Oh well, looks like I'll be a 'pioneer' on this trip then. Will post a review on my return.

Hi Corinne,

That looks a fabulous trip! Sorry we all ignored you but, as you say, most of us only see the more southerly parts of Portugal. We keep saying we'll drive down in a leisurely fashion sometime and stay at a few pousadas in northern and central Portugal. We will certainly look forward to reading your review when you return.

Hope you have a great time!

Trip report is finished!

The Journey

We flew out from Gatwick South Terminal to Porto with TAP Portugal, which took less than 2 hrs each way. There were 30 min delays in both directions and the in-flight service was ok (a sandwich, small fruit salad and drinks were included each way, and some short TV programmes were shown on the overhead TVs). We had hoped we would be able to check in online the day before departure - but this turned out not to be the case so we had to check in at the airport each time - with minimal delay.

The Weather

August had seen a lot of rain in Northern Portugal, so we were hoping things would have settled down by the time we flew out on September 12th. Luck was on our side for once and we only saw one short shower on the last day - the rest of the time it was warm and sunny (25C approx) with clear blue skies.

The Hotels

Quinta das Lagrimas, Coimbra (http://www.quintadaslagrimas.pt/index_ing.html)

We stayed here for 2 nights at the start of the tour. The public areas in the main building are absolutely stunning with large rooms, high ceilings and period furniture and we fervently hoped our room would be in this section. Sadly we were put in the garden wing where the cheaper rooms are, but this was only to be expected given the very reasonable cost of our tour! Our room was very nicely decorated with every amenity and the only (minor) problem was that the garden location meant a lack of natural light and an over-abundance of ants. The wine tasting before dinner in the hotel bar is a nice touch but drinking on an empty stomach was probably not the best of ideas for us that night! We had dinner included in the hotel on our first night and were allowed to chose 3 courses from the evening menu and were also given a choice of water and wine. I think the items we consumed added up to 70 Euros per person. The food and service were very good, but definitely did not justify the high cost.

We chose to eat in town on the second night, at a restaurant down some steps from the Largo da Portagem (I think it was called Aeminium) - here we shared an enormous dish of sausages and other meats with potatoes and cabbage for 15 Euros each - much better value for money. We found the walk into town to be a nice leisurely 20min stroll, particularly via the pedestrian bridge which is illuminated at night - but anyone in heels or with walking difficulties would probably be better off getting a taxi. There are some nice restaurants, café's and bars just by the pedestrian bridge if you fancy something a bit more lively.

We found the hotel staff to be generally very pleasant and helpful and liked all the little touches such as free chocolates and mineral water. The choice at breakfast wasn't as extensive as we expected but was more than adequate. If you get time to explore the hotel grounds then you should - the gardens are lovely.

Overall, this is a really great hotel, but I would definitely only stay there again as part of a tour or with a substantial discount on the published room and food rates. We have stayed at much better hotels for much less money so it is hard to see how they can justify the prices here. A classic case of style over substance - it's up to you to decide!

Hotel Urgeiriça, Canas de Senhorim (http://www.hotelurgeirica.pt/)

This was the second hotel on our tour and we stayed here for 3 nights. It is advertised as a 4 star hotel but doesn't really merit more than 3. That said, there are a lot of good things about the hotel. The public areas are nicely decorated with colonial style furniture and the dining room is particularly nice with large portraits hanging on the walls. The swimming pool is nice for a quick dip and there were plenty of sun beds. We had 3 dinners in the restaurant, all selected from a limited set menu and including wine and water, but we had no complaints about them. The selection at breakfast was particularly good. The rooms are what really let this hotel down - ours had a very odd smell about it which meant we had to keep the windows permanently open. The ‘antique' furniture looked old and tired and the bathroom obviously needed some refurbishing. All in all, this is a good hotel, but could be a much better hotel with a bit of work.

Casa da Calçada, Amarante (http://www.casadacalcada.com/)

This was the third hotel on our tour and we stayed here for 2 nights, but would definitely have liked to stay for longer. It is a lovely hotel in a very pretty little town. The driveway is narrow and steep so we were very impressed that our minibus managed to squeeze in. The bar and reception areas are very impressive and there is also an outdoor terrace overlooking the town. Our room was a good size with a great view of the stone bridge leading to the old part of the town. The only small complaint we had was that there are no ceiling lights so it was rather dark. We ate in the restaurant on the first night as this was included in our tour and were very impressed with the food and service (3 courses plus wine and water). We felt it was too expensive to eat there on the second night though so went to a local restaurant called Zé da Calçada where we had a lovely meal on a terrace overlooking the river (it's on the road on the right as you come out of the hotel). Amarante is a small place but has enough to do to keep you occupied for a day or so and the old town looks particularly nice when lit up at night. The hotel itself has an outdoor pool and its own vineyard which are a nice distraction. It's not cheap to stay here, but definitely worth it, especially if you can get a good rate. Definitely one to recommend!

Mercure Batalha, Porto (http://www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-1975-mercure-porto-centro-4/index.shtml)

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights as an extension to our week-long tour of Northern Portugal. As a ‘chain' hotel, we weren't expecting anything very special, but we were actually quite impressed by our room as it was well decorated with great views of the city. The location is pretty central so we found it easy to visit the main sights although we did cheat and get the funicular back up the hill most times. The breakfast room is too small for the size of the hotel though and got ridiculously busy at times, but the selection of food was good. We didn't fancy paying over the odds to eat dinner there so were pleased to find some good restaurants in the town - we would recommend Chez Lapin on the waterfront by Ribeira square and A Brasileria on Rua De Sa Da Bandeira (not far from the Rivoli theatre). The Café Majestic on the Rua de Santa Catarina is a nice spot for tea and cakes. In terms of sightseeing, a river cruise and a bus tour are definitely worth doing and we also had fun port tasting at a bar called Vinologia near Ribeira square. Porto is a great city for a weekend break and this hotel is a good base to see them all!

The Tour

The main tour lasted 7 nights and included stays at 3 different centres, plus we also chose to take a 2 night extension in Porto. The tour is based around a mix of included and optional excursions, mainly accompanied by our driver/guide Carlos, with local guides at some locations. The pace was quite relaxed, compared to other tours we have been on, and we normally didn't set out until 9:30 each day as driving distances were generally short. We did all of the optional excursions (Conimbriga, Serra da Estrella and Guimaraes - best to pay in advance if possible) but still didn't feel like we had tried to cram too much in. There were 11 people on the tour, which was just about ok given that the minibus only had 15 seats. Being in a smaller vehicle gave us a distinct advantage over bigger groups whose coaches couldn't get as close to some of the sights. We really enjoyed the tour and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wants to visit this area - particularly if you like wine.
You can see the full itinerary at http://www.vjv.com/destinations/europe/portugal/vintage-portugal/index.html.

Hello Corinne76, well it all sounds very nice, we have done tours around the Lisbon area and Coast and been to the Algave and have always wanted to go to Porto, and the tour you have just been on looks a good way of seeing this area. This is one for when and if we ever get there, and what a nice report.

Dave