the kinds of places I love exploring—castles, historic buildings, old streets, and places where you can simply wander around imagining what everything must have looked like hundreds of years ago.

And we had nowhere near enough time.

Instead of leaving Sintra feeling like we had checked another destination off our list, I left thinking:

We need to come back.

There was simply too much we hadn’t seen.

And maybe that's one of the best things a destination can do.

Leave you wanting more.

Europe Is a Trip. A Cruise Is a Vacation.

Portugal is also a perfect example of something we’ve realized about the way our family travels.

Europe is a trip. A cruise is a vacation.

At least for us.

Portugal wasn’t particularly relaxing.

Think about what we actually did.

We landed in Lisbon.

Picked up a rental car.

Drove three hours north.

Checked into a hotel.

Visited family.

Took day trips.

Looked for castles.

Drove to a national park that turned out to be closed.

Kept exploring anyway.

Drove into Spain.

Drove back across Portugal.

Changed hotels again.

Explored Lisbon.

Visited Sintra.

And then finally headed home.

We were constantly figuring out where we were going next.

And we loved it.

That's the difference.

Sometimes we want to unpack once, sit by the pool, eat whenever we're hungry, and let a cruise ship carry us somewhere new while we sleep.

Other times?

Give us a rental car and let's see where we end up.

Portugal was definitely the second kind of trip.

And I think our family needs both.

What We’d Do Differently Next Time

The biggest thing we'd change is simple:

Slow down.

I'd give Lisbon more than two days.

I'd absolutely return to Sintra and leave significantly more time to explore.

I'd spend more time in northern Portugal instead of treating Braga primarily as a base.

And I'd leave a few days intentionally unplanned.

Because some of our favorite memories from this trip came from exactly that—having a car and enough freedom to say, “What's over there?”

I'd also be perfectly happy crossing into Spain again.

Although next time we might actually plan that part before arriving.

Maybe.

We Need Another Portugal Trip

We originally went to Portugal because of family.

We left wanting to return because of Portugal itself.

That wasn’t something I expected before we went.

We visited Hellen’s family.

We drove through the Portuguese countryside.

We stayed somewhere that seemed genuinely surprised to see foreign tourists.

We searched for castles.

We arrived at a closed national park and explored anyway.

We crossed into Spain because, well, Spain was right there.

We wandered through Lisbon.

And then Sintra gave us another reason to come back.

There is still so much of Portugal we haven't seen.

And that's probably my biggest takeaway from the entire trip.

Portugal wasn't originally supposed to be the star of this family visit.

Somewhere along the way, it became one of the places I most want our family to return to.

Next time, we'll just need more days.

And, obviously, another rental car.