Portugal Couples Adventure: October 3-11, 2025

Into the Wild is a chance to take a moment for you and your partner. To dive deep into your wild selves. To see portugal’s beauty, cities, culture, and landscape. To, simply put, have a wild time with your partner, experiencing both the amazing cities of Lisbon and Sintra, as well as the mountains of the island Madiera that will take your breath away.

This is another trip for you badass couples out there who love being outside AND love culture, food, and history! This trip is perfect for the couple who wants to do a wider variety of activities in both a city setting and the incredible landscape of a little island off of Portugal called Madiera. This trip is a great way to get a good taste for Portugal’s most impressive cities as well as connect with its alluring natural scenes.

This trip is designed for ROMANTIC couples, to help you rediscover yourselves as a couple AND make great new friends with similar interests. As this is halfway a hiking trip, we ask that you be in moderate hiking shape by August 2025 so that you can handle the terrain described in the itinerary. If you are currently not a hiker, I do believe you can get ready in time to do this amazing experience.

This retreat is for you, and couples like you. Come as you are and leave as your best selves.

Below is the information on what you come away with from this retreat. Join us and rediscover each other!

Cost for the Portugal Couples Adventure is $5500 per couple for 8 nights. All lodging, food, and transportation during the retreat is included, (yes this includes the RT flight between Lisbon and Madiera, but no it doesn’t include airport pickups from and to Lisbon at the beginning and end) and all couples will have their own room and bathroom. You just need to get yourself to Lisbon, Portugal and back home again!

Who:

This trip to the Portugal will likely be the first to the area for many of you. Into the Wild is run by Wendy Wilder, and Wendy and her partner Thor will have all the details laid out and ready for you- all you have to do is follow their lead and enjoy the experience of exploring Portugal. Thor will provide photos of our trip, so you’ll have memories of everything for years to come.

Couples who come to this retreat should fall somewhat into these guidelines:

You and your partner want a trip that will break the mold of typical trips- it’s exotic, challenging to plan for yourself, and so unlike any other trip you’ve taken.

You enjoy nature and being out in it.

You love hiking.

You want to try new things.

You look forward to having an epic time with your partner without having to do the work of planning it.

You are ready to unplug and have amazing culinary, nature, and city experiences.

You are ready to gain friends of a similar outdoor and travel loving mindset.

Why:

When is the last time you enjoyed eight nights abroad for yourselves in a gorgeous place with so much fun and variety of activities, all planned out for you? It’s time.

NOTE: THIS PARTICULAR INTO THE WILD IS ALL ABOUT THE ADVENTURES IN HIKING AND THE INCREDIBLE SIGHTS AND EXPERIENCES IN THE CITIES. THE FOOD ALONE WILL BE INCREDIBLE!

When:

October 3-11, 2025. You DO NOT want to miss this. You will fly in and out of Lisbon, Portugal. We will spend the first three nights in Lisbon, 4-7th nights on Madiera, then spend the night once more in Lisbon before flying home the 11th of October in the morning.

What:

A couple’s adventure vacation built to help you rediscover you and your partner’s connection, your passions, and this beautiful earth you live on. An experience that will make you feel youthful and adventurous. A moment to be close whatever it is that drives you. A bonding experience not to be missed.

Have you ever been to a place so different from your own home country in sights, smells, sounds, textures… you could hardly wrap your mind around it?

We can show you some of Portugal’s most amazing sights and experiences and trails and help you wander.

IMPORTANT NOTE: tHIS RETREAT WILL INVOLVE WILD ADVENTURES. WE ASK THAT YOU BE OPEN TO NEW PEOPLE AND NEW EXPERIENCES. iF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT ALL ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANS, JUST ASK! wendy@intothewildphotocamp.COM

Additionally, we will be moving from one lodging to another three times throughout the trip. This will help us see more and drive less. Please plan on bringing a 35 or 42L backpack and another small hiking daypack.

Due to the nature of retreat planning, there are no refunds except for the above outlined reasons. Participants may sell their ticket on their own, via social media or other means.

this is the itinerary (subject to changes):

October 3:  Today is all about arriving safely to Portugal into the Lisbon Airport. We will meet at our hotel, drop luggage and you can explore the city while Wendy welcomes others. We will meet for our welcome dinner at 6:30pm. Rest up, because the amazingness starts tomorrow!

October 4: Breakfast, then we will set out for our day of exploring Lisbon. Expect great food, wonderful sights and a lot of walking :) We will eat dinner while listening to Fado Music, and then crash into bed after an awesome day.

October 5: Today we will be going on a day trip by train to Sintra. This place is epic! We will be doing a tour of the area that is one of the best tours available and the guide is absolutely incredible. After a day of experiencing Sintra led by a local, plus a couple of meals, we will head back to Lisbon after dinner.

October 6: Today our hiking adventure begins! We will take a 2 hour flight to Madeira, rent our vans, and then, our first hike! We begin with Ponta De Sao Laurenco. It’s a 2-3 hour hike and is marked as Moderate level with 1800 feet elevation gain. We will then go to our hotel in Sao Vicente and eat a delicious dinner.

October 7: Breakfast, then head out for our long hike day. We will be doing Pico de Areeiro to Pico Rubio. This is an all day hike marked as Hard on All trails. It has 4,300 feet elevation gain. It is AMAZING. Afterwards, if we feel like it and there is time, we will end the day at Seixal Beach and have dinner.

October 8: Today we will rise and shine early for the  Lavada das 25 Fontanas hike. We are hoping that rising early will make for a less crowded experience, but we are also going in shoulder season, so that should help! This hike is 5.5 miles long, as 2000 feet elevation gain, and can be done in 4 hours. Very beautiful. Following, we will have dinner and check out more of what Madiera has to offer.

October 9: This is our day to relax and enjoy a slower pace of life. Into the Wild will provide you with lunch and dinner, but you as couples can feel free to explore something not on the itinerary on your own, or relax at the hotel- or whatever your hearts desire!

October 10: Today we will do one more hike in the morning, and I’m leaving this blank as to which hike so that we can gauge how the group is doing after the previous hiking. Lunch and an afternoon flight back to Lisbon. Our final dinner will be beautiful and delicious, and you can do your last sightseeing and souvenir grabs before falling into bed.

October 11: Breakfast, everyone leaves for home. Please choose a flight that departs before noon if possible.