Portugal on the Road with Pets | Guide and Itineraries

We visited Portugal by campervan with our dog and cat in December 2022, in a period not much travelled by tourism, and therefore with more ease in finding a spot to stay (keep in mind free camping has been banned in this country since 2021!). The weather wasn’t the most favourable, but we still got to admire beautiful places!

We decided to split the itineraries into 4 regions: the north and Porto, the centre and Lisbon, the Alentejo coast, and the south with the Algarve. In this article we share the stops and useful tips for visiting the country, including with your pet, pointing you to the specific articles for details on each town or place to visit. Vamos!

Itineraries

The stops we list below were all reached aboard our small van, but you can do them by motorbike, car or a larger vehicle too.

The North and Porto

Discovering Porto and three other towns of Northern Portugal:

• Valença
• Viana do Castelo
• Braga
• Porto

You’ll find the full itinerary here.

From Aveiro to Lisbon

Towns with colourful house walls and unforgettable ocean waves. Discovering Lisbon and many other small gems of central Portugal:

• Aveiro
• Coimbra
• Tomar
• Nazaré
• Óbidos
• Peniche
• Silveira
• Ericeira and Mafra
• Cabo da Roca
• Sintra
• Cascais
• Lisbon

You’ll find the full itinerary here.

The Alentejo

• Alcácer do Sal
• Sines
• Zambujeira do Mar
• Vila Nova de Milfontes
• Odeceixe
• Bordeira

You’ll find the full itinerary here.

The Algarve

One of the most renowned destinations in Portuguese tourism: stunning beaches, fantastic cliffs, surfing!

• Sagres
• Lagos
• Portimão
• Ferragudo
• Silves
• Albufeira
• Faro
• Tavira

You’ll find the full itinerary here.

Roads

In Portugal you’ll find motorways (AE), expressways, split into ‘Itinerários Principais’ (IP) and ‘Itinerários Complementares’ (IC), national roads (EN) and local roads.

To drive on motorways you pay a toll, which can be collected at a tollbooth, where present, or only electronically.

On motorways with tollbooths, payment is made in cash or by credit or debit card; there’s also another payment method, Via Verde, via bank direct debit, for those with an electronic device bought at the dedicated sales points  . The Via Verde system is also available for vehicles with foreign plates thanks to Via Verde Visitors, a rental device that lets you drive and pay at all toll road infrastructure (including those with an exclusively electronic system, and bridges).

We only drove on local and national roads, although on some stretches they weren’t in the best condition.

Services and stops

Unlike other European countries, it’s not that easy to find equipped stopover areas (especially in the south), and it’s especially hard to find water fill-up points. You will, however, find plenty of public fountains to fill bottles and water bottles. Alternatively, you can ask campsites to just use the paid facilities.

Since 2021, free camping has been strictly forbidden. During autumn and winter it’s “tolerated” in some areas. Camping is always banned: the police will fine you even for just a chair left outside!

Travelling with your pet

To travel within Europe with your pet you need to have:

• passport
• microchip
• valid rabies vaccination

Check whether your pet's breed is allowed in the country you're visiting. We recommend always being careful in crowded places, as people might be scared of your pet which is why we always keep our pets on a leash. In many cases a muzzle is required, so we recommend keeping one handy.

We recommend bringing a bowl (we use one that clips conveniently onto a backpack) and a water bottle if the day is particularly hot.

Reflections and unmissable stops

By campervan or car, in our opinion the unmissable destinations are:

• Viana do Castelo: a genuinely lovely town. Bad weather takes away some of its charm, but if you can, stroll through its streets without rushing.
• Porto: we saw Porto with a huge amount of construction work going on. It genuinely embodies the Portuguese spirit of saudade.
• Coimbra: a lovely town; we loved strolling through both its parks and its little streets. Seeing the students in uniform makes you want to go straight back to school!
• Cabo da Roca: moving at any time of day, but if you happen to walk along the cliffs when the curious crowds trying to capture just the sunset have left, or early in the morning… it offers stunning views and makes you understand the urge to go looking for what’s beyond the sea!
• Lisbon: a lively, elegant city offering plenty to do and see.
• Alentejo: less touristy, but if you love nature and the coast, it’s the place for you.
• Algarve: we didn’t love the towns in this region, but the cliffs are definitely worth a visit.

Our vlog

You can find the full series of our adventures in Portugal at this link  .