Christmas in Portugal Tour

A new addition to our portfolio of Christmas tours is another creation from our Portuguese aficionado, Ellen Walker, who has spent many Christmas’s in the Algarve. Based in the historic regional capital, Faro, bustling throughout the year, this wonderful new, festive tour takes you off the beaten path to explore overlooked delights of this delightful region. Blessed with a lovely climate, it averages six hours of sunshine a day even in December.

Your guide – Luis Goncalves
Already a firm favourite with Travel Editions’ travellers, your guide to ensure that you get the utmost from your endeavours is local expert, Luis Goncalves.  He will be on hand throughout the tour to ensure your wellbeing and explain the flora, fauna, architecture and landscapes that you will encounter each day. Luís was born and raised in the Algarve, and has an emotional connection to the area, its people, its culture, its history and its landscapes. He loves walking, hiking, and birdwatching and exploring the  Algarve’s rich fauna and flora.  It gives him great pleasure to share his extensive knowledge of the natural world,  whilst retaining a keen focus on the history of the region too.

ITINERARY

Day 1 Fly from Gatwick to Faro and transfer to hotel in the city centre for seven-night stay. Welcome drink and dinner with wine.

Day 2 Tavira with lunch at a local restaurant and hilltop village of Cacela Velha.
This morning enjoy a walking tour around Tavira. The town combines two Mediterranean staples: Moorish architecture and a golden sand beach. Here a labyrinth of cobbled streets wind past houses tiled in the traditional Portuguese style and the pace of life flows as gentle as the Gilão River. Lunch will be at a local restaurant. In the afternoon travel by coach to pretty, whitewashed, hilltop village of Cacela Velha, which offers lovely views of the easternmost lagoon of the Ria Formosa.

Day 3 Loule Rocksalt mines and Quinta da Tor vineyard for tour, tasting and tapas.
In the Campina de Cima rock salt mine, beneath the city of Loulé, lies a giant labyrinth. The four-levelled maze dug by miners over the last 50 years is rich in salt. Now, this underground Pombaline town offers visitors an unusual, entertaining and educational experience. Learn about the life and legacy of Saint Barbara, the miner's patron, through an engaging artistic exhibition inside the mine. Please note the underground path covers some 1.4km so may be unsuitable for those with walking difficulties.   Then to the Quinta da Tor vineyard to enjoy a tour, wine-tasting and tapas lunch. 

Day 4 Lagos, Cape St Vicente – the “End of the World” and Sagres with lunch.
We start the day in Lagos, an historic city situated on the beautiful Western Algarve coastline.  One of the most popular tourist destinations in the Algarve, it has retained its charm and character, with cobbled streets lined with whitewashed buildings.  Then to Cape St Vicente, the south westernmost point of Portugal and Europe heading out into the Atlantic, topped with a dramatic lighthouse.  It is often referred to as “the end of the world.”  The nearby village of Sagres has a fort, harbour, locally beaches and a host of appealing restaurants, where we will include lunch.

Day 5 Faro free day to explore the city and Christmas market.
Christmas Eve is free to explore the lovely city of Faro, capital of the Algarve region and overlooked by the vast majority of tourists who flock to its airport and on to other destinations up and down the coast.  It is their great loss, as it is a charming, historic and cultural city with a wealth of attractions including an atmospheric old town with Gothic Cathedral, Paco Episcopal Palace and decorative Arco da Vila gateway.  Festive dinner with wine at the hotel and option to attend Midnight mass in the glorious Se Cathedral.

Day 6 Full day free with festive lunch at a local restaurant including wine. The temperate Algarve climate will mean that you can enjoy working up an appetite for Christmas Day lunch with a Christmas morning walk either around the marina and old city or even to Faro beach.

Day 7 Ria Formosa boat cruise and fishing port of Olhao.
The harbour opens onto the calm lagoons and waters of the Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, a small group of barrier islands. Embark on a boat tour and cruise among the fascinating islands of the Ria Formosa lagoons, a hidden gem of the Algarve. See local fishermen at work, shellfish farms and enjoy the bird life. In the afternoon there will be a guided tour of Olhão, a picturesque fisherman’s town with Moorish inspired whitewashed buildings and  bustling old quarter. There will be free time before returning to the hotel with time to freshen up before our farewell dinner at the Vila Adentro restaurant inside the Roman Walls. 

Day 8 Transfer to the airport for return flight to Gatwick

NB: Exact order of excursions may vary according to local conditions and tour manager's discretion. 

Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 35 passengers.

INCLUDED

• Return flights from London Gatwick to Faro
• Seven nights bed and breakfast at the four-star AP Eva Senses Hotel, Faro
• Two dinners at the hotel
• Festive Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch at the hotel
• Two lunches (no drinks)
• One Tapas lunch
• Farewell dinner at Vila Adentro restaurant
• All tours and entrance fees as detailed
• Airport transfers and full coach touring itinerary
• Tour manager and local guide throughout

NOT INCLUDED

• Double for sole use supplement
• Meals other than those stated
• Entrance cost to Silves Caste and Cathedral 
• Items of a personal nature such as drinks, laundry, telephone calls etc
• Porterage and gratuities

HOTEL

AP Eva Senses Hotel, Faro

Modern, four-star hotel overlooking the marina and Ria Formosa in the heart of the city, just 600m from the Se Cathedral. Facilities here include rooftop bar, restaurant and very comfortable bedrooms with all modern amenities.

Hotel Website