Full Price Guide to Lisbon Solo Travel

Lisbon is often considered one of the cheapest European cities that a traveler can go and visit. Not only that, but the city is super safe for solo female travel. I wanted this post to go beyond the prices and give you a few ideas of activities that you can do in the city. Here is my guide to Lisbon solo travel. You can also find some tips for travel safety when you are traveling solo right here.

How Much Does it Cost?

Lodging for Your Lisbon Solo Travel

Many of the experts think that it costs about €100 a day to be in Lisbon and that doesn’t include lodging. I am here to tell you that you can definitely cut that down if you become creative with where you spend your money. It takes about 3-4 full days to be able to explore Lisbon well. Remember that when you are making your budget.

The first thing you have to think about is where you will be laying your head. Accommodations in a hotel can cost about €70-150 ($80-$170) a night. In March of 2019 costs for an airbnb were as low as $17 dollars a night. You are able to rent an entire loft/apartment for about $40 a night. If you are looking for a hostel you can probably find one for less than $40 a night.

Transportation

Like many European cities you will have to take a taxi or some sort of public transportation from the airport to the city center. You can expect this to cost you about  €12-€15, give or take for the luggage surcharge. If you don’t know what the surcharge is, it is basically where you have a base cost for the ride and then you are charged additional money depending on how many bags you have.

You can instead take a bus ride for under €2. You can also try to buy the unlimited public transportation. This includes buses, trams, and metros for under €7. If you are planning to use a lot of public transportation then it is completely worth it.

Food in Lisbon

Food costs can differ greatly depending on the neighborhood and the season that you go. You can expect an evening meal in most restaurants to cost you about €25.00 – €30.00. This will more than likely include a glass of wine or a soda but after a couple of those meals you will find your food budget dwindling.

If you are going to a restaurant, there is the expectation that you will tip which is usually around 10%. You can save money if you go to food courts or drop in shops. These are mostly places where you aren’t expected to sit down and be served. In these cases you can expect to pay around €7-10 and you aren’t expected to tip.

You can expect for your wine to cost you between  €8-13 and your beers to cost you about  €2-3. You can also expect your pastries to be about  €2 and your coffees to be about the same amount or a little cheaper.

Tips for Saving Money

You can cut out the alcohol. I enjoy a nice glass of wine as much as anyone but if it meant that it would save me €8-13 then it might be a sacrifice worthy of making. You can stay in hostels or Airbnbs instead of hotels. There are a lot of tips and tricks for picking the right Airbnb and they can save you a lot of money.

You can pick restaurants or places to eat that are down side street or away from the tourist district. You can expect restaurants with prime location to be more expensive than places that are tucked away. Always make sure that you look at a menu before sitting down. You don’t want to sit down and realize that a restaurant are way outside of your budget.

As always, you should try to book your flights are far in advance as possible. You can travel outside of the peak summer or holiday seasons and save money that way. You can also consider staying on the outskirts of the city so that you can save on lodging prices.

My last tip is to get a travel credit card. If you don’t want to get another credit card then you should be aware of any fees that your credit card will charge you. A lot of times they will charge you per international transaction.

Activities for Your Lisbon Solo Travel

1. Take a walk: This seems silly but Lisbon is an incredibly walkable city and you will save money on transportation. It is a great way to get in touch with the city and find cool things to do.
2. Take a day trip: There are a lot of cool towns close by such as Cascias and Sintra.
3. Enjoy the nightlife in Bairro Alto. You will find that the best nights to go out in Lisbon is Thursday.
4. Lisbon Cathedral: The actual cathedral is free to go to. If you want to see the cloisters than it is  €2.50.
5. Visit the food markets
6. Tour the Lisbon street art: Totally free
7. Monument to the Discoveries
8. Rua August Arch: Translated to triumphal arch
9. Ride Tram 28 for a cheap tour of the city
10. Catch a Fado show: Fado is a famous genre of music in Portugal.
11. St. George’s Castle
12. Time Out Market which has a huge selection of food.
13. Monastery of Jerónimos
14. Cruise on the Tagus River
15. Catch the views from the higher parts of the city. Definitely worth a sunset visit.

There you have it! A full guide to prices for you Lisbon solo travel and 15 ideas for activities!