Bubulcus & Bolotas

Bubulcus & Bolotas, Latin and Portuguese for egrets and acorns, is a small nature campsite in a holm oak landscape near the village of Vimieiro, in the municipality of Arraiolos, about 40 kilometres from Évora. It offers spacious, well-separated pitches for tents and campervans, an equipped tent or caravan for those without their own gear, and an off-grid holiday home with a private terrace.

The owners built the site from nothing, aiming for minimal impact and self-sufficiency. Electricity is entirely solar, with batteries at night and LED lighting, hot water is solar-heated, rainwater is stored for the dry summer, and heating uses wood from land clearing. Waste is sorted for recycling and organic matter is composted to improve the poor soil. Guest numbers are capped at 25 across seven and a half hectares, there are no groups and quiet hours run through the night.

Visitors come for silence, birdwatching, stargazing, walking and cycling, and to explore Arraiolos, Estremoz, Évora and the dolmens and menhirs of the region. Reservations are required and the campsite closes in November. By car, take the N251 from Vimieiro towards Pavia and follow the signed gravel track; express buses from Lisbon stop in Vimieiro.