Spring 2024 Portugal Foodie Tour: Óbidos, Alentejo, Colares, Nazaré, and more!

Portugal has become a foodie destination second to none, thanks to the spotlight of the top publications of the world discovering what it has to offer. We honestly can say the best food we’ve ever had has been in Portugal (sorry, Italy!), and the passion and pride is evident in each bite.

But to experience it correctly, you need a guide. Someone who speaks the language, sees the magic on the plates, and can craft a week where your time and attention are maximized.

Tour organizer Ryan Opaz is pulling out all the stops on this new tour, making for an unforgettable week including private cooking classes, dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant, private farm and winery tours, and much more.

You don’t want to miss this one.

March 16-24, 2024
(Fly in and out of Lisbon, Portugal)

Eight nights of four-star accommodations (Lisbon and Caldas de Rainha)

Deluxe Mini-Bus transport

Dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant

Foraging, oyster farming, cheese workshop,
private cooking classes, and more!

Sea-to-table lunch in Nazaré

Farm-to-table lunch in Bucelas

Time to relax and explore on your own

Limited to 12 guests

Estimated price per person (land-only not including flights, based on a minimum of 10 people participating, maximum of 12)
5900.00€ (cost in euros)
Single supplement: 700€
Deposit to secure a spot: 500€

Tour leader: Ryan Opaz

Our journey is being organized and led by one of the best in the business: Ryan Opaz of Catavino Tours. Ryan has lived in Portugal for ten years, and is a leading authority on Portuguese food and wine.

This tour starts and ends in Lisbon, making for easy travel in and out.

(Note: on this tour, like 90% of the Twin Cities Wine organized tours, Angela and I are not with the group. You’re in great hands with Ryan, have no worries!)

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Note: All daily itineraries are subject to change, but as you can see some amazing days are planned.

Day 1: Lisbon arrival + welcome dinner in a local home

Arrive in beautiful Lisbon and join the group for a traditional Portuguese dinner in a local home. This will get you fully immersed immediately into the food and wine scene of Portugal, and the trip leader will detail out the week. Always save room for dessert … this is Portugal, after all!

Day. 2: Cooking class lunch + evening on your own

The first full day is a day to don the apron and sharpen the knives, and get hands on with your foodie tour. Portuguese cooking is not only about fine ingredients, but also about the world of spices brought back by the explorers of the 1400s. In many ways, Portuguese cuisine is the most international that you’ll find in Europe.

The late afternoon and evening are all yours to shake off the jet lag or wander and explore what Lisbon has to offer.

Day 3: Oysters + fish market in Setubal

On day three we head south to Setubal to explore the oyster fields along with the world famous Mercado do Livramento.

This will be an immersion into the world of Portuguese seafood, considered by many foodies to be the best in the world today. The Mercado do Mivramento is an insider’s treasure trove of fish, cheese, wine, fruit, vegetables, and more. Learn more: https://culinarybackstreets.com/cities-category/lisbon/2022/market-watch-mercado-do-livramento-in-setubal/

After a long day in the markets, grazing on delicious foods, the evening will be on your own in Lisbon to walk off your meals and explore the city.

Day 4: Foraging Sintra with lunch + Cabo da Roca stop + dinner at Michelin star restaurant (fifty seconds)

Day four is a big one, starting with heading north to historic Sintra for a foraging tour in the woods where you’ll learn all about how to find your own food, how to prepare it, and more. After lunch, head to the coastline and take in the views at Cabo do Roca, one of the most dramatic coastlines in the world.

After returning to Lisbon and freshening up, you will head to the Michelin starred restaurant fifty seconds, rotating high above Lisbon, for a top-level dinner with incredible wines. This is no messing around — you can expect one of the best meals of your life!

Cabo da Roca. (2023, May 16). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabo_da_Roca

Day 5: Cheese workshop with lunch + hotel in Caldas da Rainha

Pack your bags! We’re heading (just a bit) north, out of the city and into beautiful Estramadura and the amazing historic spa town of Caldas da Rainha. Day five is all about cheese and the incredible variety to be found in Portugal. Meet cheese experts and cheese mongers, taste dozens of different offerings, and wash it all down with delicious Portuguese wines.

A group lunch will help you settle in for the day, followed by relaxation at the hotel or a local thermal spa.

Day 6: Sant’anna visit, wine tasting & lunch + Óbidos tour + night off

Another busy day is ahead on day six, starting with a visit to the historic (1741) tile and ceramics center of Sant’anna, where the amazing tile work of Portugal is on full display. Hint: this is where to pick up the gifts for family and friends back home.

Then you get to visit one of the most interesting, historic, and under the radar wine regions in the world: Óbidos, where some of the top wines of Southern Portugal are produced plus the legendary “Ginja de Óbidos.” Enjoy a top-level lunch with these delicious wines.

The evening is yours to relax, explore, and enjoy after a very busy day.

Day 7: SEA TO TABLE experience in Nazaré

Day seven is all about the ocean, and there is no better place to experience it than the beach town of Nazaré, best known for some of the biggest waves in the world, and thus world-class surfing.

You’ll meet the fishing families, the dock workers, and the fish mongers. Then we’ll follow the bounty of the sea to the table in an amazing seafood bonanza with some of the freshest seafood you’ve ever experienced.

The night is yours to enjoy, or use the time to sleep off an incredible and busy day.

Day 8: FARM TO TABLE with Veronica + lunch + hotel in Lisbon

Day eight culminates the trip with a full day of taking your new knowledge about Portuguese food and learning about the farm to table movement in this amazing country. By the end of lunch you’ll be a certified Portuguese foodie, with a notebook full of ideas and memories from an amazing week of eating and drinking.

An end-of-tour clinking of the glasses will bring a spectacular week to a close.

Day 9: Depart Lisbon

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