We, Seyka and Brian, are on a 21 country vegan voyage over 5 months to enjoy vegan food from all parts of our planet, connect the vegan community, spread the vegan mission, report plant based news, create ethical consumer guides, and have a blast while doing it. After our seventeenth stop in London, we now take a vegan tour of Porto, Lisbon and the Algarve. Welcome to Vegan Voyage Portugal, and thank you for joining us!
Vegan Voyage Portugal: Overview
Portugal is lovely, and each of our city stops had its own charm. Porto is full of change, fast ideas, energy and beautiful architecture, while Lisbon is a party place full of incredible food and fascinating history. Finally, the Algarve gave us a much needed break with its quiet beaches and relaxing atmosphere.
If you’re looking to have your own version of our Vegan Voyage Portugal, you’ll probably find your marks pretty easily. Credit cards can be used for almost every transaction, and getting around the country is very easy, as buses and trains can take you from one city to another easily. While we were exploring, we walked almost everywhere, but there are also electric scooters and bikes available for those who are looking for alternative (and still eco-friendly) modes of transportation.
Don’t be afraid to come as you are: Portuguese people are not particularly concerned with modesty or the amount of skin you show. It is a warm country and your trip will probably involve a lot of walking around, so simply wear clothes you feel comfortable in!
Vegan Voyage Portugal: All About Accommodation
There are lots of lovely B&Bs and hotels all over the country, but our best tip would be to make sure to find a place with an air conditioner if you’re coming over during the warmer months – which isn’t as easy to find as you’d think!
We stayed in different accommodations in each of our stops. Our choice for Lisbon was On J, where we had a lovely suite with our own kitchen and sitting room. It is a very modern place in a great location. The only thing we had trouble with was a lack of vegan options (although this seems to have changed since, as their new brunch menu shows a few new vegan options including pancake towers and savory plates). If this is something you’re concerned about, just make sure to check in with them about the current menu before booking!
To fully embrace the peaceful nature of the Algarve, we opted to stay in a wellness retreat during this part of our Vegan Voyage Portugal. Alamos Wellness is the perfect place to detox, destress, and soak in the beautiful Portuguese sun. Highlights include a beautiful pool, rooftop lounges, vegan-friendly food options, yoga classes, personal trainers, and too many more to count!
The definite stand out feature of Alamos are their rooms, and they deserve every message I got on Instagram commenting about how gorgeous they looked. They are large, beautifully decorated and so comfortable too!
Even though I could have stayed there forever, we also decided to spend one day out at the beaches and walking along the cliffs over the water, which was only a short 15 minute drive from the resort. Apart from that, we spent a lot of time in the pool and enjoyed a super fun personal training session. Overall, this was a very calming and joyful retreat.
Finally, we also spent time in Monchique Resort & Spa, an absolutely huge resort space for everyone from families to couples and people traveling on their own.We specifically went for their wellness workshops and were not disappointed at all!
Monchique used to be a medical retreat where people would go to have nurses and doctors assess their wellness and give intensive treatments. Although that is no longer the case, the essence of the place has remained heavily focused on wellness and aims to see you leave feeling better than when you arrived.
The spa is absolutely incredible. You can get access to it with or without buying a treatment, which include essential oil showers and steam room, ice showers, dry saunas, foot baths, and jets to blast out your muscles.
Our acroyoga workshop was truly remarkable. We had SO MUCH FUN getting to learn complex movements and theories about acroyoga and Thai massage for about 5 hours each day for three days!
The definite highlights of our stay for us were our acroyoga and Thai massage workshops. We had so much fun getting to learn complex movements and theories about each of these fascinating disciplines during about five hours every day.
To fuel these intensive learning sessions, we had plenty of food as half boarders. The breakfast buffet had limited but sufficient vegan options, while the definite highlight was dinner with a fully vegan menu to choose from. Even if you ordered the same dish on two different nights, it would be made in enough of a different way to keep things exciting. The chefs at Monique deserve all the praise in the world!
The rooms are all suites and simply lovely to stay in. We picked a one bedroom suite, but two bathrooms and a full living room means that a second couple could have easily stayed with us comfortably. If you get antsy in between classes, there’s also a full gym you can use at any time of the day! We absolutely loved Monchique and would recommend staying here to anyone who can.
Vegan Voyage Portugal: The Food Guide
Of course, there’s simply no way to have a vegan voyage without talking about food! Portugal had its own set of incredible offerings, and we reveal all there is to know about them for you!
In Porto, our first stop was in the company of business men and women at Remédio Santo. Many people who eat here probably don’t even know that it’s vegan! If you want to try traditional Portuguese dishes in their vegan versions, this is the place to go to.
Another great choice to soak in the local culture is Apuro Vegan Bar. It is the first vegan bar in Porto and has fun drinks and live performances – and of course, amazing vegan food! We had a cheese plate, burgers with some of their homemade sauces and Brian got to try out some of their craft beer. An awesome spot all around!
As fun as discovering these spots can be, not all of us want to eat out everyday when traveling (or can afford to do so). For a restaurant that also doubles as a great place for your vegan grocery shopping, be sure to make a stop at Quintal Bioshop. You can buy everything from organic produce and pantry items to vegan alternatives like cheeses, milks and ice cream, as well as home items and beauty products.
As we are passionate about the ethical side of veganism as much as its health benefits, our last pick from our Porto travels has to go to Casa da Horta. Less of a restaurant than a community space, they aim to bring awareness to human and animal rights and serve a low-cost vegan dinner every night on top of hosting regular awesome events. They are always looking for ways to keep this volunteer and donation based institution running, so if you are staying in Porto for a little bit longer than we were, make sure to check out their volunteering opportunities!
After Porto came Lisbon and we found just as many incredible eating out choices there! We first fell in love with Legumi Sushi, a high end, 100% vegan sushi restaurant. The food tastes delicious on top of being perfectly Instagram worthy. We were lucky enough to come visit them while they were having a mini festival which had many local vegan and eco-friendly vendors exhibiting their products. (for a bigger eco-friendly festival, make sure to check EcoSummit, where I will be speaking next year!)
Video of Legumi Sushi Vegan coming soon!
Another great choice for health conscious vegans is Eight, a health food restaurant with incredibly beautiful presentation and wholesome ingredients that leave you feeling fresh and healthy. We tried almost everything on the menu (juices, smoothies, bowls, wraps, sandwiches, salads… You name it, we tried it) and loved everything!
For a fancier experience perfect for a date night, we can’t recommend AO26 enough! It’s a perfect place to try out veganized Portuguese dishes you’ve always wanted to try. However, it is a very popular place, so be sure to make a reservation well in advance if you don’t want to be disappointed!
Even us health-focused people enjoy an escape into the world of vegan junk food sometimes – and in Lisbon, Vegan Junkies is definitely the place to look out for! With a selection of fun burgers, fries, nachos, vegan craft beers and drinks, it is a top choice for all kinds of greasy noms. If you get tired of salads and fresh produce during your own Vegan Voyage Portugal, this is certainly a prime choice to get your greasy fix, with a great vibe inside and beautiful food!
As we primarily ate within the comfort of our wellness retreats while we were staying in the Algarve, we don’t really have any outside restaurants recommendations for this part of our Vegan Voyage Portugal – but you should already have plenty to choose from in Porto and Lisbon!
Vegan Voyage Portugal: The Conclusion
You can probably guess from this post that we both absolutely loved our Vegan Voyage Portugal! It’s a perfect destination for those who like long walks, as you can spend days on end walking in the cities and beaches without even seeing half of what there is to see. I also could not bring this post to an end without mentioning the amazing Maria Bonita, who gave me an awesome gel manicure! It was a much appreciated beauty moment in the middle of this wellness-focused getaway.
Thank you for tagging along this Vegan Voyage Portugal and please keep in touch with us on our Facebook, Youtube and Instagram pages! Especially keep an eye out for the many videos we filmed over the course of this journey through Portugal.
Our next stop is taking us to Spain! In the meantime, check out a little bit more advice about traveling as a vegan:
- Our packing guide
- Our travel clothes guide
- Our travel wellness guide
- Our Vegan Voyage overview (where it all started!)
For the sake of goodness,
Seyka & Brian
Author
