Peaceful Couples Tour: Porto to Lisbon

We spent a brief, but very memorable, 8 days exploring Portugal: Oporto, Duoro Valley, Lisbon, Sintra with a few stops in Coimbra, Batalha and Obidos.  Our travel team were awesome.  They were extremely friendly & truly appeared as if they loved their jobs and were excited to show their country to us.  (and in all honesty, EVERYONE in Portugal was extremely friendly- really a nice, nice people) They were punctual (never one late pick-up), responsive (returned or answered every query/ phone call promptly) and amenable to last minute changes (we decided to forgo a tour of Lisbon at the last minute to return to Sintra on one of the days for a hike as it was hot & crowded & we wanted to get off the beaten track a bit!).  Two of our guides were like walking encyclopedias.  Our guide had an enthusiasm about people and his country that is rare and wonderful.  He showed us the small towns of Coimbra, Balalha and Obidos and seeing them through his eyes made them some of our favorite stops.  Our other guide was calm & thorough and easy going- perfect for seeing Sintra and Lisbon.  Though we had a few VERY minor mishaps (lost reservations at a restaurant, no veggie option which we were told there would be at the Fado house)- these were more than made up by apologies and extras!  I would over-all I give our agent & her crew FIVE stars for a wonderful trip & introduction to Portugal and a lovely tailored service.

Many people told us that if we liked Spain, we would love Portugal. This is a very accurate statement. This tour agency made our 15 day trip a memorable experience. Our guides/drivers were professional, personable, knowledgeable and passionate about their country and vocation. In addition, this tour agency arranged for a tour of the Lisbon Synagogue with a member of the congregation, and a special tour guide, for the Jewish Museum and Quarter in Belmonte.

Our Destination Expert, was very hands-on. Upon our arrival, she and our guide met us at the airport and provided us with a portable WI-FI and for our return flight, she even guided us through the airport to navigate check-in, baggage tagging, and security. She was always on top of our travels, especially notifying our guide when there were unplanned changes, such as the change in the time of the mass in Belmonte from Sunday to Saturday evening.

We visited the castles and villages in the East where you could see Spain in the distance. We toured and tasted wine from the Alentejo region. Our visit to the Douro Valley included a Port wine tasting and production tour. This area had spectacular vistas which we viewed from. the highest peak and from the boat tour on the river which gives you a very different perspective of the terrace grape vines. Next, we traveled to Porto, the second largest city in Portugal, and added a tour of the Casa da Musica built in 1999 and the Serralves Museum and sculpture garden. Lello bookstore was a magnificent surprise. What a beautiful interior! From Porto to Lisbon, we visited many beautiful seaside villages. We loved our tour of St George’s Castle and the Alfama area. Our evening at a Fado House with dinner and music was a special experience. Cooking Lisbon was tasty, and we can hardly wait to make some of the dishes at home.

Over the course of our trip we visited magnificent churches from the 13th to the 19th century and we never get tired of looking at the Azulejos. The pastries throughout Portugal are exceptional, though we are glad we waited until Belem to try the pasteis de nata, a delicious warm custard pastry. Of course, we sampled other treats during our travels.

The guides truly listened to us. When we expressed a delight in seeing the Roman Temple of Diana in Evora, our guide asked if we would like to take a short side trip to see a small Roman excavation, Ammaia. It was delightful. Also, when visiting Sintra. Our guide gave us a choice with the pro and cons about visiting Queluz National Palace rather than the Pena Palace. We decided on the Queluz National Palace. It was a wonderful and a relaxing tour.

If we attempted to tour Portugal on our own, we would not have visited the great range of sites that the agency provided. Moreover, without the expert commentary of our guides, we would not have understood the subtleties of Portuguese culture and history as well as we did.  This agency is an excellent resource and should we re-visit Portugal, we would not hesitate to use it again.

We had a wonderful 11 nt. trip to Portugal 9/21-10/3, 2023. It was far hotter (95-98) than we thought it would be, but we were okay. First off the hotels our travel agent selected were perfect.

Here are the highs and lows of the trip.

The tasting at Sandeman in Porto was wonderful.

The 9/23 tour of Porto was very good… our guide was very knowledgeable and the driver was excellent. I would skip the Lello's Bookstore---very touristy, crowded, and hot. The Bolsa Palace was fascinating.

There was a mixup or screw-up about our trip to the Douro Valley. Our boat cruise scheduled for 11 AM was canceled 2 weeks before arrival and rescheduled for 5 PM that day. And we couldn't go to the second Quinta. Very disappointing. Our driver on 9/24 was excellent. Lunch at Terracu's at Quinta Nova was okay... a beautiful location. Starters and desserts and wines were very good. The main entrees (cod and lamb shank) were so salty as to be inedible. And the accompanying veggies were served cold. The wait staff felt badly and offered a glass of port at the meal's end as an apology. The wait staff were very nice. I expected better entrees. To kill time until our 5 PM boat trip, we had a wine tasting at Quinta Nova---the identical wines we had just consumed at lunch. Originally our agent had suggested we spend 2-3 hours in Pinhao, but I pushed back on that as all the reviews of Pinhao describe it as "scruffy" and not a lot to do. And the reviews were correct--there is nothing to do there. Luckily we did the wine tasting instead. Our river cruise was very nice---the crew was so friendly and we were the only folks on board.

The 9/25 secret walking tour of Porto was a disaster. The guide was nice but uninteresting sights and the tour included so many steps with no railings that it was very difficult for my husband. We bailed after 1 hour and had a lovely lunch along the river. I would not recommend this tour to anyone.

The tour to Braga was lovely. The guide and driver were good and the tibia pastries are not to be missed. The Cathedral of Braga was magnificent.

9/27 trip from Porto to Lisbon---good driver. First stop, Coimbra---he left us at the university square on our own. We saw the library and students in their capes---I would not do this again...

Next stop Obidos– which we loved, a quaint walled city with shops and restaurants and the local ginja.

9/28 food and wine tour. Hmmm… Our young guide walked us for 2+ hours in 95-degree heat never asking if we wanted water or a rest. The description of the tour is nothing like what we got. We met no locals, we had no petiscos, no codfish cake, no verde vinho, no cheeses. We finally stopped at a wine bar and had a tasting with a charcuterie plate and olive oils. The staff was very knowledgeable about wines but we got the impression that our guide was bored and not engaged with us. We finally told him we were fine and he could leave us.

The trip to Belem was lovely. Our guide was a last-minute replacement for our original guide and I'm not sure he was informed of what we were to see. Contrary to what our agent told us, there were cut-the-line tickets for the Monasterio and our guide got us in. We loved the Monasterio (sadly the church was closed) and also went to see Belem Tower and the Monument to Discovery, wonderful. We never saw the Coaches Museum nor the Maritime Museum which is on the itinerary. Nor did we get to taste the famous Pasteis de Belem pastries.

The trip to Sintra and Cascais was a disaster. Our young guide was nice but not assertive. It was very hot, very crowded, you wait 30 min for the bus to Pena Palace, another 45 min wait to get into the Palace, and then at least a 15 min wait to go from room to room. We bailed after 2 hours--nice view but that's all. He suggested we skip downtown Sintra to make it to Cascais, but I was disappointed. He took us to a nice seafood restaurant for lunch on the water. That took 1.5 hours. The food was delicious but I would have preferred to lunch in downtown Cascais. We had no time to walk around Cascais. So disappointed. We never saw Cabo da Roca.

10/1 The Tuk Tuk tour was a highlight! Our driver was knowledgeable and what was supposed to be a 1 hour tour turned into a 2 hour tour. We loved it and him.

Just so you know, the Lisbon airport on our arrival was confusing and we had to walk long distances to retrieve our international flight luggage, then walk to the intraPortugal flight area with our luggage, check-in, put our luggage in, wait in security and get to our gate. Luckily there were folks there to help with directions.

We had a terrific trip to Portugal visiting Porto, Lisbon, and the surrounding areas. This travel company specializes in Portugal and was very responsive to both our budget parameters as well as to our unique interests in food, art, and culture. 

Everything from the lodgings to the tours to the guides and drivers was extremely professional. We stayed in the cities and did day trips in Porto to the Douro valley and in Lisbon to Sintra, Cascais, and to an organic farm on the outskirts of the city. Each outing was well planned making optimal use of our time. We didn't need to think about ground transportation or timing and our travel planner even allowed for sufficient free time so that we could explore the cities on our own.

Our visit was slightly complicated by requirements for EU proof of vaccination (as opposed to CDC vaccination documentation). However, nothing was insurmountable and our travel planner facilitated testing appointments for our return to the USA (72 hours in advance was required).