Back Roads of Iberia: Spanish Paradores & Portuguese Pousadas
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Back Roads of Iberia: Spanish Paradores & Portuguese Pousadas 2017 15-Day Land Tour{TRIPOperatedBy} EXTEND YOUR TRIP PRE-TRIP Porto: Northern Portugal’s Romanesque Gem POST-TRIP Bilbao & Spain’s Northern Coast Your Day-to-Day Itinerary OVERSEAS ADVENTURE TRAVEL Overseas Adventure Travel, founded in 1978, is America’s leading adventure travel company. The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, The Los Angeles Times, Travel + Leisure, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, and others have recommended OAT trips. But our most im- pressive reviews come from our customers: Thousands of travelers have joined our trips, and 95% of them say they’d gladly travel with us again, and recommend us to their friends. INCLUDED IN YOUR PRICE » International airfare, airport transfers, government taxes, fees, and airline fuel surcharges unless you choose to make your own air arrangements » All land transportation » Accommodations for 14 nights » 30 meals—14 breakfasts, 6 lunches, and 10 dinners (including 1 Home-Hosted Dinner) » 19 small group activities » Services of a local O.A.T. Trip Leader » Gratuities for local guides, drivers, and luggage porters » 5% Frequent Traveler Credit toward your next O.A.T. trip—an average of $294 Itinerary subject to change. For information or reservations, call toll-free 1-800-955-1925. WHAT THIS TRIP IS LIKE PACING » Lodgings in Lisbon and Madrid are hotel- » 6 locations in 15 days standard, with a variety of amenities and private baths PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS » Not appropriate for travelers using CUISINE wheelchairs or other mobility aids » Meals will be based on the local cuisine » Must be able to walk 2-3 miles unassisted each day and participate in 3-5 hours of daily physical activities, including walks along cobblestoned streets and up several steps and steep hills » We reserve the right for Trip Leaders to restrict participation, or in some circumstances send travelers home, if their limitations impact the group’s experience CLIMATE » Spain and Portugal enjoy a Mediterranean climate with warm summers and cool winters » Daytime temperatures in July and August often reach above 90°F TeRRAIN & TRANSPORTATION » Travel over some rugged paths and cobblestoned streets, as well as bumpy, unpaved roads, both by bus and on foot » Travel via private, air-conditioned bus » Several overland drives of 5-6 hours ACCOMMODATIONS & FACILITIES » Most nights are in paradores and pousadas, government-owned restored historic inns with comfortable rooms and private baths Itinerary subject to change. For information or reservations, call toll-free 1-800-955-1925. Back Roads of Iberia: Spanish Paradores & Portuguese Pousadas 2017 EXTEND YOUR TRIP PRE-TRIP Porto: Northern Portugal’s Romanesque Gem POST-TRIP Bilbao & Spain’s Northern Coast From a Roman colony and centuries of Moorish rule to the great explorers of the Age of Discovery, the Iberian Peninsula is home to extraordinary beauty and untold remnants of a tumultuous past. We’ll chart our own course for discovery in these ancient lands while staying in intimate Portuguese pousadas and Spanish paradores, restored historic inns—from castles and convents to manor homes and monaster- ies—that evoke the glory of an earlier era. You’ll also dine with a Spanish family in their home, sip Portuguese wine at an 18th-century wine estate, and learn about the history of bullfighting at a ranch in Ronda, a medieval town perched high above a plunging gorge. Discover royal cities, hilltop citadels, and ancient olive groves on a journey deep into the lands of conquerors and conquistadores. Itinerary subject to change. For information or reservations, call toll-free 1-800-955-1925. DETAILED ITINERARY An important word about your adventure In some regions of Spain and Portugal, the overall quality of travel services is not what you would find in the United States. To get the most of your trip, you should have a healthy sense of curiosity, an adventurous spirit, and a flexible attitude about the unpredictable nature of travel in this part of the world. This trip is designed for people who want a different kind of travel experience. It emphasizes active exploration and close cultural contact over deluxe accommodations. We seek out unusual experiences, in out-of-the-way places where ordinary tours don’t go. To fully enjoy this trip, you should be in good health and enjoy an active lifestyle. Part of the adventure is that changing circumstances may make it impossible for us to follow this trip itinerary exactly. The sequence of places visited may vary. When we are forced to make variations, we make every attempt to use facilities that are equivalent in quality. DAY 1 Depart U.S. optional Porto: Northern Portugal’s Romanesque You depart today on your overnight flight Gem extension. This evening, our group will from the U.S. to Lisbon, Portugal. gather for dinner at a local restaurant. Dinner DAY 2 Arrive Lisbon, Portugal After an overnight flight, arrive at the airport DAY 3 Explore Lisbon • Visit Sintra in Lisbon, where an O.A.T. representative After breakfast, we set out for a discovery will greet you. After a brief orientation walk of Lisbon. Spread out on seven low hills to gain familiarity with our surroundings, overlooking the Tagus River, the legendary we’ll enjoy a Welcome Drink and a briefing Portuguese capital has lured traders and about our upcoming discoveries at our hotel. settlers for more than 20 centuries. We’ll also meet those who traveled on our Itinerary subject to change. For information or reservations, call toll-free 1-800-955-1925. In the late 15th century, the port of Lisbon DAY 4 Rural Portugal was the staging point for Portuguese explo- Today, we’ll journey south of the city to a rations that would usher in the great Age region of farmland and fields and focus on of Discovery—and make Lisbon the richest some of Portugal’s popular rural traditions. European capital until the 19th century. Our discoveries include a visit to a traditional Highlights of our panoramic city tour include artisanal cheese producer to learn about Belém, a neighborhood that is home to a Azeitão cheese, a velvety local specialty made variety of cafés, museums, gardens, and from raw sheep’s milk. Then, after lunch at parks, as well as two UNESCO World Heritage a local restaurant, we’ll learn about another Sites dating from the early 16th century: longstanding Portuguese tradition: azulejos. Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery. At Introduced to Iberia by Moors, these blue Jerónimos, which was built as a monument or multi-colored ceramic tiles decorate to celebrate Portuguese voyages around the everything from church walls and palaces to world, we’ll visit the monastery’s church, the façades of most Portuguese homes. We’ll whose lower choir is the resting place of also gain insight into the ancient art form of Vasco da Gama. Jerónimos is considered azulejos by trying our hand at painting some a jewel of Manueline architecture (named of the tiles. after King Manuel I), a flamboyant building style that glorifies Portugal’s seafaring We return to our hotel in Lisbon in the after- past. In Belém, we’ll also view Lisbon’s noon. Dinner is on your own this evening. iconic Monument to the Discoveries, where Breakfast, Lunch Portugal’s intrepid explorers are immortal- ized in sculpture. Then, we’ll drive through Baixa, an area in the heart of Lisbon that was DAY 5 Overland to Évora destroyed and completely rebuilt after the After breakfast, we depart Lisbon and Great Earthquake of 1755. Baixa now features journey through the unspoiled wine-growing broad squares and avenues flanked by shops, region of Alentejo province on our way to cafés, and elegant Neo-Classical buildings. Évora. Our route is through gently rolling Later, we’ll leave the city’s environs to visit terrain, which is dotted with vineyards, Sintra, a village situated within a fairytale cork trees, olive groves—even prehistoric landscape of lush forests, turreted palaces, monuments. To break up our journey, we’ll and castle ruins. Our discoveries include stop in Arraiolos, a small village near Évora Pena Palace, a lavish 19th-century hilltop that is renowned throughout the world castle built on the ruins of an ancient for its hand-embroidered wool carpets monastery. After a walking tour through and tapestries. Here, we’ll learn about the the palatial gardens of this UNESCO World centuries-old rug-making techniques. Heritage Site, we’ll head to a local restaurant Then, we’ll learn about Portuguese wine at for dinner and a private performance of a traditional 18th-century monte (a typical Portugal’s traditional melancholic style of Alentejo farming estate), where we’ll tour music known as fado. the vineyard, winery, and cellars. We’ll also get to sample a few of the estate’s wines and Breakfast, Dinner enjoy an included lunch. Itinerary subject to change. For information or reservations, call toll-free 1-800-955-1925. Later this afternoon, we’ll arrive in Évora afternoon is yours to stroll along the cobbled and enjoy an included dinner at our historic streets of the town that many of the 15th- pousada. century Portuguese kings once called home. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner This evening, we’ll gather together to learn some of the secrets of Portuguese cuisine during a cooking lesson, followed by an DAY 6 Explore Évora • included dinner. Portuguese cooking lesson Breakfast, Dinner This morning features a walking tour of Évora, an ancient hilltop town with Roman and Moorish roots that is a UNESCO World DAY 7 Roman ruins of Mérida • Heritage Site. Our stroll within Evora’s Overland to Carmona, Spain medieval walls will reveal a series of white- Crossing into Spain today, we enter washed houses adorned with wrought-iron Extremadura, an autonomous Spanish prov- balconies.