Chris Trost's Travel Blog: December 2024

Azore Islands - Lisbon - Sintra - Cascais

January 28 - February 6, 2025

Assorted Photos from My Trip

Flag of Portugal

Table of Contents

Post-Trip Summary

Day 1 - Tuesday, January, 28, 2025 - Depart for Azores

Day 2 - Wednesday, January, 29, 2025 - Tour Azores

Day 3 - Thursday, January, 30, 2025 - Tour Azores

Day 4 - Friday, January, 31, 2025 - Tour Azores

Day 5 - Saturday, February, 01, 2025 - Tour Lisbon

Day 6 - Sunday, February, 02, 2025 - Tour Lisbon

Day 7 - Monday, February, 03, 2025 - Lisbon Day Tour

Day 8 - Tuesday, February, 04, 2025 - Travel to Casablanca

Day 9 - Wednesday, February, 05, 2025 - Tour Casablanca

Day 10 - Thursday, February, 06, 2025 - Return to US

Post-Trip Summary

Instead of returning to the US from our 13- Day Morocco tour, we extended our stay in the region with 7 days in Portual, starting with 4 days in the Azore Islands and 3 days in Lisbon. We returned to Casablanca, Morocco for 2 days before heading back to the US. This was my second time in Portugal, having circumnavigated the entire country and the island of Madeira solo in November 2002.

How Long Was Your Trip? When Did You Go? Where Did You Go? The tour lasted 13 days from January 16-28, 2028. I spent:

1/2-day flying back and forth from Morocco to Portugal
3-1/2 days in the city of Ponta Delgado on the Azore Island of Sao Miguel
3 days in Lisbon and Environs
2 days in Casblanca, Morocco
1 day flying back to the USA via Boston

Did You Do This on Your Own or with a Tour Company? We did this tour on my own. By consulting a travel guides and websites, it was easy to plan. I traveled with my longtime Houston friend.

[Insert Pic of Tour Group]

How Did You Get There and Back? I flew from Casablanca, Morocco to Sao Miguel Island in the Azores, then flew to Lisbon, and then to Casablanca to catch a flight home to the US. Once on the ground in the Azores and Lisbon, we traveled about 160 miles on jeep tours (Azores) and 50 miles via public transportation (Lisbon and environs).

Air Travel Map - 6,014 Miles

Azores Ground Travel Map - 160 Miles

Lisbon Ground Travel Map - 50 Miles

Was It Easy Navigating Your Way Around? Yes, because we were largely situated either in the heart of each town within walking distance to most everything within easy reach by public transportation.

[Insert Pic of Public Transportation]

Where Did You Stay? We stayed in a number of 3-star and 4-star hotels. Most were in or close to the center of town. All hotels were modern, clean, and comfortable, with excellent restaurants and great Internet. All had fitness centers.

Azores, Lisbon, Casablanca Hotels

In Portugal, power plugs and sockets (outlets) of type C and type E are used. The standard voltage is 230 V at a frequency of 50 Hz. Yes, you need a power plug adapter to fit the type C and F sockets.

European Type C/E and F Plugs & Sockets

Meals? Since we were not on a tour, we enjoyed finding our own places to eat and took advantage of the tasty local fare wherever we were.

How was the Weather? I traveled in January. The weather was chilly at night (mid 40's F) and moderate during the day (mid 60s F) It rained very little.

Portugal Weather in January - February

What Clothing Did You Pack? I brought more clothes than usual for the trip since I was traveling during winter. We stayed in Boston for a few days prior to the trip and it was winter there. Hence, long pants and shirts that I could layer in Morocco, along with my rain jacket/windbreaker, gloves and a hat. I brought two pairs of comfortable shoes. As usual, the socks and underlayers were all "Dri-Fit" material that could be washed every few days in the hotel sink.

What was the Time Difference? The Azores were 5 hours ahead of my home town time zone in Milwaukee (US, Central Time, GMT/UTC −06:00) and Lisbon was 6 hours ahead. Morocco is 7 hours ahead. There was no jet lag since I had already adapted to the time difference on the first leg of this trip in Morocco.

What Was the Currency? What Were Prices Like? Portugal uses the Euro. I used my credit card as much as I could and got cash from bank ATMs as needed. The conversion rates and fees were fair and nominal.

Euro - 1 Euro = $1.06 as of 1/15/2025

I had some leftover Morocco Dirhams from our tour a week earlier, so used those up before leaving Morocco.

What Did This Whole Trip Cost You? This trip extention was relatively inexpensive. I spent $3,800 in total, or about $300 per day. It was money well spent and an excellent travel value. I paid 90% of the trip cost ($3,450) before leaving the US. Once on the ground, I spent another $350 on items not included in the tour cost, such as tips, lunches and dinners on my own, and international mobile phone/internet charges.

[Insert Trip Cost Chart - Caption: Extenstion Trip Cost - $3,800 ($300/Day)]

Special Trip Considerations.

Safety. Portugal boasts good security services, and the government prioritizes tourist safety. Petty theft is the most common issue you might encounter, but terrorism and kidnapping, though less frequent, are also concerns. In addition, certain travelers, namely women, may need to take certain precautions during their travels. You can get the lastes US Dept of State Travel Advisories here.
Air Quality. Air quality was generally quite good everywhere.
COVID. There are no mask or vaccine requirements but if you are concern, take action to protect yourself.
Physical Condition. We traversed a lot of steps, uneven surfaces, and steep grades absent high temperatures and humidity. If you have mobility or heat issues, this is probably not the tour for you.

Any Parting Comments? Travel is an adventure. It’s an opportunity to experience, learn and appreciate how people around the world live. While I’m always happy to come home at the end, I never come back the same person.

Following is a day-by-day account of my trip. Each day starts with an overview of what we did, followed by my daily journal. I stopped giving history lessons in my posts but added links you can click on to read more about the places I visited. You can just read on from here or go back up to the Table of Contents above and jump to a specific day or topic of interest.

Enjoy!

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