Portugal
Portugal9 days
Overview
Portugal & Its Jewish Heritage: Lisbon's Belem and Sha'arei Tikva, the Juderia of Castelo de Vide, Belmonte's Bnei Anusim community, Porto's Kadoorie synagogue, Tomar's ancient synagogue, and the western tip of Europe at Cabo da Roca.
Your Journey Day by Day
01Tuesday: Lisbon
We will meet at the airport to begin our tour at about Noon with sightseeing in beautiful Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and one of the oldest cities in Europe. We will visit the Belem district to see the Monument of the Discoveries, which commemorates Portugal’s role in discovering the “New World”. We will walk in the old Jewish neighborhood and visit Sha’arei Tikva Synagogue.
02Wednesday: Evora - Castelo De Vide - Castelo Branco
After breakfast we leave Lisbon and travel to Evora, a medieval walled city that is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to the Jewish past of this city, we will also see the Roman quarter. We will continue to Castelo de Vide bordering Spain. Most of its fame comes from the most impressive Judaria – Jewish Quarter and museum. The town is still home to the “New Christians” who are descendants of the Marranos. Found in it is the oldest synagogue which was restored. The synagogue/museum has a display showing the integration of Jews into the town’s famous textile industry, and various other industries. Here, the President of Portugal, Mr. Mario Suarez, chose to apologize to the Jewish people for the terrible injustice and murder committed by his people, in the presence of the Israeli Ambassador to Portugal at the time, Ms. Colette Avital. We continue to Castelo Branco.
Kashrut on Tours
- Supervision
- Local Rabbinate hashgacha; company mashgiach traveling with the group
- Pat Yisrael
- Not guaranteed at every destination
- Chalav Yisrael
- Not guaranteed at every destination
Kosher food is provided to our travelers on all our tours. We work with the local Rabbinate to provide Hashgacha for all local ingredients and fresh meat and poultry. In some cases, we fly in kosher food from Israel and other sources, depending on the destination of the tour. We do not guarantee Pat Israel and Chalav Israel for all destinations. In many destinations we have our own crockery and cutlery. Where we don’t, we provide disposables at the meals. When we cook in hotel kitchens, we ensure proper Kashering and we use our own kitchenware on kashered and covered surfaces. All this is done under the strict supervision of our trained staff/guides that function as our Mashgichim. Our travelers enjoy gourmet meals prepared by our team including fresh local fish, fruit, and vegetables. This is an integral part of Jewish travel. We make great efforts to assure that our travelers will experience local foods first-hand, while maintaining stringent observance of Kashrut laws on all occasions.
Important to Know
- There may be changes to the order of places visited. We will make every effort to visit every place mentioned in the itinerary.
- The tour organizers have no control over airline services such as seating, special meal requests, changes in departure times or delays. These remain the sole responsibility of the airline company.
- We strongly recommend purchasing Travel insurance
Hotels
It is our aim to provide the finest hotel possible in each area we visit. We require our hotels to allow us to work in the kitchen and to supervise the cooking and there are many hotels that are not willing to cooperate. They simply have no desire for us to be “meddling” in their cooking process nor are they happy about our bringing our equipment into their kitchens. We work very hard to find the best hotel in the area that will meet our requirements. Because we are not ready to compromise on kashrut, we may not always be able to use a five star hotel.
What's Included
- First class and 5* hotels on b/b basis (Kosher products)
- Entrance fees as per the itinerary
- Comfortable air-conditioned touring coach
- Kosher supplies for making sandwiches for lunch
- Kosher dinners at local Kosher restaurants. Kosher vegetarian fish dinners at hotels
- Tips for local service providers
- Professional experienced English-speaking guide-
Not Included
- International flights and taxes
- Travel and Health Insurance
- Personal expenses
What Travelers Say
All testimonials →
“Thanks for taking us places we would never have found on our own. We look forward to next year.”
“This was our first trip with Shai Bar Ilan and it was a very positive experience. The dinners at the Jewish community center in Barcelona were excellent as were the Shabbat meals provided by the caterer in Gibraltar.”
“I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed Dr./Rabbi Yitzchak Askoff. Not only was he a Biblical Scholar in Tanach as well as Hebrew & Arabic Languages; even more importantly, he was a Mentsch, in every sense of the word always caring for each and every individual. Kol Hakavod for having him on your staff.”
Cancellation Policy
- A $47 per-person administration fee applies to any cancellation after registration.
- 45–60 working days before departure: 30% of the tour price.
- 21–44 working days before departure: 50% of the tour price.
- 7–20 working days before departure: 75% of the tour price.
- Less than 7 working days before departure: 100% of the tour price.
- Working days exclude Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays.