Kimkim Trip Reviews for Portugal

Our favorite accommodation was at NH Sintra Centro Hotel. Recently renovated, it offered beautiful views and was very updated and clean. Getting there was a bit tricky due to narrow roads, but once we arrived, it was perfect. The breakfast was excellent, and the overall experience was wonderful.

The Miramar Hotel & Spa in Nazaré was nice but not our favorite. The hotel was under construction, so the spa and indoor pool were closed. The room was clean, and the staff was polite, but it lacked some conveniences like an ironing board. The location was good, allowing us to walk to most places. Overall, it was a decent stay but could have been better.

Our stay at Pousada Porto—Rua das Flores was excellent. The hotel was in a prime location, especially during the St. John's Festival. The breakfast was fantastic, and the dinner we had there was delicious. The room was a bit small but very clean, and we spent most of our time outside, so it didn't matter much. The staff was polite, and we enjoyed the overall experience despite the room size.

We started our trip with a food and cultural walk in Lisbon, which was fantastic. Our guide took us to some traditional Portuguese places, including an olive oil shop that we probably wouldn't have found on our own. We were paired with two ladies from Tampa, Florida, and despite our initial doubts about getting along, we ended up having a blast and even stayed in touch. The guide was lovely and made the experience really special.

The tuk-tuk tour in Lisbon was another highlight. Our driver was punctual, knowledgeable, and spent plenty of time with us, giving us a rich history of the city. Lisbon's steep hills can be a lot to handle on foot, so this was a perfect way to see the city without too much walking. It was a great way to get around and learn about Lisbon.

This e-bike tour in Porto was incredible, though challenging due to the hot weather and the crowd from the St. John's Festival. Our guide was wonderful, spent extra time with us, and made sure we were safe and comfortable. He took us to less crowded trails and provided a lot of historical context, which we appreciated. He also brought water and snacks for us and even took great photos. This was a very active excursion, but we loved every minute of it.

Our favorite of the three hotels ;)

We have admittedly high standards when it comes to our resort hotels. Unfortunately, despite what appeared to be their best efforts Cascade Wellness just didn't meet the mark. Our first apartment (#511) was very disappointing-- a not insignificant walk to the main dining areas/pools with a view of the roundabout, combined with worn/dirty furnishings, dirty linens and black mildew rampant in the shower areas. We were disappointed enough that for only the 2nd time in my life, we requested a room change. The second apartment (#1111) was an improvement in terms of cleanliness/pool access. Overall, however, this resort needs refurbishment. The carpets/couches/draperies in both apartments need to be deep cleaned to remove stains and the furniture is noticeably dented and scratched. In the three days we spent poolside, the pool bar by the 'sand' pool never opened (we were there in mid-June and the pool was in use by many people). Landscaping does not appear to be watered regularly and walkways between buildings were in need of repair. We only ate at the hotel once after being unimpressed with our lunch, preferring either to go out and order in via UberEats. The front desk, however, did try to be helpful, providing good restaurant recommendations and, after moving us, checking to see if the new apartment was an improvement. Bottom line, this is not a 5 star, or even a 4 star, resort.

Great location, well appointed, clean rooms (the port in the rooms is a nice touch).

Great location, beautiful ocean views with a balcony. Large rooms (our adjoining rooms had dressing room area(s) larger than many hotel rooms). Only stayed one night so can't speak to the pool and other services.

Sintra is a can't miss stop on your visit to Portugal and, at the suggestion of our driver, Andre, we combined our visit to Pena Palace with a visit to Quinta Da Regaleira and a quick lunch in the old town area-- which made for a perfect day trip from Lisbon.

Lovely private boat tour along with coast. Knowledgeable, pleasant guide and appreciated the mid-ride port sampling and that our son got to help drive the boat. Would have liked the option to jump in the water at some point, but recognize that was not part of the itinerary.

beautiful hotel. exemplary staff

beautiful. a few of rooms were musty so had to move to differnt rooms. upgraded to big suite Would never stay in the new addition. extremely ugly

Fabulous, want to go back

a bit dated and small rooms and bathrooms

Will someday go back. loved everything about the hotel. Ate dinner there 3 times. superb

loved sintra and our guide was exceptional. Had lunch at his family restaurant and met his wife. Best guide on the trip

One of highlights of trip. Loved spending toime with a local family. they were lovely. Best food in Lisbon

very interesting. beuatiful buildings

amazing guide

it was good but short in the car

Very nice hotel, Great amenities with a great pool. 20 minutes walk to town but taxis and Uber are available easily. Spa on premises and a pool bar with a good lunch menus. Beautiful rooms but hard beds.

Great location, clean rooms and friendly staff. The dining at the hotel was delicious.

Our guide Pedro was super knowledgable and took us on a great walking tour of Lisbon. He showed up some less crowded ways to navigate the city. The tour concluded with a wine and cheese tasting. Great guide, great city.

Busy area of Porto, so you have to want to be where the action is. Balcony room a must. River view adds so much. Fantastic breakfast and staff.

Boutique hotel next to their much larger hotel in the center of Lisbon’s tourist area. Great staff. Smallish room without any view. OK breakfast.

WOW! What a beautiful property. Access to the ocean. Indoor/outdoor pools. Amazing breakfast in beautiful restaurants with outdoor eating in the gardens. Great room with ocean views. Short walk to downtown.

Cancelled due to holiday.

Driver just OK. Did adapt to our requests but didn’t adapt to issues in Cascais and never got to Estoril.

Personable driver. Could have provided more information on Coimbra.

Didn’t do this tour.

Excellent personable guide. Great insight into Porto’s history with multiple recommendations for shopping and restaurants.

Two great hikes and tour of the old city.

Guide was great. Tour was a good introduction to the city. She took us to ethnic food areas that were outstanding. It is unlikely that we would have discovered these intimate areas.

Didn’t do this tour.

Cooking lunch with Chef Sara Verde in her restaurant was a highlight of this trip. She was a wonderful host.

Great investigation of the Northwestern part of Madeira. A little too much time in the 4X4. Longer stops would be better.

Great place to stay with kids, amazing pool, activities, and right across the road from the ocean! Comfortable beds, large rooms, lovely house keeping ladies. We loved the Italian restaurant by the pool, friendly waiters and delicious food.

Loved this hotel, welcoming, comfortable and enjoyed the personal touches the staff made to make us feel valued. Great location, comfy beds and beautiful linen.

Great captain and guide on board, kept us safe on a choppy sea, but also made sure we got value for money. Friendly, English speaking and fun

We loved this day out, Pepe our driver was so friendly, knowledgeable patient and respectful. We were in safe hands, he was able to offer a range of activities, recommended places for lunch and extra spots of interests to suit our group. Loved Sintra!

Breakfast was excellent and sufficient to keep you energized until dinner as long as there was a pastry stop midday. Only negaive was we had to go outside to get to our room

Tiago made sure our experience was broad a d detailed at the same time. We missed nothing and came away with a broader understanding of what occurred in Spain and Portugal during the inquisiton

The tour was great

We walked around the town and got a feel for the history of the area. Tiago made sure that we got a taste of local food in each of the areas we traveled and we did a lot of walking

Location and staff were amazing! 10 out of 10. The particular room we were given was slightly dated but served us well overall and we appreciated having a nice outdoor balcony on our room.

We spent only one night in this hotel but found it to be comfortable, clean, modern, and with very friendly staff.

Beautiful hotel, modern clean rooms with helpful staff and a great bar up on the roof.

We loved this hotel. Super friendly staff, great view, large clean room, and wonderful pools to swim in. The complimentary breakfast was the best of our entire trip. At first it may seem like there are not many restaurants nearby but an easy 5 minute walk puts you in touch with some great bars and food establishments, just need to go looking. Walking into the city of Funchal was possible from here and it was nice to be away from the noise of the city. Great choice for this property.

Beautiful, clean, modern hotel in walking distance from the Airport. Great for transfers but not great as a vacation destination property as it’s too far from most of the Lisboa attractions.

What a breathtaking experience this was. The scenery was out of this world. A must visit for anyone coming to the Porto area of Portugal.

This was fantastic and in our opinion a must do for people visiting Porto. Our guide and all the restaurants who welcomed us were outstanding. Highly recommended.

This was a great tour for us but we could see that it may not be right for everyone. We loved the up close experience we had to seeing the sights of Porto but in doing so you need to put your steep hill shoes on and be prepared to navigate some crazy streets and sidewalks. 100% ok for us but perhaps not for all. Our guide did a great job of looking after us.

Beautiful, breathtaking, spectacular scenery and a wonderful guide

This one is a “must” for visitors to Portugal. It will be an entire day excursion in a van but worth every minute in our opinion. We were also fortunate to have a tour guide at the “expert” level and one that even had a plan-B for every delay or possible interruption we encountered. This trip could not have gone more smoothly. Highly recommend.

This one experience made our entire 2 week visit to Portugal worthwhile. We were welcomed into the home of Sofia and Carlos and they immediately made us feel like family. We enjoyed a beautiful home cooked meal, we laughed, told stories, and were treated like friends. I cannot envision a more genuine experience when visiting Portugal and full credit goes to our hosts Sofia’s and Carlos for this night. This is not something that could be repeated by just any host - this couple is truly special and they deserve a huge thanks for being such great ambassadors for the wonderful country of Portugal.

This was a fantastic way to see Lisbon. However, it turned out that pretty much our entire bike ride was either flat or downhill. As a result, there was really no need for an e-bike. At the same time, it would have also been great to have an option, even at extra cost, to keep the bike beyond the tour for extra exploring. We saw so many sights and wanted to return for a better look and a bicycle is the perfect vehicle for the excursion.

Great experience and extremely worthwhile. We had set off to Madeira thinking that we would need to do several different tours of the island to see the highlights. Lo and behold, this one day trip in an open jeep took us to almost everywhere we had wanted to go. It was perfect and if one has only a few days to spend on Madeira then this is a great way to have a condensed high quality experience. Our tour guide was funny, informative, a great driver, and went above and beyond for everyone’s benefit. Job well done here.

This was an enjoyable experience and we were most grateful to see the Madeira shoreline by kayak and then to snorkel in the protected waters of the Atlantic. The facility we left shore from was first class. Our only concern on this trip was that the nice young man who was our guide was really put in a very difficult position. He never complained or asked for anyone’s help but he was expected to single handedly launch, and then lift 75 lb. kayaks up out of the ocean, and pull them solo up a 6 ft ladder with just a rope wrapped around his arm. He wouldn’t let his customers (us) help him and it’s a miracle he wasn’t physically injured by his job. We felt sorry for him and his employer should be checked for creating an unsafe work environment. I think the young man didn’t want to complain and we sensed that he greatly valued the job he’d been given. Just a bit sketchy to watch.

Fabulous place to stay!

Beautiful hotel, great setting.

Rooms were small but the setting was fantastic and their breakfast was first class. The only thing missing was a fitness centre

Great location and nice rooms. The fitness centre could have better equipment.

Nice rooms and great breakfast.

Good location with nice views of the city.

Beautiful rooms with great beds. Nice rooftop bar but no fitness centre

Overall the places we went to were good except maybe for the last stop for desert. The guide was great.

We expected we were going to vineyards for wine tastings not port tastings since we did this in Porto The cruise was a little disappointing as well as i didn't realize we were doing a circle instead of going from one stop to another

We didn't get to visit the library in Coimbra as we should have gotten advance tickets. We didn't realize how popular the tours were . Since it was a stop I would have coordinated a tour with the driver so we would gotten there at a scheduled time,

A nice walking tour of Lisbon explaining some of the history

Different and nice way of visiting Belem but not enough time to see the sights,

Great visit to Quinta Regaleira Sintra and Cascais

Guide was very knowledgeable and had some great tips

Great visit to the vineyard where we got to taste good quality wines and food.

We wanted more of a bike ride along the cliffs and not so much time in the city

Our guide took us some great spots along the way and we watched the sunset in a great spot.

Great visit to the caves.

The Cascade Wellness Resort was wonderful. The staff were very friendly and the hotel amenities were amazing. It was not a far taxi/Uber ride from the train station and when we arrived we were warmly welcomed and stayed in a very luxurious room. The infinity pools were so nice and the restaurants were top notch. One of the managers Cristiana Garoto was very very helpful.

Rooms are lovely, well-appointed and the air conditioning works well. The breakfast is extensive and they have coffee, tea and snacks 24/7. You can also get cooked to order eggs if you ask. Outstanding location, within walking distance to so many great restaurants and attractions. Highest recommendation!

This hotel is beautiful and we were fortunate to have a room in the old, refurbished section. The location is in the middle of everything, within walking distance to restaurants, shops and attractions. The staff was attentive and the breakfasts were extensive and varied.

This is a really nice hotel in a good location. The rooms were spacious. Everything was within a walkable distance. The breakfast was outstanding - so many choices.

Everything about this hotel was amazing. It’s small (maybe 12 rooms). Spacious rooms with large patios and such incredible views!!!!

Truly an amazingly preserved 1940s vibe. The staff were top notch and the amenities were plentiful. Breakfast was delicious and served until noon. They also provide tea and snacks in the afternoon and port all the time. They decor is lovely and the rooms are comfortable.

Exploring the Algarve on a private yacht was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The landscape changed so much in a short period, and it was absolutely stunning. This activity was one of the highlights of our trip and provided some incredible memories.

The dinner with live Fado music was probably our least favorite experience. The venue was very small, the dinner was quite long, and the food wasn't as good as we had hoped. However, the music and the experience were unique and worth it for the cultural exposure, just not something we'll be likely to repeat.

The Wine Estate Visit in the Douro Valley was really wonderful. Even though none of us are huge wine drinkers, we wanted to experience the local culture, and this tour did not disappoint. We even got to walk through the fields, which was a unique and enjoyable experience. This was definitely one of the highlights.

The walking tour in Porto was a great way to get our bearings and learn where everything was. The guide was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of interesting historical details. It helped us feel more comfortable navigating the city on our own afterward. Overall, it was a solid way to get a sense of the city.

This hotel was gorgeous! It also was very centrally located with a small but adequate gym and a beautiful indoor pool. The breakfast buffet was great and the bar in the hotel was great. We would recommend this hotel to anyone visiting Porto.

This hotel was centrally located and very nice with pleasant staff. The rooms and beds were very comfortable. We were very happy that we actually returned to the same hotel for our final night.

One of the most unique and beautiful hotels we've ever had the good fortune to visit. We wish we could have stayed a second night!

We loved this hotel! It was the perfect way to end our wonderful vacation. The pool was lovely and the walk to the beach was only about 15 minutes once we figured out how to get there. The breakfast buffet was outstanding complete with an omelette bar and special section for gluten-free foods. The rooms were very nice and the beds very comfortable.