Is Portugal Safe for Solo Female Travelers?

Solo travel experience

Felt safe! Beautiful and clean, great local music in Lisboa! Loved la costa de Caprica and stay in the Hostel Natural Mystic. The people are really friendly and there are great tours on at most of the hostels. Recommend staying in the city centre if you’re more interested in night life as there’s 400 bars in one area! But if you like the beach the coast is better then just taxi into town if you want.

Group travel experience

Interrail pass of Portugal. We traveled as 3 girls; two were 17 and one was 18. **First city: Porto** We got there at night using public transportation, which is not difficult to understand. We stayed in a centric hostel that was AMAZING and not very expensive: Lost Inn Porto. We had a quick dinner and went out to a club for tourists in Galerias de Paris, a street with a lot of little clubs. The next day we did a “free” tour in the evening about the mysterious secrets of Porto. It was interesting and the guide was quite nice, but I don't know if I’d do that again. I think I would prefer to spend the sunset watching it from the typical mirador across the Don Luis bridge. That night we went partying at Eskada, a Portuguese club. We took a cab and we felt safe. Even though the Portuguese guys were very direct and kind of “touchy,” we didn’t feel offended or unsafe and had a very good time. We took another cab at 6 am, and again everything was alright. **Second city: Lisbon** We took two trains to get there, and everything was nice and correct. We stayed in a hostel that was also very good, but I can’t find it right now, maybe it’s closed. The city felt safe during the day, and at night one friend and I decided to party. It’s true that some older boys approached us in the street, but it didn’t feel aggressive or uncomfortable. It was easy to get out of the situation, haha. We met very nice girls who shared a cab with us to Mome club. Again, the boys were a little touchy but nothing more. The next day we used the public transport and it was nice and very understandable. **Third city: Lagos** We stayed in an apartment in the center, which was very nice. The beaches were nice and not too crowded. The nightlife was chiller as the clubs closed around 2 am. However, boys do approach you, but again not aggressively, and we did have some drunk men catcalling us, but not offensively. **Fourth city: Olhao, near Faro** We stayed at Pension Bicuar. It was nice, but there was a problem with our last day of reservation and we had to book an apartment at the last minute. The first night we partied at the famous Albufeira strip (40 minutes away from Olhao). We got there by cab. I must warn you that there are a lot of drunk people, mostly English and German. They may approach you, or in my case even follow you, but we didn’t experience anything that felt scary. There are a lot of clubs with English music, but at 2 am when these started to close, we discovered Disco Club that closes around 6 am, with very good Spanish music. I totally recommend you go there. The next morning back in Olhao we took a ferry to the island of Armona. You can buy the tickets there the same day, and they were pretty affordable (more or less they cost 4€ round trip). It was amazing; people there are so nice, and the beaches are long. We went the next day too. I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT. That night we went partying in Faro, and that city had the worst nightlife of all. There were a lot of cocktail bars but only one big club, and it was not very good. I wouldn’t recommend partying in Faro that much, but it did feel safe. Overall, we felt very safe being 3 girls traveling alone for the first time. Portugal is safe, and the boys are direct and a bit touchy (That’s my experience), but that’s all. I would say most of them are really nice and respectful. I loved my trip, totally recommend it even if you travel alone.

Solo travel experience

I loved my time in Portugal. Very safe country, warm, easy to get around, friendly, full of history and culture, great cities to explore, and gorgeous beaches.

Solo travel experience

I stayed in Porto and Lisbon. I liked it very much, I think it is safe. I stayed in hostels, they were very safe too. I think their food is cheaper than other European countries. I stayed in both cities for a total of 3 days. I spent 55 euros in total. I went to the city center and walked to the sightseeing places from there. There were also remote places, but I could not go to them due to my limited time. The people were very friendly. And they were very lively cities. There was entertainment everywhere.

Couple travel experience

As a lesbian couple we felt very safe, sometimes a bit cautious with pda in public but I think that’s just part of being queer as I feel like this even in my home town at times. We went to Portimaõ in the algarve and it was lovely even though weather was a bit rainy. One thing I wish I knew more about before we got there is that public transport is not as easy as some guides say. The schedules are very spread out and you really need to plan what bus or train to get. Also get a bus card, they have ones from 2-7 days and is way cheaper than paying as you go. Another thing is that cash is still very much the primary payment method so keep that in mind. Overall would recommend and we would love to go back!

Solo travel experience

I spent 9 days in Portugal, including Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, and Lagos, and it was an amazing experience. The people were lovely and I never felt uncomfortable or unsafe travelling alone. I arrived at the perfect time, just before the high season, when the weather just became perfect.

Solo travel experience

I spent 2 weeks in Portugal visiting Porto, Sintra, Lisbon, and Albufeira. Traveling alone, I felt completely safe wherever I was. I would definitely recommend traveling to Portugal. It's a beautiful country, with friendly people, great food (Pastel de nata is my new favorite dessert), and in my opinion, it's a very safe country.

Solo travel experience

Very safe and nice town, lots of young people, surfing city vibe, amazing restaurants and beaches. A rental car would be useful to check out places and beaches, surfing conditions for beginners and pros.

Solo travel experience

I spent there over 2 weeks in May and felt very safe as a woman traveling alone, and the people were very nice, and everything was very affordable compared to other major European cities. I visited Porto, Lisbon, and Lagos by bus - (really easy transportation between each city) and each city was so beautiful. Portugal has become one of my favorite countries that I have visited.

Solo travel experience

I felt very safe, public transport was easy to use, and most people spoke English. I traveled by bus from Lisbon to Porto. I participated in several culinary, wine, and historical tours, all led by very enthusiastic and knowledgeable locals.

It is a quiet, calming and overall safe country, you can even walk at night almost everywhere (beaches, mountains, cities, villages) Everyone is very focused on their own lives so you do not have anything to worry about.

I feel really free and safe all around so far. I have been to Algarve, Lisbon and Castello Branco and although strange strangers blooped in, I felt safe and I never had a bad experience or any boundary croses

Couple travel experience

I find that Portugal is a magnificent country between the Algarve and Lisbon! It's beautiful, there's the sea, now I can't wait to go to Porto. I'm already looking forward to returning to this country and visiting new places.

Solo travel experience

Portugal is a beautiful country. However, a guy grabbed my breast on a street in Lisbon ... I was in shocked that it occurred in the capital in a popular st. However, the people are lovely. I particularly liked the old ladies as they will give me advice and share their stories with me. Coffee is very strong and pastries are delicious!