What to pack for a week in Portugal?

Dear readers, this post is heavily delayed „in print”, because the draft was made the year before the pandemic and was forgotten, and in the pandemic year there was nothing to refer to… Meanwhile, however, the situation is loosening before the holiday season, so maybe it will be a bit in time.

Portugal is a great destination for travelers, especially those who want to spend a 3-in-1 holiday – a little bit of sightseeing, a little time spent nature and a little time on the beach. To achieve this, it is best to go there by plane, then rent a car and travel around the country a bit. I spent this week in a 3-in-1 style visiting Lisbon, Sintra (a cluster of monuments in a beautiful national park, a paradise for people who like forest walks) and spending some time on the south coast (for me – the most beautiful beaches ever ;)). Unfortunately, I painfully admit – I have no photos. I traveled in my pre-Instagram stage era where I took pictures only with my eyes (today I find it hard to believe, although it’s only been two years, but I really didn’t have a need to photograph anything). So let’s focus on the suitcase itself, and at the same time I keep my fingers crossed so that you can see these beautiful landscapes with your own eyes.

May is a good month to visit Portugal due to moderate temperatures and an equally moderate amount of tourists (remember that I refer to the year before the pandemic). The weather is a combination of spring and summer with a strong accent of wind from the ocean, so it’s not so easy to pack a suitcase to take a little stuff and be prepared for any occasion at the same time.

What to pack for a week in Portugal?

When packing a suitcase, you need to take into account several activities, which I heartily recommend to you:

–city sightseeing during the day – if you are going to Lisbon (and it’s worth it!), you have to take a correction to the wind, frequent going uphill, terribly slippery pavements made of cubes, which look divine, but it is best to walk there in sneakers :). Shoes with leather soles are a misunderstanding at all.
– an evening city walk, e.g. combined with a tasty dinner
– visiting places located in parks or forests, where, due to the circumstances of nature, it is necessary to dress comfortably
– admiring the sunset over the ocean (cold wind at this time of year)
– sunbathing/time on beach

Is it possible to pack in a small handy luggage then? Yes, definitely and quite well, even considering that the dryer, hair straightener and beauty bag already take up 1/4 of a suitcase. As you know, I take them with me anytime and anywhere. In the case of clothes – the classic procedure is to create a micro-capsule. It is worth trying to select things in such a way that they can be freely mixed and matched. I opted for a casual style, but there were also a few things for an evening out.

Portugal – the minimalistic suitcase

My suitcase consisted of the following items that complemented each other, but a few also turned out to be redundant:

Bottoms:

– jeans (wearing during the flight)
– the second pair of long pants, I chose white
– navy blue shorts (they are practical because you can sit on the beach and they won’t get dirty so easily)

Long sleeved tops:

– a gray hoodie (or if I wasn’t a fan of sweatshirts, I could replace it with a zipped cardigan). I took two, but one is enough
– mariniere blouse
– linen shirt
– navy blue sweater

Short sleeved tops:

– grey
– white x2
– mariniere

Shoes:

– white canvas Converse
– nude ballet flats (unfortunately with a non-padded leather sole, which is why I only put them on a few times, I would rather replace them with a second pair of sneakers. It was because of: sightseeing, slippery pavements, the beach, and I had to wear sneakers all the time anyway 🙂 Even if it does not bother someone to have only one pair of shoes when traveling, the problem arises when, for example, the shoes are flooded by an ocean wave …

Outerwear:

– navy trench coat (you can skip it, but it’s nice to have something nice for a night out)
– casual jacket (for sightseeing trips, on a beach and so on)

and a swimsuit for the beach: the ocean is too cold for me, but there were people eager to swim.

And also a gray scarf, perfect for windy days, which I forgot, but don’t make that mistake 🙂

It may seem like a lot of things for 7 days, but due to weather fluctuations, wind and various activities during the day, sometimes I had to change my outfit 3 times – completely or partially. During the trips, there was always an additional layer of clothing (jacket or sweater) waiting in the car. So here you have it, a few sample sets recreated from memory, but you really had to adapt to the aura on a regular basis. And from the ocean it really blows like evil 🙂