Colourful Benagil caves, Lagos, Portugal

A highlight of many people’s trip to the Algarve region of Portugal is visiting the famous Benagil cave and the surrounding coastline. Benagil caves tours operate from coastal locations between Lagos and Albufeira so you don’t have to make a separate journey to Benagil to start your tour. I didRead More →

Lisbon sightseeing by sailing boat. Lisbon boat tours

Taking a Lisbon boat tour will open your eyes to a different perspective of Lisbon. As well as the cool breeze, which is more than welcome on hot days, being on the water allows you to escape from the noise and irritations of busy streets. The wide waters of theRead More →

Wine tasting, Quinta dos Murças, Douro Valley rivate tour

I’ve visited the Douro Valley countless times and every time I go, I learn, see and experience something new. On this occasion, instead of the small group Douro Valley tours I’d previously tried, I decided to go for the private wine tour experience to see how it differs from smallRead More →

Piscina das Marés seawater swimming pools, Leça da Palmeira, Porto. Photography by Julie Dawn Fox

If you’re staying in Porto for more than a couple of days, you’ll find a variety of places you can visit as a day trip from Porto. As well as the amazing Douro Valley and Vinho Verde wine regions, you’ll find beaches, nature reserves, medieval cities, Celtic settlements, fishing villages andRead More →

Alegria HippoTrip vehicle

“Hippo! Hippo!” Whenever Ana, the HippoTrip ‘animator’, yelled this, our job was to raise our hands and whoop with excitement. We were on board Alegria, one of HippoTrip’s brightly painted amphibious vehicles, about to tour the city of Lisbon. Reserve now and pay later for this 90min Amphibious Sightseeing Tour. The HippoTrip experience IRead More →

For my Lisbon cooking class the chef, Patrícia, gave me the choice between learning how to make a bacalhau (salted cod) dish or polvo à lagareiro (baked octopus). The decision was easy. Bacalhau may have been first choice for many Portuguese people but I’ve been in love with octopus ever since I movedRead More →