Portugal vs South Africa

Resort pool with loungers and umbrellas flanked by white buildings, ocean and coastline visible beyond.

Portugal and South Africa, side by side: live travel advisories, our resort catalog's real guest data, and each destination's honest weather picture. Everything you need to break the tie.

Portugal guide · South Africa guide · How we score

By the numbers

Portugal compared with South Africa
Portugal	Measure	South Africa
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions	U.S. travel advisory	Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution
15	Resorts in our catalog	0
★ 4.4	Average guest rating	–
$65–$333/night pp	Nightly rates	–
0 of 15	Adults-only resorts	0 of 0
No hurricane season	Hurricane exposure	No hurricane season
November–March	Rainy season	November–March (southern-hemisphere summer thunderstorms)
June–September (the ocean stays refreshingly cool all year)	Sweet spot	April–September for dry, mild weather; also prime safari season inland
Portuguese (English widely spoken in the Algarve)	Language	11 official languages – English widely spoken
Euro (EUR) – cards widely accepted	Currency	South African rand (ZAR)
230V, Type C/F plugs (US devices need an adapter)	Power	230V, large Type M/N plugs (special adapter needed)
On the right	Driving	On the left
Faro (FAO)	Main airport	Durban (DUR) or Johannesburg (JNB)
~7–9h from the US East Coast (often one stop)	Flight time	~15–17h from the US East Coast (often via Europe or the Gulf)

Advisory levels sync from travel.state.gov; catalog figures reflect the resorts we've researched, not every hotel in the country.

On the map

Portugal

No mapped resorts yet

South Africa

Weather, month by month

Month-by-month average high temperature and rainfall for Portugal and South Africa
Measure	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Portugal · high °F	61	62	65	68	72	79	84	84	80	74	67	62
South Africa · high °F	82	83	82	79	77	74	73	74	75	77	79	81
Portugal · rain (in)	3.1	2.6	1.6	1.5	0.8	0.2	0.1	0.2	1.1	2.6	3.3	3.9
South Africa · rain (in)	5.3	4.8	4.8	2.9	2.2	1.1	1.5	1.9	2.9	4.3	4.8	4.0

Approximate climate normals for Algarve and KwaZulu-Natal coast (Durban): planning guidance, not a forecast. Deeper gold = hotter; deeper teal = wetter.

Where you'd actually stay

Best of Portugal

Full Portugal guide

Chains here: Pestana Hotels & Resorts · Barata Hotels · Iberostar Selection

Best of South Africa

No South Africa resorts in our catalog yet.

Full South Africa guide