Recover & Recharge among the green hills of Braga
Are you looking for silence, connection with nature, and time to reconnect with yourself?
Spend 6 days in a place that for centuries served as a place of spirituality and refuge for pilgrims and travellers, nestled amidst the green hills of Braga. This iconic location, recently transformed into a charming 4* hotel, allows time to slow down and the silence of nature brings tranquility.
Enjoy breathtaking views during walks in the evergreen surroundings. Let body and mind unwind in the Altus Spa. Read a book in the shade by the pool. Sample all that the local cuisine has to offer and end the day with a toast to life under the stars.
There’s no better setting to unwind!
Why should you book this (hiking) trip?
- You’ll be staying in an iconic location in Braga, in a newly renovated 4* accommodation.
- Accommodation is based on bed and breakfast.
- The hotel is situated at the crossroads of historic walking routes: 6 km to the historic heart of Braga, 4 km to the Our Lady of Sameiro pilgrimage site, and from there another 2 km to Bom Jesus do Monte (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and 15 km to Guimarães, the cradle of Portugal.
- You receive a package with the walking routes.
- Don’t feel like walking? You also receive a package with tips and tourist information to help you explore the region.
- During your stay, you have unlimited access to the spa facilities, including the indoor/outdoor pool, Turkish bath, sauna, ice pool, and fitness room.
- Special conditions in the restaurant and on body treatments.
- Possibility to order a packed lunch for your hikes.
Bookable year-round
Prices for a 5-night stay at Hotel The Lince Braga:
From €420 per person (in low season, based on 2 people per room)
From €630 per person (in low season, in a single room)
Restorative Walking,
experience the healing power of walking, during a Recovery or Recharge Holiday
A recovery holiday is an individual, low-stimulus walking trip, in an environment that offers peace and quiet, in the north of Portugal.
Stress, burnout, illness, overstimulation, these are good reasons to give your body and mind a time-out. To regain physical strength and relax mentally.
If you ask people who have a burnout what helps them get back on their feet, ‘walking’ is invariably one of the answers.
If you ask cancer patients or people around them what helps them to deal with difficult thoughts, feelings of anxiety, etc., ‘walking’ is one of the most common answers.
If you ask people who are recovering after illness how they physically regain their strength, ‘walking’ will certainly be on the list.
If you ask people who are going through a difficult period of illness, grief, loss or trauma how they deal with their feelings and thoughts, ‘walking’ is one of the most frequently heard options.
If you ask people who suffer from overstimulation what helps them to de-stimulate, they will also tell you that ‘walking’ is at the top of the list.
Why a ‘Recovery Holiday’?
In 2019 I moved to Portugal. The decision was the result of a process that I consciously went through after I suffered a burnout a year earlier. I consciously chose to slow down and live my life in a different way. Strangely enough, I was ‘helped’ by the long Corona period. I had the opportunity to discover the North of Portugal in a different way than I originally had in mind, namely by walking.
In 2021 I walked the Portuguese Camino to Santiago for the first time.
In 2022 I was again forced to take rest when I was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. I had to fight a battle that demanded the utmost from my body, both physically and mentally. A battle that I won, but which taught me even more to slow down and not to lose sight of the beautiful little things along the way. Once again I experienced the healing power of walking during my recovery period.
With my experience from the first years in Portugal, I organize ‘recovery holidays’ for everyone who would benefit from them. Strengthen physically and at the same time find mental peace while walking, depending on your capabilities. Find tools that help you deal with stress, anxiety and the mental consequences of illness or a difficult period.
Walking is so much more than just a physical thing. And walking in this beautiful environment is a treat for body and mind.
Our offer of guided walking trips
The packages below have been carefully put together to offer you the opportunity to improve your physical condition and at the same time relax mentally. However, they are just a selection of the possibilities that Northern Portugal has to offer.
Is this not quite what you have in mind or what your body needs? Contact me and tell me what you are looking for, so we can design a customized walking holiday for you (and your loved ones).
Exclusive and individual trip (1 person per period)
7 days / 6 nights
You will receive tools that help you deal with the challenges of every day
All-in (with the exception of the travel to and from Braga)
You will stay in Braga for 7 days (6 nights).
(At least) 4 walking days, with walks that vary in terms of route, environment, view and difficulty (but never really difficult).
Walks are alternated with other activities and with time for yourself.
Meals included.
When?
Available on demand
Price: from 1,750 euros
Did you know that before I moved to Portugal, I was stuck in a negative spiral for years? I tried and fought to get out, but I couldn’t. I kept going in circles, in the mess in my own head.
Nothing changed.
Until I had the courage to admit that I wouldn’t get out of my (un)comfortable zone on my own.
Until I had the courage to set something in motion.
It is only if you take the step to change something that something can actually change.
I’ve been examining myself.
I learned to look in the mirror and learn to be happy with what I saw.
I have learned to convert negative thoughts into positive ones.
I have learned so much.
And practiced. With tools that were given to me. But also with tools that I found in the principles of positive psychology. And in walking.
I have learned to put myself and my values first.
I have learned to listen to my feelings.
Learned to say ‘yes’ to myself.
And ‘no’ to what does not resonate with my personal values.
I have learned to do what I feel I have to do. And to let go of what does not serve me or what I cannot change.
How? By taking that first step. And then another one and another one.
Not just in my head, also literally.
The way has been revealed along the way. Also literally.
I moved abroad to, again literally, distance myself from the rat race in which I was participating. I found the environment I needed to slow down.
Two years of Corona and a year with lymph node cancer also, strangely enough, contributed to my ability to slow down.
I went for a walk. And along the way I discovered the tools I needed to monitor and maintain my positive mindset. I learned to return to those tools again and again each time when I was losing sight of myself again.
I deal with pressure, stress and ‘obligations’ in a different way. I have learned to do so.
Life feels a lot easier since then. The burden on my shoulders is a lot lighter.
Not every day, but most of the time.
The world hasn’t changed, but the way I look at it has.
This journey is a package of ‘gentle self-care’.
No strict planning or heavy daily schedules.
Time for yourself and time to let everything be as it is.
It’s okay, without pressure, without judgment, in a safe environment.
Waiting for what comes, without expectations.
Trust your gut that this is exactly what you need!
This trip includes:
- 6-day (5-night) stay in a stylish boutique hotel near Braga
- From June 29 to July 4, 2026
- Accommodation in a private room
- Daily (mindful) walk in the hotel’s surroundings
- Intuitive painting workshops (3x) and Kintsugi (1x) (including materials)
- Use of the hot tubs in the hotel garden
- All meals: breakfast, (picnic) lunch, and dinner (Mediterranean cuisine)
- 1x BBQ in the cozy hotel garden
- Transfers to and from Porto airport
- Guidance by two experienced women (Ann and Verinia)
- Option to book a treatment in local Hot Springs (Termas)
When?
June 29 – July 4, 2026
Price: €1,895 per person in a private room
On a journey… to yourself
Away for a while. A moment of peace. A moment of silence. A moment of time.
To let yourself catch your breath.
To look from a distance at what’s causing you unrest.
To feel.
To heal.
To grieve.
To dis-connect.
Time and space to walk,
to paint,
to connect,
to enjoy,
to listen to yourself,
to care for yourself.
It’s allowed during this journey where gentle self-care is central.
6 days in an idyllic place that exudes tranquility.
Together with Verinia and me, and (max.) 6 other people.
Filling our days with:
- mindful walks in the lush nature of Northern Portugal
- intuitive painting in an inspiring environment
- Kintsugi, breaking down what no longer serves us and healing in a way that feels good
- delicious and healthy food
- enjoying the hot tubs
- genuine conversations
- and whatever shows at the moment
About ‘intuitive painting’
Getting started with intuitive painting takes time. But truly, everyone, without exception, can do it. There’s nothing right or wrong. It’s like rediscovering the core of yourself, making it visible layer by layer. Each of us can REMEMBER what we loved to do as a child. Drawing, painting, or crafting, whatever. Bringing out the true artist within ourselves. In a safe environment, with like-minded souls, in a magical place, triggered by Mother Earth.
We start on a piece of paper and search for a technique that feels right. This can be different for everyone. Letting that small, invisible flame ignite, and let it grow bigger every day of the journey. With brushes, palette knives, or even with hands and fingers, feeling what you feel, and listening to it.
Verinia: “I personally consider painting with my hands a ‘primal force.’ Everything I think, with my eyes closed, is translated into the acrylic strokes on the canvas. Sometimes feelings are released that make you cry, or laugh, or remind you of moments long past. Deeply hidden in your heart or in your belly! It gives you real ‘goosebumps’ when you blindly start with a line on a blank sheet.
You open your eyes, and then you start coloring, the canvas reveals itself step by step… you suddenly see something emerge that you recognize as a person. Your pencil, acrylic, brush, or palette knife, and your hands create what you feel and are, a beautiful person as an artist!”
Our location for 6 days
Lua de Caldelas is located in the heart of the picturesque village of Caldelas, home to the Termas de Caldelas (Hot Springs), the healing springs renowned since Roman times. For generations, the springs made Caldelas an ideal destination for those seeking healing and health.
The house, which for many years was known as the “casa de igreja” (parsonage) and where the village priest lived, stands next to the Caldelas church and offers stunning views. The old parsonage has been revived in a modern, stylish interior. The former garage on the ground floor has been transformed into a wine bar that combines the local tradition of Vinho Verde with refined Mediterranean cuisine. In the expansive garden, guests can relax in the hot tubs overlooking the surrounding area, or spend a cozy evening by the fire enjoying a glass of wine.