Portugal 2025

Quick Links

Day 0: Austin -> Amsterdam -> Lisbon (Portugal)

Day 1: Porto Covo -> Vila Nova de Milfontes (12.2 miles)

Day 2: Vila Nova de Milfontes -> Almograve (9.1 miles)

Day 3: Almograve -> Zambujeira do Mar (13.4 miles)

Day 4: Zambujeira do Mar -> Odeceixe (11.7 miles)

Day 5: Odeceixe -> Aljezur (14.2 miles)

Day 6: Aljezur -> Arrifana (10.6 miles)

Day 7: Arrifana -> Carrapateira (12.1 miles)

Day 8: Carrapateira -> Vila do Bispo (9.5 miles)

Day 9: Vila do Bispo -> Sagres (12.6 miles)

Day 10: Sagres -> Salema (12.1 miles)

Day 11: Salema -> Luz (7.1 miles)

Day 12: Luz -> Lagos (6.8 miles)

Day 13: Travel to Lisbon

Day 14: Lisbon

Day 15: Lisbon -> Boston -> Austin

Day 0: Austin -> Amsterdam -> Lisbon (Portugal)

This was a trip to Portugal to do the Fishermen’s Trail- a 140 mile trek along the southwestern coast of the country.
The trail consisted of twelve segments of 10-15 miles a day, and you stayed in a different town each night.

Day 1: Porto Covo -> Vila Nova de Milfontes (12.2 miles)

The vegetation along the coast was mostly small shrubs, flowers, and grasses. There were very few trees, if any.
This meant that, on most days, there was no shade along the trail. Fortunately, the temperature was usually 70-80 degrees fahrenheit, so it never really got too hot.

Day 2: Vila Nova de Milfontes -> Almograve (9.1 miles)

Marshmallow farm Portugal has tasty fresh seafood. I enjoyed sea bass, cod, and tuna steak along the trip. This was the hostel in Almograve which we nicknamed the “prison hostel.” It was actually more like an old hospital that was built in the 1950s but hasn’t been renovated since. The furnishings were bare, the showers didn’t really work, and the floors were all hard tile.
This was where I met my hiking buddy Peter from Germany who hiked along with me for the next few segments of the trail. This was the infamous window in our bedroom of the hostel. There was a silent battle going on between a guy from Italy and a guy from Holland. The guy from Italy wanted it closed, so he would close it whenever he entered the room. The guy from Holland wanted the opposite, so he would open it every time he came into the room. Ultimately, we ended up leaving it open most of the time. Buildings in Portugal rarely have air conditioning, and we wanted to stay cool at night.

The guy from Italy was hiking south to north, which is opposite of the recommended direction, and he was doing two segments a day.
So he was averaging 30 miles a day, all while hiking through difficult segments of sand and up and down tall cliffs. Crazy.

The guy from Holland was in the country looking for a farm to buy. He wanted to do completely sustainable living off of the land.
He wasn’t hiking the trail with us, but I ran into him at other hostels down south.

Day 3: Almograve -> Zambujeira do Mar (13.4 miles)

(Video) The trail often ran right along the sides of tall cliffs next to the Atlantic Ocean. It was very windy, but it was a refreshingly cool ocean breeze.

(Video)

Each town had a poster of the daily trail segment. The graph in the middle shows the elevation change along the way.
There were a lot of segments where you would be hiking along the top of a cliff, you would come to a beach, you would hike down to the beach, you would cross the beach, and then you would hike up the cliff on the other side.

Day 4: Zambujeira do Mar -> Odeceixe (11.7 miles)

Full sun protection- long-sleeved shirt, pants, and sunhat. The shops price gouged tourists on sunscreen. A bottle that you would buy in the US for $7 would be $30 in Portugal. (Video)

Much of the trail in the northern part was very sandy. Sometimes the sand was deep and hindered your normal walking, so you had to slosh through it. Wading through sand while going uphill was very tiring. Hiking buddies Peter (Germany) and Shvia (Germany)

Day 5: Odeceixe -> Aljezur (14.2 miles)

Big marshmallow

Day 6: Aljezur -> Arrifana (10.6 miles)

(Video)

Day 7: Arrifana -> Carrapateira (12.1 miles)

(Video)

Day 8: Carrapateira -> Vila do Bispo (9.5 miles)

(Video)

This is a common Portugese dish- steak with a fried egg and fries. The fries in Portugal were all vibrant yellow- they use a yellow potato instead of the white one we use grow in the US. Also, most of the meals were pretty cheap. This one was only ~$10.

Day 9: Vila do Bispo -> Sagres (12.6 miles)

The lighthouse in the distance is the most southwestern point of Europe- Cabo de Sao Vicente. Cape St. Vincent is a popular tourist spot. There were a lot of souvenier and food shops around the lighthouse.
Since you are at the most southwestern point of Europe, this German food truck calls itself the “last bratwurst before America.” In Sagres, I went to the beach with Peter (Germany), Paula (Germany), and Nadja (Denmark). Sagres was the final stop for Peter- he never planned to do the full trail.
Paula and Nadja continued on south with me. This beach had a windsurfing course set up.

Day 10: Sagres -> Salema (12.1 miles)

(Video) Surfing was very popular in Portugal. Many of the beaches had decently sized waves and lots of surfers trying to ride them.

Day 11: Salema -> Luz (7.1 miles)

(Video) The trail in the south from Sagres onward was very touristy. While the towns in the north were small and mostly filled with hikers, the towns in the south were large beach resorts.
The restaurants were busy- a lot required reservations. Prices were higher. The lodging was mostly hotels and Airbnbs instead of cheap hostels.

Day 12: Luz -> Lagos (6.8 miles)

Getting food after successfully completing the entire Fishermen’s Trail! Saying goodbye to Paula (Germany) and Angela (Canada) who both did the entire trek as well.