Signature experience in Spain & Portugal

As the coach rounds the bend, past one of the many old fortresses along this rugged stretch of coast, Praia do Guincho, comes into view: a pristine sandy beach fringed by low bush, bookended by rocks battered by breakers. This is a popular spot for windsurfing - given the gale that's blowing, it's not hard to see why - but today the beach is empty save for a scattering of dark figures braving the threat of rain in the low, grey clouds. In the distance is Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe. Looking out to sea, there's little between this spot and North America but the steely Atlantic and the islands of the Azores, nearly 1400km to the west.

"This is Portugal," announces Laura, our local guide. "You're always welcome." Perhaps reading a few minds, she adds: "You can even move here."

Laura joined us this morning in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, some 30km to the east. A tiny woman brimming with knowledge about and enthusiasm for her home city, she is the first of numerous local guides we will meet during our seven-day tour of Portugal and southern Spain, a condensed version of what luxury coach touring company Insight Vacations offers travellers in this part of the world.

Officially our tour had begun the previous day as we'd arrived at Lisbon's Portela Airport to a cheerful welcome from our tour director Toni and our driver Helder. But in a more abstract way, the trip had kicked off a few weeks before departure, when I'd arrived home one afternoon to a package from Insight.

Inside, I found a travel wallet - a very nice one, too; much nicer than the one I already owned - with a copy of my itinerary and flight details, a list of hotel contact details to copy for family and friends, a sheet with pre-departure information, two Insight luggage tags, a cardboard folder with hotel vouchers and the like, even an international SIM card. In one fell swoop, I felt both organised and excited about what lay ahead.

In Lisbon, I check in to our hotel for the first two nights, the five-star Dom Pedro Palace. It's all very plush and comfortable - king-sized bed, desk and a table with a couple of chairs, a pod coffee machine, bathroom with a tub and lots of counter space. But what really captures my attention is the view. Out of the window, Lisbon is a patchwork of colours and textures: the pinks and creams and soft yellows of the buildings, the orange of the tiled roofs, the silvery River Tagus and, beyond, the distinctive 25 de Abril suspension bridge and the monumental Christ the King statue.

That afternoon, there's time for a rest and a wander before drinks in the hotel bar to get to know the rest of the group - which, at nearly 30 strong, is more or less representative of the typical size of an Insight tour. Our range of nationalities is also representative of Insight's business: a bunch of Australians, Brits, Americans and Canadians, with some South Africans, Singaporeans, Malaysians and Filipinos in the mix. We then pile into the coach en masse for the first time and head to a local restaurant for our welcome dinner.

It's worth elaborating on the coach here for, as we're reminded a number of times during our trip, this is no typical tour bus. Writ large on the side of the coach are the words "more leg room, more comfort", and that pretty much sums it up. The coach seats 40 (although Insight groups average 32 guests), and has what the company calls "business-class leg room". This means that even the tallest member of our group - Insight's UK-based chief executive, John Boulding, who joins us on tour for a few days and is more than 183cm tall - has plenty of room. The seats also recline, and move out to the side to give people sitting side-by-side extra elbow room. As one member of the group wonders aloud, much to John's delight: "Why don't they make aeroplanes like this?" There are also big windows to enjoy the views, an on-board toilet, power points to charge phones and camera batteries, and reasonably reliable wi-fi.

The coach is representative of Insight's premium approach to touring, consistent since the business began in 1979. "We were founded on the basis that we saw a gap in the market to up the quality on a tour," John explains. Key to this is a promise to provide guests with "the right hotels and the right locations" and recognition of the changing priorities of travellers. For example, John says, 20 years ago people chose a tour based mainly on the destinations they would visit and the things they would do there. Now, people are increasingly factoring in the people, particularly locals, that they'll get to meet, and the food they'll eat.

As such, Insight has named 2015 its "Signature Year", highlighting its range of "Signature Experiences" offered to guests. These might include special experiences, such as meeting locals, and memorable dining experiences and hotels. "It seems to resonate," John says. "We're getting a lot of good feedback." Indeed, more than half of the company's guests are return customers and, I'm told, there are repeat Insight travellers who have done as many as 15 tours with the company.

On our first morning in Lisbon, we have the chance to enjoy one of the "Signature" experiences for ourselves. After a leisurely assault on the hotel's extensive buffet breakfast, we're back in the coach for a tour around some of the highlights of the city, including a look at the old quarter and some of the main sights along the Belem waterfront, including the fortified Belem Tower, which dates from the so-called Age of Discovery. Later we'll head up the coast to the seaside town of Estoril, past Praia do Guincho to the picturesque hilltop village of Sintra. But first it's time for what Laura calls our "special surprise" - a visit to the Pasteis de Belem factory, near the historic Jeronimos Monastery.

The factory is known as the home of the pastel de Belem, or Portuguese custard tart, known elsewhere as pastel de nata and spread throughout the world by Portuguese explorers and colonists. The original recipe is credited to the monks from the nearby monastery who began selling them in this shop - a former sugar refinery - after the monasteries were abolished in the 1830s following the Portuguese Civil War. The pastries have been baked here since 1837 and, according to Laura, only three people know the recipe. For security reasons, they're all different ages, and they're not allowed to fly together.

In the modest factory building, we watch as women sit making the pastry casings, deftly shaping the dough to fit the moulds. "They look like they're playing cards," one member of our group observes. The women are a fraction of the 150 people employed here, producing 20,000 pastries a day during the week and 50,000 daily on weekends. A little later we try some, still warm from the oven - as Laura quips, "they're going to bring us some cakes but not the ones from 1837" - and they are absolutely delicious, with a crispy shell cradling a not-too-sweet custard filling, all topped with a sprinkling of icing sugar, cinnamon or both, depending on your preference.

There's another signature experience the following day - one of Portugal's oldest wineries, Jose Maria Da Fonseca, en route to Evora, where we'll stay for two nights. Our accommodation here also falls into the "signature" category - the five-star M'ar De Ar Aqueduto design hotel, in a 16th-century palace in the town's UNESCO World Heritage-listed centre, with views over the historic aqueduct.

Despite the heritage setting, the hotel is modern and sleekly glamorous inside, from the retro- futuristic egg-shaped chairs in the lobby to the glass panel providing views from the bath over the sleeping area in my room.

Evora is, John says, the kind of place which chimes well with Insight. "What we're seeking to do is drill down into each destination much deeper," he explains. "We're slowing things down as well - doing more and more three-night stops or longer to allow people to get under the skin of a destination." The company also recognises that its guests like to have free time to do their own thing. Thus, our next day is officially at leisure to explore Evora at our own pace, although all of us choose to join Toni, Helder and John in the coach to visit the hilltop village of Monsaraz, followed by a sailing boat trip on Lake Alqueva and a long lunch of banquet proportions in an old olive-oil factory.

We cross the Spanish border the next morning. Our final days include a visit to a family-run producer of iberico jamon de bellota (cured acorn-fed ham), a walk through the fragrant, orange- tree-lined streets of the historic centre of Seville, an excursion to see Cordoba's unusual Mezquita mosque/ cathedral, and a memorable final evening commencing with a horse-and- carriage ride through Seville at dusk, followed by a fantastic flamenco show. They're classic Spanish experiences - signature experiences, you might say.

And although John says that it's another classic tourist destination - Italy - that remains a perennial favourite with Insight's customers, he seems just as excited about some of its more offbeat offerings, with countries ranging from Poland and Iceland to Albania and Bulgaria included in its 2015 European touring schedule. Even in popular Spain and Portugal, he says, there's still plenty of room for discovery. "That's the exciting thing for me - there's so much that's still untapped."

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·Insight has a range of tours visiting Spain and Portugal in 2015. For example, the nine-day Amazing Spain and Portugal itinerary includes visits to Seville and Lisbon, plus Madrid, Granada and Salamanca, and costs from $1975 per person twin share (single supplement from $370) including eight nights accommodation. Or, the 10-day Country Roads of Portugal trip, which includes stays in Lisbon and Evora among other destinations, costs from $2625 per person twin share (single supplement $780). insightvacations.com or 1300 301 672.

_Go to thewest.com.au/travel to see a video of Gemma Nisbet's highlights of Portugal and Spain. _

'We're slowing things down as well - doing more three- night stops.'

"John Boulding

Gemma Nisbet was a guest of Insight Vacations.