Sand Dunes, Sunny Strolls & City Sights

A Romantic Escape in Southern Portugal

DAY 1 Leave for Lisbon

This itinerary makes an excellent addition to a longer road trip from the UK to Europe, or you can fly direct from London. If you want to fly, your flight to Lisbon will in the early morning, landing three hours later. After you have cleared customs and collected your luggage, you will pick up the keys to your hire car. It's then a 90-minute drive to your hotel, so you'll arrive just in time for lunch. We recommend dropping your bags off at the hotel and then driving 15 minutes into town to have a long lunch in a local restaurant. The afternoon is yours to enjoy; we recommend taking full advantage of the salubrious spa, wafting (technical term) between the sauna, steam bath and indoor and outdoor adults-only pool for the remainder of the day.

DAY 2 Sao Lourenco do Barrocal

After breakfast you will take to the road for the two-hour drive to Sao Lourenco do Barrocal. You're heading deep into the Alentejo, almost to the Spanish border, to a luxurious hotel set in the middle of a 2000 acre working farm, the Soho Farm House of Portugal, if you will. Sao Lorenco do Barrocal has been in the same family for over 200 years, and their principal aim is to preserve the traditions which have been passed down over the past eight generations, including winemaking. This afternoon, we've arranged a private Pilates class outside in the fresh air, followed by a soak in the hydrotherapy room's cedar bath.

DAY 3 Areias do Seixo

After breakfast this morning you will make the three-hour drive to your next hotel, the wonderful Areias do Seixo, an hour north of Lisbon. You will arrive just in time for a late lunch at the hotel's wonderful restaurant before borrowing a couple of bikes from reception and setting out to explore your new surroundings. Areias do Seixo is surrounded by sand dunes and the sea on one side and pine forests on the other, so there is plenty to see.

This evening, we have arranged a seven-course tasting menu for the two of you. Areias do Seixo is committed to sustainability, and it follows that the food at its restaurant is locally grown - much of it in the kitchen gardens - and represents the best of Portuguese cuisine.

DAY 4 Areias do Seixo

Today is all about relaxation. We've booked you in at the spa for a full day of relaxation, starting with a session a deux in the Turkish bath. After a morning spent wandering between the outdoor pool and the (indoor) sauna, it'll be about time to take a break for lunch. This afternoon, you will meet with your therapists (of the massage variety) to discuss which spa treatments you would like, before a couple's treatment - we highly recommend the Abhyanga massage, which is based on ancient Hindi tecniques. Suitably relaxed, the rest of the afternoon is for snoozing by the pool until it's time for dinner.