Pousadas da Juventude: No Money? Funny Funny!

Want to travel spending low? Ideal was Bora-Bora but 4 days are not enough? Pousadas da Juventude (Youth Hostels) are made for you

Before the Portuguese tourist boom, filled with airbnb and private sub-leases, there was already this very cheap Pousadas de Juventude (youth hostels) network. The difference between both is that at airbnb will be housed at any 3rd left, and in Pousadas da Juventude you may be lucky enough to sleep at a historic palace or close to a Roman temple.

On the left, the Pousada da Juventude at Serra da Estrela and on the right, the outside patio of Tavira's hostel.

 

As far as prices are concerned, you know, a gentleman dressed as a general, bowing as he opens the door for us, must be payed. There are a lot of opportunities to sleep, comfortably, at any part of the country, and islands too, contradicting the "no money no funny" adage. 

 

 

The Pousada da Juventude at Oporto.

 

We all have aknowledge this Pousadas network but certainly just a few of us use it: the Pousadas da Juventude are more than fifty, spread across mainland and islands, and are divided by Urban, Historical, Nature and Beach categories.

On the left, the Youth Hostel of Parque das Nações, Lisbon, one of the most recent ones, and on the right the Hostel at Ponte de Lima.

 

The Urban ones are mainly at district capitals and are ideal for those whom takes all the cultural guides of the city in the backpack: if at Grão-Vasco Museum there’s an unmissable exhibition of sacred art, take advantage and go, Viseu has a Pousada de Juventude. If on the other hand your passion are the castles, ramparts and historical landscape, and your dream for years ago is to know the prehistoric engravings of Foz Côa, take advantage and go, the city has a Youth Hostel.

 

 

The extraordinary outside deck at Foz Côa hostel.

 

If the surfboard is your best friend and you want to enjoy Areia Branca beach huge waves, take advantage and go, the beach has its own Youth Hostel. And did you know that the nearest hotel to snowy Serra da Estrela is a Youth Hostel?

On the left the interior balcony of Guimarães Youth Hostel, and on the right the terrace facing the Atlantic on Pousada da Juventude de Oeiras.

 

Most of these Pousadas fall into the Nature category, we are, after all, still a green country, and right after, the Historical category prevails - thousands of years of documented history are always appealing to national and foreign tourists.

 

 

The Pousada da Juventude at Ofir, nearby the mouth of Cávado river.

 

Apart from being nationally spread, the Pousadas da Juventude has another factor that makes them so desirable, the low prices. It's a Youth Hostel, so you will not find Persian rugs nor signed furniture, but the cheapest night costs an average of €14, in a shared room. Prices can sometimes seem ridiculously low, imagine getting to know Madeira Island and paying only € 8 per night, at a real historical manor house, in the Calheta area.

On the left the Youth Hostel of Lisbon, next to the Marquês de Pombal square, and on the right the one at tSanta Cruz Beach.

 

The price can upload a little if you choose to have your own apartment with kitchenette, to just over €70 per night. But If you fill it with 7 friends each one will only pay €10, right?

Do not delay your booking; it will be impossible to do it with little advance. Most of Portuguese people will spurn this accommodation type, more spartan and basic than usual, but most of the foreigners just need from an hotel a bed to sleep in. And if this simple bed adds up to an excellent historical location or natural paradise, then foreign tourists are so many more. So many, many, many more.

 

 

A room at Alijó youth hostel.

 

For more info please click here.

 

Images of the official website of Youth Hostels.