Portugal with Kids: Itinerary, Tips and My Honest Take

Family travel to Portugal with kids: honest recap of our spring break family trip to Portugal covering Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais and Porto.

We just got back from nine nights in Portugal with our kids and this episode covers everything — what worked, what surprised us, and what you need to know before you go. We share our full itinerary across Lisbon and Porto, a night in Cascais after a Sintra day trip, our honest take on navigating Celiac disease in Portugal, why our whole family liked Porto better than Lisbon, a private Douro Valley day trip, and a few things we'd do differently. Links to all tours, hotels, and resources mentioned are below.

TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Introduction 
4:00 Lisbon with kids 
17:30 Sintra and Cascais 
21:00 Jewish history tour and Day 5 in Lisbon 
23:30 Porto with kids
27:00 Douro Valley day trip
28:30 Wrapping up

LINKS

Tours & Experiences
2-hour Lisbon tuk tuk tour
Lisbon food tour
Quake Lisbon
Oceanário de Lisboa
Private Sintra day trip
Pena Palace Park and/or Interior
Moorish Castle in Sintra
Jewish Lisbon tour
Daytrip – Douro Valley private day trip
Tile painting workshop in Porto
Livraria Lello in Porto

Where to Stay
Hyatt Regency Lisbon 
Hotel Baia, Cascais
Líbere Porto Laranjais

Resources
Portugal With Kids Itinerary
Best Things to Do in Lisbon With Kids
Where to Stay in Lisbon With Kids
Where to Stay in Porto With Kids

Books
The Girl with the Secret Name
Rick Steves Portugal

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Transcript

0:02

Hey there and welcome back to Family Travel Unpacked. I'm your host Melissa, and in case you're new here, you can always find tons of detailed destination guides, travel tips, hacks, and more on my website, thefamilyvoyage.com. And if you've been enjoying the show, be sure to hit follow wherever you're listening so you never miss an episode and drop a five star review while you're here'cause it really helps other families find the show. Today, I am so excited to share our spring break trip to Portugal with you. It's been a full month since we got back, so I've had plenty of time to collect my thoughts and I have a lot to say. Some of it's very positive and some of it may be a little less flattering. And I hope all of it is useful if you're thinking about visiting Portugal with your own family. We spent nine nights total: four nights in Lisbon, one night in the coastal town of Cascais after a day trip to Sintra, and then four nights in Porto. Okay, that's a lie. If you caught episode 33 back in March, you already know that we actually got a bonus night in Lisbon at the end there thanks to a series of mess up by United Airlines. But anyway. I can tell you upfront, our whole family came home with a clear favorite between the two big cities, and it might not be the one you expect. We are gonna talk through the full trip today, what we did, what worked, what didn't, what we might do differently and what you need to know before you go. I'll also share a few moments that were really unexpected, in both directions, so stay with me. There's a lot to cover. Also, if anyone out there speaks Portuguese, please forgive me for my terrible pronunciation. I'm trying, but it's a tough language, even though I speak French and Spanish. Let's start with how we got there, because the routing was a little unconventional for us. Portugal's a surprisingly short flight from the East coast, barely seven hours. In theory, that should work in our favor, but it can still be tough to get to those East Coast hubs without spending an arm and a leg or sitting at a connecting airport for 13 hours. Our initial plan was to fly united out of Cleveland with a connection at Dulles or Newark because I was watching the award availability from Columbus for months, and the prices just never came down to a level that I was comfortable with. But no one in their right mind wants to drive two hours and then take two flights, including a red eye. So we pivoted. We flew ourselves to Washington National on Southwest, using points and our Southwest companion passes. So that leg was basically free. Then after a nice long layover and dinner with my family, we caught a nonstop tap air Portugal flight from Dulles to Lisbon. I did pay a little extra for what tap calls comfort economy. It's got a bit more leg room and slightly nicer seats. I think it was worth it for an overnight transatlantic flight given that I couldn't find cheap award tickets in business class. If you want the full breakdown of how we used points for this Portugal trip, head back to episode 30 where I talk through the whole strategy as a case study. But today we're gonna focus on the trip itself. One thing I wanna flag right away about the Lisbon Airport is it's a mess, at least for American families right now. We waited for almost an hour in passport control on arrival, and we were lucky. I've heard stories of families waiting three or even four hours. There are electronic gates that are available to us passport holders, but only if everyone in your party is 18 or older. There are a lot of countries now that can use those electronic gates as long as they've got a biometric passport. Europeans get their own line. Families with children under two can use the priority lane. But everyone else like us? Stuck in the general queue. My advice is to start your Portugal trip in Lisbon so that long line happens when you arrive and just need to get to your hotel rather than when you're trying to catch your flight home. That was our plan, but unfortunately, United foiled it and we ended up having to fly back home from Lisbon and we just barely made our flight. Also, make sure everybody uses the restroom and refills their water before passport control because you could be standing there for a long time. Okay. Lisbon, not the airport. Lisbon's a beautiful, historic and ultra photogenic city, and I wanna say that sincerely before I start to tell you that it is also majorly suffering from overtourism. Even when we were visiting in mid-March, which is the shoulder season. It felt really crowded. Our guides told us that in summer it's just wall to wall tourists. So I'd encourage you to visit in the shoulder season if you can, because even then you're gonna wanna manage your expectations about having peaceful uncrowded moments at the big sites. It's just not gonna happen. The city's also extremely hilly. I mean, in some places it feels more like hiking than strolling. That's definitely part of the charm, but it's something to know going in, especially if you're traveling with younger kids or anybody with mobility limitations. Now on our first day, I knew we'd be tired after the red eye, so I just scheduled a two hour, tuk tuk tour=for four o'clock that first afternoon. Tuk Tuks are really popular in Lisbon, in part because it's so hilly. It's a great way to get it to the top without straining yourself. And honestly, it was the perfect call. We didn't have to think hard. We weren't navigating on tired legs, and we got a great overview of all of the city's main neighborhoods, the key landmarks and the most scenic overlooks in the city. Our guide took photos of our family at the best spots, and he gave us really helpful suggestions on where to eat and which areas to prioritize and what was just a tourist trap. But fair warning, there are a lot of, tuk tuk operators in Lisbon and the quality can vary. We booked ours in advance on Viatour and I was really happy with it. So I'll link down in the show notes and I recommend doing the two hour option instead of one of the shorter or longer ones. Two hours was kind of a sweet spot, felt just right to us, On our second day, we kicked it off with a food tour, which I recommend in concept, but with a caveat. I booked a private tour specifically because of our family's dietary needs. Our daughter, Shoshana, has celiac disease and we also don't pork and shellfish, which is a lot of the food they serve in Portugal. A private tour, in theory, is a better bet than a group tour because we have more control over the stops. Unfortunately, the tour that we booked didn't meet our expectations, so I'm not gonna recommend that specific operator. But there is a silver lining while we were out enjoying some pastel de nata on our own- there are these incredible little egg custard filled pastries that you can find in a lot of parts of Portugal- I happened to run into a guide named Helena who was running a different food tour. Her group was clearly having a great time and as she and I were chatting in line, she gave us a bunch of suggestions for gluten-free options for our daughter. And then an hour later she texted me with even more recommendations and she wasn't even my guide. if that's the kind of attention she's giving to somebody who isn't even one of her customers, I think she must do a great job with the folks on her tour. If you wanna book a food tour in Lisbon, I'll link to the tour that she runs down in the show notes. When you book, be sure to request Helena M specifically. Now since we're talking about food, I have to be honest with you about dealing with celiac disease in Portugal. I think our trip to Italy kind of lulled us into a false sense of security about eating our way through Europe. In Italy, when you mention Celiac, almost every restaurant says, no problem. It's very well understood there and people respect your needs. Unfortunately, Portugal was kind of a different story. We were turned away from some restaurants because they just didn't have anything to offer. The places that could reliably accommodate Shoshana tended to be either very simple spots serving straightforward grilled fish, or really upscale restaurants. By the way, shout out to the guys at Tasco in Porto. For by far the most memorable meal of our trip, which was also the most expensive by a multiple, but it was literally the only gluten-free option we could find at that hour. The mid-range casual restaurants tended to be the hardest, and my daughter definitely felt it. On one of our first days, she turned to me and said, did you guys even research the food before this trip? I'll admit, that stung a little. Not gonna lie. The one dedicated gluten-free spot we found in Lisbon was Bali Do Cais, which is certified by the Portuguese Celiac Association. They even have gluten-free pastel If you're traveling with a Celiac kid, put that one on your list for sure. There are some other dedicated or mostly gluten-free options around Lisbon, but they're mostly outside of the city center. Meanwhile, my son Jacob was living his best life. He was getting pastel de nata at least once a day, but usually twice, and he was obsessed with the fresh fish everywhere. So the food experience definitely depends on which kid you ask. Anyway, after the food tour, we headed up to igreja de Sao Vicente de Fora. It's a beautiful church with extraordinary painted azulejo tiles all over. In Portugal, azulejos, those painted decorative tiles are basically everywhere, and they're stunning. I love seeing all the different patterns and pictures. At this church they tell entire stories in intricate painted scenes. We went mid-March and had the place basically to ourselves, which was wonderful, and definitely not like the rest of Lisbon. The rooftop there also has amazing views over the city and the river, so be sure to check it out. We also spent time that afternoon just wandering. That's what the kids wanted to do, and it was a great choice We made another stop at Manteigaria, which was our daily pastel de nata spot, and we visited livraria Bertrand, which is a bookstore that's been operating continuously since 1732, making it the world's longest running bookstore. Our kids love the independent bookstore in our neighborhood at home, but these Portuguese bookstores are on a completely different scale. They're really cultural institutions. Bertrand is housed in a historic building, and it's way less crowded than the more famous Livraria Lello in Porto that we'll talk about in a little bit. on our third day in Lisbon, we went to the Belem neighborhood, which is just west of Central Lisbon. If you stay at the Hyatt Regency Lisbon like we did, and I'll talk about that more in a minute, it's a pretty easy flat walk from the hotel, which was a welcome change from the rest of the city. The centerpiece of Belem is the. Mosteiro dos Jerónimos And it is spectacular. The intricate stone work on the exterior and the interior is unlike anything I've ever seen. Be sure to buy your timed tickets in advance though, and there can be a long wait, even with a ticket. That line is completely unsheltered, by the way, so we had a really hot and sunny morning. But if you're stuck in the rain, you're stuck in the rain. Thankfully, we had picked up books at Livraria Bertrand the day before, so the kids at least had reading material for our hour long wait. And one Heads up, the Torre de Belem the iconic tower that appears on what feels like virtually every Portugal travel book- it was closed for restoration during our visit, and it's expected to remain closed for a while longer. I'd check the current status before your trip. Also, the National Tile Museum was closed during our visit for restoration. Now that one's expected to reopen in the second half of 2026, but who knows what the progress is like on that project. If it's open when you go, that's supposed to be excellent as well. After the monastery, we headed to Quake. It was a fun highlight of the trip and I think it's the perfect opportunity for kids to feel like they aren't sitting in history class. Quake is an immersive experience, not really a museum, and it tells the story of the massive 1755 earthquake, tsunami and fire that destroyed 85% of Lisbon's buildings and killed up to 20% of its population. You walk through a recreation of what the city was like on that peaceful morning before the disaster. You experience the earthquake itself, and then you learn about the aftermath. What surprised me was how deep it goes into the societal changes that followed- everything from laws about how quickly bodies needed to be buried to rent control provisions designed to help society restabilize. The city's leadership essentially rebuilt, not just the physical city, but its whole social framework. Honestly, it was really fascinating for me as an adult too, and it gave our whole family a lot more context for everything we saw in Lisbon, because you'll hear tons of guides talk about things before the earthquake and after the earthquake. But be sure to book in advance because group sizes are limited, and we actually had to do a later time slot than we wanted to because a school group was there. While you're on that side of town, you can also visit the Palace Fronteira, which has a beautiful tucked away garden that most tourists just don't know about or don't wanna bother to make a trip to. The tiled gardens are really unique and it's super quiet and a great place to decompress after a busy day with big crowds. And for a kid-friendly evening option, we visited the Oceanario de lisboa, the aquarium, which is open until 8:00 PM most days. Going in the evening means that you miss those school groups. By the way, the gift shop there is excellent and the cafe even serves real food. It gets an A plus from our whole family. One more thing we did before we left Lisbon... We spent a morning on a Jewish history tour, which was something that our family definitely wanted to do. Most people know about the Spanish Inquisition in 1492, but they might not realize that it came to Portugal just four years later when the New King wanted to shore up his position by marrying the Princess of Spain. There was a documented Jewish presence in Portugal going back at least to the fourth century and before the Inquisition, Lisbon's Jewish community was deeply involved in trade, medicine and science from, let's say, the 12th through the 15th centuries. The story of what happened in 1496 and beyond is pretty involved. But our guide, Daniel did a wonderful job of tracing it all the way through the city's complicated role in World War ii, it was a transit point for Jews fleeing Europe at the same time that it was a hub for Nazi propagandists and the center of spying for both sides. Before this trip, Shoshana and I had read a book called The Girl With the Secret Name, which is a middle grade level biography that gives a wonderful sense of what Portugal was like during its age of discovery and how things change during the Inquisition. I'd recommend it for any family visiting Portugal, not just families interested in Jewish history. It provides great context for the country and the era. So I'll link it down in the show notes. I'd say the kids were engaged for the first hour and a half or so, which is totally reasonable for a walking history tour. Then they started to fade a little, which is also completely understandable. So this is probably one that's great with teens, manageable with tweens, but might not work well for a younger kid unless they're little enough to just nap in a stroller or a carrier. After four days in Lisbon, we packed up and headed towards Sintra. We hired a private guide named David, and I'd recommend that approach over doing it independently, especially in the busy season. Sintra gets incredibly crowded so private cars aren't permitted in certain areas during peak times and having somebody who knows the best timing and sequencing, it makes a real difference. David even dropped us off at the most convenient spot to enter, then went to park the car somewhere else and ran up the hill to meet us. It was way more work for him, but made everything so much smoother for us. We visited the Pena Palace, which isn't as old as it looks. Most of the construction finished in 1854, although it incorporates a much older monastery. After seeing the exterior and terraces, David led us on an easy hike through the palace ground that almost no visitors take. We had the whole forest to ourselves. There were swans, beautiful water features, secret spots with amazing views of the palace. It was really great. From there, we went to quinta da Regaleira which is the palace in Sintra that kids tend to love most. And I can see why. The properties filled with symbols of the Knight's Templar and Freemasons. And there's a whole series of underground wells, tunnels, and grottos that are speculated to have been used in initiation rituals. But really there are a lot of cool places for kids to run around and hide and give each other jump scares. For the next part of our day, David took us along the wild Atlantic coast, the rugged Clifftop views near the town of Colares, and then to Cabo da Roca, which is the westernmost point of continental Europe. It's incredibly windy, even on a sunny day, but the views are worth it. We spent that night in Cascais, which is a lovely, walkable seaside town. It reminds me of the little lakeside towns in northern Italy. Charming, not overwhelming, and great for an evening stroll. I am sure it's busier in the summer, but in March it was very quiet. I had originally planned for us to stay in Sintra Village itself, but David recommended Cascais instead. And as a local, he was totally right. And since we stayed over in Cascais, the following morning, we had some time to stroll around town, see the big park, and make our way to Boca del Inferno just outside of Cascais. Literally the mouth of hell. It's a dramatic sea cave carved by the waves that just keep pounding over and over and over while you watch. Of all the places we visited in Portugal, Boca del Inferno might have been the biggest hit with the kids. Let me say a quick word about hotels, because Lisbon and Porto can both be tricky for families. The vast majority of hotels in the historic centers have a max capacity of two people per room, and you really can't sneak anyone in because they need to see all of the passports when you check in. If you reach out in advance, some will occasionally have flexibility for really young kids, but for a family of four like ours, you're usually looking at two rooms, which is expensive and inconvenient. There's also a surprising number of adults only hotels in Lisbon, so read carefully when you're booking, and be sure to put in the correct ages for your kids. We opted to stay at the Hyatt Regency Lisbon, which opened in 2022, and it's located in the Belem neighborhood rather than the historic core. The suites here are set up perfectly for families. Separate bedroom, and living room. There's a sleep, sofa, kitchen, dining area, and it had a large balcony. There's even an all-in-one washer dryer, which is fantastic for a longer trip like this. We stayed on World of Hyatt points, which we accumulated through our Chase credit cards. Again, episode 30 has a full breakdown of that, but I'll link to a few of my favorite cards down in the show notes that you can use to stay at the Hyatt Regency Lisbon with no out-of-pocket cost, just like we did. The location isn't as central as what I'd usually choose, but Bolt and Uber rides to the top of Lisbon's Hills were consistently under 10 Euros, so it really wasn't a big deal. And honestly, given how crowded the historic center already was in mid-March, I think being slightly removed was a feature, not a bug. And the flip side is that on the day we went to Belem, we were able to walk there, but if we were staying in the center, we would've had to take a car service. So there are two sides to every coin. Over on the blog, I put together a full rundown of where to stay in Lisbon with kids. I'll link to that in the show notes. There are some great options at different price points and in different neighborhoods depending on what you wanna prioritize. All right. After Lisbon and our Cascais overnight, we took the train north to Porto. We rode one of the inter city trains from Lisbon oriented to Porto. Let me tell you, it's not the dazzling high-speed rail you're gonna find in France or Spain, but it's comfortable enough. We paid a little extra for first class seats, and after walking through second class, I definitely think it was worth it. But like really, if you've traveled by train in someplace like Japan, please temper your expectations. Now, I'm gonna be honest, we weren't really in love with Lisbon, but I feel like now we all have a soft spot for Porto. Here's the thing about Lisbon. And I say this as someone who found a lot to enjoy there: at this point it almost feels like the Disneyland version of itself or something, the tourism is so heavy that the city is really struggling under the weight of it. You're almost always surrounded by other tourists, and while that doesn't ruin the experience, it does change it. Porto felt completely different. Yes, there are tourists and some areas are very visitor focused. But you can also walk through neighborhoods that have really interesting things to see and still encounter portuguese people actually living their lives. It's a real contemporary European city that also happens to have cool history and architecture. Will that be the case in another decade? Hard to say, but right now Porto has a balance that Lisbon has mostly lost, and I get that we are part of the problem since we are visitors too. But I just want you to know what to expect. Porto's also much more compact than Lisbon. We were on foot pretty much the entire time we were there, and after a day or two of walking around, I felt like we could get around the city without looking at our phones all the time. That feeling, of knowing a place, of being able to just turn a corner and know where you're going, I think it's a pretty special experience when you travel. And for Jacob who's 14 and very much in that phase of wanting to feel like he could navigate the world on his own, that was a meaningful experience. So I'll give Porto the award for one of the most teen friendly cities in Europe. Now let me walk you through the highlights. First off, we did a tile painting workshop, and it was one of the most fun things we did on this entire trip. And I say that even though I primarily booked it for our daughter. The workshop leader was patient, encouraging and really helpful in showing us how to mimic traditional Portuguese azulejo styles. But she also let us go fully in our own direction if we wanted. There are a few other tile painting workshops in Lisbon and Porto, but most of them require shipping your tiles home for an additional fee, and that adds a lot of cost and at least a little bit of uncertainty. This particular workshop uses a different paint technique that lets you pick up your finished tile just an hour after you complete it. Much better. You can grab the link down in the show notes. Now to balance things out and play to my son's interests, we also went to an FC Porto soccer match, and the atmosphere there was fantastic. The fans were lively. There was chanting and cheering the whole time, but it was totally fine for kids. And here's one funny detail. There's no alcohol sold inside the stadium, but it is totally legit to smoke in the stands, which I personally think is a bit gross. But the game itself was exciting and it was a great window into Portuguese culture. Back to some daytime activities. The Torre de Clérigos is a beautiful Baroque tower in the heart of the city. It has 225 steps to the top and views that I think are absolutely worth the climb. Three outta four of us found the climb manageable, which I'll count as a win. Livraria Lello deserves its own mention because our kids were obsessed with all the bookstores in Portugal. Like I said, they love our independent bookstore at home, but these places are on another level. Livraria Lello is famous partly for the supposed inspiration that it provided to JK Rowling when she was writing Harry Potter, but it's also just a beautiful century old bookstore in its own right. You have to buy a ticket to get in, and that tells you something about how popular it is, but you can apply the cost of the ticket toward one of the special edition books that the store publishes. My recommendation is to get the mid-tier ticket, because that lets you skip the very long line outside and just wait in the medium length line. And then there's the Bolhao market, which we nearly missed out on. We'd pushed it off a couple of times during the week and thought we'd swing by on Sunday, and then we discovered that the market is closed on Sundays. Classic mistake. But it worked out in the end. Our Monday morning flight home got canceled and rescheduled, which meant we suddenly had extra time in Porto and we used it to spend a wonderful morning wandering the market: fish counters, cheese, olive oil tasting local sweets. It was the perfect way to end the trip, even if it happened by accident. And by the way, if your flight goes sideways, which ours did pretty dramatically on this trip, I have a whole episode about that. That's number 33, where I talk about what happened and what I did about it. You might wanna listen to that before your next trip to make sure you've got your ducks in a row, which I clearly did not. Now one of the days that you're in Porto, you should definitely take a day trip to the Doro Valley, which is the wine producing region where Port Wine comes from. We partnered with Daytrip for a private customized outing, and it was great. I'd specifically wanted to go with a private driver because Ronnie and I both wanted to do some port tasting. And also on a previous trip, the kids were harassed by some adults who'd had too much to drink, so we didn't wanna a repeat of that. With a private tour, we had complete control over the flow of the day and our company. Our driver, Luis, was full of fascinating information about Portugal and he has us wanting to come back and tour with him next time we visit. He drove us in a comfortable car and sequenced the day perfectly. The boat ride on the Duoro River was a highlight. The captain was really engaging and explained the history of port wine, why it was created in the first place, and how it's made. The kids even got to drive the boat, which they loved. Then Luis took us to a local port manufacturer for an in-depth tasting with lots of different ages and styles. We had a traditional lunch and capped the day in the charming town of Amarante at Golden Hour. It's such a beautiful, special area and I think it's really important to get out of the big cities in Europe to see the quieter, more charming side of things. So don't skip the Duoro Valley. I'll have a link to the Daytrip tour we did down in the show notes for you. In terms of accommodations, Porto offers a slightly different challenge than Lisbon. The same two person per room issue applies to most hotels and for families, getting two rooms usually ends up being more expensive than just renting an apartment. Porto also doesn't have great options for booking family-sized spaces on points. The good news is that Porto is so walkable and compact that I think your specific location matters a lot less than it does in Lisbon. We stayed in the Vitoria neighborhood in a two bedroom apartment with Libere Porto laranjais. The location was really ideal for us. We were within 10 minutes walk of Livraria Lello, the Clerigos Tower, Bolhao market, and more. The apartments there are professionally managed, which meant that when we had a small issue, it was fixed within hours while we were out enjoying the day. They also have luggage storage after checkout, which came in handy when our flight was rescheduled. I'd stay there again without hesitation, so I've got a link down in the show notes for you. But if you want the full rundown of where to stay in Porto with kids, including a Hilton property that could work for points travelers, I've written a detailed guide on the family voyage, and I'll link to that down below as well. Before we finish up. I wanna share a few honest reflections on what we might do differently and what you might wanna consider for your own trip. First, our days were pretty loosely planned. I booked one tour activity per day and then figured we'd fill in the rest based on what we read in the guidebook and heard from guides on the ground. Ronnie was gonna help fill in some of the details and honestly, he mostly didn't get around to it because of his work commitments. But when push came to shove, everybody really loved the more relaxed pace. There's something nice about being on a trip where you can just sit by the river in the afternoon and not feel like you're falling behind on a schedule. I'm still a little on the fence about it personally. Part of me feels like the loose itinerary is a missed opportunity, but I can't argue with happy kids, a relaxed partner and a great sunset. Second way back when we first got the idea to visit Portugal, we plan to include the Algarve, Portugal's famous Southern coast, as a third destination. We cut it because of limited flight options and iffy weather in March. I am still comfortable with that call given our timing, but if you're visiting between mid-April and mid-September, adding the Algarve is a great option and it's worth building it into your itinerary. Besides then, you should be able to bypass the absolute disaster that is the Lisbon Airport by using Porto on one end and Faro on the other. Finally, if we'd trimmed a night from one of the two big cities, we probably could have spent time in a smaller destination like Cobra, which has layers of history going back to Roman baths and Moorish architecture, or maybe the canal town of Aveiro. Portugal has so many cute little cities and towns that we didn't get to, and honestly, it's reason enough to go back. Portugal exceeded our expectations in a lot of ways. The history is rich and layered in a way that's different from what you'll find in other parts of Europe. The simple, traditional food was great. The cities are beautiful and walkable, and Porto in particular has a character that I think makes it one of the most underrated family destinations in Europe. But it also had some unfortunate surprises in store. The celiac challenges were harder than I expected. The Lisbon Airport is super problematic right now, plus some of the major sites are closed for restoration, and that was really frustrating. But none of that overshadowed what was truly a fantastic family trip. And we'll definitely be back. There's too much we didn't get to see: the Algarve, those smaller cities, the coastline. And speaking of upcoming trips, stay tuned because in July we're heading to Sao Miguel, which is the largest island in the Azores, and I know that'll be an exciting one to share with you. If you have questions about Portugal or anything else in the world of family travel or points and miles, I'd love to hear from you. You can always reach me at melissa@thefamilyvoyage.com, and if you've got a question you'd like me to answer on air in the future, just send it my way. Thanks so much for listening to Family Travel unpacked. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with a family you know who's thinking about Europe with kids. Word of mouth is the best way to help families find the show. Be sure to hit follow wherever you're listening, and until next time, safe travels.