CHRISTMAS IN Portugal

"I just booked your flight. You leave tomorrow morning," said Mum's Whatsapp message.

The news was surprising, to say the least, seeing as a week before that I hadn't even been sure I'd be travelling at all this Christmas. Nevertheless, I mentally hopped on board the last-minute plans and started packing for my trip. 

We were going to Portugal for Christmas - one of the European countries that I've been looking forward to visiting for a while now. ​I have to admit, though, that I didn't know much about it before we travelled; and this became clearer and clearer during our first few days there...

I flew into Faro airport in Faro, but we were staying in a small town called Salema in the same city. We soon learnt that Salema is one of the more quiet areas in the Algarve region, which I was really happy about. I'd just completed my most stressful semester at Uni. yet, and was in dire need of some serious 'RnR' in a peaceful setting. I slept in for the first few days; but afterwards, I had to go back to setting my alarm as we had some serious exploring to do.😎
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We made a trip down to Salema Beach on Christmas day, but sadly we didn't see much of Salema apart from that. We also spent a bit of time in Albufeira, where we did a bit of shopping in the Algarve Shopping Mall and spent an entire day in Lagos. Apart from visiting Ponta da Piedade (read post here) - which has been on my bucket list for a while now - we also booked a tuk-tuk tour in Lagos with Tukano Tuk Tours, which ended up teaching us so much about not only this historically rich town but also about the entire country. In my opinion, the tour was one of the best decisions we made on this holiday. 😉
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As always, I hope you enjoy browsing through the pictures and watching the vlog; and I hope you learn something new about Portugal as you do so!

But before that, here are my *5 Tips for Planning A Trip to Portugal:

1. If you're planning to travel during the Christmas season, make sure you finalize your plans as early as possible. It's a popular time to travel and can get busy fast.
2. Consider staying at one of the less popular areas of Portugal, like Faro. There's so much to do and see there.
3. Before your trip, do a bit of research on what activities you'd like to do while you're there. Some places might be closed for the Christmas season and it's better to know that beforehand.
4. Make sure you visit Ponta da Piedade. It's a place like no other and, in my opinion, should be on everyone's 'Places to Visit In Portugal' list.
5. Lastly, take a tuk-tuk tour of Lagos while you're there. I've included the details of the one we took below. The driver is very entertaining and seems to know Lagos like the back of his hand. And by the time your tour comes to an end, you'll feel like you know about this city, too.

Website: www.tukanotours.com
Facebook: facebook.com/tukanotours

- ✗O✗O.
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