Vacation Overview
Tour Details
Country Roads Of Portugal - Small GroupTravel through Portugal across UNESCO sites, historic town centers and coastal communities. In Lisbon, you’ll visit the Belém quarter, walk through the cloister of Jerónimos Monastery and try a Pastéis de Belém made to the original recipe. In Évora, see the Roman Temple, the Capela dos Ossos and the cathedral with its mix of Romanesque and Gothic work, explored in the company of your Small Group. In the Algarve, you’ll move through Lagos’s walled old town and spend time in the Ria Formosa, the coastal lagoon known for its barrier islands, birdlife and long-standing fishing communities. Guimarães, Porto and Tomar add further depth to the journey, from azulejo panels in São Bento Station to the Templar Castle and one of Portugal’s oldest synagogues.
Dining Summary- 3 Dinner (D)
- 10 Breakfast (B)
- 1 Lunch (L)
Well-being- Enjoy the comfort of Insight's luxurious, air-conditioned, 40-seat coach with double the standard legroom and onboard washroom. Our customized luxury coaches are sanitized before the start of your tour and are maintained to very high standards. Physical distancing measures have been implemented on our customized luxury coaches.
- Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.
Additional Included Highlights- Personal radio headsets give you the freedom to wander during visits to famous highlights, without missing any of your Local Expert's fascinating commentary.
- Hotel and restaurant tips are included - you'll never have to worry about how much to give, nor search for foreign currency. We also include all taxes and porterage charges at hotels.
- We carry your bags for you and promptly deliver them to your hotel door.
- From time to time, your Travel Director will delight you with an Insight Flourish, which is a local specialty representing the destination.
- Stay connected with friends and family with our complimentary coach and hotel Wi-Fi (where available).
- If your arrival and/or departure flights are as per the itinerary start and end dates, then transfers are available at scheduled times. If your flights are outside these times, or you have booked additional nights accommodation with Insight Vacations, you may purchase transfers or make your own way from/to the airport.
Authentic Dining- Lisbon: Meet your Travel Director and Small Group at a local neighborhood restaurant, where you’ll sit down to plates shaped by Lisbon’s Atlantic staples, giving you a clear first taste of the city’s everyday cooking.
- Douro Valley: You’ll sit down to a Farm-to-Table meal prepared with produce grown in the Douro region. Alongside local dishes, you’ll try Port wine made from grapes cultivated on the valley’s terraced hillsides, with staff sharing how the landscape shapes the flavor and style of each pour.
- Lisbon: Shared experiences and memories are often the foundation for special bonds and friendships. Toast your travels with wine and good cheer during your dinner at a restaurant in Lisbon, devoted to the enjoyment of regional cooking.
Top Rated Highlights- Lisbon: With your Local Expert, explore the Lower Town, passing sites linked to the Marquis of Pombal’s 18th-century redevelopment and the grid layout that shaped modern Lisbon. In Belém, you’ll visit the tower built at the mouth of the Tagus and see the Monument to the Discoveries, created for Portugal’s 20th-century celebrations of its maritime history.
- Lisbon: You’ll walk through the cloister of the UNESCO-listed Jerónimos Monastery, where early 16th-century Manueline carving appears in the ropes, armillary spheres and botanical details shaped into the stone. Each section shows the skilled artisanry that defined this period of Portuguese design.
- Lagos: Get a feel for Lagos with your Travel Director, moving through the walled old town and Praça Infante Dom Henrique, taking in the waterfront once used for voyages along the West African coast.
- Explore Évora with your Local Expert in a city shaped by Roman foundations and medieval expansion. At the Roman Temple, you’ll see one of Portugal’s strongest classical remains. You’ll view walls lined with human bones arranged by 16th-century monks at the Capela dos Ossos. Inside Évora Cathedral, you’ll move between Romanesque arches and the later Gothic work added as the city grew in influence.
- Fátima: You’ll visit the Sanctuary of Fátima, centered on the reported apparitions of 1917. The site brings together major places of worship such as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and the Chapel of the Apparitions, set around a vast open square used for major pilgrimages.
- Coimbra: Explore Coimbra with a Local Expert in a city that served as Portugal’s early capital. The walk brings you through steep lanes linked to the old royal palace, past long-standing student cafes and towards the upper town where academic life has shaped the streets for centuries.
- Coimbra: Visit the University of Coimbra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with roots in the 1200s. Inside the baroque library, you’ll stand among carved shelves and painted ceilings built to protect rare volumes, including works central to Portugal’s early scientific and literary study.
- Guimaraes: Wander through Guimarães’ medieval center, where narrow lanes link small squares shaped around the original castle and palace. The quarter holds stone-fronted houses, arcades and courtyards that reflect the town’s role in Portugal’s early formation, with buildings that have remained in use for centuries.
- Porto: Explore Porto with a Local Expert, walking through streets shaped by the city’s trading history. At São Bento Railway Station, you’ll see the azulejo panels illustrating scenes from across Portugal. You’ll also cross th
Daily Itinerary
Insight Vacations: Country Roads of Portugal - Small Group
Day 1 - Welcome to Lisbon
Arrive at Lisbon Airport and take your complimentary transfer into the city, passing the wide Tagus estuary and the hillside districts built in pale limestone and terracotta. Check in to your hotel and settle in, with time to get a sense of the surrounding streets and tram routes that cut through the Portuguese capital’s older neighborhoods. In the evening, join your Travel Director and small group at a local restaurant for the first meal of the trip.
Accommodations: The Editory Riverside Hotel
Meals: Dinner
Day 2 - Discover Lisbon and the Belém Quarter
Explore Lisbon with a Local Expert, traveling down the broad avenues of the Lower Town and tracing the city’s rebuilding after the 1755 earthquake. You’ll continue to Belém to see the riverside fortifications of the Belém Tower and the Monument to the Discoveries, set along the Tagus where Portugal’s maritime journeys once began. Step inside the cloister of Jerónimos Monastery, known for its detailed Manueline stonework, before stopping to try a Pastéis de Belém in the district where the original recipe is still baked since 1837. In the evening, you can join an Optional Experience to explore more of Portugal’s food and culture.
Accommodations: The Editory Riverside Hotel
Meals: Breakfast
Day 3 - Journey to Lagos and the Algarve Coast
Cross the River Tagus and travel south towards the Algarve, following the main route across the Alentejo plains before reaching the coastal town of Lagos. You’ll join your Travel Director for an orientation through the historic center and harbor linked to Portugal’s early maritime activity, with time to explore the lanes around the main square or stop for lunch before continuing south. Later, continue to your hotel in the Algarve. Once settled, you could walk to the beach for some time along the sand or find a nearby place serving grilled fish and other regional dishes common across the south.
Accommodations: Ria Park Hotel & Spa, Algarve
Meals: Breakfast
Day 4 - Oyster Farms and on to Évora
Today you’ll set off on a boat tour for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience through the Ria Formosa Natural Park, gliding past sandbanks and wetlands rich in birdlife. Pause at an oyster farm to learn about cultivation and export before a guided tasting of this local delicacy. Later, travel inland to the medieval walled city of Évora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its Roman remains, whitewashed streets and long history as a regional capital.
Accommodations: M'Ar de Ar Aqueduto, Évora
Meals: Breakfast
Day 5 - Discover Évora’s Roman and Medieval Center
Explore Évora with your Local Expert, visiting the Roman Temple, the Capela dos Ossos and Évora Cathedral, noted for its mix of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. In the afternoon, you might like to explore more of Évora’s center at your own pace. You could stop at a wine bar near Praça do Giraldo to try regional reds, or join others from your small group for an early dinner in one of the simple restaurants tucked inside the old streets.
Accommodations: M'Ar de Ar Aqueduto, Évora
Meals: Breakfast
Day 6 - On to Fátima and Tomar
Continue to Fátima, Portugal’s major pilgrimage site. Here, you can visit the basilica, step inside the Chapel of the Apparitions or walk through the large square that connects the sanctuary buildings. Later, travel across central Portugal to Tomar where you’ll explore with a Local Expert. Explore the UNESCO-listed Convento do Cristo, focusing on the Templars’ Rotunda and the Manueline Window that marks the later work of the Order of Christ. Walk through Tomar’s center, including the medieval synagogue and the small museum that traces the history of the town’s former Jewish community.
Accommodations: Templários, Tomar
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 7 - Explore Coimbra and Dine in the Douro
Travel north to Coimbra, a city long tied to Portugal’s academic life. Your Local Expert will guide you through the Old Town and the University of Coimbra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll visit the baroque university library, known for its carved woodwork, vaulted ceilings and vast historical collection. Your journey continues through hills lined with vineyards as you approach the Douro Valley. Enjoy a Farm-to-Table lunch made with local produce, where you’ll also taste Port wine made from grapes grown along the Douro’s terraces.
Accommodations: Douro Palace Resort & Spa, Douro Valley
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 8 - Guimarães Old Town and Porto’s UNESCO Center
Travel north towards Guimarães, often referred to as the birthplace of Portugal. See the medieval castle and walk through the historic center, where narrow lanes and small squares show how the town developed around its fortified core. Continue to Porto, a city defined by the Douro River and a UNESCO-listed center shaped by trade, port wine and layered architecture. With your Local Expert, you’ll visit São Bento Railway Station to see its azulejo panels illustrating key moments from Portuguese history. You’ll also walk across the Dom Luís I Bridge, built by a student of Eiffel, with clear views over the riverfront. Later, you might like to join an Optional Experience through the Ribeira district or take a cruise on a traditional Rabelo boat before trying local dishes along the riverside.
Accommodations: Mercure Centro Santa Catarina, Porto
Meals: Breakfast
Day 9 - Porto at Leisure
Spend the day in Porto, exploring at your own pace. You might like to wander through the Ribeira district, where narrow lanes lead down to the riverfront lined with tall, pastel-colored houses. Another option is to cross to Vila Nova de Gaia to visit one of the long-established Port wine lodges and learn how the barrels are aged before bottling. You could also meet members of your small group for lunch near the Douro or take a tram along the river towards Foz do Douro for a walk by the Atlantic.
Accommodations: Mercure Centro Santa Catarina, Porto
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10 - Explore Óbidos and Return to Lisbon
Travel south to the fortified town of Óbidos, entered through a gate marked with 18th-century azulejo panels. Inside the medieval walls, you’ll walk along narrow streets with small bookshops, craft stalls and houses that reflect how the town developed around its castle. Continue to Lisbon for your final evening. You’ll join your Travel Director and your small group for dinner at a local restaurant and raise a glass to your journey through the country roads of Portugal.
Accommodations: The Editory Riverside Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11 - Farewell Lisbon
After breakfast, you’ll transfer to Lisbon International Airport. Bid farewell to your Travel Director and fellow travelers, marking the end of your journey through Portugal’s towns, coastlines and inland roads.
Meals: Breakfast