With countless activities for both adults and the kids, Portugal has a lot to offer families. If you want a holiday that incorporates lots of quality time with the gang, here are seven ideas for Portuguese adventures this summer:
Book a boat trip
Keep the kids entertained with a day on the open waves. There are plenty of locations offering different types of boat trips, some even explore caves along the coastline or have the option of landing for lunch at a private beach adding an extra element of excitement to your day out. Book a boat trip and the family can pretend to be a band of pirates for the day!
Water Parks
For a day out in the sunshine where you and the kids can have a blast together, a trip to a water park is perfect. Aqualand is one of the best with less intense rides for the younger children and some larger, scarier rides for the older ones. If you’re planning on staying inland, there are plenty of other water parks to visit. These include Naturwaterpark in Northern Portugal and Panoramic Aqua Park in Central Portugal.
Meet The Animals
Lisbon Zoo houses over 2000 animals, reptiles and birds on 16 hectares of land. Put aside a day to explore this brilliant attraction where the kids will love seeing the animals up close and catching some fun shows. If you are staying in the Algarve region, Zoomarine is an extensive sea-life centre with an aquarium that offers unique dolphin and sea lion shows. For a truly unforgettable experience, the Dolphin Interaction programme allows you to meet the dolphins personally.
Image by lele3100 used under Creative Commons license.
Hit the beach
Nothing beats a family day out at the beach and in Portugal there are many beautiful golden, sandy beaches. Slap on some suncream, pack a picnic, learn to surf, swim in the sea and you could even try to ‘find Nemo’!
Put the pedal to the metal
Give the kids a chance to get behind the wheel by going go-karting. Karting Almancil in the Algarve caters for all ages with three tracks, – one for adults, one for juniors and one for even younger kids. There are also bungee trampolines, radio controlled car races, safari buggies and mini boats to keep you all occupied.
Family Golf Park
Another great day out – with some healthy competition thrown in – is a visit to one of Portugals golf parks. The Family Golf Park in Vilamoura is a leisure park for the whole family with two 18 hole mini golf courses with a Roman theme – there are Roman ruins in Vilamoura which you could visit afterwards.
Castles
Awaken your kids imaginations by visiting some of the many impressive castles in Portugal. Wherever you stay in this country, you are likely to be within visiting distance of an impressive fortification. Castelo deSão Jorge in Lisbon, the Castle of the Moors in Sintra or the Castle of Silves in the Algarve region are just a few examples.
For more information on Portugal check out this handy destination guide. Leave a comment for luck!
I have friends who have gone to Portugal and had an amazing time. Have you been?
No I wish! We almost went for our honeymoon!
Would love to go to Portugal! Beautiful!
Looks like a nice place to visit! I have friends that have been there and loved it.
Portugal has changed a lot since I was there 45 yrs ago. We unfortunately had no beach and just rocks down to the water – now I’m wiser I’d check out the place better before signing on 🙂 You live and learn right?
so true, my first resort in Mexico was the same all rocky. We were teens and my friends picked, probably looking for something cheap, now I know better lol
My hubby and I took a cruise once that had a stop over in Portugal. It was beautiful and I wished that I could have explored it more. Needed WAY more time than one afternoon.
an afternoon in Portugal sounds lovely, but more time would have been nice I bet!
I spent quite a lot of my childhood in Southern Europe; my best memories are of Portugal and Spain. I remember being 4, 5 and 6 years old and exploring the old town streets, castles and beaches with my Nanny. It always felt like I was going on an adventure. My boys have always loved the country; we spent an entire day in Sintra hiking up the mountain, exploring the castles, ruins and old stone pathways and forest.
We’re going there this year!
I love Portugal I’ve only been to Lisbon would love to explore it further
the bucket list keeps getting longer!
Such a beautiful country!!!!
Would love to go to Portugal! Amazing!
Seems like a lovely place to go, the beach looks beautiful!!
have sunscreen will travel
I’ve heard nothing but positive reviews about Portugal. Time to add this destination to my bucket list