Setúbal, is set on the northern bank of the Sado river estuary, about 26 miles south of Portugal's cool capital, Lisbon. A colony of dolphins  now lives in the Sado, making nature and the wild even closer. And, just south of Lisbon, it has the charm of a big city without the huge costs... Read more →

Portugal might be a small country, about the size of Maine, but it offers a big variety of food, artistic practices, music, and traditional crafts among many other things. We’ve put together a list of experiences that are bucket-list essentials of a trip to Portugal and that you won't be able to get anywhere else. Read more →

-- 3 Couples Wearing Wedding Attire Will Win Flights, Long Weekend in Lisbon, Staying at Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Hotel -- Read more →

Ah, Portugal - warm, safe, and wonderful! In fact in 2019 more foreigners applied for residency than in any year since they started keeping records. But can you pass the citizenship test? From the list of 30 blew, you could face 10 questions - and being able to get the answers right is crucial for you to be a son or daughter of the Republic. Think you are ready? Try your luck on our "So you want to be a Portuguese" test Read more →

Not that anyone needs a reason to go to Portugal in February anymore - but one good reason is Carnaval, a four-day celebration beginning February 19, 2020. Parades and pageants have been part of Carnaval celebrations throughout Portugal for centuries. But in Funchal, the warm and sunny capital of Madeira, Carnaval festivities are a big deal. Read more →

Madeira is a semi-tropical island rising from sea level to over 6,000 feet. Its steep pitch gives the island six distinct climate zones. The ancient Laurissilva cloud forest at the highest elevations is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In fact, 2/3rds of Madeira is conservation land. It has mountain plains, valleys, high peaks, streams, rocky coastlines, and tidal pools. The island has a unique landscape accessed by a modern roadway system of new tunnels, and the older mountain roads they replaced that wind along the hillsides.  Read more →

Back in 1952, as Portugal marked 145 years since the French Invasions of the Napoleonic Wars, Raul Ferrão and José Galhardo penned a fado entitled "Lisboa não sejas francesa," or "Lisbon, do not be French," for a musical review. At the time, numerous shops and boutiques in Lisbon had French... Read more →

An amazing Carnival celebration is to be found on sunny Madeira Island, where celebrations go back centuries. Azores Airlines is offering round-trip package starting at $1,999 per person (incl. tax) double occupancy. The deal includes round trip air from Boston, seven nights hotel, breakfast, 4 tours, 3 lunches and a dinner. Wow. Read more →

One of Portugal's most colorful festivals is back in 2019, with centuries of pageantry and tradition! The “Festa dos Tabuleiros” has been scheduled to run from June 29th to July 8th, 2019 in the historic city of Tomar.  “Festa dos Tabuleiros,” or Festival of Trays, happens every four years or so and is unique in the world Read more →

Madeira’s volcanic nature is playing host to new outdoors adventures that fit right in:  Mountain biking– for example. Madeira has some impressive mountains, that until recently were not on many cyclists’ radar. Madeira has excellent dirt roads and paths to be explored on 2 wheels, with some very dramatic vistas to discover. Today, more visitors are seeing the island in this new and exhilarating way, with new packages, races and outfitters popping up to meet the demand. Other activities include canyoning, surfing, yoga, and boat and wine tours. Read more →