Tiernan O'Rourke Araujo

Fantastic trip! Very easy process. A little pricey for the content but an overall great experience.

Guides:
- Marta in Porto was amazing. Incredibly knowledgeable and great interaction. Definitely our favorite!
- Pedro on the Duoro Valley tour was also fantastic. Appreciated his insights throughout the day. (Side note, the tour and tour guide at the second winery were not impressive. Although the meal was good.)
- Fabio was a wonderful driver. Really appreciated him accommodating the lunch stop at Nazare. (Side note, we had lunch at Maria do Mar in Nazare. Recommended by the hotel. Great seafood and great staff down a side laneway.)
- Last trip was with Roi. He probably had the most stress to deal with the timing and the crowds at the palace. But the best part of the tour was when he seemed to go 'off script' and walked with us down through the trees/vegetation and ponds. Really appreciated his willingness to show us that part of the area.

Activity Reviews

Historic Porto and Port wine lodges

Porto

Amazing! Great port and amazing lunch. Also appreciated the tour, as our first introduction to porto.

Day Trip to the Douro Valley & Rabelo Boat Ride

Porto

Great experience to see the valley via car and the short boat ride. Port and the tour were best at the first winery. Tour guide, wine and port were not great at the second.

Great trip. Everything worked well and having a driver for pick up and between cities was wonderful. Tours were excellent with Anabel and Paula as our tour guides. Take a tour!

Hotel Reviews

Vila Gale Ericeira

Mafra

Great hotel on the beach and close to town. Super staff.

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Casual Belle Epoque Lisboa

Lisbon

Great location!

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Older hotel.

Eurostars Porto Douro

Porto

Great hotel! Rooftop bar overlooking the river. It is off to the side of downtown, but the location was terrific. A funicular is close by and it is right next to the double pedestrian bridge.

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Sintra Boutique Hotel

Sintra

Wonderful hotel and staff! Hotel is super nice!

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Activity Reviews

Lisbon Jeronimos Monastery, Castle of San Jorge, Torre de Belem and Panoramic City Tour

Lisbon

Wonderful tour! Anabel was great! Very helpful to tour with a local who can navigate lines and point out the richness of the city!

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

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Monumental Porto

Porto

Paula was wonderful. Tour was great and wear sneakers! You will navigate windy, granite streets from hilltop to the river.

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Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tiernan did a great service to Susan and I during our visit to Portugal on our 30th wedding anniversary .

Great experience with the KimKim team. Everything went off without a hitch. All of the accommodations were nice. The tours and tour guides were particularly fantastic. Rui, Ricardo and Joana were the best. Very satisfied with our entire trip and will happily book through KimKim again. No ten day tour would go off perfectly and there were a couple of hiccups that weren’t a big deal but I would likely change if I had to do things over: 1. We had a rental car while we were in Lisbon. I understand why it was arranged but it really wasn’t necessary while we were there. 2. The room that was booked for our first three days was nice but it was called a family suite on the hotel’s website. It was really just one room with a pull out couch. It was spacious and the room and hotel were nice but we would have preferred two rooms. It wasn’t really a big deal but if I was staying at this hotel again I would be sure there were two separate rooms. 3. Our second hotel had two rooms and was wonderful but there was no pull out couch in the separate room. Luckily the hotel brought in a roll away bed and our youngest could fit on the smallish love seat. Problem solved. I would consider these issues minor inconveniences. Overall the trip was something that our family will never forget. Thanks so much to Tiernan for all of his hard work and a special thanks to our tour guides who took great care of us. Also NuNu was the best at driving us and taking care of us while we were traveling.

Hotel Reviews

Casual Belle Epoque Lisboa

Lisbon

Very nice and people were super nice. Nice accommodations. The only hiccup was expecting the family suite would in fact have two rooms as might be the custom in the US. While this one appears to have two rooms on the website, it is only one room with a pull out couch. Otherwise the hotel was nice.

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M'ar de Ar Aqueduto

Évora

Everything was terrific. Only issue was that the couch in the living area was not a pull out.

Authenticity & Character

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Staff

Staff was so good.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Pine Cliffs Resort

Albufeira

So nice!! Would stay here again any time. Lovely hotel.

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Villa Baixa - Lisbon Luxury Apartments

Lisboa

The best. Such a great place. Would likely have preferred staying here for all of our nights in Lisbon. Glad we got to experience this place.

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Staff

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Super cool place and super clean.

Activity Reviews

Lisbon Jeronimos Monastery, Castle of San Jorge, Torre de Belem and Panoramic City Tour

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

NuNu and Rui were terrific. The best people which made the tour that much better

Transport

NuNu was awesome.

Private Fado & Dinner Walk

Lisbon

Ricardo was great. Enjoyed spending time with him.

Quality of Experience

Food

Food was great. Fado was wonderful.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ricardo was great.

Transport

Walking.

Sintra Palace, Cascais and Estoril Coast from Lisbon

Lisbon

Great day with Rui and NuNu.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

As mentioned, NuNu and Rui were fantastic.

Transport

Morning Cork Farm Tour + Lunch

Évora

Joana was awesome. We would have stayed with her the entire day. We were disappointed when we had to leave the farm. So beautiful.

Quality of Experience

Food

Great authentic restaurant.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joana was so good.

Transport

Caves of Benagil & Dolphins Cruise

Albufeira

Fun time. Great boat guides.

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All the tours were in incredible and especially loved the intimate groups!

- Cooking Lisbon was such a treat and an incredible experience.

- Joanna was an exceptional tour guide touring us through historic Lisbon.

- Loved and adored the food and wine tour with Joao in Porto! He too was so personable and genuine and truly passionate about his tours.

- Joao gave us such a memorable day in the Douro Valley and went above and beyond to take care of all our needs!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Moon and Sun Porto

Porto

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Hotel Fortaleza do Guincho Relais & Châteaux

Cascais

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Jupiter Lisboa Hotel

Lisbon

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Activity Reviews

Cooking Class with Market Tour

Lisbon

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Best of Lisbon Walk

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joanna is an exceptional guide!

Transport

Evening Porto Food & Wine Tour

Porto

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Joao is incredible and his passion is evident.

Transport

6 Bridges Cruise & Monumental Porto with Wine Tasting

Porto

Quality of Experience

Very good but prefer the smaller group tours!

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Douro Valley Tour from Porto

Porto

Quality of Experience

Joao, our guide!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I want to start off by saying that Kim Kim is hands down the best travel agency I have ever worked with. From start to finish, they made the planning process simple and stress free and curated the most amazing Portuguese experience we could have ever asked for! Tiernan, our local specialist, worked very hard to plan a dream Portugal vacation for my husband and I to celebrate our anniversary! He was extremely helpful, communicative and attentive and made appropriate changes to the itinerary when needed. We both work in the wine industry in the United States and wanted a true wine experience in Portugal and Tiernan went above and beyond to make sure we had just that! It was also very easy to get in touch with him while on our trip if we had any last minute needs or questions. The hotels that Tiernan chose were perfect and convenient to everything we wanted to do! The tours and suggestions he made throughout our trip were all amazing! If you are traveling to Portugal, I highly recommend reaching out to Tiernan and letting him plan the vacation of your dreams!

A few experiences that we want to point out:
We had a lovely dinner at a local's home on our second night in Lisbon. Our host Margarida and her son were fabulous! We were only supposed to stay for 2 hours and ended up staying for 4! Margarida was so friendly and welcoming and cooked us an amazing 3 course meal paired with wine! She is definitely one of the highlights of our trip and we will never forget our night with her!

We visited several vineyards throughout our stay and all were incredible. We would highly recommend visiting all of these amazing operations and we bought several bottles from each that we visited! Tiernan did a great job choosing some wineries that were larger commercial operations and much smaller, family owned operations as well! We enjoyed the experience and the wines at each stop! If they are offering tapas with your tasting, we highly recommend trying them as they enhance the experience!
Wineries we visited:
Casal Santa Maria
Adega Belem
Prova Wine Bar
Quinta De Crasto
Quinta Do Infantado
Sem Igual
Vale dos Ares

I also want to give a huge shout out to two of our drivers: Ronado Santos and Pedro!! Ronado took us to Colares and Sintra and we had a wonderful time getting to know him! We took him up on his suggestions for lunch and dinner and both were absolutely delicious! He was extremely helpful and friendly and didn't mind when we took too long at our first vineyard stop! Tiernan then set us up with Pedro, our local guide/winemaker, who met us on our first day in Porto and was with us for the rest of our trip! He truly was the best guide we could have asked for and we appreciated how helpful, friendly and passionate he was! His knowledge of Portugal's history is extensive and there wasn't a question he didn't know the answer to! Pedro took us to Douro Valley and Vinho Verde and we enjoyed every minute of getting to know him! It was very exciting being able to spend so much time with a local winemaker so that we could compare notes on everything wine! I cannot recommend Pedro enough and we hope to see him again on our next visit!

Again, we cannot thank the Kim Kim team and especially Tiernan enough for a magical, dream vacation to Portugal! We could not have asked for a better anniversary trip and learning experience. We look forward to working with Tiernan again in the future! Obrigada!!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Convento do Salvador

Lisbon

We truly enjoyed our stay at Hotel Convento do Salvador! It is located in the beautiful and historic Alfama district and is within walking distance to great cafes and restaurants. A short walk up the hill provides one of the best views in Lisbon and you can easily walk to the city center! The staff was amazing and very helpful throughout our stay! Our train went on strike and the staff helped us book the correct bus to get us to our destination! If you are visiting Lisbon and don't want to be in the middle of the hustle and bustle every night, I highly recommend staying here!

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Aeminium Coimbra Hotel

Coimbra

We only spent one night in this hotel but it was beautiful! A very convenient location to the bus and train stations and a beautiful walk to the river front where there are lots of great restaurants! The rooms were clean and spacious and the staff was extremely helpful! They made our reservations for dinner and also helped us get a taxi on time to make our train! We would definitely stay here again!

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Legendary Porto Hotel

Porto

This hotel was beautiful and in the perfect location, convenient to any attractions or restaurants! Maria at the front desk gave us a room upgrade which had a marvelous view of the cathedral from our balcony! She made our stay extra special and was always smiling! The staff was extremely helpful and gave us great recommendations throughout our stay! They also helped us a lot in the process of shipping wine back over to the United States! The breakfast was delicious! If Antonio is working the lobby bar, be sure to try his famous Port Tonic! We would definitely stay in this hotel again!

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Activity Reviews

Portuguese Dinner at a Local Home

Lisbon

This experience is one that will always be a fond memory for us! Our host, Margarida and her son, were absolutely wonderful people! They were so friendly and welcoming and we enjoyed spending our evening with them! Margarida cooked a delicious meal and paired it with some of her favorite wines! Everything was superb and it was a very special evening on our trip! Obrigada, Margarida!

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Food

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Explore Colares, Cascais & Sintra

Lisbon

Pena Palace is beautiful and definitely worth seeing! Be sure to take your time to take in the amazing views and history! It may be a bit crowded but the experience is worth it!

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Casal Sta. Maria Winery Visit & Tasting | The Most Western Vineyards of Europe

Lisbon

We visited Casal Santa Maria for a wonderful wine tasting experience! We toured the vineyards with our guide and she was extremely knowledgeable! The wine tasting and tapas were absolutely delicious! We spent so much time enjoying the wines that we had to skip Cascais but it was totally worth it!

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Urban Winery Experience

Lisbon

We visited Adega Belem and had a beautiful experience. Catarina and her husband, the owners, were extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their wines! The tapas provided enhanced the entire wine tasting experience! We spent several hours talking to the owners and other guests and left with several bottles of their delicious wines!

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Rabelo Boat Cruise of the Bridges on the Douro River

Porto

This was a great one hour cruise with a wonderful view of the bridges with lots of history!

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Porto Street Walk and Wine tasting with a Local Wine Maker

Porto

WE highly recommend Pedro as your local guide if you have the chance. He was wonderful and took us on a very informative walk around Porto! He knows a lot about Portuguese history and showed us some of the beautiful architecture around the city. He then suggested that we end our evening at Pravo wine bar which was a wonderful experience. WE met several Portuguese winemakers at the bar and drank lots of delicious wines from all around the country!

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Private Douro Valley Wine Country with a Winemaker

Porto

No trip to Portugal is complete without a visit to their most famous wine region. Douro Valley is definitely worth the drive from Porto and offers amazing views and delicious wines! We highly recommend visiting a larger, commercial style operation as well as a small, family owned operation! Again, if you can request Pedro, you won't regret it!

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Private Vinho Verde Wine Country with a Winemaker

Porto

The Vinho Verde wine region was definitely one of the areas that surprised us the most. The wines are very unique and delicious. It is also pretty amazing to drink wine in Portugal while staring at the mountains of Spain!

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