Portugal with a Toddler: Sunshine, Wine, and Epic Family AdventuresWent to Portugal April 26-May 7 with my wife and three-year-old. Overall, loved the trip. We spent the first 4 nights in Lisbon, then went to Lagos for 5 nights, then Lisbon for the final two.
Weather: 10/10. Absolutely beautiful. It was mid-low 20s our entire trip. Might've drizzled once?
Wine: 10/10. Definitely lived up to the hype. Affordable and very good. Vinhas de Xisto Reserva was a go-to for me.
Navigating Cobblestone/hills/stairs: 8/10. To be honest, this felt a bit overhyped. Yes, there are inclines but we managed them fine even with a stroller (Ergobaby Metro 3). It honestly wasn't bad at all. Our three-year-old walked maybe 80% of the time and pushing a stroller was easy so, any parents, don't let the terrain deter you. We actually used the stroller more than our carrier.
Food: 6/10. Quality ingredients but the lack of seasoning/creativity was disappointing. Lots of what we had was bland. My family is from an island. We have quality seafood and seasoning. That said, any churrasqueira we visted---food was 10/10. Churrasqueira da Paz in Lisbon was amazing. I'd go back to Lisbon just for this.
Transportation: 9/10. We used Bolt most times (cheaper than Uber and just easier than public transit for us). It was affordable (way more affordable than in Canada). Also took Rede Expressos to/from Lisbon/Lagos. Good ride. Only downside I'd say is one of the buses didn't have a restroom but they make stops.
Costs: Around $5500 CAD which was less than I had budgeted for a few reasons:
Flights: Bought in November 2025 with credit card points so we paid $729.21 CAD for three roundtrip direct flights. (Also got lounge access for $21 CAD through the same card. We also did carry-on only so that saved like $150 CAD.
Accommodation: Booked pretty early. Spent about $2000 CAD here for aparthotels with kitchens/laundry. Honestly could've been cheaper if we didn't book non-refundable but I valued the flexibility.
Activities/Food/Wine (lots of it)/Transport: We used a Wealthsimple Prepaid Mastercard which reimburses us for all our ATM fees and has no foreign exchange rate fee so I didn't keep track of these categories individually but, altogether, they were around $2700 CAD.
Mistakes:
We stayed in Baixa for the first lil bit since it was pretty flat and lots of attractions were nearby but we hated the vibe there. I understand areas being touristy (we're fine with that) but it felt more like Niagara Falls / Vegas. We stayed in Chiado for the second part and loved it. Now that I see how easy we were able to navigate the cobblestone/stairs/hills---I would've stayed in Chiado the entire time in Lisbon.
Highlights:
Beaches/cliffs in Lagos. We were deciding between Lisbon/Porto and Lisbon/Lagos. We 100% made the right choice for us.
Miradouro de Santa Catarina where locals let us crash a birthday party. Just loved chilling there, seeing our three-year-old play with other kids, listening to live performers and sharing drinks/convos with a bunch of locals.
Churrasqueira da Paz. Amazing food. Great prices. Always has a lineup and menu is in Portuguese which were two positives for me. We ate here a few times. The owner have our three-year-old S.L. Benfica gear which I thought was super sweet.
TL;DR: Great trip. Cost around $5500 CAD for 11 nights for two adults and one three-year-old in Lisbon/Lagos.
submitted by /u/DisciplineAmazing59
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Island Vibes & Canal Dreams: A Family Adventure in Curaçao & PanamaHi there! This is a trip report of a family trip (4 persons) to the island Curaçao and Panama City.
TL;DR: 8/10, had a great time. Curaçao has AMAZING beaches, Panama City is fun, but not for a long vacation, Panama Canal tour is a must!!
Photo 1-6: curaçao, photo 7-14: panama
When? Mid April
How long? 9 days in Curaçao, 3 days in Panama City
Purpose of trip: Amazing beaches, resting + big city and seeing the Panama canal and wildlife
—Curaçao—
We stayed at Villa Unique booked through booking.com, can absolutely recommend staying here - we had no issues and it was in a nice neighborhood. We booked a rental car through Hertz, when we got there the price was suddenly more expensive?? Can’t recommend :/ the car was fine, and the staff was nice but the prices didn’t match up.
Activities: Aloe Vera Farm, cute but wouldn’t visit again. Willemstad (Otrabanda + Punda), very cute, super walkable, don’t go on a Sunday evening, everything is closed!! Hato Caves, really cool! Liqueur distillery, super small, kinda expensive, can’t recommend.
Beaches: we went to Daaibooi Beach, Playa Porto Marie, Kokomo, Tugboat beach and Cas Abao. In general the beaches are sooo nice, there’s an alright amount of fish to see especially at tugboat and Cas Abao, but there’s unfortunately not many corals left. My favorite was Cas Abao.
Prices: it’s expensiiiive, I saw yoghurt for 10$ at the supermarket, chips cost around 5-6$, eating out depends on where you go, for a family of 4 we ate for around 150$ pr night, but ate breakfast and lunch at home.
Food as a vegetarian: there’s not a lot of options.. Munchies Curaçao did a reaaally good job, all their food was delicious but unfortunately we only went there once since they don’t serve dinner :/ otherwise i honestly don’t have a restaurant recommendation, as a vegetarian it really wasn’t that great - but maybe I was just unlucky. The rest of my family (non-vegetarians) had a great time :)
What surprised me? Such nice beaches and really cool wildlife (flamingoes, pelicans, fish, turtles, beautiful birds, iguanas). For such a beautiful island there’s a devastating amount of trash, not at the beaches but pretty much everywhere else, really sad
Language: Very friendly locals, pretty much everybody speak English, so no prob there.
—Panama City—
Stayed at Principe Hotel & Suites, got two rooms for a really nice price. If we were to visit again, we’d get a hotel in Casco Viejo instead. Used Uber to get around, pretty cheap for a family of 4, otherwise they’ve got a good public transport system!
Activities: Walk around Cacso Viejo, Ancón Hill, panamacanal tour + walk in the jungle, Mola museum, miraflores visitor center.
Prices: much much cheaper than curaçao haha, like 3$ for chips, eating out cost us around 100$ (for entrees and good drinks (not with alcohol))
Food as a vegetarian: easier than Curaçao, but not as easy as other places, can recommend Snack Shack in Casco Viejo, soo delicious! Can also recommend Cafe Unido for breakfast, very nice.
What surprised me? How important the Panama Canal is! I learned so much about it! Also how “Americanized” the city is, as someone from Scandinavia it kinda reminds me of USA (even tho I know it’s very very different) haven’t been to a Spanish-speaking country where so many people also speak English!! Also saw sloths, tropic spiders, monkeys, cool birds, fruit bats and crocodiles 🐊
End of review: go to curaçao for world class beaches and relaxing vibes, go to Panama City for the canal, 3 days was ideal for us - not much to see there, but definitely can recommend !!
Hope this’ll be helpful for someone <3
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