Platinum Travel and Uniworld
12 days From €4499 (Per Person Two Sharing)
Portugal
5
River Cruises
An extraordinary journey designed for culturally curious travelers.
Portugal Spain & The Duoro
From €4499 per person sharing (including flights & port taxes)
Other dates and room types available and prices may fluctuate subject to availability
Day 1: Lisbon
Arrive at Lisbon Portela Airport. If your cruise/tour package includes a group arrival transfer or if you have purchased a private arrival transfer, you will be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the hotel.
Day 2: Lisbon
Everything old is new again in the Portuguese capital, which is undergoing a remarkable rebirth of late. Get to know this hilly metropolis with a city tour that shows you all the top sights and treats you to an iconic, locally-made pastry with an intriguing tale all its own. Vibrant, colorful and picturesque, Lisbon will continually surprise you. Glorious historic architecture reflects the wealth brought in during the “Age of Discovery,” when the Portuguese owned the seas, but it is also a modern center of finance and international trade.
Day 3: Lisbon
Experience your own “Age of Discovery” with a full day to explore Lisbon however you wish. Get out and see the city on your own. Ride the famous iron elevator from the Baixa district up to the Bairro Alto, the cultural and bohemian heart of Lisbon, and catch a fantastic view of the city from the vantage point of São Pedro de Alcantara Belvedere. Once you reach Bairro Alto, head for São Roque, whose plain façade hides a magnificent baroque interior. The city hosts remarkable museums and excellent shopping. Your options at Centro Comercial Colombo, the biggest mall in the Iberian Peninsula, are seemingly limitless. Or try a flea market, perhaps the Campo de Santa Clara, if you prefer to hunt for unique treasures. Natives of Lisbon boast that they have the best food in the world; the many cafés and taverns tempt you to verify that claim.
Day 4: Lisbon, Coimbra, Transfer to Porto (Embark)
You’ll check out of your Lisbon hotel and board a motorcoach, heading north through Portugal’s picturesque countryside toward Porto. En route to Porto, you’ll stop in Coimbra, home to an ancient university and a lavish baroque library considered one of the most beautiful in the world. Admire the lingering traces of the town’s Moorish and Roman past after sitting down to a traditional Portuguese lunch. After lunch, continue on to the port city at the mouth of the Douro.
Day 5: Porto, Cruising the Douro River, Porto Antigo
There’s much more to Portugal’s second city than its eponymous fortified wine—historic architecture, cutting-edge design, fabulous food and wine, and a hip, laid-back vibe. Discover its many charms with your choice of distinctively different tours today. Portugal’s second city (after Lisbon), Porto gave its name to the nation’s most famous export, Port wine, and to the nation itself. The city is a fascinating combination of historic buildings and cutting-edge architecture, tradition and vivacious modernity. You must choose between two distinctive—and distinctively Portuguese—ways to explore Porto.
Day 6: Cruising the Douro River, Régua, Pinhão
As you cruise along the river today, take note of the little chapels you see along the banks. Though the river is slow and calm now that it has been tamed by dams, it was once extremely hazardous. These tiny chapels mark spots where entire rabelo boat crews perished attempting to get their cargo of Port wine to Porto. Today we learn about wine, which has been cultivated in the Douro River Valley since ancient Roman times. Get a crash course on the history of Port during your visit to the Douro Museum.
Day 7: Pinhão, Vega de Terrón
Feel the centuries fall away as your ship winds its way through the pristine, dramatic, UNESCO-protected landscapes of the Douro River Valley. Head ashore for a choice of excursions, a tasting at a prestigious port wine estate or a vineyard hike with a wine tasting at a local quinta.
Day 8: Vega de Terrón (Salamanca), Barca d’Alva
What adventures await you in Spain today? The ship docks near the Spanish border today, where you may head across the country to the historic university town of Salamanca—the “Golden City”—famous for its sand-colored buildings and abundance of churches.
Day 9: Barca d’Alva, Pocinho, Cruising the Douro River
A tiny village surrounded by mountains, Barca d’Alva is your base for today's adventures. Go medieval today at Castelo Rodrigo, both the name of a hilltop castle as well as the village that surrounds it. It has been singled out as one of Portugal’s 12 historic villages for its medieval beauty. The view from the top is incredible and the village is a charming place to ramble, relax and replenish. Or, if you wish, you can also lace up your hiking boots and unleash your inner Indiana Jones with an up-close gander at some prehistoric carvings during a visit to Portugal’s first archaeological park, Foz Côa.
Day 10: Cruising the Douro River, Porto (Guimarães)
Guimarães or Porto? That’s the question of the day today (you really can’t go wrong either way). Guimarães is the town where Portugal was born and its well-preserved architecture and stylish young residents make it a pleasure to visit. Or opt to explore one of Porto’s oldest neighborhoods, picturesque Ribeira, considered the soul of the city. A tough choice awaits you today: Do you venture off to historic Guimarães, Portugal’s first capital, or do you stay in Porto and explore the Ribeira district on foot?
Day 11: Porto (Disembark)
You’ve experienced the best of Portugal, Spain and the pristine Douro River, but now the journey comes to a close and it’s time to disembark the ship. If your cruise/ tour package includes a group departure transfer or if you have purchased a private departure transfer, you will be transferred to Porto Airport for your flight home. Your Uniworld adventure may be over, but we know you’ll enjoy the memories you’ve made for years to come.
Platinum Travel are delighted to be working with Uniworld - Boutique River Cruises with the five star all-inclusive boutique experience
Spend even one night in one of the magnificent riverview staterooms and you will agree, sailing with Platinum Travel and Uniworld is truly a stunning way to see the world.
Each Uniworld ship combines old world elegance with modern conveniences. Your stateroom includes marble bathrooms, flatscreen TVs featuring musiic movies and satelite cahnells, in room safe and individual climate control.
When you choose a Uniworld River Cruise with Platinum Travel, you can be assured there is so much included in the price - All meals with various dining options including unlimited beverages onboard, scheduled airport transfers and shore excursions with English speaking local guides. Your gratuities are also included.
Uniworld are committed to giving their valued guests the ultimate strsss free, luxury five star all-inclusive boutique experience. So relax, unwind, and leave the rest to Platinum Travel and Uniworld.
UNIWORLD BOUTIQUE RIVER CRUISES
Uniworld—the world’s best and most awarded luxury river cruise line—offers itineraries in spectacular destinations throughout Europe, Russia, Egypt, Asia and Peru. The company’s European fleet features luxurious ships with an average capacity of 120 guests, the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the river cruise industry, enticing shore excursions, world-class gourmet cuisine, impeccable hospitality and numerous other all-inclusive benefits.
The Highest Standards in Luxury River Cruising
In 2004, Uniworld was acquired by The Travel Corporation (TTC), a highly successful international travel group founded by Stanley Tollman. TTC has more than 30 top brands, including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, and Contiki, as well as Red Carnation Hotels, a renowned collection of four- and five-star luxury properties.
TTC has made major investments in Uniworld's ships, crew, and staff, with an eye towards providing guests with all the elements of an unforgettable Six-Star Experience: Expertise; Service; Luxurious Ships, Uniquely Designed; Culinary; Choice; and Truly All-Inclusive. Combining the tour planning and hotel management expertise of TTC’s sister companies with Uniworld’s decades of superior nautical experience has created an entirely new category of luxury river cruising.
The Boutique Experience, Onboard & Onshore
The renowned Red Carnation Hotel Collection was founded in the early 1980s by Beatrice Tollman, who has many years of experience as a chef, cookbook author, and hotelier in South Africa, Europe, and the US. The family-run business now spans four generations—including her husband Stanley and three children—and owns and operates 17 boutique properties in five countries. Mrs. Tollman was named Hotelier of the Year at the European Hospitality Awards in 2012.
Boutique hotels are known for their destination-specific interior décor, gracious service, and carefully selected amenities, all of which provide an intimate, elegant, and relaxed experience. Similarly, Uniworld’s boutique river cruises allow guests to travel from one exciting destination to the next aboard a stylish floating hotel with inviting lounges, cozy libraries, panoramic restaurants, sumptuous cuisine, exquisite antiques and original art and luxurious riverview staterooms and suites. Meticulous attention to detail is readily apparent on every company-owned ship, including Uniworld’s six stunning Super Ships—the S.S. Antoinette, S.S. Beatrice, S.S. Catherine, S.S. Joie de Vivre, S.S. Maria Theresa and S.S. Bon Voyage.
Gracious and Attentive Service
In partnership with its sister company, Red Carnation Hotels, Uniworld takes pride in its long-lasting relationships with guests, for whom there is “No request too large, no detail too small.” Uniworld employs a professionally trained, dedicated, English-speaking staff, so guests never have to worry about communication.
Platinum Travel is licensed and bonded by The Commission for Aviation Regulation TA0634
info@platinumtravel.ie 01 8535000
| From, Per Person | To, Per Person |
| €3341.24 | €9145.96 |
