I recently just got back from a month and a half backpacking trip across Europe and let me tell you, what a crazy ass experience it has been (in all the good kinda ways obviously)!

My original plan was to visit France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain because those were the 4 countries I ended up selecting for my EU Rail pass. I thought it would be my best bet to stick to the four. As I jumped from hostel to hostel, from France through Switzerland to Italy, I met a ton of amazing people and and listened to their travel recommendations. I heard over and over again that Portugal was an amazing place to backpack around; from their culture, to people, to scenery (the beaches ahhhhh!), to the good vibes, which really stuck with me as I moved along my days of travelling.

When it came down my last day in Barcelona, I decided to just book a ticket to Portugal to spend 5 days there before catching my flight back to Paris. It was the best decision of my whole trip. I ended up staying in Lagos which has the cutest little town, the most exotic looking beaches connected through caves, and the liveliest night life I’ve seen.

Every morning I would wake up so eager to just run to the beach and be the happiest person ever. I would swim the beaches with floaties, go kayaking, cave exploring, nap with puppies, look for those majestic seashells, interact with a live starfish, and took some great Instagram photos.

Once night rolled around, all my hostel friends would gather around the Hostel roof top and drink wine before bar hopping. Although Lagos is known to be a touristic place to visit, and I know there are backpackers that personally despise touristy places, I really loved Lagos and I think it is definitely a place for both tourists and backpackers. The location holds a great balance of both – giving you the touristic spots but also your space to have time for yourself.