Where in Portugal? Solo mum + tween boy?

[thisist]

My tween boy has his heart set on Portugal towards the end of August. I think he wants to colour in his travel map, and as he’s been to Germany, France and Spain, Portugal is his next logical step! I’ve never been…where do you recommend? It will be 5-7 days. He likes site-seeing (dolphins and history would be good) and good food. He’s pretty fearful of open water so a boat trip is fine, but he wouldn’t kayak or surf. I looked at Praia de Luz but wondered if it would be too boring for him? It’s just the 2 of us and he’s great company but without friends I can’t imagine us spending all day on the beach.

Help!

Go somewhere like Rocha Brava in Carvoeiro. Plenty of kids from him to hang out with and lots of sport options including tennis and pickleball. Loads of places to eat and not far to go on boat trips.

I’ll take a look at that, thank you!

Azores is great for dolphin and whale watching and history / culture, hot springs, walks but it can be tricky to get to. Think BA go from Heathrow with direct flights but not every day.

Porto may be? It has a lot of history and good food and a river for boat trips. Not sure there is enough to keep a tween amused for 5 days though. It does have the benefit of being a bit cooler than other areas as it is on the North on the Atlantic coast.