Why Lisbon during the Autumn Holidays?
Summer has come to an end. You’ve probably already been on holidays this year, but why not go again? In between summer and Christmas, is a great time to go on holidays, even if it is only for a few days.
In this article we will share why we think Portugal is a great holiday destination during autumn. High season in Portugal is, with no doubt, during the summer months of June, July and August. September can be quite busy still too. When October arrives, the flow of tourists decreases a lot.
In the Algarve, during the months of October and November it is usually very quiet and then in December, some people come over to enjoy a warm Christmas and New Year. In Lisbon and other regions of the country, which are less depended on coastal tourism, you’ll continue to see some city-break travelers around.
Advantages to traveling to Portugal during the Fall:
More affordable
First of all, money. Everything is cheaper. Let’s start with the flights, low cost airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet and Transavia fly from most European airports to Lisbon, Porto and Faro. As soon as high season finishes, so after September, rates drop drastically before rising again during the Christmas holidays. You can already book a return flight from major European airports to Portugal from 100€ and sometimes even less!
Also accommodation and car rentals are much cheaper during low season. In some cases, prices can even fall to half. In the most touristic regions, like in the Algarve for example, even restaurants may become cheaper during the low season.
People have more time for you
Local people tend to be friendlier. It’s a fact, we notice this quite clearly. For local people, like people from the restaurants, taxi drivers or touristic guides tend to be nicer and friendlier during low season. The reason why is quite simple. There’s less stress and less hectic situations (in restaurants, traffic or tourist attractions) and as such people have more time to dedicate to you.
Shorter queues
As mentioned before, during fall there are not many tourists anymore, which is great for travelers who do not like massive tourism and hectic situations. If you travel to Portugal during fall, you can expect no queues for touristic attractions and no overbooked tours.
Regarding tours and activities, we still recommend you to book in advance, not to avoid overbookings, but to make sure the tour or activity wanted will actually take place. To see Lisbon’s highlights in a fun tour, we recommend a private tuk-tuk tour. On this tour you’ll see Lisbon’s most iconic landmarks while for avoiding the city’s steep hills and covering more ground quickly in the company of a guide.
Fewer crowds, more nature
Empty beaches have something magical. Although you might need to wake up at sun rise to have a beach fully for yourself, this time of the year, beaches are much calmer. For nature lovers, this time of the year is great. The stunning beaches of the Portuguese West coast become even more stunning when they’re not packed with people.
For the ones who like trekking, hiking or trail running, fall is great because the trails and sights are more beautiful and the weather is more pleasant for exercising. If you like beaches and nature, the Fall in Lisbon is the perfect time of the year for a horse ride on the beach.
Mild weather
Ok, if you’re looking for a beach holiday, autumn in Portugal might not be the ideal plan, but to wander around a city or to discover new places it is. Summer in Portugal can be very hot, sometimes too hot for certain activities.
During fall, weather is milder and can be ideal for outdoor activities as long as is does not rain. The autumn climate in Portugal really depends on the region. The Algarve is usually milder than Coimbra, for example and the North can be chilly and wet.
We may not be able to promise sun during all Autum days, but fact is that this year, 2025, the first three weeks of Autumn were lovely. In the Lisbon area, we’ve been having temperatures around 25-30 degrees during the day and plenty of sun!
The best waves
For surfers, fall and winter is the best time to enjoy Portuguese waves. In fact, for surfing, waves usually are better during this time of the year, both on the South coast of the Algarve and the whole West coast.
Even on the islands of Azores and Madeira, waves are better during the fall/winter season. Another reason why surfing in Portugal is better this time of the year is the crowd. In summer, many tourists try surfing for the first time and the waves of Portugal become rather crowded.
So, if you were still doubting about whether you should or not go for a holiday break during this fall, we hope we convinced you.
Book your flight and stay in Lisbon now and if you’re looking for a kind of activity that is not listed here or need some further tips, please feel free to give us a call and we’ll do everything to help you! Things to do in Lisbon.
Happy fall!
