Traveling to Portugal - questions

I have been given the "task" of traveling to Portugal on business the week of February 18th. I will be flying in to Lisbon and then traveling about an hour north to the business I am visiting. I don't even know the name of the city or town that I will eventually end up in. I figure that if there is a website in the world that could help me it would be this one. I am just wondering what to expect as this will be my first travel outside the U.S. other than my recent trip to Mexico. Will there be any problems in me taking my camera bag? Do I need to take receipts with me for my equipment or register with customs? Are there some wonderful photographic opportunities in this area of the country? In what little research I have done so far it looks pretty spectacular. Any advice, tips, warnings, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am really excited about the opportunity. I don't know yet how much actual free time I will have for photography but I plan on taking as much as possible. Thank you.

James Newman said:

I have been given the "task" of traveling to Portugal on business the week of February 18th. I will be flying in to Lisbon and then traveling about an hour north to the business I am visiting. I don't even know the name of the city or town that I will eventually end up in. I figure that if there is a website in the world that could help me it would be this one. I am just wondering what to expect as this will be my first travel outside the U.S. other than my recent trip to Mexico. Will there be any problems in me taking my camera bag? Do I need to take receipts with me for my equipment or register with customs? Are there some wonderful photographic opportunities in this area of the country? In what little research I have done so far it looks pretty spectacular. Any advice, tips, warnings, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am really excited about the opportunity. I don't know yet how much actual free time I will have for photography but I plan on taking as much as possible. Thank you.

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Hi James,

Yes you will have a blast. Lisbon has such a lot of the old and the new. Going outside should give you some opportunites to find some interesting villages too. Will you you rent a car? How long will you have there?

We have quite a few pics from Portugal. Here's some of Antonio Correia's work. Just search under Portugal and you'll find more.

Kiteboarding



Horseriding




Cork Trees




Lisboa - Portugal




All images © Antonio Correia


Just search here under Portugal and you'll find a lot more. Others will give you more specific info. Yes, take with any documentation on gear if you can print it small! Meanwhile do a search on the internet for events, exhibitions and festivals in Lisbon and near there.

Asher

Love Portugal....

We spent a few days there last year during a Mediterranian Cruise. One of the highlights of our day in Lisboa (their name for Lisbon) was a taxi we hired that took us from the port to a town called Sintra. There is a historical palace, but we could not go in because of the timing. We walked around - our favorite thing to do. We went also to Belem and also toured Lisbon - it's very similar to San Francisco with the views and the hills. The architecture is really beautiful. There are so many things to point your lenses at....I could easily spend a week there without stopping. The people were warm and friendly and there are a lot who do speak English. We were there during the Feast of St. Anthony and I have never seen anything like it. We missed the festivities, but the next day trash was piled high on the streets and they were cleaning up. Our tour guide we hired missed our tour - hung over! So we ended up taking a taxi to Sintra from the port. He spoke no English and my broken Spanish worked enough.

As far as travel goes, you can take your camera on the plane, just pack your liquids in your checked luggage. I take copies of my camera receipts with me but have never had any questions or problems. It's pretty safe-just always be aware of your surroundings as you should be anywhere. Airports are now drudgery and have taken some of the excitement of travel away because you need to wear shoes that you can remove to go through security. You also feel criminal even though you've done nothing. Your luggage will probably need to be 50lbs per bag - some airlines only let you take one bag. Once carry on bag and one "personal item" which can be your standard small camera bag. You can usually spot Americans for some reason.

You can get good information on places at www.fodors.com or www.frommer.com and on www.cruisecritic.com there is a board with information regarding ports and Lisbon is a port city.

I have done a lot of travel and can answer many questions. I will go see if I have any worthwhile images from that trip to post.

That reminds me, - many UK airlines/airports now allow two carry on bags.

Heathrow too?

Heathrow too? We fly through in June...I am dreading what to do with the camera, three lenses and laptop.

Editing to add a link to an image in the town of Sintra...

http://www.flashfrozenphotography.com/gallery/4038710/4/244587137/Medium

Thanks for all of the tips and advice. I will be going to Marinha Grande if that rings a bell with anyone who has ben. I was planning on taking my camera backpack, not a small camera bag, but I still think it will fit fine in an overhead compartment. Do travelers from the U.S. have to get any kind of innoculations to go there? What side of the road do they drive on?

Yes, a small camera backpack is okay. They drive on the same side we do. No shots are needed either.