Ultimate Portugal Food and Wine Tour

Mixed Portuguese traditional rustic tapas food

What to expect on this itinerary

Portugal’s culinary brilliance comes in many forms including vintage tasting in a port cellar, Michelin dining, and Europe’s first DOC wine region. Experience fishing village lunches, fragrant city markets, exquisite fine dining, and iconic food and wine pairings. Expertly handcrafted, this 12-day tour explores the very best of Portugal’s unique wine and cuisine, with stops including Porto, the Douro Valley, Alentejo, and Lisbon. Prepare for all your senses to be subtly aroused.

Countries Visited

Portugal

Places Visited

Porto, Douro Valley, Obidos, Lisbon, Trancoso, Evora (City)

Suggested Duration

12 Days

Customizable Itinerary

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Day 1

Porto – Famous Michelin Dining with Portugal’s Most Beloved Chef

What is the iconic Portuguese dish? As the host of Portugal’s Master Chef and one of the country’s most loved chefs, Bairro do Avillez is a good person to ask. His Porto restaurant, Casa de Cha da Boa Nova, received a Michelin star in 2017 and provides a seductive introduction to the country’s cuisine. Land in Porto and you are transferred to a hotel in the city. The afternoon is at your leisure, before a transfer to the restaurant and one of Rui Paula’s tasting menus. Standing on the rocks next to the ocean, the restaurant is in harmony with the sea. Seafood is the focus, like a cataplana (Portuguese cookware) of shellfish and salted bass. And as you are transferred back to the center of Porto, it is a sublime feeling to know that the restaurant was merely the start of the culinary adventure.

What's Included:

Transfer
Accommodation
Day 2

Porto – Vintage Port Tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia

Day 3

Porto – Private Porto Tour with a Gourmet Traditional Lunch

Day 4

Douro Valley – A Rabelo Cruise and the Sumptuous Delights of a World Heritage Wine Valley

Day 5

Belmonte – Prestigious Wine Pairings and a Medieval Village

Day 6

Evora – Exploring the Alentejo Wine Region

Day 7

Evora – Another Day of Fine Cuisine and Wine in Old Alentejo

Day 8

Obidos – Culinary Bounty of Portugal’s Coastal Villages

Day 9

Lisbon – Palaces, Castles, Coastline, Michelin Dining, and Wine Tasting

Day 10

Lisbon – Foodies’ Tour of Lisbon with a Unique Fado Performance

Day 11

Lisbon – Exploring the City and an Iconic Farewell Meal

Day 12

Lisbon – Departure

Trip Highlights

  • A winemaker guides you through an old port wine lodge, before a tasting session that includes a wide variety of vintages
  • Portugal’s Michelin-starred chefs make regular appearances over the 12-day tour, including Rui Paula, Alexandre Silva, Henrique Sa Pessoa and Jose Avillez
  • Taste your way through the Douro Valley, Europe’s first ever DOC wine region and a sublime place to relax amid the tradition of Portugal’s past
  • Alentejo is a wine region for connoisseurs, and you will enjoy more than two days of tastings and wine pairings
  • Expert dining reservations enable you to taste the difference between the regions, a mix of lavish lunches and intimate dinners included throughout the itinerary
  • Northern Portuguese cuisine is rich and heavy, delectably experienced during three days discovering Porto
  • Explore Lisbon’s local eateries on a foodies’ tour, visiting markets and cafes that refuse to part with tradition
  • Rural Alentejo emanates the atmosphere of medieval centuries, with stops in old cities like Belmonte and Evora offering an immersive insight into the past
  • Hop along the coast to find another dimension of culinary Portugal, with the tiny fishing village of Nazare offering unique flavors in an informal atmosphere
  • Travel with a private guide and discover many of the legendary landmarks and attractions, including the palaces at Sintra and the walled village of Obidos

Detailed Description

When you think of Italian cuisine, images of pasta, pizza, and Chianti come to mind. In Spain, there are tapas, paella, and Rioja. In Portugal, it can be hard to pinpoint a single image. Perhaps a shellfish platter or salted cod at a fishing village eatery? The wine of the Douro or the wines of Alentejo? Other than peri peri chicken and a pastel de nata, Portugal’s culinary masterpieces are not easily recognizable around the world.

The food has passion and is defined by originality, with every region and city having their own distinctive taste. The wine is rich and terroir-driven, originating on terraced slopes home to grapes you may have never heard of. The country is more than happy for its gastronomy to fly under the radar. Portuguese cuisine is made for the Portuguese, just one reason why the country has become Europe’s best-kept culinary secret. Every region is distinct, and you quickly discover that there is no defining Portuguese dish. There is only a defining dish for a city or region.

Handcrafted to arouse all the senses, this 12-day tour explores the diversity and delicacies of Portugal’s food and wine. You have private guides and enjoy dining reservations at a wide range of eateries, from Michelin-starred fine dining restaurants to cute village eateries that preserve tradition. Two wine regions are explored in depth, and you will taste at a wide variety of wineries in Alentejo and Douro, as well as having some tutored tasting in Porto’s port lodges. It is a feast for all the senses, from admiring produce at a marketplace to wine and cheese pairings in a medieval village.

While food and wine provide the focus, the route takes you into the heart of Portugal and to some sumptuous destinations. Relax in the old city of Porto, wind through the villages of the Douro Valley, then feel the escapism of Belmonte. Spend a couple of days amid the cork forests and plains of Alentejo, then wander along the coastal cliffs. Absorb the beauty of walled Obidos, then pass the palaces of Sintra en route to Lisbon. Over these 12 days, you find that the food and wine are as idiosyncratic as the destinations they grace, whether sipping on wine during a rabelo cruise (a traditional wooden boat) or lunching on barnacles as colorful fishing boats are splashed by the surf.

If you would like to extend your vacation tour of Portugal, be sure to check out our other Portugal vacations.

Starting Price

$4,700 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

4.9

Verified Traveler Reviews

Based on 1293 reviews

Olivia L.
Portugal, Spain Tour Review: Porto, Cangas de Onis, Sidecar Tour, History, 10 Days

The planning experience was wonderful overall. From the initial conversation about what my family was looking for to the final touches to the itinerary, Zicasso's travel expert was engaging, responsive, and helpful.

The accommodations he selected for us exceeded expectations; they were spacious, beautiful, and well-located. The tours/activities suggested were really fun and gave us a sense of the locale in a unique and memorable way that fit our family well. Once we were in-country, communications were easy and helpful. We felt very well cared for.

Payment to our travel company was easy and it was a real pleasure once we were in-country to have all the identified items already paid for. I would definitely book a trip with them again.

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Kate O.
Portugal Vacation Review: Porto, Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, 1 Week

Zicasso's travel company, especially our agent, did a fantastic job! They listened to our preferences and planned an unforgettable itinerary. We would absolutely use them again.

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Michael D.
Spain, Portugal Travel Review: 3 Weeks

Zicasso's travel specialists were absolutely fantastic! They had everything organized perfectly and they were there to help us out all the time!

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Amy V.
Portugal Travel Review: Lisbon, Algarve, Sintra, Douro Valley, Boat Ride, Wine Tour, Local Cuisine, Castle, 15-Day Trip

Our trip to Portugal was wonderful. The itinerary was well planned. Our Zicasso coordinator was in contact with us throughout and listened to our goals for the trip. We feel like we saw all the highlights, while getting to do a deep dive on selected items, for example, the Douro Valley and wine tours.

The hotels were perfect for our family; welcoming, spacious, and centrally located.

Our guides were premium! A wealth of knowledge. They were flexible to our schedule/needs and ensured we had all of the necessary experiences (best pastry shops and other unique culinary delights).

Thank you for a wonderful trip.

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Julie H.
Portugal Family Trip Review: Lisbon, Douro Valley, Food Tour, Fado Experience, Boat Ride, Cooking Class, Winery, 9-Night Tour

Zicasso's travel agent was very easy to work with. She put together a great itinerary for our family vacation. She listened to our interests and also included some unique experiences for us that we would never have been able to set up on our own. She was also very quick to take care of some miscommunication at one of our hotels when we got to Lisbon and quickly got it resolved for us. Her communication was great and she took good care of us.

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Jamie L.
Portugal Vacation Review: Lisbon, Algarve, Cooking Class, Kayaking, Nature, 11-Day Trip

Everything was amazing and exceeded our expectations. Planning was easy and our Zicasso agent was extremely communicative and available when we needed him. The trip itself was perfect. He listened to our likes/desires/etc., and booked excursions that were a great fit—every day was a great adventure.

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist.

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