Weather and seasons
April, May and September, dry, comfortable temperatures, and for April/May the trail's wildflower season.
April, May and September are the best walking: dry, warm without being hot, everything open. The dry season proper is roughly May to September, but its middle is the trap — July and August bring heat, shadeless sand and the nortada headwind, and are the trail's worst months to walk despite the reliable sun. The wet season from October to April is milder than northern European walkers expect: daytime highs stay around 16-19 C even midwinter and nights rarely fall below 10 C, which is why this coast works as a winter walking destination when Britain does not. October is the one month that behaves worse than it looks — the normals show it wetter than January.
The coolest month and still around 15-16 C by day, which is comfortable walking weather rather than cold. Drier than December. The coast is fully off-season: quiet trails, low prices, and enough winter sunshine to make it a genuine escape from northern Europe. Short days are the real limit on how far you get.
15-16°C high · 8°C low · 9.9Watch for: Under 10 hours of daylight; check the last kilometres of a long stage aren't left to fading light.The turn of the season. Still around 16 C by day but the rain is easing from the November-December peak and the light is stretching quickly. Quiet, cheap, and the point at which winter walking starts to feel like early spring.
16°C high · 8-9°C low · 10.9Watch for: Daylight still under 11 hours; plan stage lengths accordingly.Rain is easing, days have reached 12 hours, and the coast is greening up ahead of the spring wildflower season. Off-season feel except around Easter, when it falls in March.
18°C high · 10°C low · 12.0The best combination of the year: wildflowers at their peak on the dune and clifftop paths, low rainfall, mild temperatures and full services, ahead of the nortada wind and summer heat.
19°C high · 11-12°C low · 13.2Warm but not hot, the driest run of the year beginning, long light, and flowers still holding on in the later-blooming sections toward Sagres.
21°C high · 13°C low · 14.2Reliably dry and long-lit, but real heat is building through the second half of the month, and school-holiday crowds and prices arrive by late June.
24°C high · 15-16°C low · 14.8Watch for: Heat is building on the longer waterless stretches in the trail's quieter southern quarter; carry more water than feels necessary.Good weather on paper is the trap: this is the trail's low point for actually walking it, with full summer heat, almost no shade on deep sand, packed stage towns and the year's highest prices.
25°C high · 16°C low · 14.55Watch for: Heat and sun exposure on shadeless sections, especially the longer waterless stretches. Wildfire risk is at its highest and can force route closures or diversions.The hottest, driest and busiest month of the year; the same trade-off as July, marginally hotter still.
25-26°C high · 16-17°C low · 13.66Watch for: Same heat, shade and water concerns as July; wildfire risk remains high.Summer heat softens, the nortada eases, rain is still low, and crowds thin out markedly once school holidays end in the first week or two.
24-25°C high · 16°C low · 12.5Watch for: Some residual wildfire risk early in the month in a dry year, easing later.Temperatures are still pleasant and the trail is quiet, but by the climate normals this is actually one of the wetter months of the year, wetter on average than January, so rain, not heat, is the deciding factor.
22°C high · 14-15°C low · 11.3The wettest month on average and the one where Atlantic weather is most likely to interrupt a day, but daytime temperatures around 18-19 C are comfortable for walking and the coast is emptying out. Worth it if you accept you may lose a day to rain.
18-19°C high · 11-12°C low · 10.2Watch for: Short days and the year's most reliable spells of strong wind and rain on the cliffs.Averages 16 C by day and rarely below 10 C at night. Warmer than a May day in Cornwall, on a coast that still gets real winter sun. The trail is at its emptiest and cheapest. It is also one of the two wettest months with the shortest daylight, so plan shorter stages and pack for Atlantic weather. Walkers who have done it in late December recommend it specifically for the solitude.
16°C high · 9-10°C low · 9.64Watch for: The binding constraint is logistics rather than weather: luggage transfer is NOT available in December or January (Vicentina Transfers state this on their own FAQ), so you carry everything. Some restaurants and guesthouses close for the season, and beds thin out on the southern stretches toward Lagos. Take proper rain gear and expect wind.