Portugal

Portugal enjoys some of the finest weather in Europe and benefits from a long, rugged and very scenic coastline. Situated to the south west of Spain, Portugal is Europe’s most south-westerly nation and offers a diverse range of attractions. These range from the world championship Bondi Billabong Pro surfing tournament at Ribeira d’Ilhas in August to the religious pilgrimage to Fatima in May.

In addition to these, wherever you go Portugal offers great food and drink and a relaxed, leisurely pace of life (except when driving…). For sunseekers, the Algarve and sections of the west coast of Portugal offer superb, long sandy beaches, many of which are also well suited to surfing, thanks to the Atlantic waves.

Further inland, Portugal offers a mixture of scenery and history. The area around Evora is home to the Iberian Peninsula’s finest collections of Neolithic stones – with one site, the Cromeleque dos Almendres, having no fewer than 94 stones, arranged in a large circle at the top of a hill.

Nature lovers will also find much to occupy them in Portugal’s national parks – with some offering a surprisingly mountainous experience, too.

Driving in Portugal is relatively straightforward. While the standard of driving can be mixed, rural roads and motorways are generally very quiet – the only significant traffic can be in major towns and cities.