Portugal - Feb 2025
- Kelly Davis
- Jul 17, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 26, 2025
A two week adventure covering three countries (Part three)
We are now in Portugal. Landed in a northern city, Porto to start this part of the adventure.
[Kelly] I've been to Portugal in 2017 but only the southern part, so this was new for both of us. Our plane landed us late and by the time we got to our hotel, it was time for bed. Our accommodations were lovely. The Pestana Vintage Porto was in a great location and close to everything!
Our first day we did a river cruise in the Douro Valley and visited some of the oldest wineries in the world (one from the 1500's)! Earlier in Spain, we said that you must dress for the weather. OMG yes - it was bitter cold once we were in the mountains. It was also foggy in spots. However, the scenery more than made up for the chills. We had a small group on our tour (us and a couple from Canada) so it made the wine tasting and tours very intimate and fun. We booked the tour (again) from Viator, and the wineries you go to will depend on time of year, day, and drivers.
Porto is known for it's Port Wines. So we started our tour at one of the best known port wineries in the world. Unfortunately we did not take down the name but the photo says Amarante, Portugal. The grounds were (as with most wineries) pristine and beautiful. We sat for the tasting and I will admit I'm not a big port wine fan. However, Mark enjoyed his and decided to select a port wine as "an investment" as they taste better and appreciate in value as they age.
Next was the river cruise. Now on a warmer sunny day it would have been lovely, however, it was very cold and not sunny at all. In fact it was quite boring. I braved the elements to take some photos but we were very happy to get on solid ground after an hour.
Our last stop was at the Quinta Da Roeda winery in Pinhao. Simply the best! This winery was established in 1596 and is one of the oldest in the world. There we were treated to some wonderful wines (and Ports), along with charcuterie to accompany. The grounds were exquisite - some of the best I've ever seen which includes Napa and New Zealand.
After our tasting, we walked over to "Santa Julia" which is an old building on the grounds which was converted to a kitchen with a few tables. There were were treated to a traditional meal which included a stew, bread, and dessert. All homemade, and delicious!! We could see the woman making our meal as the kitchen was open to the tables.
In our opinion, this was the highlight of our day! Really great experience. We have no idea what we ate, but who the hell cares!
After lunch we were able to catch some scenery, and hey - the sun made a brief appearance also! Saude'
The next day we had to make time for laundry. Our hotel only sends it out so we found a laundromat that was within walking distance to the hotel. Once we figured out how to use the machines, we were on our way! After lunch, we explored Porto by foot and by bus. We love doing the "Hop on Hop off" buses. You get to see a lot of the area in a short period of time. Porto did not disappoint. What a lovely place! We enjoyed the architecture and ambiance it offers. The weather held off so we were able to get some photos and enjoy our day.
We are now ready to pick up our car and drive down the coast!
08 February 2025: We picked up our car and are driving down the coast. To be honest, a much less stressful drive than in Spain. The signage was easier and no damage to the coastal areas. During this drive we made several stops: Praia de Barra, Nazare, and Figueira de Foz, The pics were amazing!
I'm going to insert some additional photos at a later date as I'm still organizing them :)
Our final stop for the day was in my 2017 favorite town of Cascais. After spending some time there, Mark loved it too! We booked a night at the Pestana Cidadela Cascais - in the heart of the historical art district. The Pestana hotels were all amazing! We will definitely look for them in future travels. They preside mostly in Europe but have a few in the USA. Cascais is about 45 minutes from Lisbon and is right on the coast. A lot to see here and a smaller town. However, it was VERY busy that day as there was a marathon race happening which shut down some of the roads. As a result our NAV went crazy and we had to circle a few times before finally asking a police officer how to get into our hotel. Turns out the entrance was shut off, and we had to prove we were staying there and they let us through :)
It turned out it was well worth it, as the location to downtown restaurants and shopping was awesome!
The evening views were just as amazing!
We wish we were able to spend more time here, but we plan to visit again (hopefully) in 2027.
09 February 2025: Lisbon - made it to Lisbon, the last stop in this amazing journey! Again, we selected a Pestana hotel - the Altis Avenida Hotel https://www.altishotels.com/altis-avenida-hotel/.
This hotel was a step up from the others as we decided to splurge a little on the last leg. As a result of being on our honeymoon, we arrived to a bottle of wine and chocolates waiting in our room! The hotel was in a great area, close to shops and restaurants. We were able to walk EVERYWHERE!
The Hard Rock was a block away so Mark wanted to add to his pint glass collection :)
In Porto's HRC, we inquired about the Super Bowl and if there were any places showing the game. They mentioned the HRC in Lisbon so we looked it up and it was sold out. Bummer. However, when we arrived in Lisbon, we asked an employee about it and she went to confirm. Lucky us, they had two seats at the bar remaining!! YAY. The downside, however, is that the game started at 11:30pm. Therefore we decided to call it early, get a nap, shower, and head to the Hard Rock. The plan was great, but unfortunately it did not pan out that way. During the day, Mark got really sick and was in bed most of the day. By 8:00pm it was clear he wasn't gonna make it, so I downloaded an app and watched the SB on my iPad with room service! Luckily it wasn't a close game so I was able to turn in earlier than planned. Such is life...
The following morning, Mark was feeling better and we were able to get out and see the sights. However, I was not doing great. The last few days I started noticing my left knee was hurting, and by this time, I was clearly limping. Wasn't sure if it was the cobblestones, poor shoes, or whatever, but I muddled through the pain and toughed it out. It was horrible by the time we arrived home, but that's a whole other story.
We spent the final two days sightseeing and taking Mark to some of my favorite places. One of them was at the highest point in Lisbon. In 2017 I took a selfie there and took Mark to get another one with him. How life has changed in 8 years!
One of the things we liked about Lisbon is the close access to shopping and restaurants. We did not leave empty handed souvenir wise!
What an amazing trip this was! We cannot wait to go again (and we definitely will)!
Some takeaways:
1). As with Spain, time of year matters so pack accordingly.
2). English is compulsory in Portugal so if you find yourself in smaller towns, you will likely have an easier time communicating.
3). DO NOT get a parking ticket in Portugal. We did and it was a royal pain to pay it since we didn't have a local bank account.
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