Top 10 Reasons You Should Spend Thanksgiving in Portugal with Your Family
Looking for Thanksgiving vacation ideas for families? Visiting Portugal in November just might be the answer you’re looking for.
We spent Thanksgiving in Portugal with our 2, 4, and 6-year-old sons, and absolutely fell in love with the country.
Here are the top 10 reasons you should spend Thanksgiving in Portugal with your family this year (in no particular order):
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Portugal is super family-friendly.
I was actually shocked at how family-friendly Portugal was. Traveling internationally with your kids can seem a little daunting, but we never once felt out of place by having little kids with us on this trip.
In fact, we actually felt like it was helpful to have them with us, as we got priority entrance to lots of the main attractions (and even customs at the airport!) since we were traveling with young kids.
Read everything you need to know about traveling to Portugal with young kids here.
There is plenty to do and see.
Even though it’s off-season, things are still open and lively in November. Plus the variety of things to see is nothing short of amazing.
I mean in just over a week, we toured a big city, explored castles and palaces, gazed out at beautiful limestone cliffs and rock formations, and watched waves crash up on the coast.
Whether you want a city, mountain, historical, or beach vacation, you really can find it all here. And since Portugal doesn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, we didn’t have to worry about things being closed on Thanksgiving Day.
To check out everything we did in Portugal in November (and more specifically, Sintra, Lagos, and Lisbon in November), take a look at our full itinerary here.
Portugal has a rich history.
Ok, ok…I know celebrating Thanksgiving is all about U.S. history. But that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate Thanksgiving while also learning about and experiencing the history of another country, right?
Portugal’s history goes back long before that of the U.S. In fact, the Portuguese played a huge role in exploration during the era in which the Americas were discovered.
The weather in Portugal in November is nice.
When you spend Thanksgiving in Portugal, the average temperatures make it very comfortable to walk around in (and you’ll be doing lots of walking, so it’s really nice to not have to worry about sweating due to hot temperatures!).
In Lisbon, the average high in November is 64 degrees and the average low is 53 degrees. If you make your way down to the Algarve region of Portugal, you can expect highs around 66 degrees and lows around 52 degrees. We were lucky enough to have some days that were even a little warmer than that, too.
It is a bit of a rainy season in November, but during our time there, the rain didn’t hold us back at all. It rained a little each day. But when it did rain, it was very light and short-lived.
We each had fleece-lined rain jackets, which was the perfect combination to combat the rain when needed while also providing a little warmth during the chilly mornings.
Click here to see the rain jacket I wore. And click here to see the rain jackets the boys wore.
It’s very affordable.
This was honestly one of the biggest selling points of spending Thanksgiving in Portugal. When we started researching where we’d like to visit for the holiday, we couldn’t get over how affordable the flights and hotels were.
Since it was off-season, it seemed like hotels were half the price (if not less!) than normal. We actually kept double-checking the prices thinking the quote was per night and not for our entire stay.
It’s easy to get to Portugal from the U.S.
There are options for direct flights from the U.S. to Lisbon, and we very eagerly jumped at that opportunity. When traveling with 3 young kids, we fly direct as often as we possibly can.
In this case, we were on a direct flight out of O’Hare in Chicago. In less than 8 hours, we were landing in Lisbon. And since it was an overnight flight, the boys (mostly) slept. Easy as that.
There are fewer tourists visiting Portugal in November.
Hitting on that off-season point again! November brings much fewer tourists than the summer months.
Because of that, the main attractions were not nearly as busy as usual. Pair that with the fact that we like to get to places early (usually as soon as they open), and we were able to see some places without any tourists at all.
The food is delicious (and so is the wine!).
Portuguese food may not be your typical Thanksgiving Day meal. But trust me, you’ll still eat and drink well! We didn’t have a bad bite or sip on our entire trip.
Instead of turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie, we feasted on fish, croquettes, and pasteis de nata. The Portuguese restaurants offer such a variety that even the pickiest eaters in our group were able to find something they liked.
You can take advantage of the time off school by going to Portugal during Thanksgiving break.
This was the first year we had to worry about a real school schedule with our little ones because my oldest is a big kindergartener now! (I won’t lie…I’m a little bummed that we have to plan our travel at least somewhat around school breaks now.)
Most, if not all, schools have at least some sort of break around Thanksgiving, so it’s a great time to sneak some travel in!
Luckily for us, my son got a whole week off for Thanksgiving. We also felt comfortable allowing him to miss a few days of school leading up to the break, so we had a good chunk of time to work with.
You can get away from the stress of the holidays.
Listen, I truly love the holidays, but there is definitely some amount of stress that comes along with them. It was so nice to get away with my family and enjoy their company without worrying about if the turkey was cooked to perfection or the house was spotless.
Plus it just so happened to work out that we returned to the States the day after Thanksgiving and celebrated Thanksgiving with my family that weekend. So we got our Thanksgiving meal after all. It was the best of both worlds.
Wrap-Up: Thanksgiving in Portugal
At the end of the day, Thanksgiving is all about enjoying time with our family, giving thanks, and being grateful for all that we have. And to say I was grateful for all the family memories we made on this trip would be an understatement.
So, if you’re looking for Thanksgiving vacation ideas for families this year, hopefully, this article talked you into at least considering Portugal.
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