Overall, it was an excellent trip. We love Portugal!

Portugal | Aug 9 - Aug 16, 2024

Overall, it was an excellent trip. We loved Portugal! The people are very welcoming. The country is beautiful and very historic. We enjoyed the hills and mountains, rivers and sea, sandy coastline and rocky shores, delicious food and excellent wines. The fresh fish was a real treat! I had never tasted fresh sardines before. Yum!

Lodging:
- The Laranjais in Porto was lovely. Good location in a quiet part of town that was walkable to everything. The rooms were perfect. Comfortable, stylish, and spacious. The yoga mats were a nice touch! We liked the charming style. The service was good.
- The Legendary in Lisbon was comfortable but generic. It was in a nice part of town and walkable to the downtown.

Tours/Excursions:
- The tour guides were all excellent. However, most of the tours started very early and took up the whole day. We should have planned more downtime and time to sleep late since we needed to relax on our vacation!
- In Porto we would have preferred a city tour that showed us the sites, introduced us to the culture, and gave us a briefer introduction to the story of the tiles.
- The Douro Valley was beautiful. The ride on the river was lovely. The wine, vineyards, food were good. It was very hot there, so being in the wine caves was helpful! The first vineyard taught us about tasting. We liked the way they sat us down for a few different varieties with some snacks. The guide in the second vineyard was excellent, and the port was top quality. We loved the graciousness of that space. It was a grand old home.
- We enjoyed the day in Braga and Guimarães. The walk through the grounds of the Bom Jesus do Monte grounds was beautiful. Great views too! We had time to explore the town too. The very old castle in Guimarães was really interesting. Excellent traditional Portuguese lunch with the group!
- We are really glad we asked to see Nazaré! Even though there weren’t any waves at the beach, it was gorgeous! That was our first glimpse of the sea in Portugal. We just wish we had been told that the walk to the beach was 10 minutes from the top where our driver left us to wander around. We didn’t find the path until just before we had to be back at our meeting point. We would have walked on the beach, and I would have gone for a swim! By the way, we drove by Óbidos, but we didn’t stop since we needed to be back in Lisbon by 1 PM.
- The Highlights of Lisbon was a fun tour — mostly driving around with a bit of walking. We got a good sense of the history and the parts of town we wanted to return to (especially Alfama). My husband was excited to learn that the Volta à Espanha / Vuelta a España starts in Lisbon this year. Sadly for us, the first stage started the day after we left.
- The kayaking, snorkeling, caving, and cliff jumping day in Portinho da Arrábida was by far the best day! The tour guide was a great host. Very enthusiastic and energetic. We felt like we were seeing some things that were off the beaten path. It was fabulous to be on the water. He treated us to homemade lunch on the beach afterwards. And he offered us wine and port as well. The water was a perfect temperature and not too rough.
- The palace in Sintra is definitely worth seeing, and the town is beautiful and very old. It’s lovely to walk on the paths in the cool forest. We enjoyed visiting Cascais where we got to wander around to find our own lunch. Then we went for a swim. I am glad we went there, but it was VERY hot!
- We were very happy to have a full morning in Lisbon before leaving for the airport. We got to walk around a bit, although it was very hot (99 degrees F). We got to taste delicious gelato! The night before, we walked from the hotel to Alfama for dinner and back. It was a perfect night. Over 6 miles round trip!

Hotel Reviews

Laranjais Boutique Suites & Apartments Porto

Porto

Highly recommend the Laranjais. It’s a quiet boutique hotel with apartments in a quiet part of the old city of Porto. The rooms are spacious and very comfortable. It’s in 2 old buildings across the street from each other. They are tastefully renovated. Although the hotel does not have a fitness center, they provide yoga mats in each apartment, and there’s plenty of space for exercising. The views out the French windows are charming. Excellent restaurants are just steps away. Breakfast is vegan (which is not required for us, but we appreciate sustainability).

Authenticity & Character

Tastefully renovated.

Location

Quiet part of the old city. Up the hill from the river.

Staff

Gracious and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just right!

Legendary Lisboa Suites Apartments

Lisbon

The hotel is comfortable but generic. It lacks charm. Also, the bathroom is not ergonomic. The door, sink, and toilet are too close to each other. It’s also a bit outside the old part of town. Next time, we’ll try to find a more interesting place to stay — perhaps in one of the old neighborhoods.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kayaking & Snorkeling in Arrábida

Lisbon

Highly recommend! The beach at Portinho da Arrábida is beautiful. The tour guide is energetic and fun. We loved kayaking, snorkling, cliff jumping (optional, not that high, not so scary), and caving. We also were treated to a simple homemade lunch on the beach afterwards. Plus, we had a chance to swim in the ocean. The sea was calm, and the water was cool and refreshing. The beach was huge and not crowded.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Azulejos Walk

Porto

The Guided Azulejos Walk was too focused on tiles for my taste. While the guide was knowledgeable and took us to interesting places like a guitar shop, the tour was overwhelmingly about tiles. I would have preferred learning more about the city's history, landmarks, and cultural spots, rather than such a specific focus.

Douro Valley Day Trip with Wine Tastings & River Cruise

Porto

The Douro Valley Day Trip was lovely, especially the wine tastings at two different vineyards. It was very hot that day, making the river cruise feel like hot air was being blown in our faces, but the beautiful scenery and welcoming people at the vineyards made up for it. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day.

Sintra Day Trip with Visit to Pena Palace, Cascais & Cabo da Roca

Lisbon

The Sintra Day Trip was interesting, although very crowded at the palace. We loved the little town and found beautiful paths through the woods, but didn't have enough time to explore them fully. I wish the guide had given us more information about what to do and see in Sintra, as we missed out on some great spots. Nonetheless, it was worth seeing and enjoyable.