João Daniel

Joao did an amazing job planning our two week adventure and was very patient and accommodating of all our requests and revisions. While we were sad not to meet him in person, he was great about checking in with us throughout our trip.
Highlights in Lisbon were Casa Balthazar, dinner with locals, cooking class and shopping the open air market on Avenida da Liberdade.
Highlights in Porto were dinner at Cantinha de Avillez, the food tour and gelato! Unfortunately we didn't have the intel that we needed to purchase tickets to the Lello bookstore way in advance, and Cafe Magnifico had too long a line to wait.
We had high expectations for Nazare and Obidos, and sadly, because of the number of tourists and a Renaissance Fair, respectively, these two stops were the most disappointing of the trip.
Highlights in Monsaraz were the beautiful Montimerso Skyscape (though we were there when the famed restaurant was closed) and the cork tour. The olive oil tour was good, but not exceptional because the oil wasn't being produced at that time, and the ceramics class was good but frustrating, for we couldn't take home our creations.
The Algarve highlight was by far the sailing excursion with Skipper Rob and spending time in Lagos. The Aldeia de Pedralva is great for a family with children, but not super conducive for a couple looking for privacy and quiet.
We visited a friend in Setubal and getting there by ferry was an awesome suggestion. The 34 Guest House was lovely.

We learned some important things to consider when planning our next trip:
1. We were interested in learning about the Portuguese culture overall, but many of the recommended stops and sights centered on visiting castles, palaces, monasteries, convents and fortresses. While we understand that they are deeply rooted in the history of the country, we completely tired of them mid-trip. We found out during our ceramics class, for example, that that part of the country is famous for making pottery, with many, many pottery shops. We would have loved to explore those, but found out about them too late.
2. When renting a car, we need to request a mid-size vehicle since my husband is very tall and could barely fold himself in and out of the Kia Stonic.
Overall, we had an amazing adventure and certainly plan to use Kim Kim again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Balthazar

Lisbon

Fantastic hotel and the most delicious breakfast of the trip. Concierge Ruth went above and beyond and was amazing.

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Thomar Boutique Hotel

Tomar

Great hotel and location. Loved the free parking and the roof deck.

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Torel Palace Porto

Porto

Over the top hotel in a great location with a good breakfast. Our room had some maintenance issues: broken lamp and towel bar and electrical sockets falling off the wall in the bathroom. Surprisingly they updated us to a room with jacuzzi on the balcony, which we definitely took advantage of, but could not figure out how to drain

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Pousada Castelo de Óbidos

Óbidos

Dark, dingy room with musty, mildew smell and a terrible, cold breakfast. Accessibility and parking were very difficult, especially in the middle of a Renaissance Fair.

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Tomas and Pedro went above and beyond. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have ended up staying there.

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Maintenance, updating and a more comfortable bed. Serve pancakes and waffles hot, rather than ice cold.

Montimerso SkyScape

Monsaraz​

Beautiful location and accommodations. We would have loved to try their famed restaurant, but sadly it was closed during our stay. Good breakfast!

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Aldeia da Pedralva - Slow Village

Vila do Bispo

This was an interesting choice for a couple, as this village is more geared to families with children that stay up late and are very loud. There is no privacy - the windows need to stay open for air circulation (no AC) but the windows, including in the bedroom, are at eye level, so passers by can look straight into the bedroom and living area! The restaurants in the village are good, but breakfast was not - it was cold and they did not replenish the food during serving hours, so we were frequently left with very few choices.

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Our room was never cleaned during our stay and there is a severe lack of lighting.

34 Guesthouse Setúbal

Setúbal

Great hotel with very accommodating staff. Parking was difficult.

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Activity Reviews

Market Visit & Cooking Class

Lisbon

A great way to learn about the local cuisine and meet others!

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The chef ended up being great, but he started off surly and nasty

Dinner With Locals

Portugal

Sofia and her husband Carlos welcomed us into their home with warmth and grace and served us a deliciously authentic meal, from appetizers to dessert with wine pairings throughout. We had a wonderful meal with awesome people who we can now call friends!

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Food Tour

Porto

Loved beginning at the market and having the opportunity to walk the city and sample such a great variety of food typical to the region. Ricardo was exceptional about his knowledge of the region and the food/wine. Very highly recommend!

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Cork Farm Visit

Portugal

We learned so much about this local resource and it was super interesting to visit and learn about the forest and estate.

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He was very knowledgeable but a bit pompous.

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Pottery Workshop

Portugal

This was a fun activity with an awesome instructor, but we couldn't take home our creations.

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Olive Oil Tasting

Monsaraz

We learned a lot about olive oil and had even more fun tasting it! Unfortunately they weren't producing the oil when we visited.

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Half Day Sailing Tour

Portugal

Skipper Rob and first mate Anatoli were incredible! They made this trip an absolute pleasure, and even served us tapas! A true highlight of our two week vacation.

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Gorgeous, beautifully maintained boat!

We had an amazing trip to Portugal planned by Kim Kim. The hotels in every city we visited were in the best areas of each city. We had an awesome food tour in Porto, and a great guide for our time in Lisbon. I would highly recommend Kim Kim to anyone who is looking for a stress free vacation.

Our guide Joel in Lisbon was amazing . Professional and very knowledgeable . Hotels were great and everyone was friendly.

Joao curated a terrific trip for us. While we really enjoyed our time in Lisbon, Joao gave us a great history lesson on the city and the country over several centuries. That history lesson provided us with a much better appreciation as to what inspired the architecture over the years. Outside of Lisbon, we really enjoyed our visits to Fatima, Batalha Monastery, Pena Palace and Nazare (home of the world’s largest waves). We had some last minute adjustments to our schedule and Joao accommodated those requests and was incredibly friendly and helpful along the way. At the end of our trip, one of our family members accidentally left their eyeglass case in his van. He could have easily left in the van and did nothing. Instead, he texted us, met us at our last excursion and offered to drive us in his personal vehicle back to a spot near our hotel. Joao was caring, thoughtful and worked very hard to ensure that we had a memorable experience in Portugal (which we did!). Thank you again, Joao!!!

Wonderful trip. Joao did great job of lining up variety of activities and we very much appreciated the reservations and suggestions for activities along the way - suggesting parking locations took a lot of the "stress" of trying to figure out exactly where to go.

Starting the trip with private tours around Lisbon, Cascais & Sintra with Francisco was terrific way to gain better insight into Portugal's history and introduction to the country. We feel we were lucky to experience the freedom day marches and festivities in Lisbon - added a unique and interesting touch to our short time in Lisbon. The Fado dinner was a very enjoyable evening - host, cook, and server were all terrific; singers & musicians were delightful (the evening got long, especially when still adjusting to the time changes).

All the lodging arrangements were very nice - enjoyed the boutique hotels in Tomar, Douro, and Evora - all served as great locations to explore the surrounding area. And we very much appreciate that KimKim allowed us to select our own lodging in Lagos - we ended up at a very special and unique place that made a wonderful trip even more special and memorable.

Too many highlights to mention in a short review - Obidos, Nazere, Batalha were all terrific stops as we made our way to Tomar; we stopped at a grocery store as we neared Nazere and had the first of many picnic lunches on the rock cliffs looking over the beach and surfing waves.

In Tomar we explored Christ Convent and castle and then went for a hike in the castle gardens & woods to a large swing on a high overlook - during our hike the power went out in all of Portugal, Spain & France so when we came back down to town all the stores, museums, and restaurants were closed - we enjoyed a picnic & afternoon in the park by the river and when power came back around 7:00 we found an English pub that reopened; for us the power outage was just a slight detour / blip in the trip and a relaxing afternoon.

The Old Library and Chapel at Cambria were amazing and well worth visiting on the way to Douro Valley. We set google maps to "avoid highways" on the way to Douro and traveled some amazing back country roads and villages including a short stop to watch a heard of goats and their canine keepers move up the valley along a beautiful stream. National Road 222 to Duoro was breathtaking - after checking into the beautiful hotel, we set out to an overlook spot recommended by the receptionist. The nearby village had a single restaurant that we stopped at - the chicken and potatoes were absolutely terrific - we entertained and laughed along with the few locals in the restaurant as we communicated with the owner through google translate (and with their assistance). We had rain for much of our sunset cruise, so we were only "topside" for about a quarter of the time, but our captain was very interesting and entertaining as we got philosophical about the differences between our homelands - a very enjoyable evening.

We really enjoyed our time in Evora; highlights included the bones chapel, winery visit (it was raining that morning) and we really enjoyed the ceramic workshop. The cork tour was interesting and we really enjoyed learning about cork harvesting - very glad for the experience, but it was a rather long ride for a brief visit to a couple of cork trees and back - probably the only experience of the trip that was a little disappointing or underwhelming. While in Evora, we decided to take a short guided tour of one of the marble quarries (slight departure from the KimKim itinerary) - the enthusiastic guide shared a wealth of geological knowledge and information and the ability to visit the marble quarry and stand on a platform over the deep pit was a neat experience.

We finished our trip with several days in the Algarve. We stayed in a very unique and special airbnb that we selected - for us it was the "icing on the cake" that made a wonderful trip even more special and memorable. On the first afternoon there, we hiked the entire beach/coastline of Lagos from Meia Praia to the light house on Ponta da Piedade. The sailing tour the next morning was wonderful - captain Rob and first mate Anatoli were great - here is the review I left for them after the trip - My wife and I had a lovely morning sail with Rob and Anatoli on Ocean Breeze. Wonderful vessel, delightful company, informative and patient with all of our questions and musings. A great way to see the coast at a relaxed pace and from a different perspective. My wife and I are traveling Portugal in celebration of our 25th anniversary - this is one of the highlights of our trip. Other highlights in Algarve were the ebike tour (really wonderful way to see some of the back streets, smaller villages, and dirt paths at a really nice pace), kayaking in the sea caves, several hikes along the cliffs, and exploring several beaches (we enjoyed an afternoon sunning on the beach and lunch at one of the beach side restaurants down many flights of stairs).

On our final full day, we headed back to Lisbon by way of Sagres and made short stops at several wonderful beaches along the west coast including Praia da Arrifana, Odeceixe Mar Beach, and Farol Cabo Sardão. We arrived back in Lisbon, returned car and enjoyed a late supper along the river front - Joao's advice to return to Lisbon the night before our flight was a good recommendation as it gave us time to pack and have a good breakfast at the hotel before embarking to the airport for our flight home.

We really enjoyed our time in Portugal. The people were friendly and had a great sense of humor. The history is rich and fascinating (in the review I didn't mention much about the many castles and cathedrals that we visited and admired). There are many other countries we hope to travel to, but we wouldn't hesitate to visit Portugal again and would highly recommend it to others. KimKim (Joao) did a great job of putting together an itinerary with excellent mix of activities, suggestions & recommendations, and feel like he made reservations with outstanding guides and services (and relieved us from needing to do the research, reservations, etc.). We liked the freedom of mostly independent travel and occasionally departed from the itinerary, but it was nice to know Joao was only a whatsapp chat or call away if we needed assistance or had any difficulties. Thank you.

João helped design a wonderful trip for our family. It provided just the right variety of activity to appeal to everyone and he was flexible in response to our requests. Though we did not meet him personally while in Portugal, he was very responsive to any of our needs that arose and quickly helped us coordinate assistance if needed. He connected us with a simply outstanding local guide named Gustavo, who truly "made" the trip for us. He was so knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. When the weather forced a sudden change in our plans, he quickly filled the void with new ones - and our trip didn't suffer a bit. We enjoyed his company and appreciated his guidance as we explored the cultural and natural treasures of Portugal.

We had only one accommodation that was challenging, but I felt that João was very receptive to the feedback. And even with the challenges, we still enjoyed our time there.

Hotel Reviews

Monte do Serrado de Baixo

Évora

Challenging if it's your first time to Portugal and you don't speak Portuguese. The hosts aren't onsite when you arrive, and the staff that may be there speaks limited English. If you're in the off-season, not all of the written materials providing provisions and guidance for your stay apply, so it's tough to figure out. Beautiful farm, though.

Cascade Wellness Resort

Lagos

Gorgeous hotel with wonderful accommodations for a family. However, the limits on heated pool availability for children and restaurant options for guests under 16 should be understood before you arrive.

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Martinhal Lisbon Chiado

Lisbon

Fantastic staff and wonderful accommodations great for a traveling family. Clean and easy to use apartment - modern amenities and great location.

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Meliá Lisboa Aeroporto

Lisbon

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Activity Review

Cave Boat Tour

Portugal

So fun - incredible experience.