Portugal’s Alentejo region isn’t just easy on the eye—it also has 6,000-year-old monuments, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and a delicious cuisine. We’ve been making people fall in love with this region since 1994, and these 8-day walking holidays are one of our favorite trips! This adventure is all about slow living, so we’ll take our time exploring the scenic countryside, beautiful historical sites, charming wineries, local cafés, and much more. Our base for the week will be a lovely farmhouse equipped with all modern comforts, a lush garden, and a swimming pool, ideal for sipping on a cocktail at the end of the day. If you’re about sightseeing super popular stuff, this tour isn’t for you—we’ll walk along isolated trails, visit small local businesses, and discover the crowdless Portuguese countryside!
A fan of relaxing holidays, easy walks, and a ton of cultural heritage? Portugal’s Alentejo region is perfect for you. Over the course of 8 days, we’ll immerse ourselves in the beauty of this region by going on different walks every day, bringing us a mix of varied landscapes and sceneries. We’ll be based in a charming farmhouse for the duration of this trip, just perfect for getting back to after a day of exploring our surroundings. This region of Portugal has delicious authentic cuisine as well as some of the best wine in the world (Alentejo is the wine market leader in Portugal), so we’ll make sure to taste typical products as well. Lodgings are included, as well as most meals, and transfers during the tour. You’ll return from this trip feeling relaxed and refreshed!
Make your way to Monte do Serrado de Baixo, a beautiful farmhouse near Évora. Depending on your mode of transport, it’s a 1.5-2-hour ride from Lisbon Airport. You’ll have a trip briefing, talking about the days ahead. Enjoy your first dinner in Portugal and get some rest.
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
We’ll leave the guesthouse towards the 16th-century aqueduct, built to solve the water shortages in the city. This walk will lead to the ancient city of Évora. Along the way, we’ll pass by small farms and aromatic herbs that grow by the aqueduct. To end the day, after a visit to the most relevant historical sites, there is nothing better than a cool drink in Évora center square, where we will be surrounded by age-old buildings and feel the flow of life passing us by.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance: 12-15 km / 7.5-9 miles
Elevation: +228 m / +750 ft | -236 m / -775 ft
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
Today we’ll go on a walk through the beautiful holm oak forest dotted by impressive granite boulders which, 6,000 years ago, were used by our ancestors to build their burial sites and magic cult sites. We’ll take our time exploring these sights and our surroundings. We will visit the Dolmen of Zambujeiro, a megalithic monument from between 4,000 and 3,000 BC, the largest one in Europe! We’ll also visit some other megalithic complexes and structures like Cromlech of Almendres, the Menir of Almendres, and the church of Mitra.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance: 15-18 km / 9-11 miles
Elevation: +327 m / +1,073 ft | -121 m / -397 ft
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
Today we’ll take a transfer to the Arraiolos village and its surrounding. We will stroll through its quiet streets, visit the castle, and the museum. We’ll go to the lovely Ravasqueira farm and visit the private carriage collection and taste their delicious wine. Then we’ll go to Évora and there will be plenty of time to discover the city on your own! If you prefer to have a rest day, feel free to stay at the accommodation and explore the surroundings on your own.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
While we go along the lovely river Degebe, we’ll discover old water mills and try to imagine how they once worked. Then we leave the river side and start walking up to reach a point with wonderful views. Finally a castle starts to take shape on the horizon—the surreal castle of Valongo, built in the middle of nowhere by, some say, the Romans.
Meals: Breakfast
Distance: 12 km / 7.5 miles
Elevation: +157 m / +515 ft | -139 m / 456- ft
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
We’ll kick off the day by walking along a closed railway through beautiful scenery. If we’re lucky, we will encounter some black pigs, cows, and sheep. Then we climb steep tracks that lead to the castle of Évoramonte. Once there, follow the walls all the way around and take in the beautiful views. You can see Spain from here!
Meals: Breakfast
Distance: 10 km / 6 miles
Elevation: +366 m / +1,200 ft | -194 m / -636 ft
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
The unforgettable village of Monsaraz, built in a castle on top of a hill, is incredible to see. Schist Rock walls will guide the walk around the beautiful fort. The last climb brings you to the top and you’ll enjoy stunning views of a well-kept village and the Alqueva lake. If it’s warm enough, you can even finish with a swim or a canoe trip! On the way back to the farm visit a pottery in São Pedro do Corval.
Meals: Breakfast and dinner
Distance: 11 km / 7 miles
Elevation: +248 m / +814 ft | -243 m / -797 ft
Accommodation: Monte do Serrado de Baixo
After the final breakfast at the guesthouse, your guided adventure has come to an end. If you’d like to stay longer and explore the area, just ask us for some recommendations!
Meals: Breakfast
Had a great walking week with Turaventur in April, 2017. With our guide we visited ancient stone circles, vineyards, old hilltowns and had local experiences that only a guide who lives in the area can provide. This is a jewel waiting to be discovered…so glad we did!
Theresa was our group guide for 5 days and it was an incredible adventure as we heard all about the history, agricultural life, and life in general around Evora. After a visit to a cheese making farm Theresa lead us to all the stone monoliths in the area as we walked through groves of Cork Trees. We learned about the harvesting and processing of cork and the following day we hiked to a medieval castle surrounded by vineyards. Other days we visited a winery for wine tasting, toured the old city of Evora, walked to a hilltop city, visited a pottery shop, ate at a local restaurant where we made our own bread, and our last day we followed the Aqueduct to her farm where we saw her father’s antique car collection and enjoyed an outstanding lunch at her B & B. Theresa is organized and enthusiastic about making sure you have an outstanding experience in her country. She brought a picnic lunch for all 15 of us each day with local breads, cheeses, vegetables and pastries! You can’t beat this genuine Portugal experience because she is passionate about her job and has the answers to your questions.I’d love to hike with her again in the future.
What you get on this adventure:
What’s not included:
These guided walking holidays in Portugal are beginner-friendly! Check out the itinerary to learn about day-by-day distances and elevation gains, but in general, you’ll be hiking between 10 to 18 km (6 to 11 miles). All that’s required is a decent level of fitness and you’re good to go!
All breakfasts, picnic lunches, and three dinners are included in the price of this tour.
Here’s a list of the equipment you need to bring:
Dress comfortably and for the weather in clothes you can move in. We suggest bringing clothing appropriate for the season. Layers are best and don’t wear jeans.
Group sizes and pricing
Guided walking holidays in Portugal can be arranged for larger groups. Contact us to make arrangements.
Min. age requirements
To get to Évora, the starting point of your guided walking holidays in Portugal, most people fly into Lisbon Airport (LIS). You can either rent a car or take public transport (bus and train) to get to Évora, it will take you 1.5-2 hours.
Once you get there, head towards Monte Do Serrado De Baixo, your beautiful accommodation for the whole stay.
Alternatively, your guides offer Lisbon airport transfers at an additional cost. Let us know if you’re interested upon booking.
We highly recommend that you cover all your bases with both emergency medical and travel insurance.
With medical insurance, if you have an accident or medical emergency on or off the mountain, you’ll avoid paying out of pocket for costly expenses. This covers everything from hospital treatments to emergency air transportation and more. Travel insurance covers canceled flights, natural disasters and other scenarios that may interrupt your travel plans.
We also expect you to respect local regulations and take measures to protect yourselves, your guides, and the communities you’re traveling to. If you need assistance selecting the right insurance for your group, let us know and we will be happy to help!
Deposits
When booking a trip, you can either pay for it in full or reserve your spot with a 30% deposit. The remaining 70% of the trip price is to be paid 90 days prior to departure, at the latest.
Cancellations
Booking fees are non-refundable in all cases. During checkout, however, you can choose one of 57hours’ flexibility options:
Basic
Flexible
Super Flexible
Delightful walking tours in and around Evora, Portugal. Our group of 15 was guided on several days of excellent walking tours in the Alentejo region of Portugal. Teresa was our guide, and she was fabulous – informative, fun, and very well prepared. She served us delicious picnic lunches every day. I would definitely hire her again if I go back!