We strongly advise you to plan your trip in such a way that you have your own transport while you are staying here at the Quinta do Retiro. This is so as you are able to make trips in the area and manage your own Shopping. If you arrive by bus or train, in Oliveira do Hospital (circa 12 kilometres from Covas there are car rental companies you can make use of. For cyclists, campers etc we do have a Ford Ka that is available for hire on registration.This is subject to availability.

Arriving by Air?
The nearest International Airport to here is Porto and an alternative is Lisbon. British Airways fly from Heathrow and Gatwick. TAP (Air Portugal) flies out of Heathrow and Ryanair has services from Stansted, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Dublin to Porto. Portugalia also operates scheduled flights to Portugal from within Europe. Opodo (online bookings) is worth checking out for prices.

Directions
From Lisbon: On leaving Lisbon, take the (toll) motorway A1 Norte–E80, heading north and continue until you reach turnoff 13 towards Coimbra.
From Porto: Take the (toll) motorway A1 Sul-E80 and follow the signs south for Lisbon (approx 95 km) until you reach turnoff 13 towards Coimbra.

After turnoff 13 take the IP3 in the direction of Viseu and Guarda. Follow the IP3 for approx 25 km. Here you also take the turnoff 13 and follow the IC6 towards Covilhá and Oliveira do Hospital. At the end of this IC-6 you turn right on a roundabout and follow the signs Covilhá and Oliveira do Hospital. After 400 meter you reach a second roundabout. Her you go left on the N 17 and follow the signs Oliveira do Hospital. Follow this road for some more kilometers and you will see on the left a sign indicating the direction of Covas but you ignore this first sign and drive on. In the village of Venda da Esperanca you turn left and here you head in the direction of Covas. This road you follow for approx 3,5 km until you come to the end on a major junction and here you turn to the right into the direction of Vila Nova do Oliverinha. Follow this undulating road for about 600 metres until you cross over a bridge with green iron railings. About 200 metres further along you make a sharp right hand turn and then turn right yet again into an unsurfaced path. After a further 50 metres you cross another path but here you carry on. From about this point you will see the Quinta do Retiro lying in the valley below you on the right hand side.