Tour Director - Jess Floe

Minimum: 6
Maximum: 12

The tour begins in Porto at 7 pm. Your flight should arrive no later than 4:30 pm. The tour ends after breakfast in Lisbon on May 26, 2022. You should book your flight into Porto and out of Lisbon. 

Day 1 - Overnight at MO House, Bed and Breakfast, Porto - D 
Welcome to Portugal! After your arrival at the Porto Airport you will be met by a driver and transferred to your newly renovated, centrally located guesthouse and our home for the next three nights. We will be the exclusive guests at MO House during our stay. We kick off our Portugal Food and Wine adventure with a welcome dinner at a local restaurant where we will enjoy our first taste of Portuguese cuisine and, of course, Portuguese wine. 

Day 2 - Overnight at MO House, Bed and Breakfast, Porto - B, L (food tour)
Our first full day in Portugal will begin with history, food and wine. We’ll enjoy a fun walking tour of Porto where we will  learn about the foods and wines of Portugal from a historic perspective until present day. We’ll visit some of the highlights of the city as well as some off the beaten tourist path locally-owned specialty food stores. We’ll meet the owners and find out why they are an integral part of what makes gastronomy in Porto so unique. As we taste our way through Porto, we will begin to understand how port wine got its name and the important part it plays in Porto cuisine.  After the food tour we’ll have the opportunity to enjoy some of the highlights of Porto. A few of the must sees are the Lello Bookstore, consistently named one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores in the world, the Sé Cathedral with its beautiful stained-glass rose window and the São Bento Railway Station with its 20,000+ painted blue and white tile panels (known as azulejos) that highlight the history of Portugal. After seeing the sites, you’ll have the remainder of the day to enjoy Porto as you’d like.  

Day 3 - Overnight at MO House, Bed and Breakfast, Porto - B, D
After a free morning to spend as you choose, we’ll begin by walking south across the amazing Dom Luís I Bridge, connecting Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. If the bridge looks a bit familar, it could be because it was designed by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the mastermind behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Today we’ll start by seeing the city from a different vantage point as we float between the river banks of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in a typical Rabelo boat and discover the beauty of Douro River and the city of Porto. After our relaxing cruise, we’ll visit a couple of the port caves of Vila Nova de Gaia where we’ll have a private tour and tasting. We’ll begin to better understand the different between a regular wine and a port wine, we’ll learn the history of Porto and why for centuries they have brought the barrels of port down the Douro river to be stored and aged here. After our second tasting it will be time for dinner, where we’ll enjoy a private meal at one of the port caves, learning more about this unique wine and enjoying the Portuguese cuisine.
 
Day 4 - Overnight at Casa Cimeira, Douro Valley - B, D 
After breakfast we'll check out of the hotel and be driven to the Douro Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We'll first stop at the Douro Wine Museum where we'll get an introduction to this area and its wine history during a private tour of the museum.  After our tour you'll have time to grab lunch in the museum cafe before we continue our journey into the Douro Valley. Next we'll stop at a local winery for a tour and tasting before continuing our journey to Casa Cimeira, your home for the next three nights. After checking in we'll join the owners for some aperitifs before sitting down to dinner. 

Day 5 - Overnight at Casa Cimeira, Douro Valley - B, L, D
After breakfast we will be transferred by coach to catch our private boat where we'll see the valley from a different perspective. We'll relax as we float down the river to the Quinta dos Murças. Here we’ll learn about the terroir of the area and its influence on the different grape varietals and wines. After our walk we’ll enjoy a tour and tasting of the Quinta dos Murças wines, followed by lunch at the winery. Quinta dos Murças covers 155 hectares, along 3.2 kilometres of the river’s right bank. Impressive in its verticality, it boasts dozens of regional grape varieties and enjoys a unique landscape, where steep slopes, terraces, streams, vineyards and olive groves overlap. After relaxing a bit and enjoying the scenery, it's time board tour boat back to Pinhao, where we started. Here we'll be transferred by but to the incredible Quinta do Noval.  First referenced in 1715, Quinta do Noval was bought in 1894 by António José da Silva, remaining in the hands of his descendants until 1993, when AXA Millésimes acquired it. Of the wines produced here, the most famous is the Quinta do Noval Nacional Vintage, the world’s most highly prized Port which was elected by Wine Spectator, as one of the 12 best wines of the XXth century. The grapes come from a small parcel untouched by the plague of phylloxera, a unique case in the region and all of Europe. We’ll have a visit and tour of this historical winery before sitting down for dinner where we’ll enjoy our meal accompanied by some of the Quinta’s wines. 

Day 6 - Overnight at Casa Cimeira, Douro Valley - B, L
After breakfast we’ll enjoy visiting another area of the Douro Valley as we transfer to Mateus Nicolau de Almeida. Here we’ll enjoy a tour and tasting, followed by lunch in the vineyard at Quinta do Monte Xisto in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, from the family project João Nicolau de Almeida & Filhos. Located on a striking schist (xisto) outcrop overlooking the rivers Douro and Côa, João Nicolau de Almeida identified Quinta do Monte Xisto as an extraordinary and unusual site for the production of the wine of that name. With the help of his sons, Mateus and João, he began planting 10 hectares of 100% organically cultivated vineyards. This family project brings together the perspectives and technical expertise of two generations of winemakers to thrilling effect. In keeping with the unique and exclusive program for the Douro portion of this tour, Quinta do Monte Xisto is not usually open to visitors so our lunch will be exclusively for us outside by the vines. We’ll enjoy getting to know the owners and learning more about the family’s history in the winemaking industry. After another special day in the Douro Valley, we’ll transfer back to our hotel where you’ll have the rest of the evening free to do as you choose.

Day 7 - Overnight in Lisbon - B, L
After checking out of our Douro Valley hotel we’ll begin our journey to Lisbon. On our way we’ll make a stop to visit the historic town of Coimbra, the former capital of Portugal and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Coimbra is a preserved medieval town and home to the University of Coimbra, where one may see students dressed in its traditional black capes with black cassocks. We’ll meet our local guide and enjoy a unique way of touring this beautiful city, by electric tuk tuk! A few of the sites we’ll see are the Coimbra Cathedral built in 1139, the medieval town and the Santa Clara Monastery. After the tour we’ll stop for lunch at a local restaurant before completing our drive to Lisbon. Upon arrival in Lisbon and checking into the hotel you’ll have the rest of the evening free to explore Lisbon as you choose.   

Day 8 - Overnight in Lisbon - B, L (food tastings), D
Today we'll start the day a little later and we'll enjoy a private tour of Lisbon. We'll tour the city by minibus, stopping to see the sites and learn about the history of this beautiful city. We'll also make a few stops to taste some of the foods of the city. You'll get some ideas of sites you might want to return to during your free time.  After the tour it'll be time to head to the cooking school.  Here we'll spend the rest of the evening learning to cook the Portuguese way. It'll be a fun, relaxed time enjoying Portuguese wine, cooking our meal and then sitting down to dinner to eat our creations. 
 
Day 9 - Overnight in Lisbon - B, L
Today we’ll spend outside the city as we visit the beautiful towns of Cascais and Sintra, set amidst the pine-covered hills of the Serra de Sintra. Because of its hilly and cooler client, this area attracted the nobility and elite of Portugal to build their extravagent palaces and gardens. Here we’ll see some of Europe’s finest example of the colourful Romanticism style of architecture. We’ll visit the area in 4WD jeeps and have the opportunity to enjoy some of the natural scenery of the park. We’ll begin with a guided tour of the famous, whimsical Pena Palace before driving through the forest toward the coast. Here we’ll stop and give you time for lunch before enjoying more beautiful views. Depending on the weather, we may spend some time walking the paths of the area and enjoying the views by foot. Next we'll stop for lunch at a local restaurant and enjoy lunch. After our day outside the city, we’ll drive back to Lisbon where we'll be dropped off at a local theatre for the quintessential Lisbon evening as we enjoy a Fado show.  Originating in Lisbon, Fado is generally known for its expressive nature as the singer usually sings of the harsh realities of life. After the show you'll have the rest of the evening free.
 
Day 10 - Overnight in Lisbon - B, D
Today you'll have the morning and afternoon free to enjoy Lisbon as you'd like. Perhaps do some shopping or visit a museum that interests you. After your free time we'll transfer to the marina where we’ll board our private boat and set sail on our exclusive farewell dinner cruise. We’ll sip drinks and share a typical Portuguese Petiscos meal while watching the sites of Lisbon glide by. After watching the sunset, we’ll toast to this beautiful country, the friends we’ve met and the lasting memories we’ve made along the way.
 
Day 11 - B
Unfortunately, it’s time to leave this beautiful country. After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport according to your flight schedule.