Portal Through Portugal: Lisbon, Porto, the Douro Valley, and the Algarve
Peel back Portugal’s playful personality, picturesque panoramas, and perfect pastéis de nata on this 10-day tour from Porto and the Douro Valley to Lisbon and the Algarve.
Portugal
10 days / 9 nights
$3,492 /person
$3,492 /person
Your trip at a glance
Top Activities
Sampling Port wine straight from the source in an atmospheric wine cellar on the River Douro
Road-tripping to the village of Évora, where preserved monuments meet macabre relics
Time traveling into an era of aristocratic opulence in the coastal idylls of Sintra and Cascais
Tasting regional delicacies like Ginjiha liqueur and ovos mole sweets in Óbidos and Batalha
Enjoying the coastal charm of the Algarve, where beaches and bluffs beckon with adventures
Guimarães, Douro Valley Wineries, and Rabelo by Boat
Overview
After two lovely and leisurely days in Porto, you'll set off on a road trip into the Douro Valley. When you're finished with breakfast this morning, pick up your car from the rental agency and make your way out of the city. You'll, of course, take the scenic route, where the journey matters as much as the destination. En route to your day's wine tasting, you'll therefore have the chance to take a detour and visit the charming oasis of Guimarães, about 45 minutes from Porto. The town's medieval center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that's widely considered to be the cradle of the Portuguese nation and birthplace of its first king. Here, you'll have the chance to walk the streets and visit the most relevant monuments. From Guimarães, you'll drive to the Douro Valley, a beautiful and dramatic landscape where vines cling to terraces and steep hillsides frame the river. It's the valley's grapes that bear responsibility for Portugal's legendary Port wine, which you'll have the chance to taste during a guided winery visit with a local sommelier. Specifically, you'll visit a winery nestled between Régua and Pinhão, savoring the fruits of the land. After this one-of-a-kind wine tasting, you can continue onward to your hotel, or, if you so choose, take an optional rabelo boat tour to enjoy the valley from the river. (Breakfast)
Highlights
Guimarães (optional)
As the proud birthplace of Afonso Henriques — the first independent king of Portugal — and, therefore, the Portuguese kingdom, Guimarães beautifully preserves its illustrious past. During this optional detour, you'll encounter a medieval center that doubles as a labyrinth of picturesque plazas framed by 14th-century edifices. Among the town's highlights? Don't miss the historic castle and 15th-century palace built by the first Duke of Bragança.
Rabelo Boat Tour (optional)
Once upon a time, rabelos — a type of flat boat — transported barrels of wine from the Douro Valley's vineyards to the wine cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia. For centuries, these boats ranked as the most efficient and reliable mode of wine transportation, as no suitable roads or railways surfaced in proximity to the vineyards. During today's optional boat tour, you'll have the chance to glide through this sector of Portuguese history and glean insight into a storied, floating wine tradition.
Douro Valley
Among Portugal's most endearing and fruitful areas, the winding Douro River Valley produces the country's beloved Port wine; it's the only place in the entire world that can legally produce official Port, thanks to the Marquês de Pombal, who demarcated the region in 1756. Yet this region is both prolific and picturesque, which you'll realize upon driving into the valley today. Here, you'll find a land peppered with farms, sleepy villages, and, of course, vineyards galore, ushering you into a novel and noteworthy landscape.
Accommodations
Hotel Rural Quinta do Pego (or similar)
This four-star hotel offers magnificent views of the Douro River and the terraced vineyards that roll down its banks. The property, an excellent base for exploring the region's wineries, consists of ten bedrooms in the main house, a two-bedroom cottage, a restaurant, and a swimming pool. Once a private home, the modern building underwent a major refurbishment before reopening as a hotel. Now, it boasts handsome interiors with spacious wooden floors, marble bathrooms, and French windows that open to spectacular views of the Douro Valley.
Location:
5120-493 Valença do Douro, Portugal
Phone:
+351254730070
Transportation
Pick up your rental car and drive from Porto to the Douro Valley, less than four hours away.
Porto
Douro Valley, Hotel Rural Quinta do Pego (or similar)
How it works
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What's included
Included in the final price
- Ten nights of accommodations with daily breakfast included
- Half-day walking tour in Porto with English-speaking guide
- Port wine cellars guided visit with wine tasting
- Winery visit with wine tasting in Douro Valley
- Rental car for six days (manual model, but can be upgraded to automatic)
- Full-day tour in Lisbon with English-speaking guide and car
- Full day tour to Cascais and Sintra with English-speaking guide and car
- All transfers and transportation mentioned in the itinerary
- Roadbook with local tips and expert recommendations
- Personalized trip crafting
- On-trip concierge service
- 24/7 on-the-ground support
- Entry and exit information and assistance
- All activities, excursions, and tours listed as included in the itinerary
- All meals and culinary experiences mentioned in the itinerary
Not included in the final price
- International arrival and departure flights
- Entrance fees to monuments and attractions
- Meals and drinks not mentioned as included in the itinerary
- Tolls, fuel, and parking for your rental car
- Personal expenses and gratuities
- Repatriation assistance and insurance
- Anything else not mentioned or listed as optional in the itinerary