14 Days in Portugal: Vegan, Slow Travel & Nomad Itinerary

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14 Days in Portugal

nomads plant-based slow travel non-luxe

Portugal was our first stop after officially becoming digital nomads in September 2023, spending 2 weeks visiting parts of the country with Ryan's parents.

We are Ella & Ryan, digital nomads, exploring the world mindfully. Between getting married, becoming nomads, and starting our own businesses, we’re sharing everything we learn along the way.

3 days in Nazaré

📍 Nazaré is a world renowned surfing spot due to the massive waves that form on its shores of Praia do Norte (just up the hill/cliff overlooking Nazaré). World records have been set surfing waves nearly 24m/78ft tall!

After flying into Lisbon, we picked up our rental car and drove to Nazaré, a small coastal town 90 minutes north.

We found an inexpensive Airbnb overlooking Nazaré. The funicular (tram) that takes residents up and down the hill overlooking Nazaré stopped operating after peak tourist season a few days before we arrived so we had to trek up the somewhat steep path each time we went to and from town — still 100% worth it!

One night we stopped at the bottom of the hill for a €2 bottle of wine to share on the way up while resting at one of the conveniently located benches.

Nazaré appeared to be quite an authentic Portuguese fishing town with many more local residents inhabiting the town than tourists. Visiting in September, just after peak tourist season was ideal for missing the influx of visitors.

🌱 Food: Our favourite plant-based stop in Nazaré was Oxalá at the bottom of the funicular. We had some incredible hummus and wine while locals connected all around us.

📍 Baloiço da Ladeira

📸 Cobblestone streets

Portugal Nazare sunrise overlooking beautiful Nazare during our slow travel digital nomad budget stay.

👀 View from Airbnb

Portugal Nazare local vendor on the beach. Cute and picturesque walk during our slow travel digital nomad budget stay.

📸 Beach vendor

Portugal Nazare climbing up the path to Praia do Norte during our slow travel digital nomad budget stay.

📸 Ella climbing the hill

Quaint and delicious restaurant in Nazare Portugal offering plant-based hummus and wine while locals connect

🌱 Oxalá

📸 Praia do Norte

Digital nomads drinking wine in Nazare Portugal, cheap and inexpensive high quality wines.

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Traditional Portuguese fishing boats displayed on the beach in Nazare Portugal

📸 Traditional Fishing Boats

Beautiful view of ocean and beach from Airbnb in Nazare Portugal with laptop working remotely

👀 Remote office in Airbnb

1 night in Lagos

We then drove down to Lisbon to pickup Ryan's parents flying in and continued onto Lagos.

We stayed 1-night in an amazing Bnb, a short 10-15 minute walk from the main Lagos action, that had a pool and full breakfast (for non-vegans but we survived).

Lagos was surprisingly a very-happening town, buzzing with culture, architecture, food, and entertainment. Bookended by our Nazaré and Quarteira visits, Lagos was noticeably more vibrant and alive.

🌱 Food: Our top plant-based spot was at The Garden where Ryan had a delicious Spaghetti Al Bosque with a soy bechamel sauce.

Beautiful flowers blooming infront of beautiful old architecture in Lagos Portugal old town square

📸 Lagos Town Square

📸 Ponta da Piedade

Old and medieval castle in Lagos Portugal

📍 Castelo de Lagos

📸 Ponta da Piedade

🌱 The Garden

📸 Street Art

4 days in Quarteira

We drove 1 hour east of Lagos to the quiet beach town of Quarteira.

It was a nice town to relax in, soak up sea views, and go for daily walks along the coast. Outside of that, the city was pretty quiet, a little commercialized, and lacked the authentic culture and heritage found in other parts of Portugal.

📍 Honest opinion on Albufeira: We took a day trip into Albufeira from Quarteira and it was not for us. It felt like a UK town was dropped on the coast of the Mediterranean with bright flashy lights, massive steak houses, big pubs, etc. Nothing against the UK, but not what you would expect visiting the south of Portugal.

🌱 Food: The best part of our Quarteira stay came on the last night when we stumbled on Raizes Cozinha Saudavel & Vegetariana where we had this incredible sliced tofu dish and snickers tart cake for dessert.

3 days in Évora

📍 Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with its well preserved town centre that is almost entirely enclosed by the existing medieval walls.

We drove about 2.5 hours from Quarteira to the medieval-feeling town of Évora. Parking within Évora is almost non-existant, especially for visitors, so we had to offload our stuff and trek into our Airbnb from a parking lot on the exterior.

Our Airbnb, with a Portuguese-influenced cork interior, was perfectly located within the city centre with great proximity to various points of interest.

We recommend 1-2 days in Évora depending on your pace. It is a small city so you can likely cover it in a hard-working single day. It made sense to us why day trips from Lisbon were quite popular. We took our time and visited a local winery during one of 3 days which was a nice change of scenery.

🌱 Food: We enjoyed 2 delicious meals in Evora. The first at Bruxa D'Évora where we had some king oyster mushrooms. The second at JIMBU which was insanely good offering a Nepalese & Indian fusion. Highly recommend checking out JIMBU.

💀 Capela dos Ossos (Chapel of Bones) is a humbling site to see. The chapel is to show the temporariness and fragility of human life. Message received.

🔥 Visiting in late September, we thought we would be in the clear, however a heatwave brought temperatures of +35°C / 95°F with a lot of humidity. Likely a result of Évora's medieval architecture, the breeze was incapable of offering any reprieve during our visit. We often had to limit our daily exploring to a few hours at a time.

📸 View from Airbnb

📸 Medieval walls

Young couple at winery cartuxa fundação eugénio de almeida near Evora Portugal

📍 Cartuxa Winery

📍 Chapel of Bones

🌱 Triangular

📸 Roman Temple

Yellow and white Portuguese house with green door with young woman standing out front.

📸 Evora houses

🌱 Bruxa D'Evora

5 days in Cascais

In order to avoid the massive hustle bustle of Lisbon, we opted to stay in Cascais - a quick 45 minute transit ride from the large city. Our insanely spacious and affordable Airbnb was a 8 minute walk from the sea and a 2 minute walk to the most impressive grocery store Auchan. We may have spent more time exploring the supermarket more than the town.

Cascais is a popular sea-side resort and retreat for people living in Lisbon. It offered the perfect way for us to close out our Portuguese trip relaxing in a costal town while also having the proximity to visit Lisbon when we wanted.

Cascais was a beautiful town for staying active. We went on many runs and walks during our stay within inland valleys and coastal paths, and experimented with swimming in the frigid sea.

📍 Restaurante Ponto Final: During one of our stops in Lisbon, we of course had to checkout Restaurante Ponto Final, the highly sought-after spot due to Netflix's Somebody Feed Phil. We made our reservation months (I mean months) in advance. It's not the best spot for vegans as it's primarily known for its seafood but we were able to eat the delicious deep fried asparagus. The portions here are big so expect to go home stuffed.

🌱 Food: We found the most incredible vegan donut, dessert, and pastry shop, Scoop n Dough, in Cascais. I will never forget that donut, it continues to live with me in memory.

📍 Sintra-Cascais Natural Park: We drove through the Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais and stopped off to see the National Palace of Pena. We were impressed but the insane crowds quickly dampened any true excitement. We hiked up a nearby hill to Cruz Alta which gave us beautiful views of the Palace and the region.