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…
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 …
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…
Figueirinha Ecoturismo
Figueirinha Ecoturismo is a sustainable rural tourism property near Odemira, Alentejo, with accommodation among cork oaks and olive groves a…
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…
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 …
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.