Portugal Solo Female Travel Safety Tips and Advice

On this page you will find first-hand, unbiased, and real safety tips, advice and reviews from women traveling solo, submitted directly from their personal experiences in the country.

Their opinions are unfiltered and submitted independently as part of the Solo Female Travel Safety Index, a ranking of 210 countries and regions based on how safe they are for women traveling solo.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers.

You don’t need to login to read the below reviews. But do sign up or login to share your solo travel experiences, country safety rating and comments.

Portugal Country data

We have compiled a few data points below that can help you better understand Portugal and have more context when thinking about travel safety.

Official country name: Portuguese Republic.

Etymology: Name derives from the Roman designation "Portus Cale" meaning "Port of Cale". Cale was an ancient Celtic town and port in present-day northern Portugal.

Capital: Lisbon.

Independence / foundation: The Kingdom of Portugal was recognized in 1143 but was under a union with Spain for much of the 16th and part of the 17th century. It finally achieved independence from Spain in 1668.

Following its heyday as a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822.

A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy and a republic was officially proclaimed. This Republic lasted until 1926 when the National Dictatorship was initiated. Thi lasted until 1974 when a revolution and military coup overthrew the government and Portugal moved towards democracy. It also granted independence to all its colonies in Angola, Sao Tome e Principe, Mozambique and Cabo Verde.

Population: 10 million.

Currency: Euro (EUR)
1 USD = 0.91 - 0.93

Time zone: UTC 0

Languages spoken: Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official, but locally used).

Religions: Roman Catholic 81%, other Christian 3%, other (includes Jewish, Muslim) <1%, none 7%, unspecified 8%.

Climate: Maritime temperate that is cool and rainy in the north, and warmer and drier in south.

Real GDP (ppp – purchasing power parity): $372.33 billion.

Real GDP per capita (ppp): $35,800.

Main airports: Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon Portela Airport), Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport, Faro Airport.

World heritage sites in Portugal

There are over 1,100 world heritage sites spread across more than 165 countries. New ones are added every year, and some may be removed from the list for various reasons.

Number of UNESCO listed sites: 17.

Top world heritage sites:

- Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon.
- Alto Douro Wine Region.
- Cultural Landscape of Sintra.
- Convent of Christ in Tomar.
- Monastery of Batalha.
- Historic Centre of Évora.
- Monastery of Alcobaça.
- Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores.
- Historic Centre of Oporto, Luiz I Bridge and Monastery of Serra do Pilar.
- Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde.
- Laurisilva of Madeira.
- Historic Centre of Guimarães and Couros Zone.
- Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture.
- Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its Fortifications.
- University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia.
- Royal Building of Mafra – Palace, Basilica, Convent, Cerco Garden and Hunting Park (Tapada).
- Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga.

Interesting facts about Portugal

- Portuguese is the official language of 9 countries, all of which were former colonies. Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Principe, Sao Tome, and Equatorial Guinea all speak Porguese. The language is also spoken in Goa in India, Macao on the south coast of China, and East Timor in southeast Asia.

- Lisbon, the capital city, is home to the oldest bookstore in the world. Livraria Bertrand was founded in 1732 and is still in operation.

- Portugal has its own genre of music. Fado music is a form of Portuguese singing that dates back to the 1820s.

- Portugal is the biggest cork producer in the world and produces more than 50% of the world’s cork supply.

- Lisbon was almost completely destroyed in 1755 when an earthquake, followed by a tsunami, hit the city on All Saint's Day and the candles that were lit to honor the dead burned the city to the ground.

Further reading: N/A.

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Portugal Travel tips

More about Portugal on Solo Female Travelers

- Portugal tour (join waitlist)

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About the Solo Female Travel Safety Index

Safety matters to solo female travelers, you told us so in our annual Solo Female Travel Survey, where year after year, women prove that this is their most important concern when traveling solo.

We wanted to do something about it, so we built these country-specific pages where you can find reviews and scores for 7 key variables affecting the safety of women traveling solo.

How to use the Safety Index

On this page, you will find the country score and the personal opinions on safety of other women traveling solo.

You can sort the comments by:

• The level of experience traveling solo of the reviewer (beginner = <5 trips solo, Intermediate = 5 to 10 trips solo, Experienced = >10 trips solo).
• The age of the traveler.
• Whether they are a visitor or local.
• The date they were posted.

The safety scores range from 1 to 4 with 1 being the safest and 4 being the most dangerous for solo female travelers. 

Thus, the lower the score, the safer the country.

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Looking for more safety resources?

This entire website is devoted to helping women travel solo. Check out the links below to learn more:

Solo Female Travel Stats: Results from the the largest, most comprehensive and only global research study on solo female travel trends, preferences and behaviors published.

Thanks to Jacobo Vilella for creating the Solo Female Travelers Safety Index ❤️