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A tray of pastéis de nata with blistered custard and an espresso in Lisbon

FF06 · Portugal · 8 days · moderate pace

Portugal food tour: Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley

Eight days of Lisbon petiscos, Porto’s markets and port in the Douro Valley

See dates and pricesDay by day

From $3,790 per person, shared double room

  • Hold your seat with a $300 deposit, by card or bank transfer
  • Balance due 60 days before departure
  • One free change of date or tour up to 45 days before
  • Next date Nov 6, 2026: few seats

Questions? [email protected], Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:30 Eastern. Booking terms

Pastéis de nata

Key facts

Length
8 days, 7 nights
Starts in
Lisbon
Ends in
Porto
Group size
12 guests at most
Minimum age
18; drinks 18 and over
Pace
Moderate, 3 of 5
Tastings
26 tastings, plus 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners
Tour code
FF06

Overview

What to expect on this Portugal food tour

Pastéis de nata warm from the oven in Belém, petiscos in a Lisbon tasca and ginjinha by the glass, then the train north to Porto for the Bolhão market, a francesinha and the port lodges of Gaia, and two nights among the terraced vineyards of the Douro.

Portugal eats simply and very well. The cooking rests on good bread, olive oil, garlic, pork, salt cod and fish straight off the boat, and the country makes some of the best-value wine in Europe. What changes from south to north is the mood: Lisbon is a city of small plates and neighborhood tascas, Porto is heartier and proud of it, and the Douro Valley is all about wine, from the terraces to the cellar.

The tour follows that line north. Three nights in Lisbon cover Belém, the Mercado da Ribeira, the old streets of Alfama and Mouraria and an optional evening of fado. A fast train takes you to Porto for two nights of markets, tripe stew and francesinhas, with an afternoon in the port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia. The last two nights are at a wine hotel near Pinhão, with a boat on the river, a long lunch at a family quinta and Douro DOC reds alongside the port.

Rui Magalhães, who grew up across the river from Porto in Gaia, hosts every departure. Sardines come off the street grills from June to September, and the September dates fall in the grape harvest.

More on the destination: Portugal: Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley food tours. Tour categories: Wine Regions, Seafood Coasts, City Food Walks.

Read first: Best time for a food tour: truffles, cider and crawfish seasons

Sardines grilling on a charcoal brazier in a cobbled Lisbon street with tiled houses
Grilled sardines, Lisbon

What you will taste

26 tastings on this Portugal food tour

Tasting portions at the markets, producers, cellars and kitchens on the route, on top of the meals listed. Dishes follow the season, so one or two can change from date to date.

Drinks
Ginjinha, vinho verde, white, ruby, tawny and vintage port, and Douro DOC reds and whites. Alcohol is poured only for guests 18 and over, the legal drinking age in Portugal, with ID; every pour has a non-alcoholic option.
Diets
Vegetarians eat well at the markets and the quinta, and we plan meat-free swaps for the francesinha and the tripe. The nata and the francesinha cannot be made gluten-free; shellfish appears in some petiscos and is easy to skip. Severe allergies: ask Lena before you book.
  1. 01Pastéis de nata with cinnamonBelém
  2. 02Bifana, the garlic pork sandwichLisbon
  3. 03Pica-pau beef and clams with garlic and corianderAlfama
  4. 04Grilled sardines, June to SeptemberAlfama
  5. 05FrancesinhaPorto
  6. 06Tripas à moda do PortoPorto
  7. 07Tawny and vintage port in the lodgeVila Nova de Gaia
  8. 08Roast kid at a quinta lunchDouro Valley

Itinerary

Portugal food tour itinerary: 8 days, day by day

Day 1 is the arrival day: meet your host at the hotel in the late afternoon. The order of the days can shift with the weather, the harvest or a kitchen that closes early; the places stay the same.

  1. Day1

    Arrive in Lisbon

    Fruit and vegetable stalls with wooden crates under the iron roof of a Lisbon market hall

    Transfer from Lisbon airport to the hotel in Baixa, about thirty minutes. In the evening Rui walks the group up to a family restaurant in the Bairro Alto for the welcome dinner: caldo verde, grilled octopus with olive oil and crushed potatoes, and arroz doce, the cinnamon rice pudding every Portuguese grandmother makes.

  2. Day2

    Belém and the Mercado da Ribeira

    Tram 15 along the river to Belém for pastéis de nata still warm, dusted with cinnamon, by the Jerónimos Monastery where the recipe began. Back in the center, lunch at the Mercado da Ribeira, the city’s main market since 1882, with a look at the fish stalls. In the late afternoon a bifana, the garlicky pork sandwich, and a glass of ginjinha by Rossio.

  3. Day3

    Alfama, Mouraria and a tasca

    A morning walk up through Mouraria and Alfama, with stops for a bica, the short Lisbon coffee, a bakery and a shop selling tinned sardines and mackerel. Lunch is petiscos in a tasca: pica-pau beef, peixinhos da horta, clams with garlic and coriander and, from June to September, sardines from the grill. Evening free, or an optional fado dinner in Alfama.

  4. Day4

    Train north to Porto

    A rabelo boat loaded with port barrels on the Douro below the Ribeira houses in Porto

    The Alfa Pendular train to Porto takes a little under three hours. Lunch near São Bento station is a francesinha, Porto’s layered sandwich of steak, ham and sausage under melted cheese and a beer and tomato sauce, shared because it is huge. Evening walk along the Ribeira and dinner of bacalhau in a riverside tavern.

  5. Day5

    Bolhão market and the port lodges

    Morning at the Bolhão market, reopened in 2022 after a long restoration, for cheese, smoked sausages, cornbread and fruit. Lunch is tripas à moda do Porto, the tripe and bean stew that gave the people of Porto their nickname, tripeiros. In the afternoon, across the Dom Luís I bridge to Vila Nova de Gaia for a cellar visit and a tasting of white, ruby, tawny and vintage port.

  6. Day6

    Up the Douro to Pinhão

    About two hours east by van into the Douro, with a stop above Peso da Régua to look down the terraces. Lunch is a long one at a family quinta: roast kid, potatoes from the wood oven, greens, and the estate’s own red and port. Late afternoon at the hotel among the vines and a light dinner on the terrace.

  7. Day7

    The river and the vineyards

    A morning on a traditional wooden boat on the river below the terraces. In the afternoon a vineyard walk with a grower and a tasting of Douro DOC reds and whites made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and other local grapes. In September the group joins the harvest for an hour. Farewell dinner in Pinhão.

  8. Day8

    Depart from Porto

    Breakfast at the hotel and the drive back to Porto airport, about two hours, arriving around 11:30 am. Guests flying home from Lisbon can be dropped at Porto Campanhã station for the train south.

Route map of the Portugal food tour: Lisbon, Porto, Pinhão and Douro Valley
The route in order; lines are not exact roads. Base map: Esri, HERE, Garmin, © OpenStreetMap contributors

The route

Route and hotels: Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley

  1. 1Lisbon
  2. 2Porto
  3. 3Peso da Régua
  4. 4Pinhão

Hotels on the route

Lisbon3 nights
Boutique hotel in Baixa or Chiado, or similar
Porto2 nights
Hotel near São Bento or the Ribeira, or similar
Douro Valley2 nights
Wine hotel among the vineyards near Pinhão, or similar

Hotels are listed by class and area; the names come with your confirmation and may be replaced by a hotel of the same standard.

What the price covers

What the Portugal food tour price includes

One price covers 7 hotel nights, 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners and the tastings listed, the tastings and classes in the itinerary, transport on the route and your host.

  • 26 tastings
  • 7 hotel nights
  • 10 items included
  • 5 not included

01

Included in the price

  • 7 nights in hotels with breakfast daily
  • Welcome and farewell dinners and two more dinners with wine
  • Five lunches, including the quinta lunch in the Douro
  • Pastéis de nata, bifana, ginjinha and petiscos tastings in Lisbon
  • Train tickets from Lisbon to Porto
  • Port lodge visit and tasting in Vila Nova de Gaia
  • Douro wine tasting, vineyard walk and river boat trip
  • Wine and port for guests 18 and over, with a non-alcoholic option at every stop
  • Van with driver in the Douro and airport transfers at group times
  • Rui Magalhães or another of our hosts throughout

02

Not included in the price

  • Flights to Lisbon and home from Porto
  • Travel insurance
  • The meals not listed and drinks outside the program
  • The optional fado dinner in Lisbon
  • Tips for your host and driver

Tell Lena about allergies, diets or mobility needs before you book, and we will say honestly whether this tour suits you.

03

Getting there and rooms

Flights are not included, so you can use miles or fly from any airport. Arrive at Lisbon (LIS) by mid-afternoon on day 1 for the group transfer, and fly home from Porto (OPO) after midday on the last day.

Single room
+$790
Deposit
$300 per person
Balance
60 days before departure

Dates and prices

Portugal food tour dates and prices, 2026 to 2027

7 group departures, 12 seats each. Prices per person in a shared double room; the single room supplement is per person.

All deals
Departure dates, prices and seats for the Portugal Food Tour tour
DatesLengthPriceSingle roomStatusBook
to 8 days$3,790 $3,540Last minute: save $250$790Few seatsAsk about this date
to 8 days$3,840$790Sold outJoin the waitlist
to 8 days$3,890$790GuaranteedAsk about this date
to 8 days$3,940$790GuaranteedAsk about this date
to 8 days$3,940 $3,740Early booking: save $200$790AvailableAsk about this date
to 8 days$3,940$790AvailableAsk about this date
to 8 days$3,890 $3,690Early booking: save $200$790Few seatsAsk about this date
Private date, 6 or more guests8 daysPriced per groupAs bookedYour datesPlan with Grant

Guaranteed means the date runs: at least five guests have booked. Few seats means three or fewer seats are left. A deal price is shown next to the regular price.

Prices per person in US dollars: multi-day tours in a shared double room, flights not included; day tours paid when booked. Deposit $300 per person, balance 60 days before departure, one free change of date or tour up to 45 days before. Booking terms

Before you book

Before you book this Portugal food tour: honest notes

Pace and walking
Moderate: Lisbon and Porto are hilly, with two to three hours a day on steep cobbled streets; the Douro days are by van and boat.
Your host
Rui Magalhães. Rui grew up in Vila Nova de Gaia, where his father worked in the port lodges, and spent ten years leading tastings at Douro quintas. He joined us in 2026 and planned this route stop by stop. All our hosts
What can change
The order of the days can shift with the weather, a harvest or a kitchen that closes early. A stop of the same kind and value replaces anything that falls through.
Weather
Tours run in all weather. If a storm closes a boat trip or a farm visit, we move it or replace it, and if a serious weather warning stops the tour before it starts, you choose a new date or a full refund.
Arrival and departure
Arrive at Lisbon (LIS), leave from Porto (OPO). Transfers are included at the group times on the first and last day.
Drinks and age
Adults only, 18 and over. Alcohol is poured only for guests 18 and over, the legal drinking age in Portugal, with ID; every pour has a non-alcoholic option.
Diets and allergies
Vegetarian, pescatarian and gluten-free versions with notice when you book. Tell us about severe allergies first; we will say honestly what we can and cannot promise.
Luggage
One suitcase and a day bag. Leave space for olive oil, coffee or a bottle of wine, and check your home customs rules before you pack cured meat or fresh cheese.

Questions about this tour

Portugal food tour FAQ

General questions on booking, flights, insurance and luggage are on the main FAQ page.

Ask Lena directly

Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day, Monday to Friday.

When are sardines in season?

Lisbon grills sardines from June to September, and the June festivals of Santo António fill Alfama with charcoal smoke. On the other departures the tasca lunch has grilled horse mackerel, octopus or bacalhau instead.

Can I take part in the grape harvest?

On the September departure, yes. The Douro harvest usually runs from mid-September into early October, and on day 7 the group picks for an hour with the quinta’s crew and watches the grapes go into the stone lagar. Bring shoes you do not mind staining.

Is the fado evening included?

No, it is optional, because not everyone wants a late night with dinner after nine. Rui books a small fado house in Alfama for those who want to go, and you pay there.

Can I add Spain?

Yes. Andalusia: Seville Tapas, Jerez Sherry and Granada starts in Seville, a short flight from Lisbon or Porto, and runs in several of the same months.

Can I join on my own?

Yes. About a third of our guests travel solo. A single room on this tour costs $790 extra, and some dates have no single supplement; we can also try to match you with a roommate.

What if I have a food allergy or a special diet?

Tell Lena when you book. Vegetarian, pescatarian and gluten-free versions are arranged with every kitchen before you arrive; for severe allergies we tell you honestly which stops we can and cannot make safe.

What if I need to cancel or change?

Your $300 deposit holds the seat, the balance is due 60 days before departure, and you can move once to another date or tour free up to 45 days before. The full scale is on the booking terms page.

Should we tip the host?

Tips are welcome but never expected. Guests who want a guideline usually give 10 to 15 US dollars, or the same in local money, per person for a day walk, or per person per day on a multi-day tour; restaurant tips on included meals are already paid.

Dates and seats

Ask about Portugal food tour dates

Tell us the tour, the date and how many of you are coming. Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day with seats, room options, the total price and any questions about dietary needs.

Lena, Grant and Priya, Charleston

To[email protected]

SubjectPortugal: Lisbon, Porto and the Douro Valley: dates and seats

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  • Dietary needs or allergies
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Lena Ortiz in reservations replies within one working day. No payment now. A $300 deposit per person holds seats on a multi-day tour; day tours are paid when you book.

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