Mixed Portuguese traditional rustic tapas food

Ultimate Portugal Food and Wine Tour

Ratings of Zicasso's Service
Customizable Itinerary

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

Countries Visited

Portugal

Places Visited

Porto, Douro Valley, Obidos, Lisbon...

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Suggested Duration

12 Days

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.

Customizable Itinerary

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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.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

4.92 stars based on 1334 reviews.

Portugal Vacation Review: Algarve, Sintra, Benagil Caves,...

Zicasso’s travel consultant was excellent and attended to everything we wanted in our trip. Our tour guide was exceptional and felt like family.

Reviewed By Christine S.

Portugal Tour Review: Azores, Lisbon, Porto, 10 Days

The execution of the trip by Zicasso's tour operator was seamless. The app we had was wonderful. Communication with the guides was excellent.

Reviewed By Karen H.

Portugal Vacation Review: Douro Valley, Boat Ride, Wineries,...

The whole trip was perfect. The guides (and especially our driver) were fantastic. The hotels were great and the advice given beforehand by Zicasso's travel company was super-useful. We might have had one too many palaces and heard a bit too much about kings, but we essentially enjoyed everything. The amount of time on our own was just about perfect.

Reviewed By Indy B.

Spain 25th Anniversary Tour Review: Madrid, Sevilla, Ronda,...

I'm not sure it's possible to be any more satisfied with the service provided by the Zicasso travel partner's team.

Ahead of the trip, our travel designer was in constant contact, by phone and email. In terms of the itinerary and the logistics/preparation for the trip, we discussed the right locations, iterated on the excursions, and ultimately planned out a wonderful holiday in celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary. He listened (for example, that we wanted more food experiences vs wine), suggested (for example, Segovia vs Toledo, Nerja vs Marbella), and coordinated all of the details.

And our concierge was amazing once we were on the ground. Coordinating with drivers and guides (especially since our inbound flight was delayed), making suggestions for restaurants and booking reservations, and providing guidance for myriad logistical situations (for example, the best route to take while driving from Sevilla to Ronda).

The travel company's team really delivered for us and we cannot thank them enough for our incredible Spain experience!

Reviewed By Alex G.

Spain, Portugal Tour Review: Private Food and Wine Tours,...

We had an excellent trip! We loved the tours and how the Zicasso travel company was accessible during the duration of the trip. We encountered one issue, but the team responded and worked with us to resolve it.

Reviewed By Nicole M.

Portugal Tour Review: Lisbon, Lagos, Jewelry Making, Bengali...

This trip was fantastic! My husband and I, along with my three daughters in their 20s, had the best time. Planning with Zicasso's travel expert was easy. She was quick to respond to emails, texts and calls before and during the trip.

We wanted some unique experiences, like making Portuguese filigree jewelry, and she found a great place for us! The hotels she selected were perfect for our larger group.

Reviewed By Lisa P.

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