Hidden GemGreat Value

Vidago Palace Golf

Vidago, Vila Real · Designed by Philip Mackenzie Ross (1936); renovated 2010 · Est. 1936

Vidago Palace Golf is one of the oldest and most romantic courses in Portugal, set in the grounds of the magnificent Belle Époque Vidago Palace Hotel in the spa country of Trás-os-Montes, in the far north. The course was designed in 1936 by Philip Mackenzie Ross — the Scottish architect who would later create the Ailsa Course at Turnberry — and was sympathetically renovated and extended to a full 18 holes in 2010.

At par 72, it winds through mature parkland of oak, chestnut and pine in a lush, green valley a world away from the arid south, with streams and the grand pink façade of the palace as a backdrop. It is a gentle, beautiful and hugely peaceful course, more about setting and serenity than championship severity — and outstanding value.

Paired with a stay at the restored palace hotel and its thermal spa, Vidago is a golf experience quite unlike anywhere else in Portugal: unhurried, historic and gloriously green.

Holes worth knowing

1The palace holes — played beneath the grand pink façade of the Belle Époque Vidago Palace, a backdrop like no other course in Portugal.
2The valley parkland — streams and mature oak, chestnut and pine give a lush, gentle round a world away from the arid south.

Highlights

A 1936 Philip Mackenzie Ross design
Set in the grounds of a Belle Époque palace hotel
Lush oak-and-chestnut parkland in green Trás-os-Montes
Historic, serene and outstanding value

Good to know

→This is a Philip Mackenzie Ross design from 1936 — the same architect who later remodelled the Ailsa Course at Turnberry — sympathetically extended to 18 holes in 2010.
→The setting is the star: the restored Belle Époque Vidago Palace Hotel and its thermal spa make this a golf-and-wellness destination, not just a round.
→Trás-os-Montes is lush, green and mountainous — a completely different Portugal from the Algarve, and blissfully uncrowded.
→It is remarkable value; pair a round with a night at the palace and a soak in the historic spa waters Vidago is famous for.
→Porto is about 90 minutes; combine it with the Douro Valley wine country for a memorable northern trip.