Put Portugal on your “must-see-list” in 2019:

Comporta where the “fashionable European crowd goes off the grid.”

Just an hour from Lisbon on the sandy Alentejo coast – this is the new hangout for the jet set. Set between the Tróia Peninsula, and the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve, Comporta Beach is between dunes and pine forests.

Cascais: Between the sea and Lisbon,the fishing village became the cosmopolitan retreat of kings. Nowadays, Cascais is a lively retreat with a sophisticated atmosphere.

Tomar: This former seat of the Knights Templar is just 90 minutes from Lisbon. The next “Festa dos Tabuleiros” will run from June 29 to July 8, 2015. The Festival only happens every 4 years - unique in the world. The highlight is a massive parade with young women with a “tabuleiro” tray on their heads.9

The Algarve has been the summer vacation spot for many years, but the rest of the year is the new big thing. With temps in the 60s, dozens of world-class golf courses, and amazing hiking, seafood, tennis and hiking – it is the place to go from fall to spring. And the prices are pretty fair too.

Surf: Guincho beach is just north Cascais – along a road surrounded by white sand, a taste of what to expect when you get there. Between the pristine sand and the amazing surf, and posh seafood eateries - the only thing missing is sprawl.

And don’t miss the waves of Nazaré where you might spot Garrett McNamara. Once a fishing town, Nazaré is today a busy summer resort – with a long beach, fresh seafood, and some of the world’s top surfers coming to catch a wave.