Best of Portugal
From CAD $4350
Guarantee
Group Tour
Easy
Rating
(10 reviews)
This Best of Portugal tour reveals a nation’s proud history, warm-hearted locals and soul-warming cuisine. Starting in Lisbon, you’ll travel north and south to explore a Templar stronghold, watch thoroughbreds perform at an Alentejo farm and visit the Algarve.
Highlights
Dining Summary
- 4 Dinner (D)
- 10 Breakfast (B)
- 1 Lunch (L)
Be My Guest
- Panoias-Ourique: Visit a family ranch and learn about Portugal's Lusitano horse. Hear an ancestral story of unrequited love that defined the character (and color) of the ranch before sitting down to a home-cooked lunch with Tiago and Vera in the heart of the Alentejo region.
Dive into Culture
- Lisbon: Visit the Hieronymite Monastery, a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome and exquisite example of Manueline architecture.
- Porto: Savor the flavors of Portugal's centuries-old Port heritage and gain insights into its local production at a tasting in a Port cellar.
Iconic Experience
- Lisbon: With your Local Specialist, visit the Belém Quarter to see the modern Monument to the Discoveries and the medieval Belém Tower.
- The Algarve: Explore the history of the Algarve in depth.
- Évora: Explore this UNESCO World Heritage Site with your Local Specialist and see the famous Roman Temple. Witness the fascinating cathedral and its mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture.
- Castelo de Vide: See the traditional cobblestone streets and whitewashed homes of Castelo de Vide.
- Casa de Mateus: Admire the Baroque architecture of Mateus Palace and its gardens.
- Douro Valley: Marvel at the extensive terraced vineyards as you travel through the Douro Valley.
- Guimaraes: See Guimarães Castle and the Palace of Dukes before walking through the medieval squares of central Guimarães.
- Porto: See the Clérigos Tower, Avenida dos Aliados and the Palácio da Bolsa former stock exchange.
- Coimbra: With a Local Specialist, visit the University and witness the triumphal arches, painted ceilings, and walls of ancient tomes in the Joanina Library.
- Tomar: Dominating the town is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Templar Castle and the Convent of Christ. During your visit with a Local Specialist, see the Manueline Window and follow the story of the mysterious Knights Templar.
- Fátima: Join the faithful at one of the world's holiest sites and pay homage at the Chapel of the Apparitions or see the basilica.
- Batalha: Join a Local Specialist to see the Monastery of Batalha, with included entry to the cloisters and chapels.
- Nazaré: Enjoy time at leisure on Portugal's Costa de Prata.
- Obidos: Stroll along the cobblestone streets and view the traditional azulejos of medieval Óbidos, perhaps stopping in a local shop to try the regional cherry liqueur, Ginja.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Lisbon: Bid farewell to your Portuguese adventures at the award-winning organic vineyard Vale da Capucha which prides itself in producing organic and biodynamic wines. Your visit supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
Must-see Highlights
- Explore Lisbon, Évora, Porto, Coimbra and Tomar
- Discover the Algarve, Lagos, Castelo de Vide, Viseu, Nazaré and Óbidos
- Visit the Hieronymite Monastery in Lisbon, the cathedral in Évora, the Palace Gardens at Palacio de Mateus, the Stock Exchange Palace, Arabian Hall and a local Port wine cellar in Porto, the University Library of Coimbra, the Convent of Christ in Tomar and Batalha's Gothic Monastery
- View the Castle of Guimarães and the Shrine at Fátima
Trip Details
Product Code: 19094
Tour Type: Group Tour
Accommodation: Deluxe
Transport: Private
Guide Language: English
Travel Styles:
Explorer
Tour Operator:
Trafalgar (CA)
Supplier Code: 38.112A
Starts: Lisbon, Portugal
Finishes: Lisbon, Portugal
Duration: 11 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Whats Included
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Must-see sightseeing
- Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- Optional Experiences and free time
- On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $4350 ($395 /day)
Itinerary
A sea of pastel pinks, yellows and blues dot the seven hills of the romantic Portuguese capital, which you will have an opportunity to explore today before meeting your fellow travelers and Travel Director for dinner and an orientation drive past some of the city's most iconic sights.
Accommodation: Turim Av Liberdade
Meals: Dinner
Delve into Lisbon's centuries-old seafaring heritage today, paying tribute to the brave men who set off from these shores to discover the ‘New World’. With our Local Specialist, see the shimmering white Monument to the Discoveries, the iconic suspension bridge spanning the Tagus, and Belém Tower, built as a fortress protecting the city of Lisbon. Dive into Culture on a sightseeing tour of the UNESCO-listed Hieronymite Monastery, an exquisite testament to 16th-century Manueline architecture and art. There’s time to join an Optional Experience to the historic towns of Cascais and Sintra, before perhaps enjoying a traditional Portuguese dinner amidst the soulful and touching sounds of the Fado this evening.
Accommodation: Turim Av Liberdade
Meals: Breakfast
Journey across the Tagus this morning and drive south towards the Serra da Arrábida Mountains and to the golden pastures of the Alentejo. The hearty aroma of traditional Portuguese cuisine fills the air at your Be My Guest experience. You'll connect with locals over lunch in the family home of a historic stud ranch, where Lusitano horses were reared for King João VI in the 18th century. Your Portugal trip itinerary continues further south, bound for the sun-kissed shores of the Algarve – your home for the next two nights.
Accommodation: Real Bellavista
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today, visit the resort town of Lagos — once home to Henry the Navigator. Later, stop in the lively coastal town of Albufeira and enjoy some free time to stroll through its charming streets, relax on the beach or explore local cafes and shops.
Accommodation: Real Bellavista
Meals: Breakfast
Journeying north, travel to the ancient Alentejo city of Évora. Join your Local Specialist for a visit to the elaborate cathedral, Roman temple and the Chapel of Bones. Then, spend the rest of your day delving into the medieval history of this enchanting city. Trace centuries of history along its city walls, kick back with a bica and bolo in Praça do Giraldo or perhaps join an Optional Experience to the medieval village of Monsaraz. This evening you dine at your hotel.
Accommodation: M'AR de AR Muralhas
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
The first stop today is in the quaint hilltop town of Castelo de Vide with its charming white façades, narrow alleys and fascinating Jewish Quarter. Travel north towards the Serra de Estrela mountains and arrive later in Viseu, set high on a plateau near the famous Dão vineyards. Explore the city's rich art and architectural history, and see the 12th-century Sé, standing imposingly on a hill overlooking much of the city.
Accommodation: Grão Vasco
Meals: Breakfast
Vineyard-clad hills provide an enchanting backdrop for your journey today through the Douro Valley, where Port wine is produced. Explore the magnificent gardens at the Baroque-style Palácio de Mateus, depicted on the label of the distinctive Mateus Rosé wine bottles. Continue via Guimarães for views of its impressive 10th-century castle, before arriving in the riverside town of Porto where you will spend the next two nights.
Accommodation: Turim Oporto
Meals: Breakfast
Join a Local Specialist today for a sightseeing tour in Porto, which takes you past baroque churches and along the winding cobblestone lanes that tumble down towards the Douro River. See the remarkable bridges that span the river and the Gothic Church of St. Francis. Visit the Stock Exchange Palace with its splendid Arabian Hall inspired by Granada's Alhambra, then Dive into Culture and into the centuries-old tradition of local Port production at a tasting in a Port cellar. Spend the rest of the afternoon strolling through the historic center of Porto admiring the azulejo-clad facades, or visit Livraria Lello, the city's oldest bookstore.
Accommodation: Turim Oporto
Meals: Breakfast
Soak up the grand atmosphere of one of Europe's greatest and oldest universities with a Local Specialist, then stroll through the ancient streets and squares of Coimbra, before journeying to the Templar city of Tomar. We join a Local Specialist to visit the Convent of Christ, originally built as a Templar stronghold in the 12th century. Later, we arrive in the pilgrimage center of Fátima, visited by millions of Catholic pilgrims, where three young shepherds famously saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary.
Accommodation: Santa Maria , Fátima
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
En route to Lisbon, with a Local Specialist, stop at the imposing monastery of Batalha – a UNESCO World Heritage site and the best example of late Gothic architecture in Portugal. Our next stop is the fishing village of Nazaré, before we visit the medieval walled city of Óbidos with its whitewashed houses and cobblestone streets. Celebrate our last evening in Portugal over dinner in a family-run vineyard, a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Toast to an incredible journey over organic wine and locally sourced flavors.
Accommodation: Smy Lisboa, Olissippo Oriente
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Say a fond adeus to your fellow travelers at the end of an unforgettable Portuguese holiday.
Meals: Breakfast
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Tour Operator
Trafalgar (CA)
Family owned and run since 1920, The Travel Corporation (TTC) is the world leader in immersive travel experiences across an extensive range of travel categories. Each year TTC's 40 award winning hospitality and travel brands connect over 1 million happy travellers to the world. We give you access to the 12 DMC’s behind these brands, so you can build your business by capitalizing on the extensive experience, local expertise, and financial assurance of TTC. LOCAL EXPERTISE The world leaders in travel for over 100 years, we offer unparalleled local expertise with a global footprint. Our 12 DMCs, led by experienced in-destination teams, deliver experience rich travel solutions in more than 80 countries. Additionally, our market based teams are on hand to support across our 40 offices worldwide
In Business Since 1931
Reviews
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2024
Satisfied return Trafalgar traveler. Trafalgar takes care of everything when you travel with them. If you arrive the day your trip begins, they meet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel. If your flight home leaves within their parameters, they transport you back to the airport. Luggage is always carefully managed, buses are clean, agendas are clearly communicated, the director on this trip, encouraged and answered all questions, most optional tours were well planned. If there is a n injury or illness, the director helps manage help. We like Trafalgar, however there are a few company decisions to make some changes that we question: cutting down length of trips to fit the 2 week traveler instead of matching the length of the trip to the itinerary, no longer having a photographer take group photos and then giving them to you, not giving past travelers an appreciation gift, not providing transport to airport if flight is not at certain times, no longer providing water for purchase on coach. This itinerary really showcases Portugal well. It begins and ends in Lisbon and takes the traveler around this beautiful country. It covers a nice variety of venues including monasteries, old walled cities, churches, beaches and seaside towns, historic spots, lively cities and includes history, culture of today and yesterday, and a Fado music optional. The tour director ( *Personal details removed by Feefo* ) and driver ( *Personal details removed by Feefo* ) worked well together to manage the basics (hotels, daily agendas, meals, luggage, etc) with ease. *Personal details removed by Feefo* l also added lots of fun and or tasty treats and gems along the way. I do believe this itinerary would lend itself to be 2 days longer to allow for a bit more time in a few places. Example: Doing 3 big places on the last day and then a late arrival in Lisboa could be more enjoyable over more time. I hope that Trafalgar continues to offer a travel product that makes the length of the trip match the itinerary and doesn’t just make all the trips under 14 days to please the two week traveler. There are plenty of us out there that want to travel longer to make the trip more enjoyable yet full!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/25/2024
Carol Cox - Traveled, April 2024
Take this trip! Service was great. My friend and I chose to pay ahead on the gratuity We received the little extras along the way. Pasties Belem, vino verde, walnut liquor and the white Port are part of the service and great planning and organization. I would highly recommend this trip, *Personal details removed by Feefo* were a great team. I know we saw so much, the information everyone shared was enlightening. The food choices were excellent. I feel I got the essence of Portugal ????. The surf towns, horse farm, winery, churches and historical sites were phenomenal. One highlight was watching the sunset over the Atlantic wow??
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/23/2024
Bruce Milligan - Traveled, April 2024
Great Trip! Everything was handled efficiently. There were no problems noted. Our driver, *Personal details removed by Feefo* . , was great, getting us into out of narrow streets and tight parking places. He did a great job taking care of our luggage and the coach was always very clean. Our tour director *Personal details removed by Feefo* . made sure everything ran smoothly. A very enjoyable trip. It never seemed like it took too long to get where we were going. The places we went were really beautiful, and our guide, *Personal details removed by Feefo* . , was very informative and with lots of interesting information about each place we went. The hotels were very good, also. We would recommend this trip to family and friends.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/12/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2024
The best of Portugal is an experience that we thoroughly enjoyed! The selection of our tour operator, *Personal information removed by Feefo* and bus driver, *Personal information removed by Feefo* were excellent. The bus was always clean and *Personal information removed by Feefo* made masks and sanitizing gel available to anyone who wanted them when a passenger developed a stomach flu.We found that staying in only one night, multiple times, a little tiring. The background information for each destination was excellent. *Personal information removed by Feefo* was knowledgeable, patient and very helpful. The itinerary of places to see gave us a very good comprehension of the history of Portugal and our bus driver, *Personal information removed by Feefo* was amazing in his competance in manouvering a big bus in thight spaces. Certainly made us feel safe in his hands.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/18/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, May 2024
*Personal information removed by Feefo* and *Personal information removed by Feefo* were fabulous as tour director and driver. They made the tour!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/20/2024
Martina Garner - Traveled, May 2024
What a great trip! I loved that we saw all major cities but also little jewels that we would have never seen, had we planned the trip ourselves. *Personal information removed by Feefo* was knowledgable, witty, and able to lead the herd (50 people) incredibly well. Our bus driver *Personal information removed by Feefo* was exceptional as well, making us feel safe and always lending a helping hand with a smile. We never spend too much time on the bus, with plenty of stops for restrooms or shopping/eating opportunities. While we have somewhat high standards for food and hotels, the provided dinners and rooms were adequate and reflected the price we paid. Overall a fantastic experience and we are in the process of booking with Trafalgar again!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/17/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, June 2024
Beautiful Portugal! Great hotels, good options offered, and excellent local experts. Our tour director was the best we've ever had on the various tours we've done before. Very comprehensive tour. Really in depth and it keeps you really busy but very enjoyable. Our travel director, *Personal information removed by Feefo* was so professional and so knowledgeable and did a great job managing the 50 people on the tour.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/30/2024
Charlene Vehlies - Traveled, April 2024
Pretty Portugal with warm Portuguese people. This makes our 7th tour and already looking forward to the next. Trafalgar made excellent choices with excursion locations and especially local homes for meals. Our guide *Personal information removed by Feefo* was excellent in outlining the tour and excursions. Local specialists were very knowledgeable and able to deliver interesting facts about their location. Bus driver *Personal information removed by Feefo* kept an exceptionally clean coach as well as deliver us safely to each stop.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/25/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2024
We were very impressed with *Personal information removed by Feefo* and *Personal information removed by Feefo* for their service throughout the tour. The itinerary includes a lot of walking and stairs and should be highlighted for future travellers.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/04/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2024
Truly the best of Portugal in 11 days. Trafalgar includes most tips and portage, which is a big help. Tour guides are excellent The transfers to and from the airport are carefully planned out. Trafalgar takes you to places that most tour companies do not and they support the local economy and venders. The Local Specialist are excellent but limit your optional experiences as they can be exhausting. Our tour guide *Personal information removed by Feefo* was wonderful. Our bus driver *Personal information removed by Feefo* was absolutely amazing. This was my third tour in three years. I did Ireland in 2022 and Italy in 2023. The drawback on this trip may have been partly my fault as I signed up for all the extra excursions. This made for a very, very long day with little break time. The food on these excursions were mostly 4 star with the exception of the "Cataplana" on the Algarve dinner. This meal was just awful. Very small portions and some of the fish was very bony with little taste. The picture of the dish was deceiving compared to what the meal was like. Would not recommend this optional experience to anyone. The Golden Triangle excursion should not have been an optional experience but included. I was not aware that no refunds were given if you bought all of the excursion package and got sick. I was sick for the Douro Cruise and dinner and needed to just rest to feel better and drink clear liquids. The hotels were very nice and close to most things. Trent is an exceptional tour guide and puts his all in organizing this trip. I was very grateful to be able to attend Mass in Fatima. The most unique part of all of the Trafalgar tours is that they take you to so many places that are not included in most Portugal tours. Seeing Nazare was a special treat.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/19/2024
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