Explore Northern Portugal Natural Parks

Inspire travelers to live and experience unique moments, designing 100% home-made tours remaining faithful to our core values: authenticity, eco-friendly tourism, off the beaten tracks, handpicking our suppliers and maintaining well established relations with them so supporting local economies and assuring high quality tours to our travelers.
At Explore Iberia we are dedicated to fostering responsible tourism practices to ensure a positive impact on the environment, local communities, and cultural heritage.

Discover how we prioritize sustainable and responsible travel practices.

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Environment: Our walking holiday invites travelers to explore the diverse cultures and landscapes of Northern Portugal, from Peneda-Gerês National Park, Montesinho Natural Park, Douro Internacional Natural Park, the UNESCO World Heritage sites Douro and Côa Valley, and other protected areas.

As advocates for low-impact travel, we provide comprehensive guidance on responsible practices, committed with "Leave no Trace", respecting local flora and fauna, and staying on designated trails. 

We offer a user-friendly app to replace printed materials like route notes or maps.

All our trips are designed in a way that travelers can reach the trip start from the airport by train or bus.
We incentive travelers to stay more than 8 days when flying to Portugal
All picnic lunches and snacks provided by us are locally grown produce and other Portuguese products, served in reusable or recyclable lunch boxes.
We are directly involved in local conservation projects in Northern Portugal region (ex. are in charge of the maintenance and ecological recovery of a Natural Monument from Geopark Viana do Castelo), we are also partners and actively collaborate in local sustainable tourism network, CETS Alto Minho from Europarc Federation.

On every trip we make a donation of 5 euros per person to a nature conservation project or association.

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Community & Social Inclusion

We encourage guests to dine at friendly local restaurants, where they can savor traditional regional dishes and wines.

We promote interactions with local communities by encouraging visits to cafés, bakeries, and craft stores along the route.

When possible, we extended stays, so guests have ample opportunity to immerse themselves in local life and forge meaningful connections with residents.

We actively seek opportunities to support local communities by promoting local employment and investing in social projects.
We prioritize partnerships with local enterprises to strengthen the economies of the communities we visit.

Small scale accommodations, family-run business, local guides are always our choice.
We have a partnership with the employment center, to welcome long-term unemployed people and support them in integrating into working life

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You travel, we donate!​

During this year when travelling with Explore Iberia you're supporting the work of Manuel Sobrino Senra, "El Naturalista Cojo".

An inspiring example of how passion for nature can overcome physical limitations. His work at El Naturalista Cojo is a valuable source of information about wildlife and the environment in the Minho River estuary. Learn more about his work:

https://elnaturalistacojo.blogspot.com/

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