Portugal · Private and tailor-made
Portugal, from Port Lodges to Algarve Cliffs
Walk Sintra's Monserrate Palace and gardens after hours, the house yours alone.
By arrangement · How private access worksSuggested length
12 days
Price guide
From $11,976 per person, excl. flights, based on two sharing
Includes hotels, private guiding, experiences and transfers
When
April to June and September to October
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American precision with local expertise · Planned from Europe since 2002 · Nearly 17,000 American travelers · Never cancelled a journey
About 20,000 painted tiles cover the hall of São Bento in Porto, and this 12-day private tour of Portugal sets out from there to run the whole mainland to the Algarve. You walk the paths between the Douro’s schist terraces above the river. In Lisbon, where your dates allow, Luisa leads you through Alfama and Belém and out to Sintra, where by arrangement Monserrate Palace and its gardens are yours alone after closing. An evening of petiscos, Portugal’s small plates, leads into fado. In the Alentejo you see Évora’s Chapel of Bones and the Templar walls of Monsaraz above the Alqueva lake. On the Algarve a boat follows the cliffs to the Benagil sea cave. Every day can be reshaped around you.
Walk into São Bento station under about 20,000 painted tiles, Porto.
Walk the paths between the schist terraces above the river, Douro Valley.
Taste petiscos and hear fado with a local food guide, Lisbon.
Visit the Capela dos Ossos and the arches of the Água de Prata aqueduct, Évora.
Walk the walls of the old Templar castle above the Alqueva lake, Monsaraz.
Sail along the cliffs to the Algar de Benagil sea cave, Algarve.
“We love to tailor-make trips you’ll talk about for years, built on our local relationships & story-worthy experiences.” – Magical’s American founder, in Europe since 1998, culinary enthusiast & world traveler.
A Journey Designed Just for You
Our resident experts wrote this itinerary as a starting point, and your planner shapes every day around your interests, pace and travel style.
What do our American travelers say?
The 12-day Portugal itinerary at a glance
The route uses five bases and eleven nights: two in Porto, two in the Douro Valley, three in Lisbon, two in Évora in the Alentejo and two on the Algarve coast. Lisbon holds the extra night, so the capital gives you two full days with no transfer, one for Sintra and the Atlantic coast and one for Belém, petiscos and fado.
Every leg runs by road, and the route moves south in one line. Porto to Peso da Régua in the Douro takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. The Douro to Lisbon is the long drive of the trip, about 3 hours 30 minutes. Sintra sits about 30 minutes from Lisbon. Lisbon to Évora takes about 1 hour 35 minutes, and Évora to the Algarve about 2 hours 30 minutes. The trip ends at Faro airport, about 4 kilometers west of Faro, so no flight falls inside the twelve days. In Lisbon and Sintra a licensed guide works alongside a licensed driver. In Porto, the Douro, the Alentejo and the Algarve a licensed driver-guide, one person holding both licenses, looks after you.
April to June and September to October suit the route best. IPMA, Portugal’s weather institute, gives Porto a mean daily high of 17.6°C (about 64°F) in April and 23.4°C (about 74°F) in September, on its 1981 to 2010 averages. Lisbon reaches 25.7°C (about 78°F) in June and 26.6°C (about 80°F) in September. Évora, inland, runs warmest, at 27.2°C (about 81°F) in September and 30.6°C (about 87°F) in July, and Faro on the Algarve holds 26.6°C (about 80°F) in September and 23.2°C (about 74°F) in October.
Licensed guides we work with on this route include Susana and Tania in Porto, Luisa and Anabela in Lisbon, Isabel in Sintra, and Elsa and Nuno in Évora. Each is a highly educated local expert who cares about the people in their group. We request your guides by name, and your planner confirms who leads each day once your dates are set.
Why the route runs from Porto to the Algarve
The route starts in Porto, whose airport sits about 11 kilometers from the Clérigos Tower and has nonstop flights to Newark, Boston and New York JFK. It ends at Faro, the main airport of the Algarve, where United has added a seasonal route to Newark. Flying into one city and home from the other lets the trip run north to south in a single line, with each base a half day’s drive or less from the last. Our notes on choosing between Porto and Lisbon airports and on direct flights to the Algarve set out the options.
The angle is the Alentejo as a stay. Many Porto to Algarve routes cross the Alentejo in an afternoon on the drive south. This one gives Évora two nights, so you have a full day for cork oaks, the standing stones of the Almendres, the walls of Monsaraz and a night sky with Starlight certification for stargazing. The route as written is a starting point, and our team shapes it around your dates and interests.
Journey at a glance
Length
12 days
From
$11,976 per person, double occupancy
Route
Porto, Douro Valley, Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, Évora, Alentejo, Algarve
Your planner adjusts every day to your dates.
Day One
Arrival in Porto: São Bento, Clérigos and the Ribeira
Your licensed driver-guide meets you at Porto airport, about 11 kilometers northwest of the Clérigos Tower. UNESCO inscribed the historic center of Porto in 1996, together with the Luiz I Bridge and the Monastery of Serra do Pilar. In the afternoon your driver-guide walks you into São Bento station, which opened in 1916. Jorge Colaço covered its entrance hall with about 20,000 tiles between 1905 and 1916, from King John I riding into Porto for his wedding to Philippa of Lancaster in 1387 to the grape harvest and the wine boats of the Douro. Up the hill, Nicolau Nasoni raised the Clérigos Tower between 1754 and 1763, 240 steps to the top. The walk ends on the Ribeira below the two decks of the Luiz I Bridge, which Théophile Seyrig designed and the city opened in 1886. Where it suits your party, an evening port tasting follows in a cellar across the river, with the smell of old oak in the cool air. Logistics: Porto airport to your hotel by private vehicle with your licensed driver-guide, about 11 kilometers, then an afternoon on foot.
Day Two
Porto by Market, Bookshop and River, then Serralves
Day two is a full guided day with your licensed driver-guide. It starts at the Bolhão market, which architect Correia da Silva designed in 1914 and the city reopened in 2022 after more than four years of restoration, with 79 stalls of fruit, fish and flowers on its ground floor. Livraria Lello follows, in the building the Lello brothers opened in 1906, with its forked wooden staircase, and our team books the entry. Then a boat carries you along the Douro under the city's bridges, from the iron arch of the Maria Pia, an 1877 railway bridge, to the Luiz I. Until 1986 all exported port left from the lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank, and where it suits your party, a tasting there follows with an oenologist. In the afternoon, the Serralves Foundation shows contemporary art in the white museum Álvaro Siza designed, which opened in 1999, inside an 18-hectare park. Logistics: a full day in Porto and Gaia with your licensed driver-guide, on foot, by boat and by private vehicle, no hotel change.
Day Three
Into the Douro Valley: Trails Between the Terraces
UNESCO inscribed the Alto Douro Wine Region in 2001, after about 2,000 years of winemaking, and the Douro became a protected wine region in 1756, the third oldest in the world after Chianti and Tokaj. Your licensed driver-guide drives east toward Peso da Régua as the hills close in. The oldest terraces, the socalcos, hold one or two rows of vines each on walls of schist. Where it suits your party, a walk on the paths between the vines takes the place of part of the drive, with the river green below you and the snip of secateurs at harvest time. Villages such as Favaios, on a plateau about 500 meters up, keep their own wines, moscatel among them. At Pinhão station, 24 tile panels from 1937 show the vines, the treading of the grapes and the rabelo boats. A bicycle route or a river cruise takes the afternoon on request. Logistics: Porto to Peso da Régua by road, about 1 hour 15 minutes, with your licensed driver-guide, first of two nights in the Douro Valley.
Day Four
A Family Quinta and the Making of Port
Today belongs to a wine estate. Quintas, farm estates with a main house and a winery grouped around it, stand as landmarks across the Upper Corgo and the Upper Douro. Where available, a family quinta opens its vineyards and its lodge to your party. Port begins as red wine, and the winemaker stops the fermentation early by adding aguardente, a neutral grape spirit, which keeps natural sugar in the wine and lifts it to about 19 to 22 percent alcohol. At harvest some quintas still tread the grapes by foot in granite lagares, the same work the Pinhão tiles show. Your driver-guide walks you through the vines and into the cool of the lodge, where the barrels rest in rows and the air smells of wood and wine. Lunch follows on a terrace above the river, with the estate's wines poured beside each course. Logistics: a day in the valley by road with your licensed driver-guide, second night in the Douro Valley.
Day Five
South to Lisbon: São Jorge Castle and Alfama with Luisa
Day five is a long road day, about three and a half hours from the Douro to Lisbon, and the afternoon belongs to the oldest quarter of the capital. Where your dates allow, Luisa, one of our licensed guides in Lisbon and Sintra, meets you with a licensed driver. São Jorge Castle crowns the hill where Afonso Henriques and northern crusaders took Lisbon from the Moors in 1147. King John I dedicated it to Saint George, a saint popular in both Portugal and England, after his marriage to the English princess Philippa of Lancaster, and in 1498 King Manuel I received Vasco da Gama here. Below the walls, Alfama takes its name from the Arabic al-hamma, hot springs. Its lanes and small squares came through the earthquake of 1755 and drop toward the Tagus past washing lines and the smell of sardines on the grill. Logistics: Douro Valley to Lisbon by road, about 3 hours 30 minutes, with your licensed driver-guide, then the afternoon with Luisa and a licensed driver, first of three nights in Lisbon.
Day Six
Sintra, Azenhas do Mar, Cabo da Roca and Cascais
Where your dates allow, Luisa leads the day with a licensed driver alongside her. UNESCO listed Sintra in 1995, and among its palaces and gardens, Quinta da Regaleira suits travelers who like a puzzle. António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro had the Italian architect Luigi Manini build it between 1904 and about 1910, and its Initiation Well spirals 27 meters down in nine flights of steps to a compass in the stone floor. In the old town, try a queijada, the small Sintra tart of fresh cheese, eggs, milk and sugar. On the coast, Azenhas do Mar stands on a cliff above the Atlantic, with an ocean pool at its foot. At Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of continental Europe, the monument quotes Camões, onde a terra se acaba e o mar começa, where the land ends and the sea begins, and the wind comes straight off the ocean. The road ends in Cascais. Logistics: Lisbon to Sintra by road, about 30 minutes, with Luisa and a licensed driver, then the coast road by Azenhas do Mar, Cabo da Roca and Cascais back to Lisbon.
Day Seven
Belém, Petiscos and a Fado Evening
Where your dates allow, Luisa spends the morning in Belém with a licensed driver. King Manuel I began the Jerónimos Monastery in 1501 with a five percent tax on the spice trade, and Vasco da Gama and the poet Luís de Camões lie in its church. By the river, Francisco de Arruda finished the Belém Tower in 1519, and a carved rhinoceros under one turret most likely shows the animal Manuel I sent to Pope Leo X in 1515. Next door, the Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém has baked custard tarts with a dusting of cinnamon since 1837. In the evening, where it suits your party, a local food guide leads you through petiscos, Portugal's small plates, such as pastéis de bacalhau, salt cod fritters crisp outside and soft inside, and a ginjinha, the sour cherry liqueur with a cherry in the cup. The night ends in a fado house. UNESCO listed fado in 2011, a solo voice with a guitar and the twelve-string Portuguese guitarra. Logistics: a full day in Lisbon with Luisa and a licensed driver, no hotel change, the evening on foot.
Day Eight
To Évora: the Bone Chapel and the Silver Water Aqueduct
Today your licensed driver-guide heads east into the Alentejo, a country of cork oaks, olive groves and vineyards. UNESCO inscribed the historic center of Évora in 1986 for its whitewashed houses with tiles and wrought-iron balconies from the 16th to the 18th centuries, and the Jesuits taught at its University of the Holy Spirit from 1553. In the Church of São Francisco, Franciscan friars lined the Capela dos Ossos with the bones of about 5,000 people, under the words nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos, we bones here wait for yours. Francisco de Arruda, who built the Belém Tower, also built the Água de Prata aqueduct from 1531 to 1537 to bring water 18 kilometers into town, and houses still sit between its arches along Rua do Cano. Dinner brings Alentejo cooking such as açorda, mashed rustic bread with coriander, garlic, olive oil and a poached egg, and a glass of Alentejo red. Logistics: Lisbon to Évora by road, about 1 hour 35 minutes, with your licensed driver-guide, first of two nights in Évora.
Day Nine
Cork Oaks, Standing Stones and Templar Monsaraz
Your licensed driver-guide shapes today around the Alentejo countryside. Portugal produces about half the world's cork, and in a cork oak grove you see how the extractors strip the bark, first when a tree reaches about 25 to 30 years and then about every nine years, while the tree lives on. West of Évora, Neolithic builders began the Cromlech of the Almendres about 6000 BC, about 95 granite stones in groups, the largest set of structured menhirs in the Iberian Peninsula. To the east, Monsaraz stands on a hilltop above the Guadiana. Geraldo Sem Pavor took it in 1167, and in 1232 King Sancho II won it back for good with the Knights Templar, who then held the border. Below the walls spreads the Alqueva, the largest artificial lake in Western Europe. Lunch brings migas, crumbled bread with garlic and olive oil, beside black pork from acorn-fed Iberian pigs. After dark, Dark Sky Alqueva, the first Starlight Tourism Destination in the world, offers stargazing with telescopes and binoculars where it suits your party. Logistics: a full day by road around Évora and the Alentejo with your licensed driver-guide, second night in Évora.
Day Ten
South to the Algarve: Benagil and the Seven Hanging Valleys
Your licensed driver-guide drives south across the Alentejo plains to the Algarve coast. Near the fishing hamlet of Benagil, the sea has worn the Algar de Benagil from the side and from above, the only cave between Lagos and Albufeira to erode both ways, and sunlight falls through the hole in its roof onto the beach inside. Only licensed tours enter, and the rules give each boat a short visit, so where it suits your party a private boat makes the cave one part of a longer trip along the cliffs. On the clifftops above, the Seven Hanging Valleys trail runs about 5.7 kilometers from Praia da Marinha to Vale de Centeanes and climbs to about 45 meters above the sea, with green water in the coves below and gulls riding the wind. Logistics: Évora to the Algarve coast by road, about 2 hours 30 minutes, with your licensed driver-guide, first of two nights on the Algarve.
Day Eleven
Cape St. Vincent, Sagres and a Day on the Water
Today your licensed driver-guide heads west to the corner of the continent. The Romans called Cape St. Vincent the Promontorium Sacrum, the Holy Promontory, and its cliffs rise almost straight from the Atlantic to about 75 meters. Legend says ravens guarded the grave of the martyr Vincent here, and when King Afonso Henriques had the relics moved to Lisbon in 1173, the ravens went with them, a scene Lisbon still carries on its coat of arms. The lighthouse dates from 1846, and its lamps reach about 60 kilometers out to sea. Sagres lies about six kilometers away. Lunch in a fishing village brings amêijoas na cataplana, clams in a hinged copper pan in the form of two clamshells, with garlic, peppers and white wine. In the afternoon, a private yacht along the coast, a walk on the cliff trails or a mountain bike route fills the time, as your party prefers. Logistics: a full day by road along the western Algarve with your licensed driver-guide, second night on the Algarve.
Day Twelve
Departure from Faro
Faro airport, the main gateway to the Algarve, sits about 4 kilometers west of the city, and in 2022 it took the name of Gago Coutinho, the navigator and aviation pioneer. A later flight leaves the morning free for a last coffee above the beach, the sound of the surf below and a final walk along the cliffs. Logistics: hotel on the Algarve coast to Faro airport by private vehicle with your licensed driver-guide, at an hour to suit your flight.
What does a 12 day Portugal itinerary look like?
A 12 day Portugal itinerary covers the mainland from Porto to the Algarve, with two or three nights in each region. This route gives Porto two nights, the Douro Valley two, Lisbon three, Évora two and the Algarve coast two. You see the tiled station and port lodges of Porto, a family quinta among the Douro terraces, Lisbon’s castle, Belém and fado, Sintra and the Atlantic cape, the bone chapel and standing stones of the Alentejo, and the sea caves and western cape of the Algarve. Every transfer runs by road, and the trip ends at Faro airport.
Is 12 days enough to see Portugal from north to south?
Twelve days is enough for the five regions of the mainland most visitors want, at a pace with no one-night stops. The longest drive, from the Douro to Lisbon, takes about three and a half hours, and every other leg runs two and a half hours or less. Twelve days leaves out Braga and Guimarães in the far north, Coimbra in the center and the islands of Madeira and the Azores. Each of those adds two or three days, and our longer Portugal routes include them.
Should you fly into Porto and home from Faro?
For this route, yes, because flying into Porto and home from Faro lets the trip run south in one line without a return to Lisbon. Porto airport has nonstop flights to Newark, Boston and New York JFK, and United has added a seasonal route between Faro and Newark. On other days, the connection home runs through a European hub. The route also works in reverse, from the Algarve north to Porto, with the same nights in each base. Our note on Porto and Lisbon as arrival airports weighs the choices for the north.
Twelve days on the mainland, or another Portugal route?
This route suits travelers who want the whole mainland in one direction, with real time in the Alentejo as well as the Douro and the Algarve. Another MPT route serves you better in four cases.
With an island in mind, the 14-day Portugal private tour with Madeira follows the same mainland line, gives Lisbon two nights and the Algarve three, then flies from Faro to Funchal for two nights on Madeira. The romantic Portugal tour for couples also runs twelve days but trades the Alentejo nights and the Algarve for three nights on Madeira after Porto, the Douro and Lisbon. Choose one of those when mountain walks and an Atlantic island draw you more than cork country and sea caves.
With ten days, the 10-day Portugal private tour starts in Porto, adds Braga and Guimarães and two nights in the Douro, then runs through Lisbon and Sintra to the Algarve, crossing the Alentejo on the drive south. Choose it when the calendar is tighter and the far north matters more than Évora. With one week, the 7-day Portugal private tour keeps Lisbon and Porto with day trips and leaves out the south. Every Portugal route sits on our Portugal destination page.
Who this journey suits
First-time visitors who want the whole mainland in one trip, flying into Porto and home from Faro, with two or three nights in each base.
Wine travelers, with port in the lodges of Gaia, a family quinta in the Douro and Alentejo reds in Évora.
Couples and friends who like quiet rural evenings, among the Douro vineyards and under the dark skies of the Alentejo.
Families with teenage or adult children, who mix boats, castles, standing stones, sea caves and beaches across the twelve days.
Returning visitors who know Lisbon and Porto and want the Alentejo and the Algarve as well.
The people behind the route
Luisa, one of our licensed guides in Lisbon and Sintra, leads the Lisbon and Sintra days where your dates allow. She works alongside a licensed driver, so the walking parts of the day start where the car drops you, from the castle gate above Alfama to the old town of Sintra and the monastery in Belém. She knows the order of monuments, viewpoints and pastry shops to suit the hour and the season, and she times the castle afternoon around your arrival from the Douro. North and south of Lisbon, a licensed driver-guide holds both licenses, drives the car and leads the visits, so one person stays with you through each region. Our note on private driver-guides in Portugal explains how the two models compare.
What the 12-day journey costs and what it includes
This 12-day journey starts from $11,976 per person, double occupancy. The from-price covers eleven nights in deluxe four-star properties selected for comfort, location and service. Five-star luxury properties are available by request. It also covers Luisa and a licensed driver in Lisbon and Sintra, licensed driver-guides in Porto, the Douro, the Alentejo and the Algarve, private vehicles for every transfer and excursion, and the planning and in-country support of our team.
What moves the price: travel dates and season, hotel category, the size of your party, single rooms, and added private experiences such as a port tasting with an oenologist in Gaia, a petiscos evening and fado in Lisbon, a stargazing session in the Alentejo, a private boat to the Benagil cave or a yacht on the western Algarve. Magical Private Travel maintains excellent ratings on Trustpilot and Google’s independent review platforms. Our team prices each journey to your dates and party.
When the route looks close to the trip you have in mind, speak with our team about your dates, your party and the pace you want.
Questions about the 12-day Portugal itinerary
How many nights should you spend in each region of Portugal?
On this route, two nights each in Porto, the Douro Valley, Évora and the Algarve, and three in Lisbon. Two nights in each base give you at least one full day without packing, and the extra Lisbon night covers both Sintra and Belém. Porto gets an arrival afternoon and a full day on foot and on the river. The Douro gets a trail day and an estate day, with no return drive to the city. Évora gets an evening in town and a full day in the countryside, and the Algarve gets the cliffs and caves on arrival and Cape St. Vincent the next day. American travelers who want more beach time add a third Algarve night, and those who love wine often add a third night in the Douro.
When is the best time for a 12-day Portugal trip?
April to June and September to October suit this route best. IPMA, Portugal’s weather institute, gives Porto a mean daily high of 17.6°C (about 64°F) in April and 23.4°C (about 74°F) in September, on its 1981 to 2010 averages. Lisbon reaches 19.8°C (about 68°F) in April and 26.6°C (about 80°F) in September. Évora runs warmest, at 18.5°C (about 65°F) in April, 30.6°C (about 87°F) in July and 27.2°C (about 81°F) in September. Faro on the Algarve holds 20.4°C (about 69°F) in April and 23.2°C (about 74°F) in October, so the south coast stays mild well into autumn. September and early October fall in the Douro harvest, when some quintas still tread their grapes by foot. In July and August our team plans the Alentejo days around the cooler morning and evening hours.
Who guides and drives us on the 12-day tour?
In Lisbon and Sintra, where your dates allow, Luisa, one of our licensed guides, leads the touring days and works alongside a licensed driver, two separate people. In Porto, the Douro Valley, the Alentejo and the Algarve, a licensed driver-guide looks after you, one person holding both licenses who drives the car and leads the visits. A licensed driver-guide also drives the long road day from the Douro to Lisbon and hands you to Luisa at the castle. Every transfer runs by private vehicle for your own party, from the Porto airport pickup to the Faro airport drop-off. Our team in Madrid plans the whole route, books site entries such as Livraria Lello, and stays in contact through the twelve days.
Why spend two nights in the Alentejo?
Two nights turn the Alentejo from a drive into a destination. The first evening gives you Évora itself, the bone chapel, the aqueduct and a dinner of Alentejo cooking within its walls. The full day after it reaches the places a drive-through misses: a cork oak grove, the Cromlech of the Almendres west of town, the walled village of Monsaraz above the Alqueva lake, and a winery on request. The night sky around Alqueva holds the first Starlight Tourism Destination certification in the world, so a stargazing session after dinner fits only when you sleep in the region. The next morning the drive to the Algarve takes about two and a half hours. Our Alentejo destination guide sets out more of the region.
Why sleep in the Douro Valley rather than visit from Porto?
Two nights among the vineyards give the Douro two full days with no return drive. Peso da Régua lies about 1 hour 15 minutes from Porto by road, so a day trip spends two and a half hours in the car. Sleeping in the valley turns the time into a walk between the terraces on day three and a long estate visit and lunch on day four. The evenings are quiet, with the river below and the terraces stepping up the slopes. From the Douro the route drives straight south to Lisbon, so the two nights add no extra travel. Travelers who prefer a city base keep both nights in Porto, and our team adjusts the days to match.
How does the Benagil cave visit work?
The Algar de Benagil sits in the cliffs near the hamlet of Benagil, between Lagos and Albufeira, and a hole in its roof lights a small beach inside. Only licensed tours enter the cave, and the rules give each boat a short visit, so the cave forms one part of a longer trip along the coast. Where it suits your party, your licensed driver-guide arranges a private boat from the nearby coast, with stops at other caves and coves on the way. The rest of the day follows the Seven Hanging Valleys trail, about 5.7 kilometers along the clifftops from Praia da Marinha, which looks down on the same coast from above. Calm seas suit the boat best, and your driver-guide moves it to day eleven when the forecast favors it.
How much walking does the itinerary involve?
As much or as little as your party prefers. City days involve cobbled slopes in Porto’s Ribeira, in Alfama below São Jorge Castle and in the old town of Sintra, and your driver drops you at the top of a quarter where the roads allow, so most walks run downhill. The Clérigos Tower has 240 steps and the Initiation Well at Quinta da Regaleira nine flights, and both stay optional. The Douro walks follow paths between the vineyards, and your driver-guide sets the distance. On the Algarve, the Seven Hanging Valleys trail runs about 5.7 kilometers, and shorter stretches suit an easier day. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking, and our page on accessible travel sets out how our team plans for travelers who need step-free routes or extra support.
Is the 12-day route fixed?
The route as written shows one balanced order of bases, and our team shortens, extends or reorders it around your dates, interests and pace. Common changes include running it from the Algarve north to Porto, keeping both Douro nights in Porto, adding a third night on the Algarve for golf or beaches, or adding Coimbra to the drive south from the Douro. Each change keeps the same principle of few hotel changes and one long road day at most. Guides, driver-guides and site entries all move with the change, so you receive a revised day-by-day plan and price before you commit.
We keep a list of vetted four- and five-star hotels, well located and enjoyed by our past travelers and by our own team.
Examples for each overnight stop on this route. Choose a deluxe boutique hotel or a five-star stay, and your travel advisor matches each night to your wishes, the season and availability.
Porto
Boutique: Torel 1884. An 1884 palace near São Bento station, with rooms themed on Portugal’s voyages of discovery.
Five-star: The Yeatman. Terraced into the Gaia hillside among the port lodges, every room with a terrace facing Porto.
Douro Valley
Boutique: Quinta do Vallado Wine Hotel. An 18th-century house once owned by Dona Antónia Ferreira, plus a modern schist building among vineyards.
Five-star: Six Senses Douro Valley. A restored 19th-century manor near Lamego, above Douro vine terraces, with a large spa.
Lisbon
Boutique: Memmo Alfama. A design hotel on an Alfama lane, with a pool beside its wine-bar terrace over the Tagus.
Five-star: Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon. A 1959 landmark beside Eduardo VII Park, filled with mid-century Portuguese art and tapestries.
Évora and the Alentejo
Boutique: Albergaria do Calvário. A 16th-century olive-oil mill inside Évora’s old walls, now a 22-room boutique hotel.
Five-star: Convento do Espinheiro. A restored 15th-century convent near Évora, with arched patios and an underground wine cellar.
Algarve
Boutique: Octant Praia Verde. A hotel in the pine woods of the eastern Algarve, with a boardwalk to Praia Verde beach.
Five-star: Vila Vita Parc. A clifftop resort at Porches on more than 50 acres of gardens, with its own beach below.
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