Riviera Travel has launched a new fly, cruise and tour package in Portugal, one of the best new European destinations.

The 17-night Perfect Portgual package is aimed at first timers to Portugal and combines an eight-night small group Discover Portugal land tour with a river cruise which starts and ends in Porto.

Guests will cruise aboard Riviera Travel’s Douro Elegance, a luxury, 12-guest river ship.

Also included in the package are flights from five Australian cities, accommodation at Lisbon and Porto and a free onboard drinks package.

Departing Australia on May 27, 2019, the itinerary begins in Lisbon with a full day tour. From there, guests will journey over eight days to some of Portugal’s most famous sites, staying at boutique, local-style accommodation along the way.

Highlights of the land tour include a Portuguese cookery lesson, a visit to a traditional cheesemaker, historic houses, cathedrals, palaces and synagogues and the majestic Joanina Library – an 18th century monument built by the King as part of a university.

Guests will then board the river ship, Douro Elegance, in Porto and cruise for seven nights east through the dramatic river valley, with its rustic wineries, quaint villages and rugged cliffs. Highlights of the river cruise include visits to vineyards and port cellars, dinner at a typical Portuguese farmhouse, a flamenco show, a full-day excursion to the historic Spanish city of Salamanca, a tour of the walled medieval village of Castelo Rodrigo and the 18th century, baroque Mateus Palace and its extensive gardens.

Onboard, Douro Elegance has a restaurant, bar and lounge, pool, spa, gym and tea and coffee-making facilities in every cabin. After disembarking in Porto, guests fly back to Australia.

Including return flights from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth, the eight-night land tour with 12 meals, two nights’ accommodation in Lisbon and Porto, and the seven-night cruise with all onboard meals and shore excursions, the 17-night ‘Portugal Perfection’ package is available from $11,295 per person, twin-share.