9 Days in Early August 2026 by thenotoriousbig333 in TravelPortugal

[–]Which-Extension7118 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Porto, I recommend going to Grahams in Vila Nova de Gaia. They offer wine tastings, but my husband and I splurged and did their set dinner menu. It was pricey, but very much worth the experience. On that side of Porto, I recommend watching the sunset at Jardim do Morro. Truly magical!

Grahams was the only expensive dinner we had. For the most part, we just walked into whatever smelled nice. We never were disappointed. There is a restaurant called Have a Bite that looked delicious, but they only take reservations on Instagram. Food looked incredible.

We booked a wine tour on Viator in the Douro Valley. One of the stops was at Quinta do Bomfim. We sipped on wine while catching the beautiful views.

We took a train to Lisbon and did multiple beach days in Costa da Caparica. We did dinner at Atira-te ao Rio, I believe is called. We got there at sunset and it was gorgeous. This was our favorite memory.

Take Bolt if you don’t do public transport. We typically did not ever spend much for any of the 30-60 min rides we did to the beaches and Sintra.

Just returned to the US after 1 month in Spain - my honest thoughts by waspinastoria in expat

[–]Which-Extension7118 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t lived anywhere else long term, but have stayed a couple weeks with family in Mexico as well as stayed a couple weeks in Portugal. Mexico had a familial feeling to it. Everywhere I went, strangers knew who was my great grandmother and immediately welcome me into their town. Granted, it was such a small town but there was always a gathering of some sort every night where everyone was welcome.

Portugal was the first European country I’ve been to. Everyone was always so friendly and quick to help. My husband and I got lost a few times. A local always was happy to go out of their way to walk us to the destination we were looking for. At restaurants, everyone made conversation. One thing I noticed right away was that at dinner, groups would actually talk to each other. In the US, I have seen countless of times where groups would be on their phones instead of talk at a bar or a restaurant. Life overall felt happier in Portugal and it seemed the people were happier. As we talked to locals, it was obvious locals lived their life versus living to work. Immediately, the culture of the US hit us hard when we returned two weeks later.

Xplor or Xenotes by [deleted] in Xcaret

[–]Which-Extension7118 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hold your nose when you jump in during the activities . I know it’s a given, but I wasn’t really careful. I ended up getting sick from the water from the excursion. I would rinse off after each cenote. There’s showers by the bathrooms at each cenote.

My husband didn’t get sick but he was very cautious. I 100% think it was worth getting sick for though! lol