João Branco

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

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

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

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

Activity Reviews

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.

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

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

Activity Reviews

Private transfer from {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} with stops in Óbidos and 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

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

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

Joao and team provided an exceptional service for our family trip to Portugal. Having someone with local knowledge helped us find great hotels and tours. We were pampered with airport transfers, private walking tours in Lisbon and Porto, wine tasting in Duoro region, hiking in the mountains with a guide who shared with us pumpkin jam made by his Mom with local bread and cheese. While using drivers for Lisbon, Porto and Duoro we rented a car to travel to the mountains and Algarve and Portugal roadways are easy to drive. Our time in the Algarve was our highlight, kayaking, hiking and swimming. We finished off with two relaxing days in Cascais where pool time was a perfect end. Joao and team checked in daily to let us know timing for our next day which was lovely as I didn’t need to think about these details. Their support in planning our trip as we tweaked and changed activities, dates etc was fantastic and took away tons of hours of internet research and gave us the confidence in what we were booking. And they did all the booking. Truly exceptional service and local knowledge. I would recommend Across Portugal to anyone planning to visit Portugal.

Hotel Reviews

Condes de Azevedo Palace

Porto

Wow. We walked into our two bedroom suite and we couldn’t believe how nice. Great location for sightseeing.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great access to sightseeing historic sights and river front.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Galé Cascais

Cascais

A little dated. Very family friendly.

Authenticity & Character

While situated adjacent to historic buildings, this is more of a standard hotel and is dated.

Location

Close to the coast, and the Inferno. About 15 mins walk to town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Montebelo Lisbon Downtown Apartments

Lisboa

Great location to central historic district of Lisbon. Nice 2 bedroom unit. Self check in.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Self check in, so only connection with staff was through What’s App.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pousada da Serra da Estrela - Historic Hotel

Covilha

Cool location up the mountain. Restaurant was ok, but not great. We found a pub 5 mins up the hill further that had more atmosphere and good food for our second night.

Authenticity & Character

Interesting history.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Due to wild fire risk Sintra palace was closed and our driver was hesitant due to traffic to travel into the village. We were a bit disappointed in hindsight. Lovely lunch restaurant recomendation.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lots of personal recommendations and history to share.

Transport

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

Very neat experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Historic Odyssey Walking Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Be ready to walk with Claudia. We did almost 20,000 steps thru short cuts that only a local would know. Lots of historical knowledge and a wonderful private wine tasting and charcuterie at the end.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Great way to see the highlights of the city and go back to spend more time inside. Incredible knowledge of the city and history. The train station is beautiful and tells such a story.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Douro River Escape: 1-Hour Exclusive Cruise

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike & Bite with Peaks & Paths

Serra da Estrela Nature Park

Local guide shared with us locally made products including his Mom’s pumpkin jam. Our hike was adjusted due to wild fire risk that closed the National Park. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and trails we did at the peak.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Portugal

Driver was knowledgeable. We learned about cork trees!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ponta da Piedade Small Group Kayak Adventure

Portugal

Great trip….small kayak tour…it was just the four of us. Lovely coastline to explore and helpful guides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport