4 weeks Portugal road trip itinerary

While planning our road trip through Europe, Portugal was immediately high on the list. Surfing, good food, plus a wonderful Indian summer were music to our ears. Now that we have been there, we understand very well why Portugal is so popular with campers. It is spotty, beautiful and wild camping is tolerated in many places. Unfortunately, we had to cut our road trip short after about 3.5 weeks, but we have already had a good taste of Portuguese life and this tastes like more. So this year we will definitely go back to do our road trip through Portugal one more time properly.

Tip! No plan is the best plan. We had a few destinations we wanted to visit, but otherwise no concrete plan. Highly recommended for everyone! Want some inspiration for your road trip through Portugal, though? Then quickly check out our 4-week Portugal road trip itinerary.

Overview route road trip Portugal 4 weeks

Campo Maior (2 nights)
Nazaré (2 nights)
Peniche (we stayed here for 10 nights, but 3 is enough)
Ericeira (3 nights)
Sintra (2 nights)
Lisbon (3 or 4 nights)
Creveiral (2 nights)
Sagres (3 nights)
Lagos (2 nights)
Praia da Marinha (3 nights)
Faro (2 nights)
Tavira (3 nights)

Campo Maior

Our first stop in Portugal became the cozy village of Campo Maior. After a long drive of about 12 hours, we arrived with our van at Camping Os Anjos. The plan was to drive to Peniche in 2 days, as the World Surfing Championship would soon begin there. Once we arrived at Campo Maior, we were pleasantly surprised. The surroundings were beautiful and the campsite a lovely spot among the olive trees. The village is small, but has a few restaurants and supermarkets. There is also plenty to see in the surrounding area. The Dutch owner is happy to give you tips. The next day we decided to add another night.

Near Campo Maior you will also find parque Natural da Serra de São Mamede. one of the most beautiful natural parks in Portugal. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to make a stop here, but it seems to be really beautiful there.

Do:

Accommodation at Camping Os Anjos
Have lunch or dinner at Taberna O Ministro (I chose a soup in the afternoon and it was truly divine!).
Taking a walk through the area

Also check out our video of our Europatrip!

Nazaré

Monstrously high waves that can reach as high as 30 meters! And not just any waves, because the coastal area of Nazaré is the place for big wave surfers. Yesss…indeed you read that right, there are indeed idiots who brave 30-meter waves with a surfboard. Consequently, the World Cup is held here annually.

Besides Nazaré’s giant surf waves, it is also a very nice fishing village. Nazaré is a little touristy, but well worth a visit. It is better to park the RV outside the town. In fact, the roads are very steep and quite narrow.

If you come in the early or late season, you can be right by the sea with a great view of Nazaré’s famous lighthouse.

Do:

Wild camping at the lighthouse. Through Park4night, you can easily find the location. Be there early, though, as it can get very crowded later in the evening.
Visit the lighthouse of Nazaré
Stroll through the village

Peniche

When we arrived in Peniche, we didn’t know how quickly we had to leave this fishing village again. The village was not very atmospheric, and thanks to a giant fish factory, it smelled like fish for much of the day. We spent the night in the middle of the village at ASA autohome Peniche, which looked more like an unsociable parking lot. But we were here for a purpose, which was to attend the World Surfing Championship. That sounds easier than it is. The World Cup is scheduled throughout October, as they have to wait for good surf conditions. So the motto of the Rip Curl tournament is “It’s on when it’s on,” and nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, it is only on the day itself that a decision is made as to whether the World Cup will go ahead.

Because the World Surfing Championship had not started yet, we still stayed a night in Peniche, and then another, and another….. in the end we stayed there for almost 10 days and certainly not just for the World Cup. Peniche takes a while but eventually you start to love it. In fact, after 2 days we found it a lovely place. You have a nice street with several restaurants, a beautiful beach with ideal surfing conditions for beginners and nice beach bars.

Do:

Staying overnight at ASA autohome Peniche. It may look a little unsociable, but this is really a very nice place to spend the night. An overnight stay costs about 8 euros. You do have to pay for the facilities, such as the toilet and shower. Which by the way are well cleaned throughout the day.
Eating at Maharani Peniche is a MUST! Perhaps the best Indian restaurant I have ever eaten at. We went back to this 4 times.
Visit the World Cup if you are in the area. A mega spectacle that you should definitely experience once.
Surfing at Praia de Dunas

Ericeira

Although you can watch the annual World Surfing Championship in Peniche and Nazare is known for its huge surfing waves, it is the fishing village of Ericeira that runs away with the title Surfing Valhalla of Portugal. Ericeira breathes surfing! Surf schools, surfboard shops, cute concept stores with the cutest surf items, vegan lunch shops and so on. As a surfing enthusiast, this is the place to be. But even for non-surfers, a visit to Ericeira is a big tip. The town is super hip and packed with fun hotspots. The coastline is also beautiful.

Do:

Surfing, surfing, surfing oh and more surfing
Book a few nights at Surfin House. This was really a mega cool experience for us
Visit the new shop 58 Surfshop for the coolest items and a delicious lunch
Have dinner at Taberna Lebre or Sunset bamboo bar

Sintra

About 30 km from Lisbon you will find the magical Sintra. This town looks like it came out of a fairy tale book. Many people visit Sintra from Lisbon on a day trip, but it’s actually much more fun to walk around here for a few days. Indeed, in the area you will find the most magnificent castles, imposing mansions and amazing gardens. You really do feast your eyes in Sintra. Since 1995, the city was designated a cultural landscape by UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town itself is also very nice to visit. If you have the dog with you (as we did) then you do have some bad luck. In fact, dogs are not allowed in most places.

Lisbon

How cute you are! After days of surfing, relaxing and being out in nature, Lisbon was an incredibly nice change. Drinking special beers outside on the stairs, visiting cool stores and eating lots of food. Lisbon is super hip, young and there is always something going on. Camping in the neighborhood is a bit difficult. Better to book a hotel or airbnb. If you do want to camp, we recommend doing so in Cascais, for example. From here you have a top connection to Lisbon.

Do:

Walking through Bairro Alto
Dining at Bao Bao
Drinking special beers at Brewpub
Visit the super hip Lx Factory
Order a Pasteis da Nata at Manteigaria

Creveiral

In Creveiral, we left our camper for a while to spend the night at the beautiful Craveiral Farmhouse. This was without a doubt our favorite accommodation ever! Wow what a cool accommodation. Craveiral Farmhouse is really in the middle of nature. The dogs, cats are running around everywhere and are really too cute. In front of the reception you will find pigs, goats, chickens and a vegetable garden. The hotel is almost entirely self-sufficient. If they don’t have it in-house, they get it from local company. Besides the hotel being 100% sustainable, everything is right down to the last detail. So there is a wonderful indoor and outdoor pool, sauna you can join the whole at the fantastic restaurant. This is a really fat tip!

Sagres

Located at the far western tip of the Algarve, Sagres is a delightful surfing town.

There is a lovely atmosphere and you can spend a few days there just fine. The village itself has a rich history. If you don’t feel like taking a surf lesson, you can also explore the beautiful surroundings, hike or relax on the beach.