Inspiration for your own tailor-made trip
Porto & the Douro Valley,The Alentejo
100% customisable for you
Ideally you can take an early morning flight from London to Porto (a two-and-a-half-hour flight) so you arrive in time for lunch. Alternatively, this makes a great add on to a longer road trip from the UK to Europe, which we can tailor-make for you. If you're flying, after clearing customs, pick up your hire car and head straight into town for lunch - your comprehensive Dossier will surely whet your appetite. After lunch, you have a private tour of the city with an expert guide who will elaborate on all the charm and history Porto has to offer. The tour begins with a visit to the trendiest areas of the city; Boavista and Foz, where the Atlantic meets the Douro River, and home to the cities best museums, including Serralves. You'll visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site city centre, and end your walking tour in the famous Avenida dos Aliados or Street of Santa Catarina.
Post walking tour, head to your hotel, the rather wine-themed Yeatman, to check-in and freshen up before dinner. As it's the first night of your holiday, we've pre-booked a prime table at one of Porto's top restaurants.
This morning you'll bid adeus to Porto and head inland to port country proper, otherwise known as the Douro Valley - the world's first designated wine region. Taking the scenic route through the valley, after a two hour drive you will arrive at Quinta do Tedo just in time for lunch. Thoughtfully restored by a Franco-American couple, this vineyard produces some of the best ports and wines in the region, not to mention serving some truly scrumptious food. Post-lunch, you'll be taken on a tour of the vineyards and then for a tasting session of the delicious wines and ports.
Post tour, it's time to drive the half an hour to your hotel, the salubrious Six Senses Douro Valley. As you'll likely have very tired legs after an afternoon spent climbing around the hillside vineyards, we've booked you an early evening spa treatment before dinner at The Dining Room - the Six Senses' signature eatery - perhaps with a pre-dinner rendezvous in the Wine Library.
This morning, it is time to leave the Douro Valley for the Alentejo, in southern Portugal. As the drive will take just over four hours, we recommend that you break the journey by stopping for lunch and to stretch your legs in Coimbra. We can recommend some excellent restaurants for a quick lunch, and a stroll around the Old Town is highly recommended. Post-lunch, it's back in the car and on the road to your next hotel, L'AND, in the heart of the Alentejo.
L'AND is a wine resort, club and home to a Michelin starred restaurant, where we strongly recommend spending the evening. Indulgence is positively encouraged, so it's lucky that the region is prime hiking territory, perfect for walking off the delicious dinners and clearing wine-hazed heads.
After what we imagine might be a slow start this morning, we recommend a meander through the grounds of your hotel, followed by a treatment in the vinotherapy spa - where the treatments use by-products of the wine-making process - which we can pre-book for you. Suitably relaxed and recovered from the excesses of last night, it's time to move on to your final hotel, the wonderful Malhadina Nova. The drive will take roughly an hour and three quarters, taking you further south. This quintessentially Portuguese homestead is found in the middle of a 450 acre private estate. After you've checked-in and dropped of your bags in your room, a member of the estate staff will give you a tour of the estate and winery, explaining the history and techniques they now use to produce some of the best wines in Portugal - which you will get to try during a tasting this evening.
Each of our trips is entirely tailor-made with originality, quality and cultural immersion in mind. Our team of destination specialists will craft itineraries based on your tastes, using their first-hand knowledge and the help of our in-country team of Concierges and guides. All trips are accompanied by a wide range of additional services, including a 24-hour helpline, the Original Travel app, fast-track airport services and much more.
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Our team of destination experts will get to know you and your unique requirements for your holiday
We work with you to build an ultra-personalised holiday itinerary with your choice of accommodation, experiences and activities
All of our holidays include little extras designed to make a big difference to your trip, from fast-tracking you through airport check-in and security to our network of local Concierges
