6 days · 5 nights
Roman spa waters, green river valleys and a slow pace, with your own car.
Choose your dates when you enquire
Ask about datesA gentle self-drive through the green north of Portugal, built around its old thermal springs. Spend two nights near Penafiel, in the valleys of the Douro and Sousa, two in the spa town of São Pedro do Sul, and finish with a night in Porto before you fly home.
The same person from your first question to the flight home, with a wedding or vow renewal planned alongside if you like.
How the days unfold. Your advisor tailors the pace, the hotels and the extras to you.
Penafiel
Day 1 · Penafiel
You are met at Porto airport and helped with your hire car. Drive out through hills and river valleys to Penafiel, where small squares and churches predate Portugal itself, and the banks of the Douro and Sousa give way to vineyards and pine-covered slopes.
Day 2 · Penafiel
Drive to Pinheiro for the São Vicente spa, a Roman site rediscovered in the early 20th century, whose waters are said to be among the most alkaline in Europe. Nearby are the Benedictine monastery of Paço de Sousa and Penafiel castle, and at dinner try Vinho Verde, lamprey with rice, roast lamb or kid, and sopa seca, a bread pudding with cinnamon and port.
São Pedro do Sul
Day 3 · São Pedro do Sul
Continue to São Pedro do Sul in the Lafões valley, framed by the Arada, Gralheira and São Macário mountains. Its thermal baths still show their Roman changing rooms, and the grey stone city of Viseu, with its cathedral and the Grão Vasco Museum, is a short drive away.
Day 4 · São Pedro do Sul
A free day to see the sights around town or try another of the thermal spas and wellness centres in the area.
Porto
Day 5 · Porto
Drive back to Porto, perhaps stopping in a village on the way. After check-in, choose from the Serralves Museum and gardens, the climb up the Clérigos tower, a ride on the old trams and the Lello bookshop, and try a francesinha, the city's famous loaded sandwich.
Day 6 · Porto
After a last breakfast, return the car at Porto airport for your flight home.
The hotels for each stop. Your advisor confirms them, or something just as good, for your dates.
Penafiel · 2 nights
Or similar
São Pedro do Sul · 2 nights
Or similar
Porto · 1 night
Or similar
Tell us when you would like to travel. Your advisor confirms dates and hotels, tailors the trip to the two of you, and stays with you until you are home.
Spain
8 days · 7 nights
Costa del Sol → Seville → Lisbon → Huelva → Costa del Sol
Pick up your car on the Costa del Sol and drive by way of Ronda to two nights in Seville. Cross into Portugal through Évora for two nights in Lisbon, then return along the coast to Huelva and the Costa del Sol for your last night.
Portugal
6 days · 5 nights
Lisbon
Stay put in one Lisbon hotel for five nights. A guided morning takes in Belém and the old quarters, an afternoon goes up into the forested hills of Sintra, and the days between are left free for the riverfront, the viewpoints and an evening of fado.
Portugal
6 days · 5 nights
Madrid → Porto → Fátima → Lisbon → Madrid
A guided coach journey that leaves Madrid for two nights in Porto, with a river cruise and a port cellar tasting, then a night at Fátima after Coimbra. Two nights in Lisbon follow a day among the monasteries and fishing towns of the coast, and the drive back to Madrid stops at Roman Mérida.
A gentle self-drive through the green north of Portugal, built around its old thermal springs. Spend two nights near Penafiel, in the valleys of the Douro and Sousa, two in the spa town of São Pedro do Sul, and finish with a night in Porto before you fly home.
Every trip can be shaped around you before you book.
Arrive early or stay on at the end, in the same hotel or somewhere new.
Your travel expert books flights that fit the first and last day.
Choose a better room or a hotel with a view for the nights that count.
A honeymoon, an anniversary or a birthday, planned into the trip.
Other ways to see Portugal, closest in length first.
City break | 6 days | Lisbon
Small group tour | 6 days | Madrid · Porto · Lisbon | Price on enquiry.
City break | 6 days | Porto
Self-drive | 8 days | Lisbon · Alter do Chão · Porto
