Portugal itinerary with kids7, 10 or 14 days by train (Lisbon, Porto, Algarve or Madeira)

Checked on 10 October 2026. Train fares are CP’s 2026 list prices; Promo fares are cheaper while they last. Opening hours and prices of sights change: check before you go.

Short answer: with children, travel Portugal north to south, by train, changing base no more than every three or four days. In 7 days (6 nights), do Porto (3 nights) and Lisbon (3). In 10 days, add 3 nights on the Algarve at Lagos. In 14 days, slow down to 4 + 5 + 4 nights, and swap the Algarve for Madeira if you travel in winter or want to walk rather than swim. Fly into Porto and out of Faro or Funchal, so you never backtrack. The Alfa Pendular takes about 2 h 45 from Porto to Lisbon, and a family of two adults and two children aged 4 to 12 pays €107.40 one way at list price [1][2].

The three routes at a glance

	7 days	10 days	14 days (Algarve)	14 days (Madeira)
Nights	Porto 3, Lisbon 3	Porto 3, Lisbon 3, Lagos 3	Porto 4, Lisbon 5, Lagos 4	Porto 4, Lisbon 5, Funchal 4
Changes of base	1	2	2	2
Long legs	Porto to Lisbon, 2 h 45 by train	+ Lisbon to Lagos, train with one change	same as 10 days	+ Lisbon to Funchal, 1 h 40 by air [13]
Fly in / out	Porto / Lisbon	Porto / Faro	Porto / Faro	Porto / Funchal
Car	Not needed	Optional on the Algarve	A few days on the Algarve	A few days on Madeira for the west
Best season	All year	May to October for the beach	May to October	All year; winter is Madeira’s case

Why Porto first: the north is cooler and wetter, so you end in the sun, and an open-jaw flight saves a day of travelling back. If your only flights are return tickets to Lisbon, put Porto in the middle (Lisbon, Porto, Lisbon) and accept one extra train.

Getting between the stops (CP, 2026 list prices)

Leg	Train	Time	Adult	Child 4–12
Porto Campanhã to Lisbon (Oriente or Santa Apolónia)	Alfa Pendular, Turística	about 2 h 45 [2]	€35.70 [1]	€18.00 [1]
Lisbon Oriente to Tunes, then Tunes to Lagos	Intercidades 2nd class + Regional	3 h 30 to 4 h 11 to Lagos with the change at Tunes, five connections a day [22]	€23.45 + €4.95 [3][5]	€12.00 + €2.50 [3][5]
Lisbon Oriente to Faro	Intercidades 2nd class	3 h 30 to 3 h 37 (the two Alfa Pendulars take 3 h 00) [22]	€24.55 [3]	€12.50 [3]
Porto to Faro, direct	Alfa Pendular, Turística	5 h 43 to 5 h 47, two a day (05:40 and 14:40 from Campanhã) [22]	€60.40 [4]	€30.50 [4]

• Children: up to 3 travel free sharing a seat; 4 to 12 pay half on all CP trains. Carry the children’s passports or ID cards: CP asks for an official document [6].
• Book ahead: Promo fares are up to 65% off when bought online at least 8 days before, on a limited number of seats [7]. From October to April, the Family & Friends discount (3 to 9 people travelling together) halves Alfa Pendular and Intercidades fares on Saturdays and on listed Sunday trains [8]. Discounts don’t stack: pick the lowest total.
• Luggage: CP allows one free hand item per passenger that fits the rack or under the seat; extra pieces on Alfa Pendular and Intercidades are charged on board [9]. A family with big suitcases should travel light or ask at the ticket office.
• Check for works: in October 2026 CP listed a notice for Alfa Pendular and Intercidades on the Lisbon–Porto line from 3 October to 1 November [10]. Look at cp.pt before you book.

All of CP’s trains, passes and how to buy: trains in Portugal.

7 days: Porto and Lisbon

Days 1–3, Porto. Stay west of the old town (Boavista, Foz or Matosinhos), where the parks and the sea are; keep the steep, cobbled Ribeira for a short walk, not a stroller day (where to stay in Porto).

• Day 1: Parque da Cidade down to the sea, with SEA LIFE next to it for a rainy afternoon.
• Day 2: the river: cable car in Gaia, then across the top of the Luís I bridge.
• Day 3: one easy day trip by train: Braga for the Bom Jesus funicular, or Aveiro and the beach at Costa Nova.

Ideas, prices and rainy-day plans: Porto with kids, day trips from Porto, Porto’s best beaches.

Day 4, train to Lisbon. CP’s timetable from 6 September 2026 shows about 2 h 45 between the two cities (in the other direction, for example, 10:05 from Lisbon Oriente arrives in Porto Campanhã at 12:48) [2]. Pick a morning Porto to Lisbon train in the CP app for your date, and get off at Oriente if you stay in Parque das Nações.

Days 4–6, Lisbon (3 nights). Stay outside the old town too: Parque das Nações, Campo de Ourique or Estrela, or on the Cascais train line if the beach is the daily plan (where to stay in Lisbon).

• Day 4 afternoon: Oceanário and the Pavilhão do Conhecimento science centre, side by side in Parque das Nações, near Oriente station: an indoor afternoon for rain or heat.
• Day 5: sea day in Cascais, about 40 minutes by train from Cais do Sodré, €5.10 return for an adult [12]; the town beaches by the station are calm.
• Day 6: with school-age children, Sintra (one palace or Quinta da Regaleira, not both); with toddlers, a park day.
• Day 7: fly home from Lisbon, or carry on south for the 10-day route.

More: Lisbon with kids, day trips from Lisbon, Sintra day trip, best beaches near Lisbon.

10 days: add the Algarve

Do the 7-day route, then on day 7 take the Intercidades from Lisbon Oriente to Tunes and change to the regional train for Lagos (adult €23.45 + €4.95, child €12.00 + €2.50) [3][5]. Lagos has a station in town, sheltered coves and a long flat beach; Tavira, on the same line further east, is the quieter railway base with island beaches (where to stay in the Algarve, where to stay in Lagos).

• Days 7–9: beach mornings, a boat trip along the cliffs, one afternoon off. The calmer water for small children is on the south coast; the west coast is surf country (the Algarve with kids, Lagos with kids).
• Day 10: fly home from Faro; the regional train from Lagos to Faro costs €8.30, children €4.15 [5]. Airport connections: Faro airport to Lagos and Sagres.

The big water parks and Zoomarine are in the central Algarve, a drive from Lagos or Tavira; that is the day to hire a car (the Algarve without a car, car hire in the Algarve).

14 days: slower, with the Algarve or Madeira

With the Algarve: 4 nights in Porto (add the second day trip), 5 in Lisbon (add Cascais or Ericeira as a second sea day), 4 in Lagos or Tavira. The extra nights are rest days, not more sights: with children, a day with nothing planned is what keeps a two-week trip going.

With Madeira instead: after Lisbon, fly to Funchal: TAP, easyJet and Ryanair had about 93 non-stop flights a week between them in Google Flights’ October 2026 snapshot, about 1 h 40 [13].

• Base yourself in Funchal, which has the airport bus, city buses and the sea pools; the Lido’s saltwater pools are open all year [19]. Sand is rare on Madeira, so plan pools rather than beaches (Madeira with kids).
• Walk an easy levada, such as PR11 to the Balcões viewpoint, 1.5 km each way. The classified routes in IFCN’s booking system cost €4.50 a person in 2026 and must be booked in a time slot; children 12 and under walk free but still need a booking [18]. Check the trail status on the morning, and turn back in heavy rain or strong wind [21]. See Madeira levadas.
• Hire a car for a day or two if you want the west and the trailheads in the hills, which buses barely reach (Madeira without a car, where to stay in Madeira).

When Madeira beats the Algarve: from November to March, when Funchal still averages 19.9–22.8 °C by day [20]; or when your family would rather walk than swim. For a month on either island, see Madeira or the Canary Islands.

Pacing with children

• One change of base every three or four days. Each move costs most of a day: packing, a train, finding the flat, the first shop.
• One big thing a day. A morning sight and a park or beach afternoon works better than two sights.
• Rain plan per city: Porto has SEA LIFE, the planetarium and World of Discoveries; Lisbon has the Oceanário, the science centre and the zoo. Details on Porto with kids and Lisbon with kids.

Tourist tax

Children 12 and under don’t pay in any of the stops below [14][15][17]. Per adult, per night:

• Lisbon: €4, guests from 13, for up to 7 nights [14].
• Porto: €3 since 1 December 2024, for up to 7 consecutive nights [15][16].
• Funchal: €2, for up to 7 consecutive nights [17].

For the 10-day route, two adults pay €42 in Porto and Lisbon combined (3 × €3 + 3 × €4 = €21 each). Lagos and the other Algarve towns: see tourist tax in Portugal.

Which city if you only have one base?

If you’d rather not move at all, pick one city and do day trips. That decision has its own page: Lisbon or Porto for a month.

Where next

• Lisbon · Porto · the Algarve · Madeira
• Flights to Lisbon · flights to Porto · flights to Faro · flights to Madeira
• Driving in Portugal · healthcare in Portugal for travellers

Sources

Numbered references match the source list on this page. Read on 9 or 10 October 2026.