Portugal is a vacationer’s dream holiday for so many reasons.
We will start off in the charming city of Porto, with its stunning Beaux-Arts station and cool bars serving Porto’s signature drink. This charming city combines the best of old and new with beautiful 18th- and 19th-century buildings, indie bars and restaurants — it’s hard to find anything to dislike about Porto.
Then to Portugal’s capital, Lisbon with its rich treasured history, nearby quaint fishing villages and medieval walled towns. All this set among some of the most beautiful and dramatic landscapes you can imagine. We will spend three nights in Lisbon and use this as our base to explore the city and to visit nearby sites along with some time to relax, shop and explore on our own. Lisbon offers us a wealth of monuments, museums and shops along its tree-lined avenues, beautiful gardens, squares with decorated pavements, patterned tiled walls, colorful markets, numerous restaurants and cafes that make a perfect end to our tour.
In between Porto & Lisbon, we will spend 2 nights in the countryside staying in Evora. Our accommodations here will be in one of Portugal’s Pousadas, which are incredible ancient and restored medieval castles located in small towns that have been converted into deluxe hotels. This will give us an opportunity to explore the unique history and cuisine of Portugal’s wine country.
All this packaged into the warmth of this wonderful country, seeing it at a slower pace and visiting a vacation spot that is considered Europe’s “hot” spot.
TOUR INCLUDES
Roundtrip transportation from Montauk to JFK
Roundtrip air to Portugal
7 night’s accommodations at hotels & Pousada
Hotel/Pousada service charges and taxes
Breakfast every day
2 lunches
4 dinners
Transportation in Portugal by coach
Sightseeing as per itinerary
Sightseeing entrance fees
Optional tours
Plus protection by RMC’s $1,000,000 per traveler Errors & Omissions coverage
SPECIAL FEATURES
Welcome Portuguese dinner with Port wine
Portuguese vineyard visits including lunch & wine tasting
ITINERARY
1st day: Friday, August 6 – To Lisbon Depart for JFK Airport where we board our non-stop flight to Lisbon
2nd day: Saturday, August 7 – Arrive Lisbon & connect to Porto (D)
Upon arrival, and after going through Immigration and Customs, we transfer to our reserved accommodations in the heart of Porto and time to rest. In the evening we will have our Welcome to Portugal dinner at a local restaurant including a toast with some of the city’s famous Port wine. Overnight in Porto.
3rd day: Sunday, August 8 – In Lisbon – In Porto (B) This morning, you will have a guided tour through Porto, Capital of the North of Portugal and UNESCO World Heritage. Everything in this wonderful city makes this trip memorable, from the Cathedral to the Port Wine Cellars, where you’ll have the chance to have a tasting. You’ll also have the opportunity to visit places filled with tradition and culture and you’ll be given important details about the streets and squares of its historic center. Afterwards have the afternoon and evening on your own for independent activities.
4th day: Monday, August 9 – To Fatima & Evora (B/D) We leave Porto this morning and first depart for Fatima, a Center of Catholic faith and world pilgrimage site. Here we will learn how this former village evolved into an influential Catholic Pilgrimage site in 1917 after three children claimed to have witness and apparition of the Virgin Mary. Our guide will explain the details of this lady that later became known as “Our Lady of Fatima”. We will visit the Shrine that over 4 million worshipers travel to every year to pay homage. Then to Evora the capital of the Upper Alentejo, and a World Heritage. Evora is a walled since the Roman times, Évora is characterised by its Moresque streets, white houses with flowered balconies, and paved patios. From its rich past, Évora has kept many Medieval and Renaissance palaces that make it a museum of Portuguese architecture. Soon we arrive at our accommodations and our dinner at the Convento Do Espinheiro. A note about our accommodations: The origins of the Convento do Espinheiro are connected to a legend that tells of an apparition of the Virgin Mary above a thorn-bush (espinheiro) around the year 1400. In 1412, an oratory was built in honor of Our Lady and finally in 1458, during the reign of King Afonso V, and due to increasing pilgrimage, a church and convent were built and settled by monks of the Order of St. Jerónimo, who stayed here until 1835.During the 15th and 16th century, this convent was frequently visited by the Portuguese monarchs such as King John II (who held court here in 1481), King Manuel I, King Afonso V and King Sebastião, who, when in Évora, stayed at the convent by invitation of the Monks.
5th day: Tuesday, August 10 – In Evora (B/L/D) This morning’s sightseeing tour of Evora will start at the old quarter and Giraldo Square, with its 18th century marble fountain. Then to the Roman-Gothic Cathedral, built in the late 12th c. early 13th c, to the Roman Temple built in the 2nd century. and dedicated to Diana; the Convent of Lóios., the Palace of the Duques of Cadaval and the very beautiful Church of São Francisco (16th c.) containing the gruesome Capela dos Ossos (chapel of bones). Afterwards, we board our coach and head for Alentejo, where time here passes slowly, as the Alentejo follows the rhythm of the land itself. Perhaps this is why the region’s culture has its own particular character closely linked to the production of wine and olive oil. Today we will be visiting one of the most famous wine estates in the region: HERDADE DO ESPRORÃO founded in 1267, and has remained virtually unchanged, despite being the stage of bloody battles and heroic deeds over almost nine centuries. In the center of Herdade do Esporão, three historic monuments stand: the Esporão Tower, the Esporão Arch and the Nossa Senhora dos Remédios Chapel, the latter related to intense and devout popular worship in the region that involves local people to form processions when the rains are late. The Esporão Tower, an assertive symbol in society and a demonstration of military strength, is one of the most important towers in the region, illustrating the transition from the Medieval to the Modern Age in Portugal. At the Estate, we will have a wine tasting plus a tasting of 3 regional Herdade Esporao olive oils. This is followed by lunch at a local restaurant before returning to Evora for dinner at our Pousada and our overnight.
6th day: Wednesday, August 11 – To Lisbon (B/L) Our first stop after we leave Evora will be Sesimbra, situated at the foot of a southern slope of the Serra da Arrabida, a pleasant resort where we will enjoy lunch at one of the harbor restaurants. After lunch, onto Lisbon. However, before entering in Lisbon, we visit the statue of Christ in Majesty, a small replica of the one in Rio de Janeiro. From the Pedestal (access by a lift) which is 240 feet above ground level with its panoramic view over the Tagus Estuary. Arrival soon in Lisbon, a city that dates back some 3000 years. In its fascinating lifetime, Lisbon has been a battlefield for Phoenicians, Greeks and Carthaginians before the Romans arrived in 205 BC. In 714, the Moors conquered and stayed till the 12th century. In the 13th century, Lisbon became the capital of Portugal. Today, Lisbon, still maintaining the marks of its early history, is one of the most beautiful capitals of Europe. Dinner on your own in one of the many exciting local Lisbon restaurants.
7th day: Thursday, August 12 – In Lisbon. Tour to Sintra (B) After breakfast, our morning tour will start with Belem, where many Portuguese explorers embarked on their voyages of discovery. The Belém Tower, built in 1514 to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s famous sea voyage to India is dedicated to all Portuguese explorers Then to the Hieronymites Monastery, classified by UNESCO, along with the Belém Tower, as a World Heritage Site in 1983. No visit to Belem would be complete without trying some of its legendary pastries. The recipe for Belém Pastries is one of the best kept secrets in Portuguese gastronomy. The pastries have become an attraction in themselves. Everyday around thousands such cakes are sold from this café which dates back to 1837. Afterwards our coach returns to city center for lunch on our own. Then in the afternoon, we depart for Sintra. Few places in the world can evoke a sense of magic and mystery as does Sintra, which is dominated by steep mountains, lush forests which create a microclimate atmosphere and Disneyland-like palaces with neo-gothic towers, On this tour we visit Quinta da Regaleira, an estate classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO within the “Cultural Landscape of Sintra” (and also one of the models for the Disneyworld Castle). It’s considered one of the principal tourist attractions of Sintra. The property consists of a romantic palace and chapel, and a luxurious park that features lakes, grottoes, wells, benches, fountains, and a vast array of exquisite constructions – a perfect setting for an unusual guided tour! Return to our hotel where we have the evening free to experience some of the city’s great dining spots, or take an optional Fado dinner and show (see details below).
8th day: Friday, August 13 – In Lisbon (B/D) Today is at leisure and Lisbon is a great city for independent exploration. Start at the Praca do Comercio, one of the few extravagant areas of the city with stately pink arcades that line the 3 sides of the plaz (the 4th is open to the harbor). Maybe go to the Baixa with its shops and small restaurants. Or Roissio, Lisbon’s main Square. Visit the Castelo de Sao Jorge, the old citadel of the Moors, or the 13th century Igreja de Santo Estevao. Stoll Old Lisbon or visit one of the many museums. In the late afternoon we will depart along the “Estrada Marginal” to see cosmopolitan Cascais, once a small fishing village, but its idyllic scenery has now attracted the attention of artists, writers and expelled European nobility in the 20th century. Then continue with a panoramic view of Estoril, a scenic resort, known for its famous Casino that was the inspiration for the first of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books, “Casino Royale,” before sitting down to our Farewell to Portugal dinner and then returning to our hotel. For those who want to visit the famous Casino, you can try your luck and then take the fast train for a 40-minute rode back to Lisbon.
9th day: Saturday, August 14 – In Lisbon – Tour Ends (B) After a leisurely breakfast, you have most of the day at leisure for some independent exploration. In mid-afternoon, we depart for the airport to board our non-stop flight home. Upon arrival and after clearing Immigration and Customs, we depart for the East End.
HOTELS (or similar)
Porto: The Hotel Carris Porto Ribeira – 2 nights
Evora: Pousada Convento Da Espinheiro – 2 nights
Lisbon: The Hotel Fenix- 3 nights
Optional Fado Dinner and Show Fado is the Soul of Portuguese Music. It can be described by using the Portuguese word “saudade,” which means “longing” and stands for a feeling of loss. It is a very popular type of Portuguese singing, traditionally associated with pubs and cafés, that is renowned for its expressive and profoundly melancholic character. The singer of Fado (literally, “fate”) speaks to the often harsh realities of everyday life. The evening includes dinner and a Fado performance. PRICE PER PERSON: $49 payments via check or money order, $52 payments via credit card
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PRICE PER PERSON
Per Person in Double Occupancy room: $2,899 payments via check or money order $3,049 payments via credit card
Per Person in Single Occupancy Room: $3,598 payments via check or money order $3,789 payments via credit card
Add to above costs: U.S. airline facility security and tax charges $488 ($514 via credit card) Prepaid Gratuities $70 ($75 via credit card)
INITIAL DEPOSIT $350 ($365 by credit card) Non-Refundable deposit due to guarantee space
FINAL PAYMENTS: Due on or before June 6, 2021
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Travel Insurance
RMC Travel highly recommends the purchase of Trip Cancellation/Interruption Travel Insurance, and we therefore provide you with an easy way to contact RMC’s preferred insurance provider, Allianz Global Assistance. If you need additional information or have questions, please call Allianz directly at 800-284-8300, and refer to code F025323.
