How Expensive is Portugal?

We spent 6 days in Portugal as a family of 4.  How expensive is Portugal with kids?  Here is the detailed breakdown of our costs, including flying to Lisbon from Paris.  Read our thoughts on traveling to Portugal as a family here.

Transportation: $308.45

• 4 flights from Paris to Lisbon: $184.52 to fly with Transavia.
• Rental car for 5 days: $86.64 for a last-minute booking using Carrentals.com, because it was cheaper than using a 4 person rideshare.  Our lodging was a 75-minute drive from the airport.  We left the car parked during our stay in Santa Cruz, so car gas was only $26 total.
• 5 Tram Rides: $11.29.  Jon used the tram Friday morning after dropping off the rental car, and we all took the tram to the bus station on Friday night.

Lodging: $322.29

• We had an amazing 5-night stay in Santa Cruz, Portugal.  Our Airbnb was a very large 2 bedroom, with bunk beds for the kids, a full kitchen, a large living and dining area, and a huge private outdoor space.  We had a 10-minute walk to the beach, but no pool.  This was a good compromise for us due to the size and the price.

Food: $258

• Groceries: $138.  Grocery food in Portugal was amazing and inexpensive.  Water was less than $1 for an 8-liter bottle.  The bread was cheap and amazing, so we ate a lot of sandwiches.
• Restaurants: $120 for 3 restaurant meals.  As always, we budget and plan for a few restaurant meals per week.  As always, the price of eating comes at a significant increase.
  •  We ate both a lunch and a dinner at spots right on the beach in Santa Cruz. These meals were excellent, with amazing views, and cost about $45 per meal for our family of 4.
  • We met friends at a park in Lisbon and grabbed 8 toasted sandwiches and 8 pastries for $28.

Entertainment: $118

• Surfboard rental: $88 for 3 full days from Manel Sport – they were great and just off the beach.
• Beach Toys: $30 for a skimboard, net, bucket, and sand shovel.
• Audio tour of Lisbon: FREE, because we use Rick Steve’s walking tour app wherever we go.

Miscellaneous: $20.41

• OTC Medications: $12.41 for 12 ibuprofen and 12 naproxen. This is much more expensive than in the USA, and we realize we should have packed more. Read about our packing list.
• Sunscreen: $8 for a small tube. Bring solid sunscreen in your carry-on with you to Portugal.  This would be a great option.

We had an amazing time in Portugal! We answered the question of how expensive is Portugal with kids: $1,027.15 for 6 days! Portugal lands at the very top of Jon’s list of places to travel.  Next time, we will plan to stay for a month!  Between the pace of life, the surfing, and the cost, Portugal is a great place to travel with kids.

Portugal was one of our first stops during a year-long trip around the world!  To see all our travel adventures, head over to our Instagram page.

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If you have questions or tips for traveling to Portugal with kids, let us know!