Portugal self guided walking holiday in Alentejo

Planet

We recommend our customers to travel via train to Lisbon or Faro. There are good train connections from most major European cities. We can provide information on how best to obtain your train tickets and which routes to consider. Although this is a self-drive style holiday, the itinerary has been planned to allow for at least three days when driving is not necessary. The routes between hotels allow for a hike along the way, so not one mile of driving is wasted. We always sub-contract any services to local partners.

Travel:
We encourage our clients always to consider their carbon footprint when making their travel arrangements. Flying may be more convenient and less time consuming, but there are good rails connections from most major European cities to Lisbon. For instance, it's easy to reach Portugal by train from London, by early morning Eurostar from London to Paris, a high-speed TGV from Paris to Irun on the Spanish frontier, then the famous Sud Express overnight to Lisbon with sleeping-cars, restaurant & bar, the civilised eco-friendly way to reach Portugal.

We have “Turismo de Natureza” (Nature Tourism) accreditation from the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas - ICNF Nature Conservation Institute and Forestry, part of which is to ensure that we direct our clients along approved trails which will minimise their impact, particularly in ecologically sensitive zones.

People

Accommodation and meals:
On this holiday, the nights are spent in family owned/managed hotels or guest houses that employ local staff and purchase local produce whenever possible. This ensures that we directly contribute to the local community. Our clients are given a list of recommended local restaurants and cafes where they can try regional delicacies. When ordering wine, we recommend Alentejo wines (red or white) which are available to suit all budgets. "Wine Miles" are just as important as "Food Miles".

Local culture and artisans:
Whilst this holiday maybe focused on the incredible scenery, local architecture and rich biodiversity there are several opportunities for clients to visit small souvenir shops, art galleries, carpenters and stonemasons to support local artisans in the villages that they will be visiting in throughout this trip. The information pack gives recommendations in the different locations that you may be visiting.

Whilst Minas de São Domingos is not located centrally to the TransAlentejo trails, we wanted to further assist with the town's regeneration through low impact tourism. It was a thriving mineral mining community for over 100 years until the mine was closed in 1966 leaving the town devoid of jobs with the mining equipment sold-off and the infrastructure falling into ruins. Efforts have been made in recent years to breath life back into the community, the mine's owners refurbished and extended the old mine manager's palatial house into a hotel, a beach has been created by one of the mine's reservoirs which now hosts canoeing events and other water sports.