PORTUGAL
Tiled cities, a golden coast, Atlantic islands.
Lisbon and Porto, the Douro vineyards, the Algarve's cave coast, and the green islands of Madeira and the Azores. River cruises, wine tastings, sea caves and the day trips that tie it all together.
Only in Portugal
Three experiences that are pure Portugal.
Wine regions, sea caves and whale grounds exist all over the world. Not like these. The oldest mapped wine country on earth, a cathedral cave you reach only from the water, and sperm whales in the open Atlantic. Build the trip around them.
The Douro
Port at the Source
The Douro is the oldest demarcated wine region on earth, mapped out in 1756. Terraces climb both banks, the river bends through them, and the fortified wine that takes the city's name is made here and only here. Most trips run up by road and drift back down on a rabelo boat, glass in hand.
- 1 From Porto: Douro Valley w/ Boat Tour, Wine Tasting & Lunch
- 2 Complete Douro Valley Wine Tour with Lunch, Wine Tastings and River Cruise
- 3 Porto: Douro Valley with Winery Lunch, Tastings & Cruise
The Algarve
Into the Benagil Sea Caves
The south coast is a wall of ochre cliff the Atlantic has hollowed into arches and grottoes. The most famous, Benagil, is a domed cathedral of rock with a sandy floor and a round skylight cut through the roof. There is no path in. You arrive by boat, kayak or paddleboard, or not at all.
- 1 Portimão: Benagil Caves Speed Boat Tour with Sunset Option
- 2 Albufeira: 2.5-Hour Benagil Caves & Dolphin Watching
- 3 Portimão: Benagil Sea Caves Speedboat Adventure Tour
The Atlantic
Whales off the Azores
The Azores sit alone in the mid-Atlantic, deep water dropping away just offshore, which makes them one of the few places on the planet with resident sperm whales year-round and blue whales passing through in spring. Boats leave the harbour and the giants are often only minutes out.
- 1 From Funchal: Ecological Catamaran Dolphin Whale Watching
- 2 Funchal: Dolphin and Whale Watching Catamaran Cruise
- 3 From Ponta Delgada: Whale and Dolphin Watching Trip
Porto & the Douro
Where the river meets the wine.
Porto rises in tiles and granite above the Douro, the port lodges lined up across the water in Gaia, the iron deck of the Dom Luis bridge linking the two banks. Follow the river inland and its banks climb into the terraced vineyards that gave the wine its name.
The Porto & Douro tours →Start here
The one almost everyone books first.
Wherever your Portugal trip begins, this is the experience travellers reach for before any other.
The essentials
Portugal's Most Popular Tours
Porto's old town, Lisbon out to Sintra, the Douro vineyards and the Algarve caves. The experiences travellers come for.
By region
Pick a region.
Each one is its own trip. Lisbon for the trams and the tiles. Porto for the port and the river. The Algarve for the cave coast. Madeira and the Azores for the green Atlantic.
By experience
Or pick how you want to travel.
A river cruise if you want the Douro. A boat if you want the Algarve caves. Wine tastings, dolphin watching, food tours, tuk-tuks through the old towns, and the rest.
Planning the trip
Where do you base yourself?
Most Portugal trips run on one or two bases. Pick the city that puts the things you came for within a day's reach.
Lisbon
Seven hills above the Tagus.
Lisbon spills down to the river in yellow trams and tiled facades, the lanes of Alfama climbing to one viewpoint after another and the great monuments out at Belem. The classic day trip leaves the city behind for the palaces in the cool green hills of Sintra, a short train ride away.
- 1 Lisbon: Sunset Boat Party Cruise with DJ and Open Bar
- 2 Lisbon: Sintra, Pena, Regaleira, Cabo da Roca, and Cascais
- 3 Lisbon: Oceanário de Lisboa Entrance Ticket
From the water
Portugal from the water.
Six bridges from a boat in Porto, sunset on the Tagus in Lisbon, the Benagil caves off the Algarve cliffs. Half the country looks better from the deck. Three trips to get you out on it.
Out in the Atlantic
The green islands.
Madeira and the Azores sit far out in the ocean, all sea cliffs, crater lakes and laurel forest. Catamarans past the whales, 4WD runs to the high country, swims in volcanic pools. Three island days worth the short flight.
Plan it
One week, the whole country.
First time in Portugal? The route most travellers wish they had booked: the capital and Sintra, then Porto and the wine, then the southern coast.
When to go
Portugal, season by season.
There is no bad time, only different trips. Pick the season and the country rearranges itself around it.
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