About Portugal, Actually
Portugal, Actually is an independent blog with honest travel tips and guides about Portugal, written by people who live here.
Our goal is simple: to be the clearest, most useful place to find out what Portugal is really like. That means the good and the bad, without the fluff. Whether you’re planning a trip, thinking about moving here or just curious about the country, we want you to find the information you’re looking for, and to get the most out of your time in Portugal.
Who we are
We live in Portugal. Everything on this site comes from real experience: places we’ve visited, things we’ve done, restaurants we’ve eaten at and towns we’ve lived in. When we write about something we haven’t done ourselves, we draw on the experience of friends and other people who live here, and we say so.
That’s the difference between this site and a lot of travel content online. We’re not writing about Portugal from a list of top 10s. We’re writing about the country we actually live in.
What we write about
- Places to visit: cities, towns, beaches and day trips, from Porto and the north down to the Algarve.
- Things to do: monasteries, festivals, water parks, surfing, walks and everything in between.
- Living in Portugal: what different areas are really like to live in, including prices and the downsides.
- Food and drink: where to eat, what to order and the local specialities worth trying.
- Practical information: ticket prices, opening hours, how to get there and how much time to plan.
Honest, with the downsides included
Most travel guides only tell you the good parts. We don’t. If a beach has water quality problems, if the food at a famous attraction is overpriced, or if an area has terrible traffic, we’ll tell you.
We also check our facts. Prices, opening hours, dates and history are checked against official sources wherever possible, and we link to them so you can check for yourself. Prices and opening hours change, so we always say which year they’re from.
How this site is funded
Portugal, Actually is free to read. To keep it that way, some links on this site may be affiliate links. If you book or buy something through one of them, we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
This never changes what we recommend. We only recommend things we’d genuinely suggest to a friend, and we’ll always be honest about the downsides, whether or not there’s a link involved.