DESTINATIONS EUROPE |PORTUGAL
TOP TOURS IN 2020 5 EXPLORE THE ALENTEJO
This south-central region feels a world away from the holiday hotspots. Here you can explore mile after mile of farmland and forest – it’s famed for its cork trees – interspersed with tiny villages and historic pousadas, all without bumping into another Brit. Plus, its coastline is every bit as beautiful as Portugal’s better-known beaches; explore long stretches of sand at Comporta or Troia, lunch on fresh fish and chilled white wine at one of the many harbour-front restaurants of Setubal (you might even spot the resident pod of dolphins swimming past) or hear
stories of the country’s seafaring past in port town Sines, birthplace of explorer Vasco de Gama. Book it: Sunvil offers a 10-night Alentejo Family Holiday from £1,118 based on four sharing, including a seven-night villa stay at Herdade de Montalvo, three nights on a liveaboard boat, flights from Gatwick to Lisbon and car hire.
sunvil.co.uk
E Intrepid Travel’s new range of Intrepid Retreats includes a trip to Porto & the Douro Valley, staying in one location in central Porto, with a port tasting and fado music performance. Departures start from October 2 and run throughout the rest of the year, from £790 land-only.
E Travelsphere’s Best of Portugal journeys from Porto to Lisbon via the beautiful Douro Valley, historic Guimarães and medieval university city Coimbra. A November 23 departure starts at £949 including flights from Gatwick.
E Newmarket Holidays has a Hidden Portugal tour that promises to explore an often- overlooked side of the country. Starting from Porto, the tour travels through the Douro Valley, visiting port town Póvoa, seeing the cathedral and baroque architecture of Braga, and stopping off at the Vinho Verde vineyards of Minho. Prices start at £385 tour-only, with departures running throughout September and October.
6 spend half-term in the sun
With so many families having seen their summer holiday go up in smoke, it’s welcome news that they still have time to squeeze in a half-term break before the winter gloom sets in. The Algarve is classic bucket-and-spade territory, with warm weather well into late autumn. Jet2holidays recommends Club Alvorferias in Alvor, which has a kids’ club, entertainment programme, two pools and a shuttle bus to the beach one mile away. There are two on-site restaurants, or families looking to keep costs down can use the cooking facilities in the
property’s two and three-bedroom apartments. Book it: Jet2holidays offers seven nights’ self- catering at the three-star Club Alvorferias from £419 per person based on two adults and a child sharing, departing from Manchester on October 25.
jet2holidays.com
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3 SEPTEMBER 2020
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURES: Shutterstock; Henrique S;
StockPhotosArt.com
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