The Lince Ecorkhotel Évora
The Lince Ecorkhotel Évora is a four-star eco-hotel on Quinta da Deserta e Malina, near Évora in the Alentejo, with a main building clad in …
Sustainable Tourism
Stays that give back: eco-resorts near Tavira, off-grid retreats in the Monchique hills, and revived schist villages like Cerdeira. Travel that leaves the place better.
Projects in this focus
Craveiral Farmhouse
Craveiral Farmhouse is a 38-house rural resort near Zambujeira do Mar, in Odemira, Alentejo, built around organic farming, local produce and…
São Lourenço do Barrocal
São Lourenço do Barrocal is a 780-hectare, certified organic farm estate near Monsaraz, in the Alentejo, held by the same family for more th…
Benfazer
Benfazer is a non-profit association in Portugal promoting sustainable, ethical living through social justice, environmental and animal welf…
Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark
Arouca UNESCO Global Geopark, managed by the Associação Geoparque Arouca (AGA), safeguards a territory rich in geological formations, fossil…
Mata Nacional do Bussaco
Mata Nacional do Bussaco stewards the Buçaco National Forest, a centuries-old woodland in Luso, Portugal, offering guided tours and artisana…
Companhia das Culturas – Ecodesign & Spa Hotel
Companhia das Culturas is a small ecodesign and spa hotel on a 40-hectare farm next to the Castro Marim Nature Reserve, Algarve. It pairs or…
Sobrenatura Ecoturismo
Sobrenatura Ecoturismo is a family-run accommodation project offering four sustainably built houses at the entrance of the Peneda-Gerês Nati…
iNature – Turismo de Natureza
iNature is a nature tourism network covering 12 classified natural areas in Central Portugal, with trails, accommodation and outdoor experie…
Aldeias do Xisto
Aldeias do Xisto is a territorial network of 28 schist villages in central Portugal, managed by ADXTUR, offering sustainable tourism, nature…
Quinta da Meia Eira
Quinta da Meia Eira is a rural guesthouse in Horta, Faial Island, Azores, set on a 60,000 m² property facing the Atlantic Ocean, combining f…
Horta das Laranjas
Horta das Laranjas is a local accommodation and personal textile art / vegetable garden project in the centre of Serpa, Alentejo, born from …
AlgarvianRoots
AlgarvianRoots is an ecotourism company based in Silves, Algarve, offering guided hikes, e-bike tours, birdwatching and cultural workshops t…
OTSA – Observatório do Turismo Sustentável dos Açores
OTSA is the Sustainable Tourism Observatory of the Azores, a non-profit association founded in 2006 by the Regional Government, the Azores T…
Cabril Eco Rural
Cabril Eco Rural is an eco-tourism and sustainable development project set in the village of Cabril, within the Peneda-Gerês National Park, …
Sustainable Cork Oak Restoration
Located in São Brás de Alportel in the Algarve, the Eco-Cork Factory is a certified, family-run cork processing facility offering guided fac…
Oriolus Ecotours
Oriolus Ecotours is a Porto-based ecotourism company offering guided birdwatching, wildlife and nature photography tours across the Douro an…
Quinta Lamosa
Quinta Lamosa is a pet-friendly eco-tourism property in Arcos de Valdevez, offering tree houses and bungalows within the Peneda-Gerês Nation…
Retiro Atlântico
Retiro Atlântico is the first glamping site on São Jorge, Azores, set on a certified organic farm with Europe's largest collection of rare t…
Rota Vicentina
Rota Vicentina is a non-profit association that manages around 750 km of walking trails and over 1,000 km of cycling routes along Portugal's…
Feel Sustainable
A Portuguese project that combines sustainability, Feng Shui and spirituality to design nature-based experiences, tourism strategies and eco…
Eco Life Experience
A sustainable eco-tourism and education platform in Sintra offering workshops, reconnection activities and eco-village experiences that prom…
Portugal Farm Experience
Portugal Farm Experience is a tour platform that connects travellers with real farms across Portugal for hands-on activities such as fruit p…
Casas da Levada
A family-run agritourism property in Ponta do Pargo, Madeira, with six individual houses for B&B and self-catering stays, designed and run o…
Inland Portugal
A licensed travel agency running slow, small-group trips through Portugal's rural interior, where travellers meet artisans and farmers and v…
Casa das Palmeiras
Casa das Palmeiras is a sustainable rural tourism farmhouse in Gandufe, Mangualde, in the Serra da Estrela, with a pedagogical farm, animal-…
Ericeira Tree Garden
A family-run agro-tourism project in Santo Isidoro, near Ericeira, with rooms and villas in quiet green countryside close to the sea. It bri…
Sterna - Aveiro Ria Tours & Birdwatching
Sterna is a nature tourism company running silent, solar-powered boat tours and birdwatching trips across the Ria de Aveiro. Its trips pair …
Figueirinha Ecoturismo
Figueirinha Ecoturismo is a sustainable rural tourism property near Odemira, Alentejo, with accommodation among cork oaks and olive groves a…
Isatour Ecotourism
Isatour is a Biosphere-certified provider of rural accommodation and tourist activities in Adsamo, Vouzela, inside the Vouga-Caramulo Natura…
Bétula Studios
Sustainable rural accommodation in Montesinho Natural Park, near Bragança: four contemporary studios designed for natural light, silence and…
Rio-A-Dentro
Rio-A-Dentro organises nature boat tours on the Tagus River near Lisbon, using environmentally friendly boats to show visitors wildlife, wil…
Terramadome
A 7-hectare organic, experimental farm near Penamacor, Beira Baixa, with self-built eco-friendly accommodation, workshops on natural constru…
Ananda Kalyani
Ananda Kalyani is a spiritual based project focused on rural development in Serra da Estrela region, central Portugal, founded more than 10 …
Vida Pura
Vida Pura is an eco-friendly retreat centre near Odeceixe in southwest Portugal. It runs on solar energy and harvested water, grows food on …
Quinta do Vale da Páscoa (Ecoaldeia do Vale)
Quinta do Vale da Páscoa is a sustainable luxury B&B and working farm in Póvoa de Midões, Tábua, in central Portugal. Eco-accommodation sits…
Cerdeira - Home for Creativity
Cerdeira - Home for Creativity is a revived historic schist village in the Serra da Lousã, with EU Eco-Label-certified accommodation, arts a…
Salema Eco Camp
Salema Eco Camp is the first hotel unit in southern Portugal committed to a regenerative tourism model, with glamping, eco lodges, camping, …
Portugal's Infinity Eco Resort
Portugal's Infinity Eco Resort is a sustainable agritourism retreat near Tavira, Algarve, set on 15 hectares of ancient carob and olive plan…
Biovilla Sustentabilidade
Biovilla Sustentabilidade is a sustainable development cooperative on the Herdade de Pinhal Basto in Palmela, combining nature tourism, sust…
Rural Escapes Portugal
An off-grid retreat in the Serra de Monchique, Algarve, with hosted retreats, wellness workshops and self-catering holidays for individuals,…
Sustainable tourism in Portugal
Tourism is a large part of the Portuguese economy and a large part of the pressure on its coast and water. The places listed here are trying to be the other kind: small, off-season as well as on, staffed locally, and built or restored rather than newly cleared.
They range from eco-resorts near Tavira to off-grid retreats in the Monchique hills to Cerdeira, a schist village in the Serra da Lousã brought back from abandonment as a place for craft and residency.
Staying somewhere that also farms, teaches or restores land is the simplest version of travelling well here. See also the eco-tourism and experiential learning, retreat centres and low-impact travel focuses. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.