João Branco

Our trip to Portugal was fantastic from beginning to end. Everything that was promised was delivered, and the entire experience felt seamless, thoughtful, and very well executed.

I work in the travel industry for a company that provides luxury travel services (Nothing to do with Portugual or Europe), so I’ll admit that I have fairly high standards and can be a little skeptical about turning over the planning of our own family vacation to someone else. Joao very quickly put those concerns to rest.

From the initial contact, he was responsive, thorough, and understood what would make the trip right for our family. Traveling with a 14-year-old, an 18-year-old, and two parents isn’t necessarily an easy audience to please, but Joao created an itinerary that was remarkably well balanced. There was enough planned to make each day interesting and memorable without ever making the trip feel over-scheduled. Everyone had something to enjoy, which is no small accomplishment!

Joao’s attention to detail continued well beyond the planning stage. He checked in with us just before we left, throughout the trip, and again after we returned home. He also remembered that we were celebrating our 31st anniversary, and that personal touch ( with flowers and treates) meant a great deal to us.

Our accommodations were wonderful, well chosen, and very well located. Condes de Azevedo Palace in Porto was a particular highlight and such a memorable place to stay. The locations of all the hotels made exploring easy, whether on foot or using Uber.

Our driver/guides in each city were personable, punctual, friendly and gave us a deeper understanding of the region. The vehicles were immaculate and comfortable.

Perhaps what I appreciated most, especially given my own background in travel, was how effortless the trip felt. I know that “effortless” travel usually means someone has done a great deal of work behind the scenes. Joao clearly had. We were able to simply enjoy Portugal, enjoy our family, and celebrate 31 years together without worrying about the details.

We came home with wonderful memories and an enormous appreciation for Joao and the care he put into our trip. I would absolutely use KimKim again and would recommend Joao without hesitation.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

Very spacious. The hotel is being renoveated in two months so any review seems irrelevant but it was great for near term travelers.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Especially wonderful, knowing the hotel was dosing soon.

Staff

Especially wonderful, knowing the hotel was dosing soon.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

Condes de Azevedo Palace

Porto

Beautifullly restored. Loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It wasm very convienent that it had a small parking lot that allowed pick up/dropoff/

Staff

The Manager on Duty was from a sister hotel but but he carried our luggage and went out of his way to get ice for my husbands knee and provide restaurant recommendations.

Cleanliness & Comfort

They don't provide daily housekeeping unless you request. This is fine, we requested and received but I do like to have my room made up daily without any additional effort.

PortoBay Marquês

Lisbon

Comfortable and well located for easy transportation.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

To Eat Suggestion: Brasão - Coliseu

Porto

Although we had a reservation we had to wait. Confusion about our order.

Quality of Experience

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

Performance was good. Service was terrible, Food was mediocre, Didn't like that the performer came around to sell his CDs.

Quality of Experience

Food

Tickets to Lello Bookshop

Porto

It was good but would have benefited from clearer understanding of how the tickets work. The guide for the walking tour didn't seem to know we had tickets and didn't give us clear understanding of how the ticketing system worked.

Quality of Experience

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Essence of Douro - A River, Wine, and Gastronomy Experience with a Private Driver

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Sintra's Fairytale Villa with a Private Driver and Pena Palace Tickets

Portugal

Discover Lisbon’s Historic Center & Belém in a 3-Hour Tuk Tuk Adventure

Lisbon

We had a magical and effortless trip to Portugal thanks to the fine work of Joao and his team. Every need and transfer requirement was anticipated and provided for making every day so relaxed. All of the accommodations were exceptional - especially the Albatroz Hotel in Cascais and the Savoy in Madeira - in terms of proximity and quality. Our guide and driver in Lisbon and Cascais - Ruy - went the extra mile at every turn making our planned excursions even more special. He was such an exceptional person to meet. And Ricardo's wonderful gastronomic tour of Lisbon exceeded our expectations as he brilliantly brought to life Lisbon's history through its food. Our time at Lisbon Winery was particularly fun and informative! Madeira was a wonderful way to end our trip. We were so glad that Joao booked two days with Madeira Safari - with our guide Gabriel - so that we got to see so much of the beautiful island and drive off road into amazing areas otherwise not accessible. The views and flowers and walks and waterfalls and lunches both days were simply astounding. I highly recommend working with Joao for a trip that caters to your interests and needs. It was fantastic!

Activity Review

Flavors of Lisbon in a Premium & Gastronomic Private Walking Tour

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Decided to go to Portugal with about a month's notice. João listened to my rambling because I was unsure about anything other than when we would arrive and depart Portugal. João patiently adjusted the plans as I added people, removed people, added requests, and changed my mind. Once our group finally arrived, we really appreciated João's daily report on what to expect and the details for the following day. João arranged for Richardo to drive us from Lisbon to Porto and around, and back to Lisbon. Ricardo was a wonderful driver and guide over the few days we spent with him. Ricardo was so kind and made many wonderful suggestions. We also spent time with Carlos as we toured from Lisbon to Sintra to Oeiras. My husband, who always sits in the front passenger seat, really enjoyed the discussion and the perspective on Portugal's history and current events. Carlos made food recommendations that were spot on. We also spent most of one day on a walking tour with Claudia. We loved learning about a day in the life of the average Portuguese living in the capital city, surrounded by so much history and beautiful structures. We laughed so much with Claudia as her sense of humor aligned perfectly with ours. Everyone with Kimkim proudly shared their beloved hometowns and country with our group, making our time in Portugal feel like more than just a spur-of-the-moment getaway. I highly recommend and trust Kimkim to make all of our trip arrangements in the future, including when we, one day, return to Portugal.

Activity Reviews

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

The food was delicious. The performance was moving. The venue was incredible. I would have liked the venue to provide some history of the establishment, the performance, and the artist, as well as a timeline of the evening.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dropped us off at the front door

The Essence of Douro - A River, Wine, and Gastronomy Experience with a Private Driver

Portugal

Everyone loved the drive, the boat ride, and the lunch at the winery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ricardo was amazing

Transport

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour with Ginjinha & Pastel de Nata

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Claudia was amazing

Transport

We walked and rode the public elevators.

We have rarely used tour guides, though we travel frequently. And we'd never used an online tool like Kim Kim before. It really was a great combo of tech (KimKimm) +people (Across Portugal). The trip was well planned, fit our criteria, gave us the freedom to explore while securing must-see and do activities. From the jump, Joao at Across Portugal worked with us to shape our itinerary and communicated regularly. But all that really was just the start. Joao's team at Across Portugal reached out to us via Whatsapp twice a day and, for example, linking us to the tickets we'd need for our trip to Sintra so they were handy on our phones. It felt very much like we had friends in-country to the point that somewhere along the way we started sending the team photos through Whatsapp. Perhaps though, best of all, when our flights got canceled out of Porto due to weather in Amsterdam, Joao supported us by securing transportation to and a hotel in Lisbon. All that service, plus a tech platform that was intuitive and delivered clear itineraries. So ... do see Portugal. It's an amazing place full of kind people, great food and signature moments (we'll certainly remember many as life-long travel highlights) ... And when you do, use Across Portugal and Kim Kim.

Muito obrigado!!! to Joao, Diana, Marisa and Pedro at Across Portugal; Our drivers Carlos, Ruis and Ricardo; Our walking tour guides Rita (Lisbon) and Sara (Porto) and the many great folks at the Heritage Liberdade Hotel in Lisbon; PineCliffs Resort in the Algarve and PortoBay Flores Hotel in Porto. 5 stars all around!

João and his team planned the perfect trip for us through KimKim. We came to him with some ideas of things we wanted to do and see in Portugal, explained to him the family dynamics of the trip and we would need accommodations and activities for three generations of our family. And finally, we complicated everything by scheduling this vacation over the Christmas holidays, knowing that some locations might be closed for the holiday as well, but those dates worked best for us, as that was when the kids were out of school.

João did an awesome job of planning everything for us. The hotels were wonderful. He managed to schedule all the activities that we asked to see (Sintra, Coimbra, Fatima, etc) and also planned a bunch of others for us that were perfect can’t miss events in Portugal that we hadn’t thought of ourselves – such as a Fado dinner. He kept us busy every day, which is just what we wanted, and all three generations in the family had an incredible time. All our drivers were great, but Ricardo and Pepe were really incredible. Super patient with the kids and answered every question from the adults as well as pointing out all kinds of interesting details along the way. I liked that we had the same driver for an entire region, and not just a different random person every day – we really got to know our drivers better, and they got to know us.

The kimkim team went beyond and above anything I’ve experienced before! Top notch all the way! Can’t recommend them enough, you can not do any better than kimkim!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

Amazing hotel, like to spend a lot more time there great food

Authenticity & Character

Normally not our style, but we really enjoyed it

Location

Right by the ocean can’t be beat

Staff

They seem to be tears and headlights

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very curious is a very comfort comfort

Eurostars Porto Douro

Porto

Very nice hotel, and I can be without hesitation

Authenticity & Character

Very attractive

Location

Good location

Staff

Staff was

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hit all the good spots without he

Heritage Avenida Liberdade

Lisboa

Very nice hotel I can recommend it without hesitation

Authenticity & Character

Very attractive

Location

Right in the middle of everything

Staff

Attending

Cleanliness & Comfort

Couldn’t be better

Activity Reviews

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

My absolute favorite was the Douro Valley experience. The area is simply stunning, and even though it was raining the whole time, the beauty and experience were still incredible. It left the best impression on both of us!

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Our Sintra tour was a bit of a letdown, mostly because the weather was terrible the entire time. Had we been able to switch our schedule and visit on a better day weather-wise, it would have made a big difference.

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

Something everybody should do at least once

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

Lisbon

Very good gave us a lot of good insight info

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I’m

Transport

We had a wonderful visit to Portugal and a great experience planning our trip with Joao from Kimkim. I have to commend Rui for going above and beyond by spending more time than planned in providing us our visits between Lisbon and Porto, knowing he still had to drive back later from Porto than expected. He was so kind to care more about us than himself.
We also had a wonderful trip to the Duoro valley with Ricardo. Ricardo also went out of his way by stopping at a couple points of interest we missed in Porto due to the bad weather one of our nights there. Both he and Rui shared a lot of history with us and also chatted about all kinds of topics. So pleasant to be in their company.
Sandra our Tuk Tuk driver was also a lot of fun. And Pedro in Porto was a wealth of historical knowledge. Nuno also provided a nice day with a hike and lunch in Serra da Estrella. Our othertour guides in Lisbon, Evora and Lagos were also very nice and informative but I unfortunately do not remember their names.
All of our accomodations were very nice and everyone who met with us were prompt and pleasant people.
Joao checked in on us daily and responded to us promptly from the very beginning of planning our trip to even after we arrived back home to the US. Our trip felt very personal even when we were in very busy areas that many other tourists go. This helped to reduce a lot of stress.
I would definitely use Kimkim travel specialists again. They even included a few surprise treats along the way.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

I have to say the turkish bath and sauna spa at this hotel is fabulous. The room was spacious and the bed was so very comfortable.

Pousada da Serra da Estrela - Historic Hotel

Covilha

Beautiful location and views. So peaceful.

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is a remodeled TB sanitorium, kept to mimic the austerity of the buildings origin, but designed to provide you a very peaceful and scenic surrounding.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Britania Art Deco

Lisbon

The staff here were very polite and pleasant. The art deco decor made for nice and peaceful surroundings, taking you back in time. I want to also give extra kudos to the gentleman from Brazil ( whose name eludes me- perhaps Joseph ) who made us espresso martinis and made us feel very welcome.

Authenticity & Character

Restored to the art deco vintage style it was originally built.

Location

Centrally located

Staff

Very pleasant and accomodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

We enjoyed our experience int he Douro Valley with a winery tour and lunch followed by a private boat ride on the river. The Pachega winery was a very nice place and scenic location. They shared with us some lovely wines during our tasting. Our driver took us to beautiful look outs too along the way.

Quality of Experience

A great day

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ricardo was a friendly and very accomodating driver

Transport

The van was clean and very comfortable

Private Transfer From {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Óbidos & Nazaré

Portugal

We had many amazing private tours on our trip, but I wanted to review this one because our driver Rui went above and beyond in providing us the chance to include Tomar on our way from Lisbon to Porto. This took a lot of extra time, and never once did he seem perturbed to have exceeded our 5 hour trip. He also suggested a restaurant in Tomar that was like being in the Taverna's of old. The Convent of Christ's church was beautiful. Amazing to imagine how it was built so long ago.

Quality of Experience

For us personally I think I would have liked to tour Tomar instead of Obidos

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rui was very accomodating and not just worried about his time

Transport

Nice clean Mercedes van

João was always helpful and patient with us and all of guides friendly and knowledgeable with special shout- out to Ricardo who taught us a lot about life in Portugal .
Our one complaint was with apartments in Lisboa. There was no one there to check us in and we waited outside for at least a half an hour before someone contacted us by what’s App. Someone should have contacted us ahead of time with virtual check in and out procedures. Although apartments are nice and in great neighborhood they are not ideal for tourists because of these issues as well lack of parking for drop off: pick up.
Other minor complaint with room in Porto which was quite small for 2 people

We traveled throughout Portugal for 14 days visiting Lisbon, Sintra, Obidos, Nazare, Porto, Evora, Lagos and Cascais in celebration of our 2nd wedding anniversary. Across Portugal and Joao were amazing to work with from planning through navigation during our two-week visit. Joao (and Diana) checked in with us daily via WhatsApp to provide a daily itinerary (even though we also had access via the portal). We've worked with other agencies through KimKim and Across Portugal was the first to check in on a daily basis. They seemed very much invested in our experience and provided excellence customer services. We received a wonderful welcome box with local Portuguese treats!

Joao worked with us to customize our trip to fit our interests and made tweaks along the way. We were also able to add a last-minute experience during our last couple of days of the trip. The trip was the perfect balance of excursion/experiences and rest/relaxation. All of the tour guides and drivers were very kind and both knowledgeable and proud of their country's history and heritage. Claudia (Lisbon) and Sara (Porto) were very knowledgeable and provided us with a wealth of information during our walking tours. L

In particular, Evo (and Ricardo) who was our guide/driver for several days in Porto and beyond, was particularly exceptional! He loves his city of Porto and Portugal and became like family by the end of the trip. Our experience to the Douro Valley (so unlike any other wine territory I've visited) was amazing an Evo was able to truly personalize the experience for us. Dinner with Locals was also a highlight for us as we were able to share an amazing meal prepared by Evo's mother. The food was amazing and the company even better! Porto was amazing and would recommend any trip to Portugal include 3-4 days in Porto. Luis- driver in Lisbon was also very friendly and accommodating.

Some highlights include: (1) Day trip to Sintra (Pena Palace was beautiful) (2) Fado dinner in Lisbon was such uniquely intimate and amazing experience. Despite some previous reviews, we thought the food was very good and the Port freely flowing! The Fado music was dramatic and moving. We loved it (3) Lisbon Winery (Vinho Verde) (4) Sandemann Port Tasting Tour was amazing (Joao even surprised us with a charcuterie board to the envy of other attendees- we shared with the table (5) Douro Valley day trip (6) Dinner with Locals in Porto (6) Lagos boat tour Ponta da Piedade and the boardwalk views along the coastline an (6) Comporta horseback riding day trip. Obidos was also lovely--loved the Ginjinha!

Food was amazing. Cataplana was incredible, sea bass and other fresh fish....and my new favorite pastry the Pastel de Nata (I may be having withdrawals)

All in all, it was an amazing trip and experience! Thanks to Joao and team for making it so personal!

Angela and Douglas