If you intend to spend a week or more in one area of Portugal, apartments offer an interesting way of getting into the way of life of the region. Having the keys to an apartment is different to having the keys to a hotel room: you feel as if you are really part of the scenery and that you are more than just a tourist. And, in Portugal, apartments are not as expensive to rent as you might think, especially if you opt to go out of high season of course. Besides the seasonal differences, apartments generally work out cheaper to rent than hotel rooms because the prices of apartments in Portugal are fixed, or charged per property, regardless of the number of people staying. Thus if there are four of you, you still only pay one price for the property, rather than for individual hotel rooms, which works out cheaper. For example, if you pay 1200 per week for a three-star apartment in Lisbon for four people, that works out at 42 per night each, and for the same price you would only expect to get a two-star hotel room.

Another advantage of renting an apartment in Portugal is that you can choose whether to eat out or to cater for yourselves, whereas in a hotel you are pretty much obliged to eat out every night, sometimes even in the hotel restaurant. If you are self-catering and have the keys to your own apartment, you are really at liberty to try lots of different foods and to get into the way of life there.

There are different kinds of apartment available to rent in Portugal, from self-catering to fully serviced (a bit like staying in a hotel), and this type of accommodation is becoming increasingly popular with tourists because it gives you more freedom.

And who knows, having spent several summers renting apartments in Portugal, maybe in different areas at first and then settling down to your favourite spot, you might be tempted to buy an apartment yourself. That way you get to come on holiday to Portugal to your own apartment, furnished to your tastes and located in your favourite area, and you can rent it out for the rest of the year to give yourself a bit of extra income. The process for buying an apartment in Portugal is obviously different to that elsewhere, so make sure you are fully aware of what is involved. Nevertheless, whether you own or rent an apartment in Portugal, it is a great way to discover a region thoroughly and gives you a unique experience of the country.