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I used to pack for Portugal in about twenty minutes. Two pairs of shoes, a few linen things, a swimsuit, done. I have been six times and I never once made a list. Writing a Portugal packing list for families has taken me considerably longer, and most of that time has gone into deciding what NOT to bring.
Because that is the actual problem. The problem is not forgetting the sunscreen. You can buy sunscreen in Lisbon. The problem is arriving with four bags for three people, one of whom weighs 26 pounds, and then discovering that you have to get all of it up to a second floor apartment with no lift.
We go in May. Lisbon, then Cascais, then Lagos, ten nights. Here is what is going in the bags.
The short version of my Portugal packing list for families
Pack light layers, two pairs of shoes each, serious sun protection, and a carrier. Bring your own car seat. Leave the full size stroller at home. Plan to do laundry once mid trip, which cuts everything you pack by about a third. Buy diapers, wipes, snacks and sunscreen there instead of hauling them across the Atlantic.
Portugal in May is warm in the sun and genuinely cool in the shade and after dark. That one fact drives most of this list.
What May actually feels like
I went into the weather in detail in the best time to visit Portugal with kids, but the short version matters for packing.
Highs in Faro average around 74F in May. Lisbon runs a little cooler. Rain for the whole month is about an inch, so you are not packing for rain, you are packing for the possibility of one wet afternoon. The sea sits around 65F, which means your toddler will get in it and you probably will not.
The part the forecast does not tell you is the wind. Lisbon gets a breeze off the river and the Cascais coast is properly breezy most afternoons. A 74F day with wind coming off the Atlantic is a long sleeve day for a small child on the beach, even when it felt hot walking around at noon. I have been cold in Cascais in May wearing what I thought was enough.
So: layers, and more long sleeves than the temperature suggests.
Clothes, and how few I am bringing
For Lochlan, five days of clothes for a ten day trip. Five light tops, three pairs of shorts, two pairs of lightweight pants, two long sleeve layers, one fleece, a swimsuit, a sun hat, and pajamas. That is it.
Five days works because we are doing laundry once. This is the single biggest thing that makes packing for a longer trip manageable, and it is why I book apartments with a washing machine rather than hotel rooms. More on how I choose in where to stay in Portugal with kids.
For me and Danny, roughly the same math. Five or six tops each, two bottoms, one layer that works over everything, one thing that looks decent at dinner. Portuguese restaurants are not formal. Nobody will care what you are wearing.
What I am adding that I would not have packed before: twice as many socks as seems reasonable, because sand, and a change of clothes for everyone in the day bag rather than just for him. I have learned that lesson at home.
Shoes, which matter more here than anywhere
Lisbon is paved in calçada, the polished limestone cobbles laid in patterns. It is beautiful and it is slick, especially on a slope, especially damp. The hills are steep enough that you feel them in your calves by day two.
Two pairs each, and one of them has to have real grip. Sneakers with a proper sole for city days, and sandals that can get wet for the beach. I am not bringing anything with a smooth sole or any kind of heel. I have slipped on that pavement in flat shoes.
For Lochlan, closed toe sneakers for walking and water sandals for the beach. Nothing that slides off, because the gaps between the stones will eat a loose shoe.
My Lisbon travel guide gets into which neighborhoods are flat, and the things to do in Lisbon list will tell you which ones involve a climb.
Sun, and why I take it seriously
Portugal gets well over 300 days of sun a year and the light on the Algarve coast is strong in a way that surprises people who have only done beaches on the Atlantic side of the US.
I have an autoimmune disease, and sun is not a neutral thing for me. I plan around it rather than hoping for the best. That means a wide brim hat that actually shades my neck, long sleeve UPF layers instead of relying on sunscreen alone, and the middle of the day spent somewhere with shade. This is also just a better way to run a day with a toddler, so it is not a compromise.
For Lochlan: a UPF rash guard he wears in and out of the water, a hat with a chin strap, and mineral sunscreen for the parts left over. Full length swim layers mean I am reapplying sunscreen to a wriggling two year old on his face and hands rather than his whole body, and that difference is worth the suitcase space.
Bring one bottle of sunscreen and buy more there. A Portuguese pharmacy has excellent sunscreen and it weighs nothing to walk out with.
The car seat and the stroller
We are bringing our own car seat and checking it. Airlines take car seats free as checked baggage, renting one runs 6 to 10 euros a day, and I would rather install a seat I know in a car I do not than the other way around. I wrote all of this out in getting around Portugal with kids, including the car seat law and the taxi exemption that surprised me.
For the flight itself, the car seat goes in a padded bag and gets checked at the desk, the stroller gets gate checked at the jet bridge, and the carrier stays on me through security. Chicago to Lisbon is an overnight and that is the one part of this I have no control over. I am packing a change of clothes for all three of us in the carry on, because an overnight flight with a two year old has a way of requiring one.
The stroller is the harder call, and I have landed on a compact travel stroller plus a carrier rather than either one alone.
The stroller earns its place in Baixa, along the Cascais seafront, and in Lagos old town, all of which are flat, and for the fact that a child will nap in it. The carrier earns its place in Sintra, where the grounds at Pena are gravel and steps, and on any day with a train and a lot of walking. My Sintra and Óbidos travel guide and the things to do in Sintra make the terrain pretty clear.
Whatever stroller you bring, the wheels matter more than anything else about it. Small hard plastic wheels and calçada are a bad combination.
What I would skip
The travel crib. I booked apartments that provide a cot and I confirmed it in writing before paying, which took one message each. Hauling a crib across an ocean to use it in a place that already has one is how you end up with four bags.
I would also skip a full size stroller, a sound machine (a phone does this), bottled water (the tap water is fine), and a ten day supply of diapers. A Portuguese supermarket sells diapers. Bring two days’ worth and buy the rest on day one.
And the thing I am leaving behind that I would have packed five years ago: a second camera. My phone is fine and I would rather have the hand free.
Everything above is in my Portugal for Families guide too, if you would rather have it in one place than in eleven open tabs. It is a 13 page PDF with the full 10-day itinerary and a with kids section for every stop, Lisbon through Madeira.
What I am buying there instead of packing
Diapers, wipes, sunscreen, snacks, fruit, and any pharmacy thing we turn out to need.
Portuguese pharmacies are good and the pharmacists speak English in the cities. They will sell you children’s paracetamol, rehydration salts, saline drops and plasters without a fuss, and the prices are lower than at home. I am bringing a small kit with what we actually use and nothing speculative.
Supermarkets are easy. Pingo Doce and Continente are everywhere and they have everything. A supermarket run on arrival costs 40 to 50 euros and covers breakfasts for days, which also saves real money. The numbers are in our family cost breakdown.
The day bag
This is the bag that makes or breaks a day, and it is smaller than you think.
A backpack, not a tote, because you need both hands. Water for everyone, snacks, sunscreen, hats, one change of clothes, a thin muslin that works as a shade or a blanket or a towel, wipes, two diapers, and a bag for wet things. That is the whole list.
One more thing: a Type F plug adapter, which is the two round pin European plug. Bring two. There is never an outlet where you want one and a phone at 4% at the end of a long day in an unfamiliar city is its own small crisis.
Beach things
Buy the bucket and spade there for three euros and leave them behind. Do not pack sand toys.
What is worth bringing: a thin sand free blanket that packs down to nothing, a mesh bag for wet swimsuits, and a quick dry towel each rather than real towels. The coves near Lagos have small beaches with a staircase down, so whatever you carry you are carrying down steps and back up again. My Lagos travel guide has which beaches are easy to reach and which are not, and the Lagos restaurants list covers where to eat when nobody wants to cook.
If Madeira is on your route instead, pack differently. It runs cooler and wetter and you will want a real rain layer and proper shoes. My Madeira travel guide covers it.
A few things I am packing
🛒 What is actually going in our bags
- A UPF sun hat with a chin strap, because the ones without a strap end up in the sea
- A long sleeve UPF rash guard he can wear in and out of the water all day
- A toddler carrier for Sintra and every set of steps after it
- A compact travel stroller with wheels big enough for cobbles
- Type F plug adapters, two of them
- Mineral sunscreen for the bits the UPF layers do not cover
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Most of what is on this list is here because of the walking, and the walking is worst in the capital. I went through that part separately in Lisbon with kids, and what I would do differently now.
Questions I get about packing for Portugal with kids
What should I wear in Portugal in May?
Light layers. A t-shirt most of the day, a long sleeve or light sweater for the evening and for windy afternoons on the coast. Comfortable shoes with grip for the cobbles. You will want a swimsuit and you will also want a fleece, which feels contradictory until you are standing on a beach in Cascais at five in the afternoon.
Do I need to bring a stroller to Portugal?
A compact one, yes, if your child still naps in it. A full size one, no. Lisbon and Sintra are hilly with slick cobbles and plenty of steps, and a carrier handles those far better. The flat parts, Baixa and the Cascais seafront and Lagos old town, are where a stroller genuinely helps.
Can you buy diapers and baby food in Portugal?
Yes, easily. Pingo Doce and Continente carry diapers, wipes, formula, pouches and snacks, and pharmacies carry the rest. Bring two days’ worth and buy the rest when you arrive. There is no reason to fly ten days of diapers across an ocean.
What plug adapter do I need for Portugal?
Type F, the two round pin European plug, at 230 volts. Phone and laptop chargers handle the voltage fine, so you only need the plug shape. Anything with a heating element, like a hair straightener, needs to be dual voltage or it will not survive.
Is the tap water safe to drink in Portugal?
Yes. Tap water is safe across the country, including for mixing formula. The taste varies a little by region. Bring refillable bottles and skip buying plastic ones.
How much should I pack for a ten day trip to Portugal?
Five days of clothes per person and one laundry day in the middle. Apartments with a washing machine make this easy, and it is the difference between two bags and four. Nobody has ever regretted packing lighter for a trip with a small child.
Where I landed
One checked bag between the three of us, the car seat in its own bag, a carry on, and the carrier worn through the airport. That is the goal. I will find out in May how close I get.
If you are earlier in the planning, whether Portugal is good for families and how many days you actually need come first, then the itinerary itself. If you already know you are going to Cascais, my Cascais travel guide is the one to read next. The rest is in the Portugal archive.
