In 2013, the man behind Nomadic Matt published a book called How to Travel the World on $50 a Day (newest edition linked). Since then, it seems like “$50 a day” is the standard for moderate-budget travel, so we’ve decided to start a series on this blog showing how you can visit the places we’ve been for $50 (or less!) per day.
Some of the cities we’ve visited can be easily done on less than $50 a day, others are much more challenging. For our first installment, we chose a city that’s somewhere in the middle: Lisbon, Portugal. It’s not impossible to stay under $50, but you definitely have to be conscious of your budget.
Here we go!*
Lodging: $17.55
Lisbon is a popular destination, and it’s only getting busier every year, so we recommend booking lodging in advance, especially if you want to be centrally located. Our cheapest lodging in Lisbon was $35.10/night for a private room through Airbnb (including service + cleaning fees), which means $17.55 USD per person. We also waited until about 24 hours before our arrival to book a room, so our accommodation options were very limited.
As you can see, a private room in Lisbon eats up quite a bit of a $50-a-day budget! If you can secure a room through house-sitting, workaway or couch-surfing, you’ll have much more room in your budget for food and activities. If traveling solo, use Hostelworld or Booking.com to find a dorm bed, which is usually cheaper than a private room.
Breakfast: $1.89
Head to a local cafe or bakery and order a pastel de nata (custard tart) and cafesinha (small espresso) for 1.70 euros (~$1.89 USD). If you want a more filling breakfast, grab a yogurt drink and bakery item at a local grocery store for around the same price.
Upgrade option: Need more protein for breakfast? You can get a scrambled egg dish with a coffee at Brick Cafe for around $7.31 USD (including a 10 percent tip).
Morning activities: $8
Take a free walking tour to get introduced to the layout and history of the city. Free walking tours are based on tips (PLEASE tip your guide!), so this amount can be anything you want, but we usually tip $5-12 USD/person, depending on the quality and size of the tour, so I picked a number in the middle for this sample daily budget.
Lunch: $5.55
After all that walking, it’s time for lunch! Check out our list of favorite foods and drinks in Portugal to see what appeals to you, but for a cheap lunch, grab a bifana (or two) from O Trevo. Apparently Anthony Bourdain visited this place when he visited Lisbon, so it must be good! Two bifanas and a drink will cost around 5 euros (~$5.55 USD).
Afternoon activities: $4.43
Spend the afternoon wandering the streets and parks to enjoy the beauty of the city for free. One of our favorite free spots in the city is Parque Eduardo VII. (There’s an awesome book fair here every late May/early June!). Avenida da Liberdade is a famous street in Lisbon that leads right up to the park, so take a stroll along the avenue to enjoy its beautiful cobblestone sidewalks.
After exploring the park, visit Santini for a scoop of delicious ice cream to cool off. The “small” includes two flavors; we recommend one scoop of nata (cream) with one scoop of your favorite fruit flavor (2.60 euros ~ $2.88 USD). Tip: If you only want one flavor, order a children’s cone for a small discount.
Before dinner (or after, depending on what time of year you’re visiting), buy a drink from a grocery store (~$1.66 USD for a beer) and head up to the closest miradouro (lookout) to watch the sunset. The Portuguese eat dinner fairly late, so don’t worry about getting to the restaurant of your choice until at least 8 or 9 p.m.
Dinner: $5
If you’re lucky enough to be visiting Lisbon during the Festa de Santo Antonio (a.k.a. the Lisbon Sardine Festival!), head over to the Alfama and treat yourself to a cup of sangria (or beer) and a sardinha no pao (sardine on bread) for only 3.50 euros. Follow up with a churro or shot of ginja in a chocolate cup for only 1 euro each. Total: ~$5 USD.
Upgrade option: If there’s no festa with cheap street food to be found (I’m sorry), you can still get a delicious, filling dinner in the Alfama for a reasonable price. We enjoyed dinner for two at Churrasco de Graca for 18 euros including tip (~$9.99 USD per person).
Evening activities: $2.77
This is the time when we usually head back to our apartment (<insert grandma & grandpa emojis here>), but if you want to enjoy the nightlife, head to Bairro Alto for a drink (home of the famous graffitied trolley car pictured above). Some bars may be more expensive than others, but it shouldn’t be too hard to find a beer or a glass of wine for 2-3 euros (~$2.77 USD).
Total: $45.19 USD
You might remember that we totally busted our budget in Portugal (and our budget is $75/day, not $50), so coming up with this sample itinerary was harder than I thought it would be! But, I hope you found it helpful, and remember you can always save money by not drinking alcohol, staying in shared accommodations, and/or eating at grocery stores and markets rather than restaurants. For “average” travelers, I would suggest budgeting $75 USD/day per person for a comfortable but affordable stay in Lisbon, perhaps a little more if you want to visit many museums or take any day trips (to Sintra, for example).
*Note: The following expenses are not included in this daily budget, so be sure to add these expenses when creating your overall trip budget.
– Transportation into the city (because this varies widely depending on where you’re coming from, and the longer you stay somewhere, the cheaper your daily average for this item becomes)
– Travel insurance (because this varies depending on your coverage, and you might not have to buy any if you have travel insurance through your credit card)
– Gifts/souvenirs (completely up to you and your tastes!)
