Culture, nature, beautiful architecture, and affordable food is what makes Portugal one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. While most might only stop by in Lisbon, we visited a few other cities to seek out the best places to visit in Portugal.
Our adventure begins in Lisbon, Portugal’s vibrant and cosmopolitan capital city. Here, we’ll explore the city’s old-town streets and historic landmarks like Rua Nova Do Carvalho, The Belem Tower, and The Sanctuary of Christ The King.
Next, we travel through Algarve, Cascais, Sintra and Porto where there are endless beaches, wine-tours, and the famous Benagil Cave. And of course, we had to visit the rumoured birthplace of Harry Potter — Livraria Lello.
Although we could mostly get around on foot and public transportation, activities like tile making and visiting the Benagil Cave are best experienced on a tour — links to the tours we went on in Portugal can be found below and in our 10-day Portugal Itinerary.
While we splurged quite a bit on unique experiences around Portugal, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that we spent under S$2k each over 10 days!
Use Our Guide to Plan Your Own Portugal Itinerary: 10-Day Portugal Itinerary for less than S$2k incl. Flights From Singapore
SYDNEY – 0:38
0:41 – Bondi Beach – One of Australia’s most famous beaches and home to the iconic Bondi Icebergs swimming pool.
0:52 – Bondi Icebergs Pool – The home of the Bondi Icebergs Club (a winter swimming club dating back to 1929!) and overlooks Bondi Beach.
0:57 – Speedos Café – Speedos Cafe was named the world’s most Instagrammable cafe in 2020. It’s located along Bondi Beach, making it a convenient post-surf brunch spot.
0:59 – Four Ate Five – A popular cafe in Surry Hills. They serve Middle-Eastern-inspired food and we had the shakshuka (AU$19.50) and 485 breakfast plate (AU$23).
1:00 – The Grounds of Alexandria – One of Sydney’s most aesthetic cafes.
WATSONS BAY – 1:02
1:06 – The Gap Lookout
1:09 – Sunset at Homby Lighthouse – Located right at the tip of Watsons Bay — you might spot migrating whales during the winter months of May to November!
1:13 – Cockatoo Island – A UNESCO World Heritage island established as a prison in 1839, where convicts were put to work, toiling away at ambitious building projects. Today, the island is an arts and cultural centre.
1:20 – Ku-ring Gai Chase National Park – Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park is Australia’s second oldest national park — just a 45min drive from Sydney.
1:28 – Topham Track – A short 3.7km return hike (2hrs) that traverses open woodlands and ends with views of Refuge Bay.
1:32 – American Bay Track – A 1.8km return hike (1hr) that leads to a large rock platform and waterfall looking out to America Bay.
CASCAIS & SINTRA – 1:33
1:52 – Iris Lodge Alpacas – Home to around 70 alpacas, plus llamas, sheep, horses, and cows!
2:04 – Firescreek Botanical Winery – Wine lovers can pick from a variety of experiences like Chocolate and Wine Pairing or a Foraaging and Mixology Workshop.
2:13 – Long Jetty – A small town in Central Coast known for its scenic jetties.
BLUE MOUNTAINS – 2:20
2:34 – High & Wild Abseiling Tour – The Blue Mountains is a haven for outdoor sports, so we went on a half-day abseiling tour!
SOUTH COAST – 2:41
2:47 – Grand Pacific Drive Motorcycle Tour – This motorcycle tour was a unique experience — we sat on a rare BOOM trike; there are only 200 of these bikes in Australia!
2:50 – Sea Cliff Bridge – One of Australia’s most iconic road trip routes!
2:52 – Berrima – We had lunch at General Store Cafe in a small town called Berrima in order to break up our long drive.
2:57 – Fitzroy Falls at Morton National Park – A short 150m walk from the carpark, Fitzroy Falls Lookout offers closeup views of the 81m waterfall.
3:00 – Jim Wild’s Oysters – Jim Wild’s Oysters is a rustic family-run oyster farm, established in 1979.
3:14 – Illawarra Fly Treetop Walk Illawarra Fly Adventure Treetop is Australia’s highest zipline. There are three ziplines, with the longest one reaching 106m!
Check Flights to Sydney
We didn’t include flights in our budget since flight prices fluctuate depending on the season. Pro-tip for the cheapest flight fares, set up a price alert about three to six months ahead so you’ll be notified of price drops.
If you can’t see the widget above, click here to check flights from Singapore to Sydney instead!
New South Wales
Things to do in Sydney
Things to do in Ku-ring-Gai Chase National Park
Things to do in Central Coast
Things to do in Blue Mountains
Things to do in South Coast
This NSW video guide only covers the highlights of our New South Wales road trip. For the full itinerary including accommodation and food recommendations, as well as things to do in Port Stephens, check out our 13D Best of New South Wales Itinerary — Hidden Gems and Epic Getaways From Sydney Under S$2.3k.
