Hi,

My husband and I are trying to plan a trip to Portugal for 10 days in July.
We are looking to spend a few days in Lisbon, rent a car and drive south. Can you recommend an itinerary that has sightseeing/culture and a few days for a beach vacation? Does Portugal have beaches that are warm to swim, please reccomend?

Or should we fly into Lisbon and wander over to Spain for beaches?

Thank you!

The waters around Portugal are part of the Atlantic and I've always found it quite cold even in high summer. The beaches themselves are lovely, particularly on the Algarve. Lagos is beautiful.

As noted above, Portugal is on the Atlantic ocean. The ocean currents circulate clockwise, as they do in the Pacific. So the waters off Portugal are flowing from colder regions to the north. The southern tip of Portugal is roughly the same lattitude as San Fransisco, so one should expect similar ocean temperatures - late summer in the mid to upper 60's max...

Warm to swim? No, not really, because, as the posters above have explained well, the beaches are on the Atlantic. In July, the warmest water you may find may be at the eastern end of the Algarve, Tavira and environs, closer to the Med. See
https://www.seatemperature.org/europ...avira-july.htm