Every place we’ve been with Aba
Let’s head out. Take your dog everywhere. We travel Portugal and Spain and film our trips through towns, beaches and trails. Aba, our rescue dog, comes along, so we write down what each place is really like with a dog.
Portugal
Lisbon & Silver Coast
Lisbon and the Atlantic coast north of it, up past Peniche to the Óbidos Lagoon: wide surf beaches, dunes and small seaside villages.
Every place we filmed here got a "loved it": long beaches with off-leash room outside lifeguard hours, the calm Óbidos Lagoon where Aba learned to love the water, and Parque das Nações when Lisbon gets too busy.
Lisbon & Silver Coast guide →Our Lisbon & Silver Coast trips on YouTube
Portugal
Alentejo
Portugal's biggest region, from the Tejo down to the Algarve: cork-oak plains, whitewashed towns, big reservoirs and a wild Atlantic coast. Summers inland are hot.
Where we walk most with Aba: lakes like Barragem do Caia to swim in, the Fishermen's Trail beaches around Porto Covo for long walks, and town days in Elvas, Évora and Santarém, some better as short stops.
Alentejo guide →Our Alentejo trips on YouTube
Portugal
Algarve
Portugal's south coast: golden cliffs, lagoons and the busiest beaches in the country, especially in summer.
With Aba we found the crowded resort towns hard work (Lagos) and liked Olhão as a base, with the Salinas and the Ria Formosa islands close by.
Algarve guide →Our Algarve trips on YouTube
Spain
Extremadura
The quiet west of Spain, right across the border from the Alentejo: two provinces, Cáceres and Badajoz, with walled old towns, Roman Mérida and wide open countryside.
Badajoz became one of our favourite cities in Spain, with river walks, quiet fields and a fenced dog park. In Plasencia and Cáceres, Aba splashed in park water channels. Mérida's clean streets were easy on his paws, and its Guadiana park has shade. Olivenza is where we keep coming back for lunch and coffee.
Extremadura guide →Our Extremadura trips on YouTube
Spain
Andalusia
Southern Spain. So far we have only filmed its westernmost corner, where the Guadiana meets the sea at the Portuguese border.
Ayamonte has a nice old quarter and a ferry to Portugal that takes dogs; the nearby beaches were busy and not dog friendly.
Our Andalusia trips on YouTube
Verdict
Babacashee