I've got two weeks in November to go somewhere, and was thinking Portugal. Despite having been around the world a bit, I've never gone to Europe. I'd just stay on the mainland between Lisbon and Porto for time, probably stop in Evora, Coimbra, and Braga too. Just interested in the food, old cities, and such. Don't care so much about beaches as its probably too cold in November.
I've always wanted to do Portugal too, but I just have so much on my bucket list ahead of it. November is the rainy season in Portugal, same with Rome. You could go down and do Greece. They have better weather that time of year with less rain. Even Madrid and central Spain might be a better bet. It would be a little cooler in central Spain than Portugal, but less chance of rain in the interior than on the coast.
>>2652499>NovemberWorst time to go, hence why you probably paid no more than $500 for your plane ticket.Also, the cities suck, especially Lisbon. Everybody who goes to Portugal goes to Algarve, if not the Azores, and only in the Summer.>t. Guy who went to Portugal in November once and regretted it.
>>2652631I didnt even think rain. Temperature looked ok. Haven't bought tickets yet, but TAP always seems cheap even when looking other countries. I could do Mexico or Central America, but I already did Nicaragua and I have two more Latin American trips booked. Japan was my other option though direct flights are expensive because the yen is crashing.
>>2652499
>>2652640Where do you live that has direct flights to Japan? California? You could fly to New Zealand for 800-900 and have Summer weather in November. Lots of good surfing beaches and hiking spots.
>>2652656NY. I dont have to have great weather, just good enough that Im not freezing or getting drenched. I wiukd consider the Middle East if they weren't about to sacrifice a red heifer in order to potentially being about a thermonuclear war.Maybe I should go back to Mexico.
>>2652672Morocco is another option. Went there a few months after Gaza went to shit. Nobody cared when I told them I was from the US.
>>2652673Ive been there already actually. They're good goys as /pol/ would say. "HALLO? YES? WHERE YOU FROM? ITS CLOSED!"Im more honestly worried about flights getting cancelled or winding up in war zone. Jordan, Dubai and Oman would be on my radar. Call me a faggot, but I'd prefer to wait it out until they chill out a bit. Hence why I've been mainly looking at the Western Hemisphere.
>>2652499You might be interested in this article OP>https://www.palladiummag.com/2024/02/23/who-is-portugal-for/
I was in Lisbon for a week during April. Everything was cheap, weather was great, people were friendly.
>>2654196>lixobon>cheap>friendlynext youll be saying it was clean too
>>2652646it makes me seethe how true this is
>>2652499november is a dreadful time to come since we have more rain than london or belgium up north (the only place worth visiting)
>>2652640You could go to Andalucia in Spain. It's unbearable during summer anyways, due to insane temperatures
Don't bother. The place has been completely ruined by now.
>>2652499I love Portuguese cities, unapologetically. Lisbon is undeniably quite grungy, and has been approaching Barcelona-levels of foreigner/tourist fatigue for a few years now, ever since a small flood of Americans started to relocate out there, but it’s incredibly atmospheric and in many spots very beautiful. The nearby posh beach suburb of Cascais (under an hour from the main Lisbon station) is also really charming, although it’s not the season, obviously, and is probably best in summer. Évora has one of the coolest historical centers in Portugal. Probably my personal favorite. It’s also close to some popular wine country destinations, if that’s something you might enjoy. Cute park built around a Roman temple ruin right in the center, but it probably won’t be sit in a park weather in November.Coimbra is young and lively if you are of student age. Bats in the library, very nice old-school, waiters in white shirts and bow ties-style café right by the cathedral. Cool Roman ruins at Conimbriga, just outside of town.A lot of people like Porto more than Lisbon; it’s a bit cleaner and arguably friendlier, although I’ve always found people in Lisbon perfectly friendly, probably because I try to speak Portuguese rather than just yelling at them in English or Spanish as so many visitors do. If you do happen to speak Spanish, almost everyone can indeed understand it, and more than a few can sort of speak it, but most people really don’t like it—it offends people to be expected/forced to use the language of their larger neighbor. Personally I like Lisbon more than I like Porto, but you may disagree.
>>2654786It’s the wrong season for the aforementioned Algarve, but I find the Algarve to be a mixed bag at best. A couple of the towns are actually quite charming—Tavira in particular has a lot of historical and architectural appeal. But there are also a lot of (too many) ugly modern concrete resort developments, British people’s summer homes, and vomiting drunk yobbos (at least in the summer).
>>2654787Olhão is somewhat decent aswell, and more to the interior there's also Silves. But other than that it's not worth it going to Algarve for anything other than going to the beach.>>2654786I'd also add Guimarães to the list. Ponte de Lima is cool too. There's plenty of small/medium sized cities up north that are worth visiting.Relatively close to Évora there's also Monsaraz.
portugal is nice as fuck. I went in october 6 years ago. lisbon is one of my all time top cities. algarve region is incredible for its natural beauty.
Lisbon and Porto are awesome. lots of stuff to visit in Portugal. good prices and the people are pretty chill. I am a respectful traveler and I enjoyed myself
>>2652499Your bucket list is good enough as it is. I would add Guimarães and Sintra. Tomar and Óbidos, 2 towns relatively close to each other are also nice if you're into medieval stuff, but I'd consider those optional.Don't feel discouraged with the rain. All the locations mentioned can be enjoyed even on a rainy day, from experience. Still, don't be surprised if you catch heavy rain in some days, especially up north.
>>2658862I thought most of Sintra's natural scenery was way cooler than the palaces. The whole palace area was a massive tourist blackhole with a lot of lines to not see much. The palace tour sucked, it was too railroady and cramped. I'd advise to see more of the coast and go hiking on some trails.
>>2652499I hate portugal so fucking much. Americans/californians took it over and gayed it up badly. It was great before that happened. Sad! Many such cases. Many such places ruined by these people
>>2652499Portugal and Spain really surprised me, everywhere was nice, not expensive, full of history still preserved and people seemed alright. Would recommend at least Lisbon to anyone, Porto is probably even nicer
Has anyone here gone to the Azores? Is it worth a trip there or there better islands to go to in the Atlantic? How to they compare to the Canarys? I've never gone to a smaller island/island nation.
>>2659608No island in the world compares to the Azores.Truly the pearl of the Atlantic.
