Portugal Travel Agents

Trip was very well planned by Jaoa. All details were well thought out. Ivo and Carlos did a great job in driving us everywhere and providing detailed information about each site including all historical facts. The best part of the trip was cultural immersion by visiting a local fishing village, a small time wine maker, and participating in a cooking class!

The trip was very well planned by João and his team. Carlos and Ivo our driver/guide went out of their way to make sure we weee comfortable during the travel. Both are very knowledgeable and made our experience unforgettable.

Hotel Reviews

Cascais Miragem

Cascais - Portugal

Authenticity & Character

Great ambiance

Location

Close to the ocean

Staff

The entire staff was very courteous

Cleanliness & Comfort

Montebelo Lisbon Downtown Apartments

Lisboa

Great location, very convenient to walk to various restaurants. Apartment was clean

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to many great restaurants

Staff

Very courteous and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Place was clean

Condes de Azevedo Palace

Porto

Nice place. The first apartment that we were given was not comfortable for two couples. The management changed it for us for the next two days. Nice rustic feeling condos. Breakfast was amazing. Nice fresh salads, juice, cheese, pastries, bread.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable distance to the river and cathedral

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Discover Lisbon: Private 4-Hour Historic Center Driver Tour

Lisbon

The trip was good, wish we had a guide to explain is the details

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The vehicle was very spacious and clean

Marina planned the most fantastic memorable Portugal vacation. I could not have asked for more. Each event was VERY nice. All of the drivers were professional and prompt. The hotels were located in the center of all of the fun.
Filipe gave is a very informative historical tour of Lisbon with so much to learn.
Paulo made sure that we missed nothing on our way to and through Sintra and Cascais. What a phenomenal lunch and tour. I felt like family there.
I also truly enjoyed a solo toru in Coimbra.
Celia provided a great overview of Porto and I did not want the tour to end.
The Douro Wine Valley tour- truly the highlight. Pedro demonstrated his love for his country and it's history with wine. He made it so much fun and our group was the envy of others on the boat.
Marina hit a 10+ on planning this tour. I will never forget this vacation...

Hotel Reviews

PortoBay Marquês

Lisbon

In the heart of everything with excellent amenities. Professional staff and everyone was so welcoming. 10+

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very inviting

Hotel Oslo Coimbra

Coimbra

RIght next to the train station and close to everything that I wanted to see. Close walk to the river and great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Premium Porto Downtown

Porto

Right in the heart of everything. Hotel staff stored our bags until check in and offered suggested things to do until checkin. Great breakfast and Amazing rooftop bar.

Authenticity & Character

This hotle fit in with the location with all of the stores and restuarants in walking distance.

Location

I walked to everything in just a matter of minutes.

Staff

Friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pillows too soft.

Activity Reviews

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

I learned so much about the history of Lisbon from Filipe She was sooooo informed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Paulo made this a very special and memorable day. He is a very special person with a wealth of knowledge. He made sure that we got the most form each stop.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Smooth ride, wifi, great converstation and views.

Privately Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

Celia was so personable and excited to share her home town. I did not want the tour to end, Very special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

This was a great and fun food tour, Each stop offered a true culinary experience with wine. The sardine and mackeral blew me away.

Quality of Experience

Food

The wine pairings were perfect!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Douro Valley Excursion with Wine & Olive Oil Tastings & River Cruise

Porto

WOW. I was blown away by the views. Pedro made sure that we got pics of each event and made it so much fun. It did not feel like 8 hours at all. We were the envy of other groups on our boat because of Pedro.

Quality of Experience

Food

The fish at lunch......Soooo good. All of the wine... delish

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pedro made it fun. Each stop was ready for us.

Transport

Couple things to note:
- I do not write reviews unless something blows my mind - good or bad
- I was with my family, our teenagers close in age but very different in preferences. (Had our work cut out for us)

Let’s break this down into parts:
- KimKim process / portal (intro to AP)
- Across Portugal Experience
- Our Portugal itinerary
- Experiences & People
- Lodging

1. KimKim: I stumbled upon KimKim having given up on our standard (and unresponsive) travel agency. It was the perfect way to explore experiences without feeling alone or winging it on details that matter when you are jetlagged and out of your comfort zone. And now I am absolutely spoiled having met Pedro. He sets the bar so high that I am totally willing to try KimKim again but wary that anyone can match his care. That said - KimKim provided a super user-friendly interface, reliable communication and time lines. The payment and plan finalization was a breeze. Great platform, totally recommend.

2. Across Portugal: I cannot express how delightful our experience was. Pedro was so communicative and thoughtful in every interaction. And not just during or after the trip. The whole time. Any time I had a question, he answered within hours. What I appreciate most is that I came with ideas and Pedro listened and asked “why” to a couple of my accommodation and tour requests.
He gently redirected me and I am so glad he did. The first was hotel location in Lisbon. I had one neighborhood in mind and he suggested where we ended up staying. (I’ll explain more below). Another was, “mehhh, I don’t know if we need the cultural walking tour day after Sintra” and I am so glad he said “yeah…you do”. First of all, we had the same delightful guide Mariana as with Sintra (and Carlos, who I will get to as well!). We saw parts of the city which would have felt too far or not known how to navigate. Net/net - every single recommendation was SPOT ON. We were greeted by a thoughtful care package of treats. We ended each day with a reminder of our itinerary and time lines. The perfect combination of attention and space. Lovely lovely lovely. I wish he could do every country on our list!

3. Our Portugal itinerary: Probably not that uncommon but we have a history buff and a beach bum - so we chose to stay in Lisbon for 4 days and Algarve (Albufeira) for 5 days leaving 1 day close to the airport back in Lisbon. Day 1 we attempted all Anthony Bourdain spots on our own. Day 2 we went to Sintra and Caiscais. Day 3 was a private walking tour and wine tasting. Day 4 was on our own. Perfect balance of activity and time to explore or just stare. I love that city! From there we went to a private resort outside Albuferia - we could have walked to town but didn’t. We rented a car and it was easy (another recommendation from Pedro and glad we did) back to Lisbon for low stress.

4. People and Experiences: We started by meeting Carlos. What a guy. He was so kind and fun. A gentleman, historian. He cares so deeply. Carlos was chief transportation officer and so much more. He was ALWAYS early, everything handled with care, personal touches regarding recommended restaurants and experiences. He was so fun to be around we asked him to join us for a cliff jump in Algarve (he smartly declined - it was steep). Needless to say we spent nearly 16 hours across the span of our trip and we didn’t stop talking. We learned a ton, shared a ton. That said, I bet if you said - “I need to sleep” he would have lullaby music. Just a gem. We enjoyed his company so much I now call him our friend.
Then Mariana! “PORTUGAL!!!” Was her enthusiastic picture quote and she actually got our 15 yo daughter to smile. Repeatedly which is no small feat. Mariana was so kind and a great conversationalist as well. Not only with us but with everyone around her. She took our pictures and then if others asked, she just did. And when people were bustling by, she just let them pass. She had such a calm yet radiantly positive vibe that made hikes, crowds, decisions feel effortless. She and Carlos pivoted when we needed to at the end of our day tour with such ease. We also LOVED the walking tour the following day. You could really spend a week exploring Lisbon but when you cannot - find Mariana. She’ll show you what you need to see so you can make tough decisions on where to spend your time later. She didn’t blink at taking pics and took care to find the right angles and spaces. So grateful. The Lisbon Winery was a great place to end the day trip as it was calm, cool, great wine and very relaxing vibe. My only regret is that we couldn’t buy some wine.

5. Lodging: In Lisbon we stayed in Heritage Avenida Liberdade Boutique Hotel. Just like real estate. Location location location. We walked everywhere and with ease. The hotel was welcoming clean, comfortable. We received adjourning rooms so our teens had space. It was perfect. It is also a hotel in a historic city not a “resort”. So manage buffet and size expectations appropriately. We have done a fair bit of travel and found it to meet our needs entirely. Highly recommend. While in Algarve we went to Vilalara Thalassa resort. Shout out Nitin! He was our favorite human at that resort. Beautiful views, pickleball, pool, bountiful breakfast, beach access, ample parking, sunset on the deck, great restaurants within 5-10 mins drive. Amazing.

I am so wildly grateful to have met and worked with Pedro, Carlos, Mariana. Such a tremendous experience from beginning to end. Obrigata!

Hotel Reviews

Heritage Avenida Liberdade

Lisboa

Perfect location. Delightful blend of artistic influence with old world charm. Friendly and attentive staff. Ticked all of our boxes.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vilalara Thalassa Resort

Lagoa

Perfect for those seeking a resort experience. Typical of a resort, we waited a bit for check in but quickly forgot about a room when we hit the pool, beach, sangria on the deck. Great parking, pickleball courts, comfortable clean and quiet!

Authenticity & Character

Clean, quiet, not crowded.

Location

5-10 mins drive to GREAT restaurants

Staff

NITIN!!! We adore you! Nitin was so kind and courteous. We enjoyed spending time with him. Also Rueben. I did a “Hail Mary” to seek a cliff to jump from. Rueben happened to be a former life guard (he was at the front desk). Took time out of his day to drive me to a safe spot, shared best time for the tide. What a guy! We did it! (Estimating 55-60 FT - it was fabulous)

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were cleaned when we asked, we had onsite laundry with a drying rack.

Tivoli Oriente Hotel

Lisbon

Great spot for low-stress airport transport. Also, we were knackered after 10 days travel so we opted to do “the hotel bar” and wow, it was not a typical hotel joint. Roof-top, Fresh sushi, fun fusion recipes, great GTs, really refreshing sangria. We forgot that we just stayed at the hotel - it was a fun experience

Authenticity & Character

It was a little tired but it served its purpose

Location

Perfect for an easy trip to airport

Staff

Very kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Again, a little tired. The shower was small with a leaky glass door but it’s not atypical and we just needed to lay our heads for 8 hrs.

Activity Reviews

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

What made this special were Carlos and Mariana. Sintra and Caiscais were delightful, don’t get me wrong but what we learned and sa along the way was priceless lightening in bottle.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See my review on the trip and Trip Advisor - 10 stars

Transport

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour & Tastings

Lisbon

Great way to see a lot with 1/2 day. It gives great perspective on things you want to come back and dig into in more detail later!

Quality of Experience

Mariana was so generous with her time and knowledge

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vibe! Chill yet exciting. We just fell into a rhythm. Effortless and yet accomplished so much

Transport

We walked everywhere! Up and down and it was great. Forget the heels at home.

Small Group Boat Trip to the Timeless View of the Benagil Caves

Portugal

So glad we did this. Short yet long enough. At first I was bummed it wasn’t a kayak then quickly saw the beauty of the boat approach. We zoomed in and out of way more than would have been feasible in a kayak. Our guides were fun.

Quality of Experience

Great way to see natural beauty in Algarve while not sacrificing a beach day!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fun, jocular

Transport

Quick, easy - late enough for a nice breakfast and back by lunch to enjoy the sun