If you follow the coastline from Cascais toward Lisbon, you will reach the mouth of the Tejo — the river that carries you into the city and its amazing parade of monuments and historical landmarks. Belém, the bridge, the Christ statue: it is one of the great arrivals in Europe, and for most people it is the destination.
But on our latest big adventure, we kept going. Past the city, under the bridge, and on up the river — further inland than we had ever taken guests before — until we reached an incredible place called Valada.
Where the river turns to countryside.
Valada sits a few nautical miles beyond Lisbon, on a quiet bend of the Tejo where the city gives way completely to farmland. The change is hard to believe from the deck: one hour you are looking at monuments, the next there is nothing around you but green fields, sandbanks and still water in every direction.
The views and the calmness in this place are honestly indescribable. The river is wide, flat and warm — perfect for a swim off the back of the boat — and there is a peaceful vibe everywhere you look. We dropped anchor mid-river, swam, and had the whole bend to ourselves.
And the wildlife — that was the part none of us expected. Horses wandering the sandbanks at the water's edge, birds everywhere, a ton of green on both banks. At one point we just cut the engine and drifted, watching the horses cross the sand in front of us. You forget this is barely beyond Lisbon.
Two days, one river.
The shape of the trip was simple. Day one: cast off from Marina de Cascais, along the coast, into the Tejo, past Lisbon and up the river to Valada. We tied up in the late afternoon, had dinner at an amazing local restaurant right by the river, and stayed the night in a lovely local hotel among the fields.
Day two belonged to the river: a slow morning, another swim, one more look at the sandbanks — and then we did it all again in reverse, back down the Tejo, past the city, and home along the coast to Cascais.
Two days on the water does something a day trip cannot. There is no clock running, no marina curfew pulling you home by sunset. You fall into the river's rhythm — and by the second morning, everyone on board had.
An overnight adventure you can book.
This was not a one-off — it is a trip we now know well, and it exists as an experience of its own: the Tejo Overnight. Boat from Cascais up the river to Valada, dinner at a local restaurant we have come to trust, a night in a restored country house, and a slow return the next day. Private as always, up to six guests, with our crew handling everything in between.
If two days is more than your plans allow, the first chapter of this story stands on its own as our Cascais to Lisbon day trip — the coast, the river mouth and the city's landmarks from the water. And if you are imagining a different version entirely — more days, another river stop, your own route — that is exactly what our tailor-made experiences are for.
Come up the river with us.
We came back from Valada already talking about the next one. If a slow adventure up the Tejo sounds like your kind of trip, send us your dates — you will hear back from Miguel directly, usually within a few hours, and we will shape the two days around you.
The river is calm, the horses are waiting, and we can't wait for the next one. See you out there.
