Insider’s Tour of Lisbon: One-Week Cultural Exploration

Our Zicasso travel agent curated a private tour for the six of us, including the perfect mix of historical, gastronomical, wine, and cultural experiences. 

We stayed in Lisbon, Évora, the Dao Valley, the Douro Valley, and Porto. We traveled in a comfortable Mercedes van and, to break up our trips, we stopped at amazing sites along the way as we traveled from city to city. 

Some of our favorite things were a private sunset sail in Lisbon, a fado dinner, the Évora Cathedral, a cork trek and wine tasting in Alentejo, the monastery at Batalha, wine tastings in Santar (Dao Valley), a boat ride on the Douro, wine tastings and hiking in the Douro Valley, the Bom Jesus shrine in Braga, the Port tasting and dinner in Porto, and multiple pastry tastings along the way. 

Our guides were fantastic. They were attentive, on time, and very knowledgeable about the history and culture of each place we visited. 

There were very few issues on our 17-day tour, which was literally one of the smoothest and best-curated trips we have ever had. We will use our travel company and agent again as we intend to go back to Porto and the Douro Valley.

The trip itinerary and guides provided in Barcelona, Porto, the Duoro Valley, and Madrid were excellent. They were very knowledgeable, professional and personable, and spoke excellent English.

Most of the drivers were very good, but we were surprised that some of them did not provide bottled water for half-day tours (we had to ask and stop to buy it). This was a minor nuisance, but given the price of tours and previous experiences, a simple expectation, as well as having the car cooled down and AC on during hot days when being picked up.​

The tour manager did an outstanding job overall, but could have improved on some specific requests that seemed to be either forgotten or missed regarding an electric scooter/wheelchair we rented that caused some issues during pick-up and drop-off. Otherwise, working with her was a very good experience.

This was a fantastic trip to Porto, Lisbon, and the surrounding areas, tailored to our needs and interests. We had an extensive walking tour of Lisbon, vineyards, and historic sites with our tour guide. Zicasso's travel agent provided personalized service consistent with a good small company. There was a rail strike while we were there and they handled it.

We recently returned from two fabulous weeks in Portugal. This was the first time we had used an agency to help plan, book, and manage a trip. We could not be more pleased and I highly doubt we will ever go back to handling all of that ourselves.

Zicasso’s travel specialist and his team (most notably our guide) were incredible. The travel specialist listened to our hopes for this trip (as well as what we like to do when traveling) and put together an awesome itinerary. Our main stops were Lisbon, the Algarve, Porto, and the Douro Valley.

Major highlights included four-hour walking and food tours in Lisbon and Porto (the first of which was the day we arrived from the United States. I didn’t think we could do it, but it was the best way to start our trip), the tile museum and tile workshop, a boat ride through the cave formations in the Algarve, a wonderful farm-to-table lunch and wine pairing under a 2,000-year-old olive tree in the Algarve, and an 18-mile e-bike ride in the mountains of the Douro (I definitely didn’t think we could do it).

The sites, the food, the hotels! We did so many things and had so many unforgettable experiences, but in the end, it was the kindness and generosity of all the people we met that will stay with us.

We enjoyed the trip. The guides were good, although our guide in Lisbon provided a little bit too much history. But he was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his tours. The communication with the Zicasso company through WhatsApp was very good and they were very accommodating to upgrading our transport vehicle because our luggage was large. The food tours were good. We enjoyed all the sites that we saw. Barcelona, especially, was great.

We stayed at four hotels. Only the hotel in Porto was a disappointment. The other hotels were good and we were very comfortable. The breakfast that was served at the various accommodations varied in quality, but the breakfast buffet in Lisbon was extremely good. The hotel in Porto was definitely not a four-star facility. The local airline definitely does not have its act together. When we left Barcelona to come home, the line for the airline was about five or six times the length of every other line. I would have definitely been willing to pay a higher amount for a business class seat in order to use the very short line in the Porto airport.

The travel agent from Zicasso's tour company planned for my family of four the most spectacular and luxurious two-week trip around Portugal. We traveled to and enjoyed the highlights of Lisbon, the romantic architecture in Sintra, the incredible history of Évora, the beautiful coastline of the Algarve, the laid-back atmosphere and gorgeous scenery of Madeira, the beautiful, historical, bustling city of Porto, and the stunning scenery of the Douro Valley. 

The travel agent's suggestions and bookings were all perfectly aligned with what we envisioned and the accommodations booked were all beautifully appointed and family-oriented – five-star hotels that catered to the entire family, with indoor pools and kids greeted with backpacks and toys at the door, and nightly treats on pillows.

The tour guides booked were all very knowledgeable and kind. They were patient with my two- and four-year-olds, and taught us all so many new, amazing things.

Every day was a highlight, but I would say my girls really enjoyed the tile painting as well as the pastel de nata-making workshops.

My husband and I really enjoyed Évora and Sintra, and truly seeing the beauty and history of it all.

We absolutely fell in love with Portugal, the culture, and the food. My only regret is not having more time so we could’ve seen the Azores as well and stayed even longer. 

We so look forward to this travel agent planning us another perfect vacation in the near future!