terracottajourneys.com

Beautiful Atlantic Coast Walking Tour

Come walk with us along Portugal’s Atlantic coast from the culturally rich Lisbon region down to the Algarve on the southern coast. We offer you the unique daily privilege of enjoying awe-inspiring views of the Atlantic seascape as well as visits to remote unspoiled beaches. On our trek we’ll hike by centuries-old palaces and castles as well as charming whitewashed villages with inviting plazas  and cafés that will give you an authentic taste of the southern European lifestyle. Our tour comes to an end near Lagos, at the towering cliffs of the Sagres promontory, where ships departed from Prince Henry the Navigator’s sailing school in a quest to discover far off lands.

Beautiful Atlantic Coast walking tour

Price: $ 2,295 USD

(only $ 328 / day)

Highlights:

• Nature: the views, turquoise colors of the Atlantic ocean, coastal flora and fauna
• Sintra: palaces, castle, lush scenery and pastries.
• Cabo da Roca: the view from the most westerly point in Europe.
• Serra da Arrábida: natural park with spectacular sea views and convent.
• The Costa Vincentina natural park down south in Algarve
• Azeitão: cheese, wine-tasting; hand-painted tile-making workshop.
• Vila Nova de Milfontes: a lovely whitewashed seaside village.
• Alcácer do Sal: medieval castle converted into lodging.
• Sagres: stunning cliffs marking the most southwesterly point in Europe.
• Algarve region: beaches, fig and almond trees, pottery.
• Great seafood from start to finish: grilled fish, shellfish served with chilled white wine. Great red wines.

Also includes:

• 7 days / 6 nights in charming inns and hotels (mostly 4 stars)
• 5 dinners featuring regional cuisine with wine
• 1 picnic lunch
• all breakfasts
• Support vehicle (with water / sports drink, fruits, snacks, trail mix, etc.)
• Highly experienced and enthusiastic multilingual guides
• If anyone wants to walk separated from the guided group, full use of easy to use GPS with routes.
• Gratuities for all accommodations and group meals.
• Sight-seeing at relevant monuments (including entrance fee)
• Baggage transfers and handling
• Transfers from / to Lisbon at the start / end of the tour.

Day 1: Sintra

We begin our tour with 9am pick up at the Lisbon airport or downtown hotel, with a subsequent short transfer to Sintra. After dropping off our bags at our hotel, we will set off to discover this romantic mountain village nestled in a natural park that is also designated UNESCO World Heritage.  The area is a perfect monument to the harmony between human construction, with its palaces, manor houses and gardens and nature itself with forests and ocean views. Today we will show you Sintra by foot and a selection of the local monuments including a visit to the town’s main palace.  Tonight, we will have a group dinner and will stay the night in beautiful Sintra.

Distance: Sintra walking tour. Between 2.5 m ( 4 km) to 4 m (10 km)

Day 2: Sintra

Today, after a short transfer to the coast, we’ll walk along ocean trails hidden in the coastal flora, to Cabo da Roca, the most western point in the European continent. From this windswept landscape we’ll marvel at the views of the wild Atlantic waves and the local fisherman perched on the cliffs.

Tonight we’ll sleep in the oldest hotel in the Iberian Peninsula and dine on delicious local specialties such as roasted duck rice and fresh grilled fish. Our dinners always include wine, since here it is an important part of the meal.

Walk: Magoito beach (or Praia Grande) -> Cabo da Roca. Distance: 4.8 m or 8.9 miles (14.3 km)

Day 3: Cascais

Today we transfer to the top of the mountain and visit the contemplative moss-covered Capuchos Convent built completely from local materials by Franciscan monks. We’ll then head towards the dramatic location of Peninha Sanctuary and walk downhill on trails and then along a pedestrian boardwalk all the way to the attractive fishing town and tourist resort of Cascais. The views, not the exertion, will render you breathless today.

We will end the walk in Cascais and have time to see the town, the fishing market and to eat some of the best artisanal ice-cream around. Tonight we’ll stay in the same cozy hotel in nearby Sintra and you’ll find out there is a lot more to see in Sintra than first meets the eye.

Walk: Peninha –> Guincho beach or Cascais. Distance: 4.9 m or 11 m (18 km)

Day 4: Arrábida Natural Park

Today we’ll sit back and take 1-hour transfer over the Tejo River on the 25 de Abril Bridge to the spectacular Natural Park of Arrábida, where we’ll hike to a magical 16th century convent and sanctuary for a private tour, and then down to the tiny bay and beach of Portinho da Arrábida at the foot of the mountain. The landscape today is distinctly different from previous days offering with pine forests, turquoise waters, the home of a dolphin pod, rocky bays and views of the sandy spit of land called Troia in the distance.

Tonight, we’ll stay in Alcácer do Sal, a castle town founded by the Phoenicians pre- 1000BC and set on one of the few rivers in Europe that runs from south to north and that the Romans frequently used for travel and commerce. Group dinner.

Walk: Arrábida Natural Park (includes picnic). Distance: 6.5 m (10.5 km)

Day 4: Zambujeira do Mar

Today we will walk from Almograve to Cabo Sardão, if you want a relaxed day or to the famous surfing beach town of Zambujeira do Mar, a town surrounded by high cliffs, from where one has an awesome panorama of the ocean, where we will stay tonight.

The coast where we will walk today is typically made of red sandstone, giving it very unique and pretty terracotta like color. Tonight we will stay in a cute guesthouse in Zambujeira do Mar. Group dinner.

Walk: Almograve or Cabo Sardão –> Zambujeira do Mar. Includes picnic. Distance: 7.2 m to 14.6 m (23.5 km)

Day 5: Pedralva

The walk today will be from the of a town called Bordeira along the patch work of farmland with a few touches of sierra mountain in direction of the coast, where we will pass some of the best surfing beaches in Europe as Carrapateira beach and Amado beach, where our hike will end for today.

Tonight we will stay in a recovered village turned into a traditional type of hotel in Pedralva with the best pizza restaurant in Iberia, made by a German family who moved to Portugal many years ago. Group dinner in Pedralva.

Walk: Bordeira beach –> Amado beach. Distance: 8.1 m (13 km)

Day 6: Sagres

The day today will start in Castelejo beach from where we will hike between the fields of wildflowers in the spring, and the steep shale cliffs, in direction of the Southern Algarve coast.

The beauty of Sagres beaches, many of them almost deserted, and the towering cliffs overlooking the sea along with the historic grandeur are the main charm of this region.

Many people still devote their time to the sea and land, taking advantage of abundance of nature creating a varied and tasty cuisine. Sagres is one of the few places in the Algarve where the wilderness, along with a rich historical and cultural heritage remains intact. Group dinner.

Walk: Castelejo beach –> Sagres. Distance: 7.3 miles (11.8 km)

Day 7: Sagres

Today is farewell day and after breakfast there is a mini-van 3 hour transfer to Lisbon, where we will arrive at around 12 am, at time for an afternoon flight.