Walking Wild Alentejo: The Rota Vicentina with Deirdre Mullins

I am delighted to have Irish travel writer Deirdre Mullins to talk about one of the most spectacular walking routes in Europe, the Rota Vicentina.

This is the second of my two-part special from Alentejo, a region of Portugal that really surprised me.

In Part One, we explored some of the food, wine, towns and landscapes that make Alentejo such a special part of Portugal.

Deirdre spent four days walking sections of both the peaceful inland Historical Way and the dramatic coastal Fishermen’s Trail, covering around 70 kilometres through cork forests, quiet villages, sandy beaches and along wild Atlantic cliffs.

Deirdre tells us about her highlights of the walk, the toughest sections, where she stayed and ate, the difference between the two trails and why Alentejo still feels refreshingly peaceful and undiscovered.

We also explore why walking can completely change the way you experience a destination, giving you the chance to slow down, notice the landscape and enjoy the journey rather than simply getting from one place to another.

Read Deirdre’s RTÉ Travel article, Rota Vicentina: The Portuguese hike to add to your bucket list, here https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/2026/0608/1577392-rota-vicentina-the-portuguese-hike-to-add-to-your-bucket-list/

For more information on Alentejo go to https://www.visitalentejo.pt/en

For More infomation of the walking routes go to https://rotavicentina.com/en

Fergal O’Keeffe is the host of Ireland’s No.1 award winning travel podcast Travel Tales with Fergal listened to in 140 countries worldwide. The podcast aims to share soul-lifting travel stories about daydream worthy destinations.

For more information, photos and stories you can follow me on Instagram @traveltaleswithfergal

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