Portugal Tours

You'll find dozens of tours in Portugal. Our list includes attractions & city passes, bus & coach tours, cruises & water tours, cultural & theme tours, day trips & excursions, food wine & nightlife, holiday & seasonal, outdoor activities shows, concerts & events, sightseeing & guided tours, transfers & ground transport, walking & biking tours and a whole lot more options.

City Tours - Portugal offers several options for city tours. Lisboa is the best place as there is enough sightseeing and culture to keep visitors busy for at least four full days. A combination of walking tours, museums and shopping is always advised as visitors have the chance of doing all these activities in the neighborhoods they are visiting. Other towns such as Évora and Porto will keep visitors entertained for three days maximum without the need for going outside of the city.

The best way to travel around these cities is by using public transportation which is easily available. Public buses, trams and the subway are an excellent choice and a public transportation map can be downloaded from the internet. Lisboa also offers half-day and one day bus tours, as well as night bus tours, which tourists can always reserve through their hotel concierge.

Porto and Lisboa have tourist travel passes that can be purchased downtown, in train stations and at the airports. Upon arriving in any Portuguese city tourists should visit the Welcome Desk of the local tourist office, which is always located in the downtown area, in train stations and at the airport.

Motorcoach or Guided Bus Tours: Many US tour operators offer vacation packages to Portugal for tourists who prefer to visit the country in groups with a pre-arranged sightseeing itinerary. Motorcoach or guided bus tours are the easiest and cheapest way to see Portugal. Motorcoach tours in Portugal are becoming more daring in terms of itineraries, with tour operators offering a wider range of tourist itineraries including, wine tours, river cruise tours and educational visits.

Douro River Cruises - The Douro is one of Europe's most untouched and beautiful rivers. The river meanders through northern Portugal to the ocean and the fascinating city of Porto. A cruise on the lovely Douro River combines delightful scenery with rural, unspoiled villages and towns. River cruises give visitors the opportunity to explore the small towns of Régua, Vila Real, Lamego and Pinhão, as well as the small villages of São João da Pesqueira and S. Salvador do Monte, through shore tours that combine a visit to wineries, old monasteries and convents. The Douro River offers the most comprehensive type of river cruises in Portugal. There are small river trips out of the town of Porto, for a couple of hours, and cruises up the river that are combined with train rides. The Douro has five cruise ship companies and it is very easy to book a river cruise through a tour operator in the U.S. For additional information call us at 415-391-7080.

Tagus River Cruises - The Tagus river has a very large estuary and allows for beautiful river cruising. Tourists can either choose to navigate towards the sea and appreciate Lisboa's beauty from the river, or can opt to visit the nature bird reserve. Daily cruises are available from Lisboa and tickets can be purchased when arriving in Lisboa, at ticket booths in Praça do Comércio, downtown Lisboa. Visitors should enquire with their hotel concierge regarding the river cruises that are available during their stay. Information on river cruises can also be obtained at www.transtroia.com and www.transtejo.pt.

Sado River Cruises - The Sado River south of the Setubal Peninsula also offers great river cruises. Options range from up-stream cruises to the town of Alcácer do Sal, to see the dolphins in the estuary, or just cruise on the banks of the estuary enjoying the amazing landscape, doted with small fishing villages, beaches and coves. Information on regular cruises can be obtained at www.transtroia.com.

Guadiana River Cruises - The wild Guadiana valley has a rich and varied fauna (it is home to the black stork, foxes, boars, hares and partridges, among others) and has been designated a Natural Park. Cruising on the river is a unique experience since this is one of Portugal's best kept rivers. There are no scheduled river cruises, meaning that visitors have to find out in advance what tours are planned and get in touch with the organizers to buy tickets in advance. Day trips start in the town of Mértola in east Alentejo and they go down river to the village of Pomarão, or all the way south to Vila Real de Santo António. The cruise boat stops in small villages on the 42-mile trip. Other towns along the river such as Alcoutim and Vila Real de Santo António also have non scheduled river boat trips.

Vinho Verde Wine Tour - The Vinho Verde is a unique product with a blend of aroma and crispiness that makes for a very pleasant drink. Medium in alcohol, Vinho Verde is a highly regarded wine, especially during the summer. The reds are full-bodied wines with an intense color and a rosy or light red foam. The whites usually present a lemony or deeper yellow color. The Vinho Verde area is located in northern Portugal, outside the town of Porto in the Minho Region. There are 49 wineries that can be visited and the visitor can plan the day trip to include visits to historic towns and nature areas. Some of the wineries also offer accommodations on a B& B basis and some can also prepare lunch for you. The website www.vinhoverde.pt provides all the required information about the area, and allows tourists to plan in advance their itinerary. The site also tells the visitor what can be included in the trip in terms of historical places and nature areas.

Port Wine Tour - For almost two millennia, a unique viticulture landscape rose out of the rocky hillsides along the Douro River valley and has produced an exceptional wine. More than a gift of nature, Port Wine is at heart the expression of its history, a collective cultural heritage of work and experience, know-how and art, built up from generation to generation. Port Wine was, and is, a key product for the national economy and even more, a symbolic asset that represents Portugal throughout the world. Wine lovers should include in their travel plans a visit to this beautiful region, filled with steep terraces of vineyards on the valley of the Douro River. The Port Wine Tour can be enjoyed in two different ways. Visiting the Port Wine Cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia, on the other side of the town of Porto and on the left bank of the Douro River, or by driving up the mountains to the Douro Valley to visit the local farms. There are 46 properties and wineries to be visited in this region, and it is strongly advised to stay overnight at any of the B&B's or hotels in the towns of Régua, Vila Real and Pinhão. It is advised to call in advance to inform them of your arrival. At Vila Nova de Gaia just outside Porto there are 16 Port Wine Cellars to be visited. They usually open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Visitors can stay at any hotel in Porto or Vila Nova de Gaia. Website: www.ivdp.pt.

Dao Region Wine Tour - Wineries of this region are located around and south of the town of Viseu in central Portugal. There are 31 wineries to be visited and it is advised to call in advance. The region is very beautiful and wines are excellent. Visitors can either stay in Viseu or on the slopes of the Serra da Estrela mountains in the town of Seia. The website www.cvrdao.pt will provide the information needed to plan a visit to this part of Portugal.

The Oeste Wine Tour - This area is located north of Lisboa not far away from the sea and includes an area that goes from the town of Alenquer and Torres Vedras all the way to Óbidos. Wines are very pleasant and since it is not far from Lisboa, it is a good day trip. The area has 21 wineries that can be visited, and in general it is not necessary to call in advance but is wise to do so. Due to the size of the region, wineries are divided into three groups. The Alenquer trail comprised of 12 wineries, the Torres Vedras trail comprised of 4 wineries and the Óbidos trail is made of 4 wineries. Visitors can stay in Lisboa or in the town of Óbidos. There are several B&Bs in the countryside. The website www.rotavinhooeste.com will provide the visitor with all the information required for planning an interesting trip to this region.

The Alentejo Wine Tour - The Alentejo region has a long tradition in the cultivation of vineyards going back to the Romans. Ruins and other cultural remains bear witness to this. There are a number of references to the export of Alentejo wine since the 17th century. The Alentejo region is located southeast of Lisboa. Since its is the largest region of Portugal, it is advisable that tourists wishing to explore the local wineries stay in hotels and B&Bs in the region. The region is divided into three wine routes.

The S. Mamede Wine Route is located in the northern corner of the region and is comprised of six wineries. The Historic Wine Route, the most popular, is located between the towns of Évora and Estremóz, where there are 22 wineries. The most impressive of them all is the winery of Esporão near the town of Reguengos de Monsáraz. South of Évora, the Guadiana River Wine Route is also very beautiful and less explored. Alentejo wines are very popular in Portugal and are becoming increasingly well known around the world. To plan a trip and choose the wineries to be visited, go to www.vinhosdoalentejo.pt.

The Ribatejo Wine Tour - The Ribatejo region offers wine enthusiasts an itinerary with cultural and cuisine activities, with the main attraction being the wine. Visitors have the opportunity to discover heady wines, picturesque wine cellars, old manor houses, farms and beautiful vineyards. The main town of the Ribatejo region is Santarém, an old beautiful town with a castle and scenic park on top of a hill. The region has four distinct wine tours. The Gothic Wine Tour includes six wineries all located around the town of Santarém. The Bull and Horse Wine Tour includes wine estates also famous for raising cattle. This tour is made of three estates. The Tagus River Wine Tour, is comprised of 11 wineries located along the banks of the river. The Manueline Style Wine Tour includes four wineries located in the northern part of the region close to the towns of Tomar and Abrantes. It is advisable to call in advance of visiting. The Ribatejo region is a two and an half hour drive from Lisboa and therefore perfect for a day trip. The region offers some very good B&Bs as well as some reasonably priced hotels. To plan a wine trip to the region visitors should obtain information through www.rotavinhoribatejo.pt

The Bairrada Wine Tour - This area is 15 miles north of the town of Coimbra and next to the Bussaco Forest and Luso and Curia Hot Springs. The region has 23 wineries divided into three different tours. The Mountain Tour features inland wineries on the slopes of the mountains. The Clay Tour includes estates whose vines are planted in clay soils, and the Sand Tour features wineries closer to the sea and whose vines are planted in sandy soils. Coimbra, as well as the town of Luso and Curia, offer plenty of accommodations, with the Bussaco Palace Hotel being the best of them all. This property produces its own wine which is sold only at the hotel.

The Cister Wine Tour - This area is located north of the town of Viseu and has seven wineries that can be visited. Calling in advance is strongly recommended. Wineries are divided into two wine tours. The Monastery Wine Tour, which includes wineries located close to old monasteries (many cannot be visited), and the Wine and Chestnut Tour, which includes mainly wineries located in the scenic countryside. Lamego and Viseu as well as the S. Pedro do Sul Hot Springs are some of the closest towns offering more than one hotel accommodation.

The Beira Interior Wine Tour - This is comprised of only five wineries located on the east side of the Serra da Estrela mountain range, in one of Portugal's most beautiful regions.

The Bucelas, Carcavelos and Colares Wine Tour - This area located 30 minutes north of Lisboa is a great opportunity for those seeking to combine wine tasting with other sightseeing activities, in a day trip out of Lisboa. At present only four wineries can be visited and all of them are located around the town of Bucelas. Visitors are advised to call in advance and ask for directions.

Costa Azul Wine Tour - Located south of Lisboa in the Setubal Peninsula, this region offers very good wine tours for visitors staying in Lisboa or in the area. The wine route of Costa Azul is all wine and seaside towns. The route includes the towns of Azeitão, Palmela, Quinta do Anjo and Pegões. These lands are fertile and include Moscatel and Periquita varieties. The most famous wine in the region is the Moscatel de Setúbal, a fortified golden-coloured wine, with a light aroma and delicate flavor, produced between Setúbal and Palmela. Nine wineries can be visited, with the most famous being José Maria da Fonseca, JM Internacional and J.P. Vinhos all located in the town of Azeitão, a 25 minute drive south of Lisboa. More information on the area can be obtained through www.azeitao.net/vinhos/rota_dos_vinhos.

Pilgrimages - Fátima is one of the world's most important pilgrimage sites. Located two hours by car from Lisboa, visitors can either take a day tour out of Lisboa, or stay in Fátima and its surrounding areas for a more extended visit of the region. In Fatima, the Sanctuary is the most important and visible religious site. Inside the sanctuary pilgrims can visit the Capela das Aparições (first chapel built in the grounds) and the cathedral with its 12,000 pipe organ. The Sanctuary has mass every day and main celebrations take place on the 12th and 13th of May, June, July, August, September and October. If visitors want to visit the sanctuary during those dates, it is advised to stay overnight and accommodations should be booked months in advance.

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