How to pack lightly for a long trip

It was by chance that I visited the Algarve in winter. After a year of living in Spain, I was supposed to be moving back to Scotland. But a visa delay meant that I found myself on a road trip along the Algarve and up to Lisbon and Porto. And thankfully, it turned out to be an awesome detour before I finally made the move!  You might not find the Algarve featuring on a lot of top places to visit in Europe in winter lists, but it really deserves more credit, and I’m going to tell you why! Check out 10 reasons to go, where to go, and what to expect.  Table of Contents 1 Why visit the Algarve in winter 2 Algarve at Christmas 3 Where to go in the Algarve in winter 4 Where to stay in the Algarve in winter 5 What to pack Why visit the Algarve in winter Good weather While some places are definitely worth visiting in winter for the cold and snow (Iceland for example!) the Algarve is a destination that allows you some respite from it. The overall warm and temperate clim...

Visiting Lisbon in winter gives you the best of both worlds. All the awesome sights in one of Europe’s most popular cities, at a cheaper cost and with fewer people. Sure the weather is chillier than in the summertime, but Lisbon is still one of the warmest and sunniest capitals in Europe at this time of year! I never thought twice about going to Lisbon during the winter months, but then I do live in Scotland and love travelling Europe in the off-season! However, I fell in love with the city, and with Portugal as a whole, and I want to share with you the reasons to visit Lisbon at this time, and the things to do in Lisbon in winter (spoiler alert, there’s not too much difference to summer!).   Table of Contents 1 Why visit Lisbon in winter? 2 Things to do in Lisbon in winter 3 What to wear in Lisbon in winter 4 Where to go from Lisbon Why visit Lisbon in winter? There are three main reasons to put Lisbon on your bucket list of European winter destinations. No...