Three Months in Portugal
We had three distinctly different experiences in our month long stays from northern to southern Portugal. Follow along as we review how Portugal scored on our rating system for both short and long stays. Should you plan on a vacation here? Would we come back long term?
Weekend Wanderings in Algarve, Portugal
The beauty of living in Olhão, Portual for a month was the ability to visit other towns in the Algarve by train or Uber. Follow along as we share our experiences in Faro, Vila Real San Antonio, Tavira, and a guided trip along the Seven Hanging Valleys trail.
A Month in the Algarve: Olhão, Portugal
Our final month long stay in Portugal has been in the Algarve. Specifically in the city of Olhão in the eastern Algarve. In a region that is known for sunshine, warm temperatures, beaches, tourism, and expats, did it live up to the hype? Would we come back?
In Search of the Perfect Airbnb
Bom Dia from Olhão, Portugal! We’re settling in here to our newest month long home. So what are those key criteria we use when searching for a month long accommodation? What have we learned over the last five months?
Weekend Wanderings: Day Trips along the Silver Coast of Portugal
During our month-long stay on the Silver Coast of Portugal we’ve done a number of day trips. We used both public transportation and private tours to visit five cities in the region. Read along to learn more about Caldas da Rainha, Alcobaça, Óbidos, Peniche, and Aveiro Portugal!
Nazaré by the Sea
Our second month long stay in Portugal has been in Nazaré which is about a 90 minute drive north of Lisbon on the Silver Coast of Portugal. Nazaré is a small fishing village, it is a premier surfing destination, and it is a vibrant tourist town. Keep reading to see how it manages to be all three beautifully.
How We Plan Our Travel
We’re now in our fifth month of full time travel, so I thought this would be a good time to chat about how we created our 2025 itinerary. While our approach works for us for long term travel, most of it also applies to vacation planning!
Day Trippin’ From Porto
Portugal is relatively small and is well connected by public transportation. We took three day trips from Porto: The Duoro Valley, Lisbon, and Braga. Come along and learn a little about what to do outside of Porto!
Porto, Oporto, How We Love Thee
We arrived in Porto after two full days of travel from Mexico and quickly remembered how much we love Europe. We were thrilled to find that our Airbnb was clean, modern, bug and coati free, and we had drinkable tap water that got hot in all faucets! What a step back into the modern world!
Mexico Wrap Up
We’ve wrapped up our first country and our first three months of slow travel in Mexico. So what did we think? Could we live in Mexico long term? We’ve developed some rating categories as we experience different cities and countries. Here are our thoughts on Mexico.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
We leave Puerto Vallarta in three days, after spending just over seven weeks here across three different Airbnbs. We definitely prefer Puerto Vallarta over Sayulita for our slow travel lifestyle. But will we ever come back for a winter?
San Pancho and Sayulita Mexico
We started our slow travel journey in Mexico, adding on to a vacation that was already planned for San Pancho, which is about a 15 minute taxi ride north of Sayulita. We stayed in a hotel in San Pancho for 5 days, and then journeyed by taxi to Sayulita where we spent 5 weeks in an Airbnb.
Saying goodbye
Making the decision to travel was not that hard. Downsizing was a lot of work, but once we got past the emotional hurdle of our possessions, it was just physical work. But saying goodbye to family, friends, and the city where I lived most of my life was hard…
Two suitcases and two backpacks
We accumulated a whole lot of stuff in 29 years of marriage. We’ve owned 5 houses plus a lake house. We had 2 children. Plus, I was always a bit of a shopaholic…
The decision
Our journey really started in August of 2022 when Eric and I moved to London for a year for my job…..