- Most Popular 📷
- Wine tasting Included Wine tasting
- 7 days Duration 7 days
Spend 7 days in Portugal on an unforgettable trip to some of the country’s most beautiful cities like Lisbon, Porto, Sintra, and more.
Quick Details
The foods of Portugal are diverse, ancient, and unique in their flavors. Our Tastes of Portugal tour allows guests to discover a variety of regions and flavors while immersing themselves in once in a lifetime experience across Portugal.
This 8-day small group tour begins in Lisbon and travels north through small towns, discovering local delicacies in each locale and expanding your palate. This tour is perfect for those looking to experience the country through its food while discovering other aspects of Portuguese culture along the way.
Looking to get your hands dirty and take some skills home? You will also take three cooking classes to hone your skills and wow your friends when you get back home. You will savor authentic regional flavors, such as pastéis de nata, caldo verde, chorizo bread, Piri-piri chicken, and grilled sardines.
This will be an immersive week into a culture with ancient roots. You will explore Mediterranean cuisine, wine, and culture. Join us as we taste the real Portugal on this 8-day journey.
Get in touch with us! We require a minimum of 4 travelers to offer this experience as a private tour.
Our tours are suitable for your next travel adventure, as an anniversary trip, family vacation, or a trip to only celebrate life! Book a journey with a group of friends or family. It will be an incredible experience with many opportunities to bond and create lifelong memories. You don’t need to organize your vacation alone. We are here to help walk you through it all and plan a memorable trip!
Who doesn’t want to learn about the wine-making process while strolling vineyard grounds with a glass of these world-renowned wines in hand? Book an extra night with our Douro Valley Tour, offered as a post-tour extension. This is the perfect fit for those who are looking to discover more of the wine-making process and taste a few more delectable Ports.
This trip is recommended for 50-plus, couples, family vacations, youth, foodies, wine lovers, and small groups of friends. We love working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and identities.
The booking will be confirmed with you as soon as we get the final confirmation of hotel availability.
Portuguese cuisine features many elements found in a Mediterranean-style diet. You’ll find delicious fresh fish, various types of meat, mouth-watering fresh fruit, and plenty of fresh and preserved legumes.
Some famous sweet treats include almond pastry desserts and a custard pastry known as “pastel de nata.”
Although the dishes enjoyed are different between regions, you’ll discover that some things don’t change throughout the county. This is a nation that truly appreciates quality food, fresh ingredients, and a bottle of great wine or two.
For our hands-on cooking classes, we’ll have gorgeous local food! In Portugal, special recipes are only cooked in one specific region. For example, the Cachena steak and rice with “tarrestre” beans are typical dishes in Arcos de Valdevez.
Cachena cattle are a triple-purpose breed from Portugal and Galicia, Spain. Cachena is considerably smaller than other cattle and known for its madly delicious meat. The reason is simple the cattle are not fed the feed! These cattle feed on natural meadows in both winter and summer in well-defined areas called ‘brandas’.
The tarrestre bean is very small. It is produced in the region and used almost exclusively in the diet of the population in Arcos de Valdevez. This bean can be found in various hues, but beige is the most commonly seen color. These highly nutritious beans grow on steep, terraced slopes, and there are no automated or mechanized cultivation methods. Harvesting must be done manually, as it has been for centuries before.
Only one small region in Portugal has this special dish; nobody in Lisbon or Porto cooks it! Why is that so special? Why do we recommend eating this dish? Because we are thinking globally and acting locally. If you eat this regional dish in Arcos de Valdevez, you will have a small ecological footprint. You will be promoting the local market and incentivizing the community to preserve your culture!
These traditional dishes are deeply rooted in Portuguese culture, and recipes are often passed down between generations and cherished for their authentic origins. For example, in our last cooking class, you will learn how to make cornbread with a lady who lives in this region. The bread will be cooked in an authentic wood-fired oven!
On this tour, we explore cities, beaches & the countryside! Come to Portugal with an open mind and an empty stomach to try some of the most flavorsome dishes you’ll ever experience, from a grilled fish in front of a lovely beach, arroz de pato (duck rice) to alheira (Portuguese Jewish sausage) and green broth (potato, onion and chorizo soup).
DAY 1
Lisbon Airport (LIS)
Welcome to Lisbon! Arrive at any time, and a transfer will be waiting to whisk you away to the hotel. There are no activities planned for this day, so feel free to explore some of the city at your doorstep. Check-in at the hotel from 2 pm. onwards.
Accommodation: 4 stars hotel. Overnight in Lisbon.
Suggestion: Sunset Cruise on Tagus River or Lisbon Downtown Walking Tour. Check out our tour extension!
DAY 2
Lisbon – Sintra – Lisbon
Meeting point at the hotel lobby – 08h30 am.
Take the 30km drive to the permanently fresh and ever-romantic Sintra. Start at the National Palace before heading to the picturesque Pena Palace. Once you have finished taking in the views, head back to town to taste the Portuguese delicacy queijada at the world-famous Piriquita pastry shop.
Head back to Lisbon to visit the 16th-century Jeronimos Monastery, the Discoveries Monument along the banks of the Tagus River, and the impressive Belem Tower (Tickets are not included). Make a visit to Pastéis de Belem, world-famous purveyors of pasteis de nata, who have managed to hold on to their secret recipe for nearly 200 years. Enjoy a demonstration and tasting of this treasured treat.
Accommodation: 4 stars hotel. Overnight in Lisbon.
Meals: Breakfast, Pastry Pastel de Belém (one Portuguese custard tart and one coffee are included), and Pastry Piriquita (one cake and one coffee are included).
DAY 3
Lisbon – Obidos – Nazare– Porto
The meeting point will be at the hotel lobby – 09h00 am.
After a quick ride, our day begins in the medieval walled town of Obidos, most noted for its whitewashed houses. Visit handicraft stores, bookstores, and make sure to sample ginja. This liqueur is made by infusing sour cherry in brandy and adding sugar to create a potent yet enjoyable aperitif. A classic Portuguese drink.
Our lunchtime will be at the picturesque fishing village of Nazaré. It is an excellent opportunity to taste the grilled fish and rice seafood.
Nazaré is famous for its women who wear skirts with seven petticoats. Women would sit on the beach waiting for their fishermen to sail home. They’d wear several petticoats to fold the layers around their backs and legs.
In 2011, Garret McNamara (Surfer) changed the history of Nazaré! McNamara was towed into a 78-foot monster swell off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal. At the time, it was the giant wave ever-ridden! And some of the best surfers move to the Portuguese coast every winter.
Today Nazaré is the most famous fishing village in Portugal. It was always having drawn visitors to its beach and genuinely colorful life. Once you finish here, we will get back in the van and head to Porto.
Accommodation: 4 stars hotel. Overnight in Porto.
Meals: Breakfast.
DAY 4
Porto
Meeting point at the hotel lobby – 09h30 am.
Porto is known for its history, architecture, culture, gastronomy, trade, and famed port wine. We will start the day with a walking tour, visiting the historical center, including Clerigos Tower, Livraria Lello e Irmão, Avenida dos Aliados, Estação de S. Bento, Bairro da Sé, Ponte Luís I, and Ribeira (Tickets are not included).
We will then visit a small market to learn the secrets of olive oil in Portugal. Tasting some exceptional Portuguese products; cheese, sausage, ham, wine, and bread. After our culinary discoveries, we will cross the Douro River and visit a port wine cellar for a tasting in one of the oldest caves in the city. We will get to know these unique wines and begin to understand what makes them different and their cultural significance within the region (Included: standard two great wines).
Accommodation: 4 stars hotel. Overnight in Porto.
Meals: Breakfast, Olive Oil Tasting, Portuguese products tasting (sausages, ham, and cheeses), and Port Wine Tasting.
DAY 5
Arcos De Valdevez
Check-out at the hotel until 11 am. Free morning in Porto.
Meeting point at the hotel lobby – 11h30 am.
Our first stop will be the sardine cannery. On this factory tour, you will learn about the sardine industry in Portugal, from fisheries to canning to marketing and distribution. Don’t worry; the smell is not as strong as you might think! You will finish the tour with a delightful tasting of sardines, bread, and of course, Portuguese wine.
After visiting the cities, we will visit the real Portugal, off the beaten path and authentic. We will explore remote villages, authentic cultural heritage, and some of the greenest landscapes in the country. You will sleep in the heart of the Minho province and at the door of the Peneda-Geres National Park, surrounded by stunning mountains and forests.
During the journey, we might come across garrano, or wild ponies. These wild animals have been native to the region since the Celtic era during the first millennium B.C. The Portuguese government began to rebuild the herds in the 1940s in what is now the national park.
Dinner will be at our rural hotel. You can help Chef Vasco prepare dinner with a hands-on cooking class. This hotel works hard to incorporate slow food with the goal of promoting local small businesses while working against the globalization of agricultural products. Duration: 1/2 day.
Accommodation: Country House. Overnight in Arcos de Valdevez.
Meals: Breakfast, Canned sardines factory tour, and Dinner (cooking class).
DAY 6
Arcos De Valdevez
Visit an incredible local vineyard and expand your knowledge of the revered Vinho Verde. Enjoy the stunning landscape during our picnic lunch served alfresco. Dinner will be at our hotel. Once again, you can help Chef Vasco prepare dinner with a second cooking class. At the end of the class, dinner will be served in the dining room. The meal will consist of the dishes prepared during the cooking class and complemented with local wines. Duration: 1 day.
Accommodation: Country House. Overnight in Arcos de Valdevez.
Meals: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, Wine Tasting, and Dinner (cooking class).
DAY 7
Arcos De Valdevez – Braga
Let’s make some traditional bread!
We will join Chef Vasco and friends one last time to discover the wonders of bread making. Our cooking class brings to life the traditional process while using several kinds of locally grown corn and wheat to create our own broa de milho.
In the afternoon, we will head out into the city for a guided walking tour of the historic towns of Braga and the Bom Jesus do Monte Shrine.
Accommodation: 4 stars hotel. Overnight in Braga.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch (cooking class).
DAY 8
Oporto Airport (OPO)
Our time of discovery will have come to an end. Check-out at the hotel by 11 am, after which we will transfer you to the airport.
Meals: Breakfast.
Suggestion: Interested in exploring more of the Douro Valley? Check out our tour extension!
What to bring
Food allergies
Yes, of course! Your private transfer from the airport to the hotel is included with the earlier arrival.
For this tour, you can bring one large case per person, a maximum of 20 kg (33 pounds) per bag, and one backpack per person.
Yes, you can! Eco Trilha provides a free, flexible payment option for you to pay in installments. Click Book Now and then choose Pay 20% Deposit as a payment method during checkout. We will send you an email with the final payment one month before the departure date.
Apologies, but we are unable to accommodate your request for a room upgrade. Unfortunately, these hotels do not offer king-size beds for booking.
For more frequently asked questions about weather, payment, cancellations, and refund policy. Please visit our FAQ page here.