Trip to Portugal and Spain: Day 0 (Itinerary)

This June 2022, my family of 4 took a trip to Portugal and Spain with a custom itinerary. In this blog series I'll share some tips and suggestions in case you are venturing on a similar trip.

Our itinerary

Day 0: Washington Dulles (IAD) - Lisbon (LIS)

Day 1: Lisbon sightseeing

Day 2: Fatima

Day 3: Sintra

Day 4-5: Porto

Day 6-7: Seville

Day 8-9: Valencia

Day 10: Lisbon

Day 11: LIS-IAD

Pre-flight tips

We decided to fly out of Washington Dulles because we live 4 hours away driving and United had a direct flight. We booked our flight around February and was able to get a very good air fare ($600). 

Parking

Parking at Dulles is not prohibitively expensive compared to other major US airports ($12/day at Economy parking). However we were able to find much cheaper parking ($6) using SpotHero by parking at a nearby hotel. Specifically we parked at the Fairfield Inn Dulles and their shuttle service was very convenient and fast since it is a short drive away. 

Covid requirements

As of June 2022, the requirements to travel to Europe were fairly flexible. You essentially have 3 options: 

1. Provide a negative PCR or rapid (antigen) test
2. Provide proof of full vaccination no older than 270 days (unless you have a booster)
3. Provide a certificate from a doctor indicating that you had COVID and were already recovered

All of these 3 options can be provided no earlier than 72 hrs ahead of your flight time and only required for passengers older than 12 years old.

Our flight to Lisbon

Our flight to Lisbon was uneventful which is always good. It departed on Sunday 10:20pm. We arrived at the airport around 8pm and there were barely any lines or wait times. Our flight was on time and boarded promptly 40 minutes ahead of departure. The airplane was a 757-200, which is a relatively old plan, but it had TVs on all backseats as well as the option to use your device for in flight entertainment. We got served dinner close to midnight which is one of the few times I've declined a meal on a flight. Our total flight time was slightly under 7 hours which is not bad for a transatlantic flight. We were served a breakfast snack (yogurt and bread) around 9am local time, just one hour before landing.

Day 1 (Lisbon) >>