*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my An American In Portugal Tours, and my blog's new home!*
Vacationing in Portugal is not just about Lisbon and Porto. While I agree that these cities are definitely must-sees for first-time visitors, I have to admit that for even a small country, you are really missing out on so much more if you don't venture beyond these areas! If you take a look at this Basic Regional Map, Portugal is firstly divided into 5 distinctly different geographical regions, but then these are further split into
Sub-Regional (Right) & District (Left), with the districts named after their capital city. These smaller divisions represent how even more different they are from each other within not just geography, but also architecture, culture and cuisine (including wine!). That then gives you a perspective of just how much of Portugal you're actually missing out on experiencing!
I read recently that it used to be that most tourists in general searched for a vacation spot according to the three S's- Sun, Sea and Sand, which is still apparent on Portugal's long coastline for being a tourist hot spot. But now, more and more people are shifting to looking for a vacation with the three L's- Land, Lore and Leisure, meaning they prefer to stay in a place that best represents the land around them, to learn about the place's history and folklore while being able to enjoy it through relaxing leisure activities. And for me, this one seems to fit my natural inclinations very well.
For the last 3 years, Miguel and I have maintained a tradition of taking two mini-vacations around Portugal, one in the summer (June/July) and one in the winter (November/December). And each time, we have made sure to go as deep into the country as we can, in search of finding a hotel that provides those three L's, along with some other preferences we have. For example, a comfy bed is a must, as I don't know how one can relax on vacation without a good night's sleep! Also, we prefer a room with a balcony, specifically one with a great view of the land around there, so I guess you could say we normally tend to go to the mountains. And lastly, if we go in the summer months, a hotel with a pool is usually nice to have.
All of this you can easily find in a hotel using my favorite search site, Booking.com, just put in your dates and type "Portugal" as your destination then scroll down to the map and Portugal Overview where you can search by cities or provinces/regions or even closest airports. You can also check out Wonderfulland.comwhich recommends great Portuguese guesthouses and pousadas (luxury boutqiue hotels built within hisorical sites like castles, monasteries etc.) or Pousadas.ptdirectly for the entire list of pousadas. However, I find that these sites tend to be pricier to book with for the same hotel that you can almost always find on Booking, so I suggest that if you find a hotel on one of those latter two sites, look it up on Booking next to compare prices before reserving.
So now you may be asking yourself, when do you recommend the best time to go? What do I look for exactly? Well below are the guidelines I like to go by when choosing a hotel:
My Guidelines For Picking The Right Getaway Hotel in Portugal For You On Booking.com:
1.AVOID GOING IN AUGUST AT ALL COST!
EVERYONE in Europe goes on vacation in August, so most hotels, especially on the coast, are 2-3 times more expensive than other months. And even if you're willing to pay the money, it's almost guaranteed that your hotel will be packed to the brim with lots of families and screaming children....not exactly ideal for a relaxing getaway, you'd almost be better off staying at those people's empty homes!
If you want the beach without so much of the craziness, try booking in late September/October when it's still quite warm most of the time and the water has had the opportunity to heat up all summer :) Just saw a room at a 5-star hotel in Sagres for more than a €100 less per night in mid-October than if you had booked it in mid-August! And of course, staying during the week versus the weekend will always be cheaper.
2. Always check the hotel's room photos carefully to see exactly what you're sleeping in/on.
I've encountered some gorgeous little hotels in the most absolutely beautiful locations to find out that their rooms look like creepy medieval dungeons. Maybe some people think it's cool sleeping on a 500yr old piece of history but I prefer my relaxing getaway bed NOT to be a rock-hard tiny mattress that'll break you're back as you stare up at a giant gnarled black crucifix. About as romantic as staying at your deeply-religious grandmother's house for vacation....Pass!
3. Order your search results by highest rated, NOT most popular.
You don't necessarily want the most popular hotel, especially if the popular vote comes from families with screaming children. However, you do still want an overall high rating for your hotel to begin with, as this usually narrows down your search to places with high-quality service and facilities. I usually tend to not go below about a 7.7 out of 10.0, however I have found exceptions to that before. If you want to really be sure, read several of the comments from past guests, making sure to read specifically the comments from your specific guest profile. As I said, it may be great according to families but not so much for young couples looking for a relaxing, romantic getaway. Also, older couples and families with small children tend to complain the most about any little thing, such as rating the place a 5 out of 10 just because there was no TV in the room. I think these are unfair complaints when they could have easily chosen a different hotel with those desired features beforehand, instead of crapping on an otherwise fantastic place to stay!
Bottom line, if you spend a little extra time searching, narrowing down and looking in detail at the placese you have in mind, you'll have a better chance of choosing the right hotel in the right area that you´ll be satisfied and happy with after :)
So, are you looking for some recommendations to start with? Well, if you have similar preferences as the ones I stated above, then check out the 5 hotels below that I've stayed at on my mini-vacations in the last 3 years. All of them were under €100/night and we left happy, so I hope you are too if you choose them :)
Hotel Folgosa Douro-Folgosa, Douro Valley (Norte)
Current Rating: 8.4
My Rating: 9.5
Room Rate: €60-75/night
Great For: Comfy, inexpensive lodging to explore the Douro valley and wine taste!
This small but modern 3-star hotel was just a little over a year old when we stayed there for the first time in November, 2009. Situated in the tiny village of Folgosa, near Peso da Régua, it's in the heart of Douro wine country. Which is what we mainly did on our vacation there, spend the day driving up and down the mountains exploring the area and checking out the all the wineries and vineyards and the breathtaking views of the valley. We liked this place a lot for it's location right on the river with a great view of the mountains and neighboring villages. The cleanly decorated rooms have comfy beds and nice mood lighting and the bathrooms have huge bathtubs that made for a great bubble bath to soak in after a day of wine tasting in the colder months.
The staff were very nice, offering us a complimentary glass port upon arrival and were very accommodating throughout our stay. The small restaurant serves inexpensive, good food presented nicely in front of their large window with a great view of the river. And if you're willing to splurge, you got the famed Restaurante DOC by Chef Rui Paula just across the street from the hotel!
Hotel de Caramulo-Caramulo, Viseu (Centro) Current Rating: 7.8 My Rating: 9.0 Room Rate: €50-60/night Great For: Crisp, clean mountain air, incredible views and total relaxation! *Tip: Book a room with a "Valley View" to make your stay totally worth it. Hotel do Caramulo on Booking.com
What is the #1 thing I loved about this place? The VIEW!!! :)
This hotel is basically the only one perched at the top of the Caramulo mountains, just outside of the town of Caramulo. Don't be turned off by its lower rating, this is mainly because the hotel is on the older side and some of the facilities need some fixing up but they have plenty of other reasons to make up for it. The rooms are modest but large and if you book a room with the "Valley View", you get two double door windows opening up to a large balcony with a table and chairs and of course that GORGEOUS VIEW. The balcony was also great sitting out there in the evening in our hotel bathrobes and slippers breathing in the delicious mountain air under a star-filled sky with the towns all lit up below.
If the view still isn't enough for you, the hotel has a fully equipped gym, spa, sauna, steam room and both an indoor and outdoor pool. The restaurant is a bit pricey but has good food, however their adjacent lounge/bar has a great mini-menu of soups and sandwiches and afternoon tea goodies that are great to spend a quiet, relaxing afternoon/evening with still that great panoramic view of the valley :)
Hotel El-Rei Dom Manuel-Marvão (Alto Alentejo)
Current Rating: 8.8
My Rating: 8.5
Room Rate: €60-90/night
Great For: Historical exploration with great views
This was the last hotel we stayed at back in early December and also our first time vacationing in the region of Alentejo. I must say, we couldn't have picked a worse weekend to go, with the cold, rain and immense fog, it made it hard at first to appreciate one of the best aspects of the hotel (room) and area-the view! But thankfully the fog did clear up enough for us to enjoy it and I can say it was definitely worthwhile after that.
This is only one of two hotels (the other is the pousada, which has a much lower rating) that are located in the historical village of Marvão, perched at the top of a large hill, complete with the ancient ruins of a castle. This makes it a perfect location to walk through the village and explore the castle and take in all the incredible vistas without ever having to worry about transportation.
Most of the rooms are small and a bit old-fashioned in decor, but the added rooftop terrace of a superior double room evens it out. The restaurant also serves good food, especially at breakfast and the staff are very hospitable.
Quinta de Moçamedes- São Miguel do Mato, Viseu (Centro)
Current Rating: 9.1
My Rating: 10 Room Rate: €75-90/night Great For: A romantic retreat in the country for exploring the outdoors
*This hotel is not currently available to reserve on Booking.com, as they don't take credit cards at the moment, so make sure you can bring cash up front when you go there. Minimum 2 nights to book*
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This cozy, 10-room guesthouse located in a tiny aldeia (village) was rebuilt out of a 12th-century stone manor house and is run by incredibly hospitable Antonio Borges and his family, who live on premises. All the rooms are spaciously decorated with extra-comfy beds and some with a private courtyard or an outdoor terrace overlooking the countryside. Our room was located in the original stone house so we had the delight of the thick stone walls keeping our room naturally cool during the day and snuggly warm at night :)
The family puts out a simple but homemade breakfast every morning with local fresh fruit and fresh baked sweets and though there is no restaurant, you can request to have a meal prepared for you in the dining room or you may be invited to dinner instead, if they are already cooking for themselves. This is what happened to us and the rest of the guests the first night and we had a casual, yet delicious family-style dinner, complete with Antonio and his family, they made everyone feel right at home!
The estate has an outdoor pool and you can also get recommendations from Antonio on local sports activities to do, such as hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, rafting, rapeling, BTT and more. You can read more about our stay in my past Catavino article, Aldeias de Portugal Part 2: A Luxurious Weekend Getaway .
Casas da Lapa- Lapa dos Dinheiros, Serra da Estrela (Centro)
Current Rating: 9.2
My Rating: 10
Room Rate: €90/night
Great For: Romantic getaway in the warmer months for exploring Serra da Estrela, excellent food and service
*Tip: Don't take a large car here, the village road leading up to the hotel is tiny and very steep! Not recommended to come during the snowy season because of this.
This tiny 8-room boutique hotel was built totally out of local stone and is perched high up in the Serra da Estrela mountains at the top of the tiny aldeia, Lapa dos Dinheiros. The super comfy rooms are stylishly decorated with even softer beds and furniture and all are equipped with jacuzzi bathtubs.
The outdoor pool has a great view of the valley and village below and since the hotel is so small, you almost feel like you're the only guest there! There are also two rooftop terraces for guests to sit out and relax on, sunbathing or taking in the great view. The staff and service are impeccable and still retain the warm, local friendliness.
Breakfast is great and showcases a lot of local goodies, lunch is available and dinner can be arranged for you on their front terrace at your prior request. The night that we arrived though, it was already quite late, but the staff the kind enough to offer us the dinner menu that another group of guests had requested before so we lucked out!
Outside the hotel, you can walk up and down the historical cobblestone streets of the village and there is a praia fluvial ("river beach") a short drive/walk down through the woods with a crystal clear mountain lake with a local "pub" that's great to watch the moon come up over the mountain at night :) And of course, this place is perfectly located to explore all around the beautiful Serra da Estrela mountains and surround villages.
*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my An American In Portugal Tours, and my blog's new home!*
In Day 1 of My Weekend in the Country, I explored ancient Roman ruins and caves with Rita and her family around the tiny village of Avecasta near Ferreira de Zêzere along with enjoying some delicious home- cooked food and strong country wine! Well, my second day in the Portuguese countryside was packed with even more delicious food and wine and a visit to one of the most picturesque aldeias in area, Dornes, a hilltop village settled on a small peninsula stretched out in the middle of the Rio Zêzere.
Sunday morning I woke up completely relaxed and refreshed from a wonderfully peaceful night's sleep under the moonlight and comforting sounds of nature. I stepped out onto the balcony from the room to breathe in some of that still-chilly clean morning country air! :)
When Rita and I came down for some (late) breakfast we found her parents already starting to prepare our lunch and dinner! A freshly killed and plucked chicken from the hen house greeted us in the summer kitchen, all ready to be popped into the oven to roast for dinner. Well, all except the feet, Rita's mother said she would put them into a pot for canja or chicken soup ;)
Outside, Rita's father was readying the stone oven for the chicken, as well as our lunch, which was to be a classic Portuguese dish, bacalhau assado com batatas a murro -roasted salt cod with "punched potatoes".
It first starts with putting whole potatoes and onions (these were fresh from the family's garden!) to roast with just a generous helping of coarse sea salt, followed a little bit later by adding the fillets of salt cod to roast to finish all together. This time, the chicken was also added to roast, since there was plenty of space :) And you could just imagine the heavenly aroma of all those caramelizing onions, potatoes and meat filling the whole neighborhood, we couldn't wait to dig in!
But in order to finish this dish, the bacalhau had to be shredded and the potatoes "punched" down and mixed together with the onions, along with chopped garlic, olive oil and vinegar, which all of them also happened to be homemade! (The family has a fairly large plot of both grape vines and olive trees in the next village over and they get their olives pressed at the village's own community press, this is actually quite common for most locals).
Then the "punched" potato mixture is combined with the shredded bacalhau to complete the dish!
Here is a short video I got of Rita with her parents putting the finishing touches to the dish and making sure the seasoning is just perfect, as in making sure there was plenty of garlic hehe :) I am asking questions about the recipe as well as remarking how good it smells ;)
Then we all settled down on the outdoor picnic table for an absolutely delicious lunch! The family's killer white wine accompanied our bacalhau and was perfectly chilled this time to take the edge off haha. As for dessert, they kept it simple: fresh strawberries in season macerated in açucar amarelo ("yellow sugar"-like a very light brown sugar) and Port wine, I was a very happy girl :)
After seriously pigging out at lunch, we needed some time to digest so luckily we had a nice little drive ahead of us to visit the beautiful aldeia of Dornes. We drove right up to the top of the hill in the village and this was my first view of the Rio Zêzere, surrounded by lush evergreen and aromatic eucalyptus mountains :)
It was a gorgeous afternoon to be by the river!
The river had a lovely shimmer from the sun and all you could hear was the warm breeze whipping through hair :)
All we could do for about the first part of our time was relax and enjoy the view!
The original settlement of Dornes can be traced back as early as the 12th century, even before the country of Portugal was founded. At the top of the village is the ruins of the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Pranto, a 15th century church built for Queen Isabel. It has a peculiar pentagonal tower, that's unlike any other found in the country.
The view from where the church is, as you can see the village doesn't stretch too much beyond the peninsula!
A 14th century crucifix shrine decorated with traditional blue and white Portuguese azulejos (tiles). Love the pink wildflowers!
We headed down to the water's edge where the boats were launched to get our feet wet....
Can you tell that my feet are submerged in water? I couldn't believe how crystal clear the water was! Especially at the boat launch area! When the water was perfectly still, you would almost believe I'm just standing on a regular cobblestone path!
Ah there you go! Now you can see the water! ;) And you know what the best part was? Rita told me that this is where Lisbon's tap water is sourced from! I knew there was a reason it had always tasted so good! Oh and don't worry, my feet were clean hehe ;)
We spent the rest of the afternoon driving along the mountains around the river and exploring different but equally beautiful parts of it. When we got back to the house, there was a surprise waiting for me.....a giant basket of nesperas (Japanese plums) that Rita's aunt had just picked to take home with me! The nesperas were in peak season too, and even though I didn't find them to be that good before when I had bought them at the supermarket in Lisbon, there was such a difference in flavor with these all natural ones! I now have a new appreciation for this fruit because of them :)
And of course, we were just in time for an early dinner before we had to head back to Lisbon. The roast chicken was waiting for us, along with some more of those fresh picked grelos (cabbage greens) from the garden, sauteed with some garlic and onions, also from the garden and a simple salad of lettuce and onions with a little homemade olive oil and vinegar. Again, our meal was paired with some of the family's homemade red wine, chilled just enough to enjoy on a warm evening. So I was sitting there for the first time, with food and drink that was completely organic and locally grown and produced, and it was one of the most deliciously satisfying meals I've had to date. And truly, my stomach has never felt so good after a meal! My digestive tract was being spoiled by so much lovely "clean" and healthy food!
I will never forget the wonderfully warm hospitality Rita's family and neighbors treated me during my stay there, and of course I will never forget the simple yet amazingly delicious Portuguese food they filled my belly, and my heart with. But what's even better, I have been so lucky as to have been invited back by Rita's family to stay another weekend with them and bring a friend if I want, to do it all over again! I hope my story of my weekend in the Portuguese countryside will inspire you to go out and explore this beautiful country beyond the cities and towns and experience what is truly memorable :)
*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my An American In Portugal Tours, and my blog's new home!*
Back in May 2011, I got to experience what it was like to live in a small, rural Portuguese village, thanks to the kind invitation from my private English student Rita. Every weekend, Rita goes to visit her parents at their family home, situated in the tiny aldeia of Avecasta nearFerreira de Zezerewhich is right smack in the middle of the country. She had told me many stories about growing up there playing outdoors , raising animals and having meals made completely from what they grew in their garden and seeing how fascinated I was by them, she told me I had to come with her one weekend to meet the family and see the country. I happily accepted her invite to come out with her the following weekend, as being middle of May, the weather was going to be absolutely perfect for exploring the countryside, sunny and clear but not too hot :)
You can check out my Catavino post- Aldeias of Portugal Part 1: Staying with Friends to learn more about aldeias and for my full experience there. For this post, I wanted to share more in detail photos and video I took on my adventure that didn't make it onto my Catavino one. And though I was only there for a day and a half, I couldn't believe how many adventures Rita and her family packed in that time for me!
We arrived in Avecasta Saturday afternoon and I was greeted by this beautiful garden scene in the back of their family home, beyond that, there was nothing as far as the eye could see! Towards the back of the garden was a small "barn" with a hen house that they still used and an old pig pen and cow stall for when they had raised more animals.
The house was huge, 7 bedrooms with both a "summer" and "winter" kitchen, the summer being separate
from the rest of the home and attached to their mini-winery and cellar, both made of thick cement to keep them cool year-round. Outside the house, they had a large patio equipped with what I would call my "dream" outdoor barbecue area, complete with a stone oven and grill!
No sooner did we drop off our things did we head out on foot for our first adventure! The road through the village was small and quiet with not a soul in sight so it was perfect for taking a walk on this beautiful afternoon :)
Rita and her sister wanted to take me just up the hill from the village where there was a beautiful clearing that overlooked the surrounding valley. This was the place where the village had had their windmills which had been used to grind their grain into flour for making bread. Unfortunately the original windmills did not stand the test of time, so the village decided to build a new one on top of the original base. They also decided to construct it in the old-fashioned style, as a means of preserving the memory. And today they use it off and on to show visitors how the grain was originally grounded between the two stone wheels :)
Afterwards, we walked back down and took a detour through the woods where we came to a clearing that led down to a HUGE cave! Rita said she and her sisters used to play down in it with the other village children when they were younger, but nowadays the local government fenced it off to protect recent archaeological investigations. From what the locals know, the cave was once used by the Romans as a holdout to defend against invaders, so the finds have been linked to the Roman era. But luckily for us, someone had cut through the fence so we sneaked in for a tour, very cool but creepy! There were several tiny passageways leading further into the hill, which Rita said went right under their village!
Posing in front of the tiny corridors with Rita's sister Eva and their dog Simba, it was actually really dark here and that was a nervous smile on my face :p
After the cave exploration, we walked back to the house for a break and got there just in time for a homemade afternoon snack courtesy of Rita's parents :) They had scrambled some fresh eggs from their henhouse with some local chouriço (sausage) and served it with their homemade white wine and local cheese. Might seem more like what you'd eat for breakfast but it's not common in Portugal to have eggs for breakfast, normally they come on top of a steak or other dishes for dinner.
But anyhoo, the scramble and cheese were absolutely delicious and the homemade wine was quite powerful! It basically had the same alcohol content as a fortified wine (which they said is normal for homemade wine :p) so they normally drink the white very chilled or with ice. Strong but tasty, I almost had a bit of buzz on me as we headed out for our next adventure :)
This time, we went with Eva and her boyfriend, who drove us around the countryside to an even tinier aldeia, where we parked and hiked down an overgrown stone path through a beautifully vibrant green forest dotted with olive and cork oak trees. Rita told me this path was actually an old Roman road and we were going to see one of the many, still-used arched Roman bridges.
The olive trees thrive in this pretty overgrown meadow surrounded by ancient Roman walls
And I couldn't believe how good of a condition it was still in! Stretching over a small river that looked gorgeous in the late springtime covered in little white water flowers, that tranquil setting out in the middle of nowhere made you feel like you went back in time :)
Until we caught the familiar sound of a herd of goats going up the hill! You could clearly hear them from the clanging of all the little bells around their necks. And apparently they heard us as well, since they turned back to stare :)
More beautiful ancient Roman walls and olive trees :)
My blast from the past continued as we arrived back at the house to see garden-fresh grelos (cabbage sprouts) being prepared to cook over the family's old-fashioned open stove for dinner :)
Followed by some tasty local pork ribs cooking on their outdoor grill. All together with some more homemade potent red wine, it was a delicious dinner!
Afterwards, I walked with the whole family down the unlighted street to get some after-dinner coffee. And when I mean unlighted, it was pitch-black! I could barely see in front of me at some parts, but on the plus side, you could see the beautiful starry sky clearer than ever without all that city pollution! We arrived at the only shop in the village, a small café where everyone gathered for their afternoon and/or evening coffee to catch up on news or to watch a soccer match. My, was it so quintessential small town! Everyone really knew everyone there, and even though I was the odd one out, I still got friendly smiles and hellos :)
That night, I slept like a baby with the clean, crisp country night air flowing through the moonlit window.
*Interested in learning more about Portuguese food and wine with me? Check out my An American In Portugal Tours, and my blog's new home!* I've been thinking A LONG TIME about how to answer the several emails and comments I've gotten over the last couple of years about people interested in moving to Portugal. I know in my blog and for those who know me on Facebook and Twitter, that I have created a beautiful picture of my life here through my photos and experiences here. And let me say for the record, I do like living here, but I went through hell and back to get to the point where I could enjoy all the lovely things this country has to offer. But life has not been and still is not always peaches and cream people. You can't move to a foreign country expecting everything will be perfect (obviously). As I said below, this is a seriously complicated issue for me and I haven't really been in the mood to address it at all, but the questions keep coming so I have to finally give you an answer. I hope this will be the last time I'll need to address this.....which hopefully after you read this you'll know why. And PLEASE don't ask me any more questions until you've read through this entire post!
First, a Warning: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MOVE TO PORTUGAL AND GET LEGAL THE SAME WAY I DID. I am still here and legal only by sheer luck with timing and circumstances, this is not something you want to bet your life and money on people. I unknowingly made a big mistake trying to do it the way I did and luckily I was able to make it through in the end but now I know better. Read on and you'll know why.
January 2008- So to summarize what I said in my earlier post, I moved to Europe on the idea I could get started by teaching English. I came only with my passport-which for US citizens here automatically puts you on a "tourist visa" for 90 days, however I bought a return ticket for exactly 90 days after I came, with the intention of finding a job that offered a contract because I had found more job postings for English teachers. But when I there and went on interviews, NONE of them were offering contract positions, only work on recibos verdes or "green receipts", which is Portugal's way of paying hourly, non-contract workers, essentially the legal form of paying "under the table". But in order to work on green receipts, you needed a NIF (numero identificação fiscal) which is like the equivalent to a Social Security number in the US (but not as important) and in order to get that, they told me I needed a residency or "be legal", which I had no idea how to do that without a contract!
February 2008-I went to talk to someone at SEF (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras- "Foreigners & Borders Service" aka "The 5th Dimension of Hell") to which they just told me "No, you need a contract, go back to the US", which really disheartened me. Then one employer told me they heard that if you got a Portuguese citizen to sponsor you that you could get a NIF and iniciar actividade or "start working". This proved to be true when I went with my Portuguese boyfriend to the Finanças (Finance Office) and they gave me a NIF under his sponsorship. This was enough to allow me to start working, teaching English with a school, but I still needed to get green receipts so I could get paid at the end of the month! So we went back to the Finanças, but they said "no". This was the beginning of the realization that every person we would talk to at a govt. agency was going to tell us a different answer, even if it was the same person but on a different day. So we tried another Finanças branch, another "no". Finally, on the third one (a branch away from the downtown-this helps) the guy seemed to have been in a good mood and decided to give me the green receipts hooray! But he it told us this was because my sponsor was also working on green receipts, though if he changed to a contract job, I would have to go on them alone and be a resident. (He did a couple months later, but they didn't seem to care at that time when I went to change over on my own.....see a different answer each time!). Around this time I also managed to set up a bank account, using my boyfriends permanent home address (his parent's place) and presenting a signed "declaração" from my employer just stating I was currently working for them. (*Note: According to another American friend's recent experience, it's much harder to open a bank account here now, you need far more proofs of your residence and job). I also found an apartment to rent, again under the sponsorship/cosigning from my boyfriend, (this is basically required for all places to rent on your own, renting a room is easier).
April 2008- The date of my return ticket at the 90-day marked had arrived, but I already had a job, making money (legally), had my own bank account and my own apartment.....to me this seemed like I was on the right track and I could just apply for my residency in country with these things. So even though I was losing money from a non-refundable ticket, I decided to pass it up and continued on with my new life!
June 2008- By this point, I had settled in well and had been working steadily, so I decided start investigating how to apply for residency in Portugal. I was afraid to go back SEF at first, after what they told me before so I thought maybe the US Embassy in Portugal could give me some advice so I went there. Turns out, this is the last place (your native country's Embassy in general) you want to go for help in immigrating to another country (which kind of makes sense when you think about it) and of course they told me I had to back to the US (you think they wanted to be responsible for an illegal immigrant there?). I Started freaking out then ( like most Americans do at this point), trying to figure out how I was going to save myself from having to throw everything away that I had gotten in the last 4 months. But then it got worse: most of my classes stopped for summer vacation and I was left not being able to make enough money to pay rent....and since I had wasted my return ticket, I couldn't afford to even buy another ticket back home if I wanted to! Of course I could have always asked my parents to help lend me the money but that was the last thing I wanted to do, it felt like it would prove I was complete failure at this endeavor. So I spent a depressing summer of 2008 struggling to survive with the help of my boyfriend and "hiding" from the immigration police (just paranoia, the police here hardly ever do that stuff).
September-December 2008-Classes started up again and I looked for other schools that might possibly offer contracts....none of them really did, only quasi-contracts between you and the school, none of them govt. sponsored, which is what you need. By the end of the year, classes stopped again for Christmas holidays and I was left again almost broke and not being able to spend the holidays with my family and friends back home-this sucked. My parents told me to make an ultimatum, that if I didn't get a real job and a residency by the time a year past living here then to come home. So I remember crying one night before Christmas, pleading to Miguel to try to call SEF one more time and explain my situation to see if there was ANY way to get legal from here. He had really lost hope that I could stay here and reluctantly made the following Monday. To his surprise, he spoke to someone who told them there was a way. HALLELUJAH! I KNEW IT WOULD WORK! Well, or so I thought for the next year......
January 2009: SEF had told us that I could apply for residency as "trabalhador independente" which is essentially a "freelance worker" and to start, I needed to register with Social Security and start paying it every month. So I did, and I still pay a ridiculous amount to this day...ugh but this also gave me a chance to obtain a national healthcare number so I could use the health services (really good to have) and then I had my actual Social Security number (not used the same way as the US SS#) to use for my residency application. I turned in the application and they told me they would let me know when they were ready to interview me and complete the process. I waited 6 months......
June 2009: Finally got the notice, I had 2 weeks to get the rest of the necessary forms (original of birth certificate, notarized, copy of work declaration, copy of tax declaration-yes, you still have to pay taxes in Portugal whether you're legal or not! etc.) went to the SEF office and waited hours for my interview which my Miguel helped me out with, paid the expensive application fees PLUS the racked up penalty fee for living here illegally since my tourist visa ran out (so about €600-700 for a little over a year's worth of illegal living-don't let this happen to you!!!) and was told they would call me when they made a decision, which could be anywhere from 3-8 months.....
December 2009: I was desperate to be able to go home this year for the holidays to see my family, but still hadn't received a decision from SEF.....I had asked Miguel to call them back in October to see if I was allowed to leave the country since I was now in process but they told him no. This time though, after my parents' persuasion, a week before Christmasd I decided to make another trip out to the SEF office myself to try to talk to someone to see if they had made a decision. The receptionist there told me no they hadn't, maybe in January, and I started crying, telling him I had really wanted to visit my family for Christmas. But then he told me "well, you can travel outside the country if you want, as long as you bring your papers that say you're in process". I couldn't believe what I just heard, and I wasn't sure whether to jump for joy or to strangle someone there for telling me no before!!! But what mattered is my family got a happy surprise that year when I made it home the day after Christmas to spend the rest of the holidays with them.
January 2010- Not soon after I returned to Portugal from my holiday vacation, sure enough I got a letter from SEF telling me to come to their office for their decision. I waited 3 hours just to have some lady sit me down in her office and tell me that my application had been rejected. They told me my English teaching job didn't qualify enough for their "highly/special skilled worker" exception, to which apparently this whole "trabalhador independente" application is based on and most people get rejected in the end. She told me I had 2 options: Apply for an appeal, which she even advised me that this is usually just rejected as well in the end but it buys me more time for option 2- try to secure a contract job. I had 20 days from then to do either of these things or get out of Portugal. When I heard this news, surprisingly I wasn't sad or upset, I was actually angry and determined, I had been living, working, paying bills and taxes, essentially doing everything in Portugal that citizens do for almost 2 years yet they still wouldn't consider me legal?!?! Talk about confusing as hell. Well, finding a contract job in that short amount of time was impossible, I had been applying to both teaching jobs as well as hotel/restaurant jobs or any job I thought I could do off and on throughout the time I had been living there and the only ones who ever responded were for teaching and of course none offered a contract. The appeal just seemed as well, I didn't want to go through the whole process again knowing I was already terminal! I talked everything over with Miguel and a third option came up that we had thrown out before: being recognized in a "união de facto" or a civil union which would then make me eligible to apply for residency under "Familiar de Cidadão da União Europeia, Nacional de Estado Terceiro" or "Family of a European Union Citizen". The thing is, we couldn't use that before since you had to have been living with that person for at least 2 years.....but now that 2 years was approaching in less than 2 months! So within my 20 days time granted, I returned to SEF and re-applied under this type of residency!
June 2010- After applying for a "civil union" residency, we had to prove we had been living together for 2 years of course, this meant tons of papers showing our address being the same (which we used Miguel's parents' permanent address from my NIF as a backup), bills in our name, all of the same proofs of identity I needed the first time around, re-notarized and photocopied again....and finally filing taxes together for the first time. This last one was crucial, if the IRS accepted us as a civil union then is was almost inevitable that SEF would have to follow suit. And we were right, thankfully at the same time we were getting our tax return, I got a letter saying I had been granted residency FINALLY!!!! Though it took SEF another two months to make my crappy folded paper residency card (which I had to pay another fee for), I was officially legal after 2 1/2 years of living here and have a residency valid for 5 years before I have to renew.
Conclusion: So as you have just read, you now see that the only reason I am legal and still living here today was by sheer circumstantial luck. Words cannot describe the amount of stress and anxiety I lived with during that whole time, which seemed to have fueled some chronic health problems that I have spent a lot of money recovering from. I have been eligible for citizenship since I passed 3 years in a civil union, but I've been quite hesitant to start the whole painstaking process all over again just yet. So please understand when I repeat, do not attempt to go about living in Portugal this way, though I'm happy to have gotten through it and glad I'm still here, if I had known a quicker and better way to have done it then I would!!!
Not to long ago a friend came a across a video clip from a documentary about the legalization process in Spain, which is just as long and complicated as in Portugal. Check out this amusing clip, which is basically a summary of what I went through in my story above:
To this day, I still teach English as my main "day job", still on green receipts without a contract. I teach both for schools and privately but schools are the worst because they NEVER pay you on time. I still struggle to make decent money and have no job stability. Fortunately though, there has been another hope and motivation that helped me to survive throughout this time, thanks to Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of Catavino, in which I've had the opportunity put my food and wine education into a new outlet by starting to write about Portuguese food, wine and travel over the last 3 1/2 years on their website. It has opened up a world of opportunities, including a temp. contract job last year with Fodor's Travel to update their Portugal 9th Edition guidebook, which produced my first published writing work! Now that Catavino has ended, I will continue to write on this blog (as you see) and continue to look into new opportunities, which I hope to post about here :)
Now, back to YOU. You've read my story and hopefully you'll heed my warning, but if you don't, then at least take the time to ask yourself these questions below. Assuming those who have asked me about moving to Portugal are not of Portuguese decent, let's start by narrowing things down and going from there. Here is my questionnaire to you: answer these with either a "yes" or a "no" about yourself and please be as honest and as realistic as possible:
MY QUESTIONS TO YOU: 1. Have you ever been to Portugal? More than once? (just passing through the airport doesn't count) 2. Have you ever heard of the IMF? Are you aware of the current state of the Portuguese economy? 3. Do you currently speak or know any Portuguese? Are you willing to learn it? 4. Do you currently speak or know any other Latin languages (ie. Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan, Romanian)? 5. Do you know anyone (preferably native Portuguese) who lives here? (I don't count) 6. Do you plan to live in Portugal more than 6 months to a year? 7. Are you fluent in more than one language? (German, Dutch,Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Norwegian etc.) 8. Do you have at least €5,000+ in savings to use for "survival" money? (not counting the money you would need for flight to move here) 9. Are you willing to be away from all of your family and friends for a long period of time? (not being able to go home to the US for at least year or two) 10. Are you willing to wait in extremely long lines, humiliate yourself trying to communicate with people, go to whatever agency they tell you to go and return as many times as they tell you to, obtain, fill out, make copies, get notarizations and possibly pay several hundreds of euros in fees to do whatever it takes to make it here and be a legal resident?
So... I think you know how this questionnaire evaluation works, basically, if you answered most of the questions with a "no", then I seriously think you'll be wasting a lot of time, money and energy moving here. And of course if you answered most of them or even certain ones with a "yes", then I think at least you have your head in the right place for starters. Now let me explain why I asked you each of these questions:
MY REASONING: 1. Well, this one should be obvious, but I've actually met someone who decided they wanted to move to Portugal without ever having visited the country! Which I thought and still think that it's just absolutely nuts to move to another city or state, let alone a foreign country that you've never been to before! But they did, and to no surprise, after about 3 weeks living here they decided that they they didn't really like it (well except the food & wine, which they loved, but that's a normal reaction ;) ). But surprisingly they didn't return home to the US, they moved to Madrid instead and have been there for almost two years now and loves it. So actually a happy ending to that crazy idea but that doesn't mean it will turn out the same way for you! I think they'll agree with me in the end that this is not a good way to go about it.
Ok now let's say you're like me, you've visited Portugal before, maybe even more than once....that still doesn't mean you should move here. I had been to Portugal before, took two vacations here before and absolutely loved it. This is usually the way it starts......but have you ever heard the saying "Don't crap where you eat?" Well I got one like that from what I've learned: "Don't live where you vacation". Because living in Portugal, living in another country or even another city in the US is always going to be different than what you see and feel when you vacation there. Think about it, when you go on vacation, the stress of your job, bills to pay, rent or mortgage etc, is left back at home and everything of course seems great in a place where you don't have a care in the world. But then if you MOVE there, you'll be bringing those things with you, and they might even be worse! I had already done this once before, in 2006 I decided to move to Miami Beach (South Beach) after taking an awesome vacation there with my friends in college. And even though after moving there I still tried to get my share of the beach and nightclubs and fun that I had on vacation, I also had to deal with the stress of maintaining a job, a place to live, paying bills etc. A year and a half later I was broke, jobless and miserable after struggling with the failing Florida economy and restaurant industry at the time and I just couldn't take it anymore. You would think I would have learned from that but I decided to try my luck again, in a foreign country of all places! :p And as you just read above, it hasn't been easy here as well.....but every situation is different, take this as a cautionary reminder, love at first sight doesn't always last!
2. Soif you do know about the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and how BAD the Portuguese economy currently is then you know what I mean when I said the stress factors like maintaining a job, a place to live, paying bills etc, could be worse. Worse than when I came 4 years ago. Not only does Portugal have the IMF here now, but they got the whole "troika" as they call it, which also includes the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Why? Because Portugal IS IN DEBT UP TO THEIR EYEBALLS. And now due to this, taxes are going up, prices in general are going up, unemployment is going up and salaries are going down etc......yea you get the point. Ask yourself now, if this really a good time to move to Portugal?
3. This should be another no-brainer, it's a good idea to know the language of the country you're living in or at least make a good effort in learning it! If you're searching for a job in Portugal, you're going to have to search on Portuguese job sites, which yes, they're going to be in Portuguese! And yes it's true, a lot of Portuguese speak, or at least understand English well, especially in Lisbon (I should know, I teach them), but that's also bad for you if you're competing with them for a job. Many companies here want their employees to know English, but speaking fluent Portuguese is a given. So if you can't do that but they can, and on top of that, you're a foreigner trying to get a job in a country where currently natives are struggling to get one, who do you think they're going to choose for the position? Also, you'll definitely have a hard time getting around outside of big cities if you don't know Portuguese, even some local neighborhoods like mine in Lisbon have very few people who can speak English well. And if you've never been very good at languages then (Portugal, not Brazilian) Portuguese is definitely not a good language for you to start with, I've said it already in early blog posts that it is HARD. This is coming from someone who's already studied French, Spanish, Italian and Catalan and believes to be good at learning languages AND I'm still telling that that Portuguese has been the hardest language to learn so far. Granted I've never had any formal Portuguese lessons but after 4 years of living here I'm nowhere near fluent. I thought I knew some Portuguese from reading books before I moved here but in reality, I couldn't understand almost a damn thing for at least a year of living here. And that in itself, is a very stressful thing to live with daily.
4. If you know any of these languages, especially if you're fluent, this should help you in the long run for learning Portuguese well, and maybe more quickly. If not, I think it's going to be really tough for you.
5. Having some friends here always helps, they can definitely help get you more accepted into society and knowledgeable in the culture, and of course introduce you to more people, hopefully people who speak English well for your sake to begin with haha. If you don't know anyone, it can be a lonely life....Portuguese people are friendly in general but are very hesitant in letting outsiders into their "circle", especially Lisboners. There are always exceptions but don't be surprised if you feel like people aren't really making an effort to be good friends with you.
6. If you answered no to this then I hope all you plan to do is study or vacation here, otherwise it's not worth the hassle of starting the residency process if you don't intend on living or working here for that long. The best thing to do is apply for a student visa or an internship with a company, these are normally a lot easier and quicker to get than a regular residency.
7. Ok so you may not know any Portuguese or another Latin-based language but you do happen to be fluent or at least conversational in let's say German or Dutch- this can be helpful in getting a job if you want to work in the hotel/restaurant/tourism industry. Portugal gets plenty of European tourists so to be knowledgeable in a European language that most Portuguese would not know may help you push out your competition for getting a position.
8. I think this is also a given, you always need to have some money saved up when moving to another place as you never know how long it will take you to get settled and making steady money, regardless if you have a position lined up already. Also, all the little fees for getting legal and such can really add up, and if you're still not officially legal after a year, YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY TAXES IN PORTUGAL. I ended up paying almost €800 Euros in taxes my first year here as an "illegal resident" so beware.
9./10. Portugal, and southern European countries in general are notoriously SLOW when it comes to processing.....well, anything. (Think of your experience when you have to go to the DMV, but times ten.) This is because most of their government systems, especially Portugal, are overrun with ridiculous bureaucracy that turns even the simplest of things into a complicated , drawn-out issue. I have spent hours and hours waiting in lines only to be told I was missing one little "fine-print" thing or a photocopy of something (which most won't make for you there) and had to come back another time and wait in line all over again. And don't assume that most of these govt. workers speak English (most of them don't or won't) so you either have to bring an interpreter or play the "monkey miming game" with them, which can obviously get very embarrassing as well as frustrating.
What it all comes down to is having enough patience and perseverance to get through all this crap so you can get that residency card. And according to what I was told at the time, if you stay in the country (or any EU country) over the 90-day time allowed on just a tourist visa (just coming on a passport), you are not allowed to leave the country until you are granted residency, otherwise you may be rejected or penalized with a large fee. (There is a similar rule for immigrants applying for residency in the US, with much harsher consequences I must add so nothing new) Now it's also true that to this day, I have never once been asked to see my residency papers in Lisbon airport when traveling to and from the US directly, and I know other people who have made trips back and forth while still "illegal" and they didn't have a problem. (*Note: if you have a stopover in another EU country in between, such as France or Germany, they may ask to see them or check your passport thoroughly to see if you have been stamped recently leaving the EU and if they have a problem, you might risk getting extra penalties from them as well). However, none of these people I knew ever completed the residency process here and when I finally did, they made photocopies of every page in my passport which was checked thoroughly to see if I had left the country, which I hadn't in the 2 years I had been here. I had decided it wasn't worth the risk of completely screwing my entire application process as well as pay a ton more fees (which I couldn't afford), and I guess it paid off.
But yes, I had been stuck in Portugal for 2 years without ever leaving and yes, it was very tough not being able to come back home to visit all that time, but I had made a decision to move here and I was going to stick to it. My parents were able to come visit me in the first year which helped, as well as a couple of friends, but most of my family and friends just couldn't afford the time or the money to come visit ( and maybe some just didn't want to). But as I pointed out above, immigrants in the US have it far worse in the waiting process, I have friends who literally waited almost 10 years to get legal and they were stuck there the whole time without being able to leave to go back to their country to visit their families, so don't act like you're the only victim in this mess. There are a lot of people I know back home who still can't understand why I'm still here, no one believes an American would want to live outside of the US for a longer period of time.......but I'll have to leave that for another post, maybe with the title: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly about Living or not Living in the US". MY ADVICE: You are in charge of your own life and destiny. I can´t make huge decisions for you like whether to get married, have children, change careers etc, and I also can't be the one to make the huge decision for you about whether to move to another country or not. I can only give you my opinion, however you see it, based on my observations and the experience I've had here, which very likely wouldn't be quite the same experience you would have. At the end, you can take it or leave it, because sometimes no matter what you are told, I know some people (including myself) will still have to follow what their heart wants, regardless of the possible huge pile of shit they might end up under :)
Andhonestly, if you really want to do it, the simplest, correct way to move to Portugal (or any foreign country) is: -Find a Contract Job. one that will offer you a govt. sponsored contract to come work there, which you have to take to their consulate in the US to get the residency permit BEFORE YOU MOVE THERE. I know people who have successfully done this here so it's possible!! Probably the best job sector to look into is the hotel/restaurant industry, there are plenty of international hotel chains that have locations both in the US and Portugal. I also know there are several US companies that work within Portugal because I've met people from them working here, (unfortunately I can't remember any company names though) but they're usually only for a 6-month to 1 year time period. However it's an option you might want to look into.
-DON'T move to another country without a job lined up, especially in the current world economy. Assuming that you'll find a decent job, let alone a job at all, before your time and/or money runs out is a big mistake. A compromise, like what I tried to do in the first place, is take a 90-day "holiday" there, apply for jobs and if you're lucky enough to get an interview then a job offer with a contract then return in time with that contract and submit it to their local consulate. It's all about doing it right the first time, and preventing the nightmare that I, as well as many others have been through!
THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR PORTUGAL RIGHT NOW IS JUST BE A TOURIST! Portugal's economy is a big mess at the moment and the best thing they have to help boost their economy and start making more money is TOURISM. Come to Portugal and spend your money enjoying the delicious food, wine and country hospitality that I've praised so much about in my Catavino articles and Fodor's Portugal 9th Edition guidebook and that I will continue to praise and showcase here on my own blog! Stay in gorgeous boutique hotels in the mountains or along the endless coastline of beautiful beaches, wonder in awe at all the ancient castles and monuments scattered throughout the country and be amazed by the breathtaking vistas that their incredible geography has created! And you can come back to visit as often as you like! I encourage it! And I will be happy to help plan your itinerary to make the most out of your experience here! I already have 10 Delicious Reasons Why You Should Visit Portugal here, and you can come experience these things with me on my An American In Portugal Toursand if you're still not convinced, check out Portugal's awesome 2011 tourism video below:
If you have any other questions that I haven't addressed in this post then please please write a comment with
it below and I'll try to answer them as best as I can in a timely fashion. Whatever you decide to do, I hope
It's 2012, 4 years strong and I am still in Portugal! I finally feel that this year I can finally devote the much-needed attention to have an updated blog! But this time around I will be incorporating my food and wine writing, as my work on Catavino has now ended and I really want to continue writing for the time being while I search for future professional writing opportunities.
I have also been wanting to address the many emails and comments I have received in the last year seeking advice about wanting to move to Portugal, how to get a job, get legal etc. This is a seriously complicated subject that I have not yet had enough time to devote to writing out everything I'd like to say about that but I promise I will finally post about it in the near future!
Right now, I am playing around with the blog format here and still haven't decided exactly how I'd like it to look and what all to include, so suggestions for the layout are welcome!
This tiny 8-room boutique hotel was built totally out of local stone and is perched high up in the Serra da Estrela mountains at the top of the tiny aldeia, Lapa dos Dinheiros. The super comfy rooms are stylishly decorated with even softer beds and furniture and all are equipped with jacuzzi bathtubs.
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