Portugal
Portugal's sun-drenched south is a land where there is no such thing as too much seafood and the people are distinguished by their sweetness.
Southern Portugal is as romantic and beautiful as you would imagine a country on the edge of Europe to be - old, hidden, wistful and full of charm. Portuguese food is the best kept secret in Europe - seafood, bacalao salt cod, smoked sausages, chourico, presunto cured smoked ham, morcelas black pudding, aromatic goat & sheep's cheese, custard tarts, chocolate salami …
We spend half the week in Lisbon and half in the sun-baked Alentejo plains. We kick off the tour with a welcome dinner in Lisbon - the biggest, hippest, snootiest city in Portugal with the maddest footpaths made from wave-pattern mosaic tiles, followed by 2 days exploring the city and markets, taking in a Fado show, try our hand at a tile painting and enjoying cooking classes and street food.
Next we head to chilled out Evora, a stunning, medieval, white walled city - entrance to the Alentejo region. The gentle slopes of the dry, red Alentejan plains are surrounded by olive trees, wheat fields and vineyards. Most Portuguese olive oil is produced in this region – mild and sweet. Alentejo red wine is lusciously fruity and smooth. We’ll be visiting farms, vineyards & olive groves, having cooking lessons and girding our loins for the usual, understated last night bash.
IMPORTANT: For this tour you must be physically fit and healthy with no mobility issues. There is a lot of walking involved.
2025 Portugal Tour
Lisbon & Evora
14 – 20 September
Cost
NZD 7,599 per person
(based on twin share).
This includes 6 nights accommodation, airport transfers on days 1 & 7, Peta and our local guides, internal transport, cooking classes, entrances, all meals & wine with meals.
NZD 1,000 accommodation single supplement subject to availability.
Maximum of 12 guests.
Our mission has always been to provide really authentic gastronomic and cultural experiences. We travel initially to lose ourselves and next to find ourselves, because travel cracks us open and so pushes us over all the walls and low horizons that habits and defensiveness set up.
Behind every person and every household is a story of local traditions and daily life in villages and towns. Traditional food is about ancestral memories and looking back and holding on to old cultures – it is profoundly about identity. Come with us and partake in the honesty, grace, generosity and fun that is a Peta Mathias tour. Suitable for fit and healthy gastronomic adventurers!
