Superb Portugal Experience
Portugal | Apr 27 - May 11, 2025

Claire
Claire R.
Chicago, IL | Reviewed on May 21, 2025

Fantastic experience all around. Itinerary was so easy to access and was an invaluable tool during our vacation. We reviewed it each day - with detail and pics, names of drivers and tour companies, map locations of meeting places made it all so easy. We loved all our tours - especially our driver Felipe who took us to Sinatra/Pena Palace. A true gentleman and historian. Our hotels were all very different in the 4 places we stayed at. We loved them all. KimKIm stayed in touch all during the vacation and were available whenever we needed them. I loved the tailor made concept and now that I’ve experienced it and kimkim knows us a little better, I will definitely use them again and recommend to anyone!

Hotel Reviews
Pousada Porto - Rua das Flores
Porto

Loved this small, boutique heritage hotel. Very upscale but homey. Excellent breakfast and service. Location location location - perfect for Porto. Would stay again in a heartbeat.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Lagos Avenida Hotel
Lagos

Absolutely loved this cool, Scandinavian, boho hotel. Superb location along side the marina. Epic restaurant. The breakfasts are another level, the staff is 10/10. We tried the Avenida Restaurant als well for sinner - and it is a must. I loved the wood, rattan and natural finishes decor.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Heritage Avenida Liberdade
Lisboa

Fantastic hotel. Incredible location. Historical building. Our room was right on Liberty Street and we could not hear a thing. I think it’s one of the biggest hotel room plus bathroom that I have ever stayed at. Breakfast was not memorable but fine.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel Cascais Miragem
Cascais

Wow - what a hotel. This is a big modern hotel. It had a number of conferences held at while we stayed. But that did not interfere at all with our enjoyment. The pool is fabulous!!!! The restaurant/breakfast is very good. We were wonderfully upgraded to an Oceanside room, and it was really incredible. Location is very good.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Evening Food Walk
Evening Food Walk
Lagos (Algarve)

I really enjoyed this tour. Our guide was exceptional - Sophie. She was warm, funny and knowledgeable. She took us to all the holes in the wall in Old Town Lagos. Some really authentic dishes. I would have liked to a little more history, but it was a food tour.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Douro Valley Day Trip with Wine Tastings & River Cruise
Douro Valley Day Trip with Wine Tastings & River Cruise
Porto

This is a great experience. Our transport was very nice and our driver Felipe was extremely personable and knowledgeable about the area, the history and wine. It is a very long tour. Maybe a bit too long for me. But included 2 wineries, I liked the first one the best. Felt like I was being welcomed into someone’s home. The river tour was just ok. You can’t really see much. You had to listen to a taped recording on an App you had to download and it didn’t work very well. The drive there was 1.5, and at a VERY fast pace, which was a little nerve wracking. lol. Overall it was fun.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Fado Walk, Show & Dinner
Fado Walk, Show & Dinner
Lisbon

This was an interesting tour. Our guide Marco? Manuel? (Sorry I can’t remember), was very knowledgeable about the history and city of Lisbon. This was lovely, however, he took us to two very high points in Lisbon that required us to was up about 1000 (lol) stairs. It was way too much for me (fairly fit 64 yr old). The view was great, but I would have liked to seen more of the city. We were then taken to the Fido Grill for authentic dinner and Fado show. This experience was just ok. Food very meh as well as the show. The restaurant was cute.

Quality of Experience
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Local Secrets Excursion by Van
Local Secrets Excursion by Van
Lisbon

This is a great tour, especially if you want to avoid some of the steep hills in Lisbon. Our guide Joao was great and was very knowledgeable about the history and areas of Lisbon. We stopped at a few places. It was just right.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Private Sintra Day Trip
Private Sintra Day Trip
Lisbon

Oh my goodness - do not miss this tour. Most epic tour and driver. Fabulous pristine clean car, and our driver Felipe was incredible. So professional, kind, personable and an incredible historian. We learned SO MUCH from him. He provided just the right amount of information for us. We had “cheat the line” tickets and was able to navigate us past long lines and congestion at the Peña Palace. Again so knowledgeable - just unbelievable. Then he drove us to the town of Sinatra, where he dropped us off and we able to do what we wanted for an hour. Which was great. Just exceptional tour.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Superior driving and guide.
Transport
Mercedes station wagon. Impeccable.
Private Cascais Highlights
Private Cascais Highlights
Cascais

This tour was okay. Our transport was not that great and our driver although very nice, was difficult to hear because he spoke too quietly and not a lot. We didn’t know here he was taking us and didn’t communicate much during the tour. We also had no lunch and were very hungry as it was a 5 hour tour from 10am until 3pm. The sites he took us to we enjoyed but it was too long for me.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Local specialist: Adam Gomez