Six days are not enough for a visit to Portugal
Portugal
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Mar 11 - Mar 18, 2023
Karenina was very helpful and responsive to our various changes, but the biggest takeaway I have is that six days are not enough for a visit to Portugal, with Porto in particular needing at least four days. That was our limitation, not hers, but when we come back, we will allow enough time for a proper visit. In Lisbon, the first day tour was comprehensive but a bit of a forced march to cover everything - we reached our daily step goal on the tour alone. Our guide for the Sintra side trip on the second day was great and very charming, making sure that we experienced everything from the 19th century palace to the westernmost point in Europe as well as the port of Caiscas. We took it a bit easier on the third day, visiting the flea market but managing to get on the ferry to Barreiro rather than Cacilhas. (A little more guidance on the Lisbon ferry terminals would have been helpful. Also, the suggestions for street markets should take into account the actual days of the visit.) We managed to find a decent seafood restaurant, where we ordered our fish by pointing at the dorade, a definitely non touristico place. The transit to Porto was excellent. We were too tired to visit the university but we had a good time with an outdoor lunch. Our guide to the Douro Valley was outstanding, making sure that we experienced everything, and his choice of a winery turned out to be inspired, with a home cooked meal to accompany the four wines that we tasted and great company and talk. We were fortunate on the last day to have the owner of the tour company guide us, as she was beyond exuberant and was a whole lot of fun for us both. The transfer back was fine and the airport hotel perfectly located for our early morning flight. All in all, one of our best vacations.
Activity Reviews
The guide was excellent and the choice of restaurants very good
We had just completed a two week group tour of Morocco, so we were a little tired of touring, but the guide kept us moving and we saw a great deal of the central part of Lisbon.
The evening was okay but a bit commercial, like being on a cruise ship tour.
The guide was great and helpful through out the day, getting us to three excellent spots with time on our own to enjoy each.
The drive/guide was excellent but we were running out of steam after having been on the road and touring for almost three weeks, but we did enjoy our lunch and wandering the down town area.
I was doubtful about being a spectacle in the car, but both the drive and our guide, the latter the owner of the tour company, made the whole visit a fun time.
The drive/guide was outstanding in making sure that we experienced the Douro Valley, and his choice of a winery was excellent.
Hi Bill, thank you so much for taking the time to write your trip review! I am thrilled to hear you and Joanne had such a marvelous time in Portugal. It was my pleasure to work with you in creating this experience . I will pass on your kind word to all the team :) I agree with you, 6 days is not enough to see everything Portugal has to offer, I would love to organize another trip for you to this country in the future! Thank you again for letting us be a small part of your trip :) Warmest regards, Karenina