Kimkim Trip Reviews for Portugal

I think everyone (Francisco, Ricardo, Andre, Nelson, Diego, another Andre, Joao (and Daniel) and Claudia - all of whom were phenomenal in their treatment of 3 ladies visiting Portugal for the first time. Each and every one of them engaged in thorough and pleasant conversations teaching us about their country and sharing stories of great interest to us all.
History lessons accompanied by a genuine desire to let us learn about Portugal and its peoples were carefully and easily given.
I cannot say enough about the welcomeness felt by all and the easiness to get around with help from our Portuguese guides.
It was a trip we will recommend to many of our friends. Pedro listened to all of our needs and fulfilled them all. His constant check-in of how things were going made us all very cared for! Thank you so much and we look forward to visiting your beautiful country with beautiful people once again.

Hotel Reviews

Madalena by The Beautique Hotels

Lisbon

Small but unique in all its lovely working personnel. We were welcomed with open arms and always being accompanied with directions, our personal needs, restaurant suggestions and information etc. Truly a home away from home......Helpful in every way! Breakfast crews were delightful...... We would recommend Madalena highly....also location was perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Attention to detail.....

Location

Easy to walk everywhere from there!

Staff

All of them.....so very willing to help in any way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable rooms and clean!

Pestana Porto - A Brasileira

Porto

Great location and lovely rooms. Dining on the sidewalk or inside had an interesting menu and staff was extremely cordial.

Authenticity & Character

Feeling of old and new.

Location

Easy walk to the river and train station.

Staff

Attentive!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Easy access to amenities and bar...plenty of room for two.

The Noble House

Evora

Architecturally magnificent with an antiquated feel. Plenty of room to relax in a somewhat small setting. It has a lovely small courtyard in front to sit and breakfast can also be taken outside on the deck. Very quiet!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Magnificent art work in large open lobby with a library to sit and ponder how they made this fortress into lovely rooms with outside sky views. Very interesting and easy walk to the beach and town . Hard not to like Cascais and where it is but the fortress sealed our fondness.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service from Porto

Portugal

The views, the driver, the winery and wine! A relaxing day in the vineyards of Douro cannot be missed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ability to talk to the driver and hear easily the stories of Duoro Valley.

We could not be more pleased with the trip that Marta arranged for us to visit Portugal. From our time in Lisbon, our spectacular hike along the coast in the Sintra Region and our final days in Porto, we were consistently impressed with the high levels of service, the lovely accommodations and the ease of executing the trip as planned via the travel App. We were able to stay in touch with Marta the entire time and she was always available to connect with us if we had any questions. We found the Tour group for our hike to be exceptionally kind and flexible. We had a possibility of poor weather and every day; the team was willing to reschedule pick up's and or modify our trek so we could avoid any issues. The GPS App for the treks was very easy to use and we were able to follow along the paths with confidence. We want to say a special thanks to Marta as she was EXTREMELY helpful to us as we had to delay our trip slightly. She graciously helped us to reschedule all of our plans and we could not have been more grateful for her patience. We have used KimKim in the past and we will absolutely use them for our next trip.

We were impressed and very pleased with each contact we made ...The trip was planned beautifully. We loved our hotel accomodations. We were so impressed with Portugal as a whole. The country works so well...health care, environmentally sustainable, education...a relaxed friendly affordable country

Hotel Reviews

Madalena by The Beautique Hotels

Lisbon

excellent location...excellent service..delicious breakfast...lovely room

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pestana Porto - A Brasileira

Porto

Great location...excellent breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Noble House

Evora

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Wow..What a beautiful hotel Great location..modern and cool

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey Walk

Lisbon

We loved it and our guide was excellent

Quality of Experience

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

It was wonderful...the music was beautiful

Quality of Experience

Food

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

We loved our driver Nelson..we enjoyed the entire day with him. He was excellent...great smooth ride..relaxed..beautiful playlist of music

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Andre was very nice and informative

Quality of Experience

The Flavors of Port Wine - Sip & Discover

Porto

We were surprised it was private tour...It was wonderful...and tasting was great..served with delicious cheese

Quality of Experience

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service from Porto

Portugal

I was concerned at first that Andre had a cold but he explained it was just an allergy. He was a fast driver but drove well. He was very engaging and gave us an excellent all day tour. We enjoyed getting to know him and share stories

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

We were again surprised it was a private tour...It was excellent. What a beautiful vineyard and winery....so beautiful. We LOVED our lunch

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Scenic Voyage along the Douro River aboard an Exclusive Boat

Portugal

It was beautiful..hot and just beautiful country

Quality of Experience

Step Back in Time with a Private Guided Tour of Évora and the Bones Chapel!

Évora

It was a beautiful town and our guide was calm and interesting We had a little mix up in the chapel of Bones..too crowded for us...and we lost our guide for a while..waited outside..It was nice

Beatriz found us some great places to stay. A stone house in a small farming village near Portugal's national park; and in Morocco, Riad Fes was one of the nicest hotels I've been in. The drivers and guides in Morocco were all friendly and well informed.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Fès - Relais & Châteaux

Fès

Incredible architectural details, small, personal scale, and probably the best food we had in Morocco.

Authenticity & Character

Fancy because the craftsmanship is so beautiful, not just because things are expensive

Location

Staff

Really polished service

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pousada Porto—Rua das Flores

Porto

Fine -- clean, nice bathrooms, small balcony onto courtyard. But cramped, and on an overwhelmingly touristy crowded street.

Authenticity & Character

It's pretty generic.

Location

It's really not fun to be on the single most crowded touristy street in all of Porto.

Staff

They were somewhat understaffed, and had signs everywhere trying to push breakfast attendance earlier.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Zyo

Rabat

It was fine, and in a convenient location. Not extensive service and no food. Certainly nowhere near as nice as Riad Fes, though I imagine it is a lot cheaper.

Casa das Afonsas

Barral, Portugal

Very basic in some ways -- the stone house has almost no windows and bad flurescent lights -- but this was a surprise hit on the itinerary. It's in a super-cute town that's mostly stone houses and farming, sheep everywhere. The town cafe is a sister of the Casa das Afonsas family, super friendly, with all just locals hanging out. Pretty short drive to a part of the park where nothing is touristy at all -- the hikes are just from one tiny stone village to another, with few people around.

Authenticity & Character

Don't send people here who want luxury every night, but escaping tourisim into a beutiful landscape is its own luxury.

Location

Close to a gorgeous but totally untouristed part of the national park.

Staff

Friendly family hosting.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Oak Nature

Vieira do Minho, Portugal

Extremely half-baked. Amazing sunset views from the pool, which is also really nice. Terrible sewer gas smells in bathrooms. Cheesy construction quality. Inexplicable mistakes like ugly sponsored ice cream brand umbrellas screwed to the deck smack in the middle of the best view. No real dinner, but a major hassle to drive up and down the mountain to get to restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Cheesy modernism, poorly constructed.

Location

Amazing view from the pool. Really hard to get to and far from food. Rooms are mostly overgrown by trees and do not really have views, though the trees are pleasant. The town is on a pretty lake in a beatiful valley and near some of the park's best hikes like Poco Azul (really bonkers) but the town itself is kind of a junky crowded tourism hub.

Staff

What staff there were were really nice. There's not supposed to be dinner, but they made us snacks off hours anyway.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The place is visually clean, but they never really figured out the sewer gas stench in the bathroom, and other rooms they offered us were musty plus they try to hide the must and sewer smell with aggressive electric air fresheners.

Activity Review

Half-Day Guided Tour of Fes Medina

Fes

Hakim was great -- informative, happy to tailor the walk to what we cared about, knew the medina incredibly well.

Marina was exceptionally helpful and responsive in working with me to plan this 2 week trip. We visited Lisbon, Évora, Funchal (Island of Madeira), Porto & Cascais. All of our daytime tours and intercity transportation came together like clock work. Our hotel properties at each stop were well located and provided comfort with nice amenities. Everything was great but we especially highly recommend a visit to Madeira. We won't hesitate to use KimKim for our future travel planning.

This is the 3rd time we've used Kimkim for our travels and it was a bit disappointing. Our first hotel, the Casual Belle Epoque was supposedly 4 star and it should have been a 3. The room, the breakfast, it just was not a 4 star hotel. The last day we came in and the room smelled of sewage. We contacted Marina and said we would like a different hotel for our last night in Lisbon but it was going to be yet more money and a cancellation fee.
The drivers were another issue. We had a day excusion to Sintra, Cascais & Estoril with a guide/driver named Paulo. We felt we were being hustled the entire time. He had us go to this port wine place for a tasting in Sintra. Obviously he had an interest there as he was pouring samples for people. Somehow we let them talk us into buying a way overpriced bottle of port (we later learned from an actual winery owner in the Douro Valley that we were scammed). Then he wanted us to go to this specific restaurant on the coast, near Cascais. We went in and waited then decided we simply didn't want to wait and left to walk the beach. He wanted to know what happened, why did we leave, clearly he had an interest there too.
We had another driver take us from Lisbon to Porto via Coimbra. The problem here was the driver spoke no english and did not understand we had a 3 hour stop in coimbra. We had to call our Kim kim consultant Marina, she had to call him, then we got it straightened out. Problem two arose because he got lost in Porto trying to find our hotel. Heavy traffic, he had a hotel in his phone with the same name but it was in a different city and he could not get the phone to refresh. We pulled up the address in our phone for him, then changed the language to portuguese, all the while he's trying to drive in rush hour traffic, it was not fun. We called Marina and requested english speaking drivers and she said she couldn't guarantee that as they were just there to get us from point A to point B. Well that's not exactly true when he had no idea about our scheduled side trip to Coimbra and he gets lost trying to find our hotel.
We did a day trip to the Douro Valley which was nice. The driver we had for this was Rui, very nice and did a good job. We had told Marina that we did not want to do this riverboat ride down the Douro River, just not our thing. She insisted and said "everyone does this". We told her in another conversation we didn't want to do this. At that point we assumed we had to because it must be the way to get us from one destination to another, it wasn't. It was simply a riverboat ride up and down the river in a packed boat in the pouring rain. We would not have had to do this at all. It made us wonder, she must get a kick back from putting us on the boat.
Our last day in the Porto we had a fantastic guide, Sandra, she was informative, fun and was the kind of guide we were used to getting when booking with Kimkim.
The only time Marina was in contact with us (not including the many times we had to contact her with problems with drivers, etc) was the night before our departure. This certainly was unlike any other trip we've done with you before. This trip was our most expensive and the least well run, we're very disappointed.

Marta and Karin were amazing to work with. They were patient, ultra responsive and accommodating. It was a relaxed trip with lots of time for us to explore on our own and at our pace, given that we were traveling with a 5 year old. All the excursions were well timed to beat the crowds and the hotels were very conveniently located. As vegetarians, Marta made it a point to let the hosts know and also made some nice recommendations for local vegetarian friendly spots.
This was our second time planning with KimKim and we'd certainly do it again.

Guides: Martin, in Evora, Andrea in Silves Sara, Coimbra were most excellent on top of their game both in knowledge and story telling. The accommodations in general were just right. The Noble House (Evora) provided a good room and breakfast however parking is very limited and the walk to and from is not for the older.

This was an amazing trip, Exceptionally well-planned, with all the details accounted for. For the most part, the guides were extremely knowledgeable and a great source of information. The pre-trip material gave many suggestions on things to do on free days and kimkin was extremely responsive when we had questions about logistics, meeting drivers, etc. The places kimkin picked for us to stay were not in the touristy mainstream, which is just what we wanted, so our experience felt very authentic.

The only thing I would say that was a let-down was that there was absolutely no transparency as to pricing, and my sense is that as a result, the mark-up may have been more than the quoted 5%.—I suppose that extra markup is what you pay for local knowledge and a bit of laziness on our part to plan the trip. But all in all, we were very satisfied.

Hotel Review

Loule Jardim Hotel

Loule

What a charming location. Small room, but the staff was very friendly and located on a tiny community square a ten minute walk to the center.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very small room

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bigger room

Activity Review

Privately Guided Visit of Évora

Portugal

This guide was exceptional, great story teller, knowledgeable about history, local folklore and culture.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide

We had a 7 day trip to North Portugal booked in June but due to personal circumstances had to change it to early September. Marta was very understanding and helped us reorganize all the bookings.
We started off in Porto and had a good introduction into the city - doing a food tour , followed by an e-bike tour. We got opportunity to view the city ourselves and had a lot of great recommendations on what to do/ and where to eat. We also got to do different things like go to the National park! The highlight of the trip was the trip to Douro valley where we stayed at a vineyard and did a few wine tastings around the different Quinta's. Thiago was a great guide taking us across the various quintas, with a boat ride and a celebratory drink at an awesome view point.

Hotel Reviews

Premium Porto Downtown

Porto

The hotel was clean and functional and close to a lot of restaurants. The breakfast had a wide spread and service was quite prompt.

Authenticity & Character

Apart from the food, not really sure there was character/authenticity to the hotel.

Location

Was good walking distance to most of the tourist spots

Staff

Very prompt service and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Quinta Da Timpeira

Lamego

The overall look and feel of the Quinta is that of a period property with heavy antique furniture. We had a bigger room as that was the only one available so had the option of twin or a double bed. The quinta had lovely grounds, with a garden and a swimming pool though we were never around long enough to enjoy the grounds as much. The dinner we had there was quite homely and had large portions.

Authenticity & Character

Had the charm of a period property

Location

The only way to get around was by car- which was arranged for us but would have been hard otherwise.

Staff

Attentive and willing to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were clean but because of the heavy furniture and low ceiling it did feel very dark and dinghy in the evenings. Would have liked option of tea/coffee in the room.

OPOHotel Porto Aeroporto

Maia

For spending a night before our flight the next day morning - this hotel was perfect. Functional with all the basics and quite large rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great for the airport and they offered free shuttle.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hiking & Cultural Excursion in Peneda-Gerês National Park

Porto

We enjoyed the serenity of the national park and opportunity to do a bit of trek and bathe in the clear pool of water which was followed by a great lunch. The second half of the day had a walk through the village and a another mini trek to another waterfall with a further opportunity to swim. I was probably the least fit person of the group - but the guide made sure we went at a decent pace. Maybe two swims was not required as they were people in our group who were not keen on swimming and we could have done a viewing point instead.

Quality of Experience

The parts we liked - were opportunity to trek and swim and the food was good. There were also good breaks in between the drive which was helpful. Didnt enjoy as much the walk around the village

Food

The lunch served in the village was good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all our questions about the park as she had lived within the park herself.

Transport

The car was a bit old and since it was packed with 7 people with a good 3-4 hours on the road - not entirely comfortable for people with long legs.

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

Claudia was a very enthusiastic and warm guide and made the tour really enjoyable. Not to mention all the food we tried was amazing and was nice to hear the stories behind them. loved that we got to try most of the city's famous dishes over the course of this tour and the company was great.

Quality of Experience

All the food options and the guide!

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Claudia was really warm and followed up with recommendations and trip photos!

Get to know Porto by E-bike

Porto

Didnt know what to expect but was great! Apart from the first few minutes of fumbling around on how how to use the bike, the rest of actually biking was quite smooth. We covered a lot of ground and got to see some great views....and also catch in some exercise. An electric bike is probably the best way to see the city though I did get a sore backside due to all the pebbled roads!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Cellar Guided Visit with Lunch

Douro Valley

This was the highlight of the trip - was a very relaxed experience of getting a tour of the process of wine making and getting an opportunity to taste quite a few of the wines at the quinta. Our guide Rui also made it really memorable.

Quality of Experience

The tour, wines and the setting was great.

Food

It was little light on the food as compared to the other places but still good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Had some really good conversations with Rui.

Wine Experience in the Douro Valley & River Cruise

Douro Valley

Was a great day filled with a opportunity to taste and see a bit of behind the scenes of winemaking and wine tasting at one Quinta , followed by a set lunch paired with different wines at another. The post food coma stage was great time to do the river cruise down the Douro and we got whisked to another amazing view point for a further celebratory drink! Thiago was very informative and so pleasant to be around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall a great trip and your recommendations of places to visit and tour guides to use were excellent. Particularly liked the Duro Valley and Belman tours as the guides did a great job ensuring that we saw the best attractions without wasting time in long lines. Pickup and drop off at the airport and hotel was fairly seamless and our driver got us right to the baggage drop off before sending us on our way.

Would certainly utilize Kim Kim again on our next trip. So much time and energy is saved by having the private tours and destinations prearranged.

Thanks for all the assistance in making our Portugal trip a memorable one.

Activity Reviews

Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Fantastic views and Rui made the trip extra special with stops at Port tasting and lunch at locations off the tourist trail that were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge of the area, wines, and personality

Transport

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Marta did a great job bringing us to the best locations to visit while still showing us the big attractions. Loved the lunch with locals and the knowledge Marta shared throughout the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an amazing experience with Marina. She went the extra mile when we had to reschedule the trip due to COVID and again when there was an airport strike that forced us to shift the trip by a day. She put together an amazing itinerary for our Lisbon trip and the tour guides/drivers she found were outstanding. Would recommend her to anyone wanting to have a great trip in Portugal.

In particular would like to highlight the tour guides/drivers, who we initially thought would be responsible from taking us from one location to another but were the highlight of the trip as they found great restaurants and hidden gems to see:
Alison who did the Lisbon food tour
Paulo who did a spectacular day trip to Sintra
Rui who organized an amazing day in the Douro valley at took us to the best Quinta

Hotel Reviews

Dear Lisbon Bordalo House

Lisboa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Vintage House

Pinhão

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pousada Porto—Rua das Flores

Porto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Only negative comment is that it was somewhat challenging to borrow a wine opener. Given that the Hotel is in Porto, I'd suggest each room have wine bottle opener

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Lisbon

Alison was a great tour guide and we had an amazing experience

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

The day with Paulo was amazing. he was so engaged and professional and planned out a specatular day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Outstanding

Transport

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}}

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Experience in the Douro Valley & River Cruise

Douro Valley

Rui organized the highlight of our trip. He proactively reached out and arranged lunch plans for us, asked what type of tour we wanted and then arranged a port tasting at a hidden gem that buses could not reach. For lunch he found an amazing Quinta where we had an authentic home cooked meal with the family

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to a Portugal was incredible. Patricia helped us a plan a very memorable two weeks. Our guides and drivers were all very knowledgeable and prompt which added to our experience. The trip may have been expensive however it allowed us to do more than we could have on our own. Portugal you are a beautiful country.

I can’t express how much we enjoyed our trip to Portugal! Pedro and Joao exceeded our expectations both with the trip they planned for us as well as their responsiveness when anything came up along the way! While we enjoyed everything we did and all the places we stayed, we particularly enjoyed our walking tour of Lisbon with Ricardo, our drive to Sinatra with Jose, the beautiful Vila Vita Parc Hotel in the Algarve and the Aurora boat tour to see the caves!
We will definitely use Kimkim to plan vacations in the future!

Hotel Reviews

Pousada de Lisboa, Praça do Comércio - Monument Hotel

Lisbon

Beautiful, spacious hotel will situated in the heart of Lisbon. Great breakfast buffet included

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Vita Parc

Porches

Gorgeous hotel with very comfortable guest suites, delicious food and drink, very accommodating staff and unbeatable views!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Large comfortable rooms overlooking the marina in an old converted citadel with very interesting art installations throughout. Well located adjacent to the city center.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey Walk

Lisbon

Ricardo did an excellent job navigating around the hills and around to lesser known vantage points and sharing the interesting history of Lisbon. He is a very knowledgeable guide. This tour is what I wish my history classes would have been!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

Very authentic Portuguese experience!

Quality of Experience

The music was beautiful! The only negative was that the restaurant was small and when the singing began, they turned off the a/c and closed the door to better hear the performance but that made it quite stuffy inside.

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

Our driver Jose was very informative about the area and even took us to some hidden gems for photos and the beautiful Monte Mar for lunch. What a great day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Boat Voyage to the Spectacular Benagil Grottoes

Portugal

Unfortunately, we were dropped off at the wrong location for this trip by our taxi driver so we thought we would miss it, but Pedro contacted the tour company and they waited and hour and a half for us to get there to start this amazing private tour of the caves! So glad it worked out because it was truly one of the highlights of the vacation! The boat captain navigated the caves so beautifully around the waves, kayakers and paddle boarders to get us unbelievable views of these magnificent caves. Ogo, the guide was very knowledgeable about the area explaining the formation of the area and showing us beautiful vantage points and interesting fauna.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

There was a mixup getting to the right place but once we found it, it was worth the trip!!

Marta was amazing. The vacation was amazing. We really enjoyed Rui, Paolo and Sandra are very high recommends! The ladies that took us on the food tours were great as was the gal that took us on a history tour of Lisbon. The gentleman that took us on the Algarve wine tour was knowledgeable but not so good as a guide. He was pleasant but not so good at making it a personal experience. Bea was very helpful when she was able to get the extra room at the Algarve hotel. That hotel is very Bohemian and offered no privacy and thank you so much for fixing the issue. That made the experience so much better!
One suggestion is that I didn’t realize that the meeting point for the catamaran trip was more than 30 minutes drive from the hotel. I wish that the instructions were a little more clear about that. We ended up not making it on that trip because (my fault) I assumed that the departure point was Marina across the street from the hotel. The boat company let us take another cruise the following day but it wasn’t the great cruise that we had booked. But at least it was something.
Overall the trip was planned and managed very well. There are not enough amazing words to describe how happy I am with the trip. I will only use Kim Kim to plan vacations from now on. I have already recommended it more than 5 times and will continue to do so.
Also one final shout out again to Rui, Sandra and Paulo. And of course to Marta and Bea. Thank you so much! Hope to be in touch soon for my next adventure!
Best Regards
Christy

Hotel Reviews

Hotel AlmaLusa Baixa/Chiado

Lisbon

This hotel is beyond amazing. It’s gorgeous the staff are very helpful. The food was great. The room was so nice. This is located in a nice location definitely recommend!!!

Authenticity & Character

So gorgeous inside

Location

Easy to get to restaurants and points of interest.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Super clean. Room seemed new

The Arc Carris

Porto

This was ok. The food was great. The staff were nice. The room was ok. It suited the purpose

Authenticity & Character

It was ok

Location

Porto

Staff

They were nice

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was ok

Lagos Avenida Hotel

Lagos

This is a beautiful bohemian hotel if you are a single traveler. The rooms were clean and well maintained. The issue is that there is no privacy to use the shower, dress/ undress and very little privacy for the toilet. But my experience was that the room was lovely as long as I was the only one staying in the room. The restaurant, bar and lobby are gorgeous - but I would not want to stay in a room with another person due to lack of privacy

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful lobby

Location

Right across from Marina and very near the old downtown and beautiful shops and restaurants

Staff

Very friendly and exceptionally helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The lack of privacy makes me rate it lower - very bohemian

Hotel Star Inn Lisbon Aeroporto

Lisboa

This hotel was ok - there was a mediocre restaurant and bar - it was close to the airport so that was very convenient.

Authenticity & Character

Nothing great except that the management provided a lovely welcome snack and cherry liquor shots

Location

Right next to airport with feee shuttle

Staff

They were ok nothing really spectacular

Cleanliness & Comfort

It was an older property with zero personality and the bar and restaurant were not nice

Activity Reviews

Architectural & Historical Highlights of Lisbon

Lisbon

I enjoyed all the historical stories about Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Everything

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Food and fun

Transport

I like walking.

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

Marion was very knowledgeable. The places w we went and quality of tastings were high. I would definitely recommend her and the tour

Quality of Experience

The stories that went along with the food tastings.

Food

The quality of food and drinks was first rate

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marion was great and we enjoyed the tour. She was personable and knowledgeable

Vintage Car Tour of Porto

Porto

This was a lot of fun. Sandra’s extensive knowledge about Porto and her ability to tell the story made this a fun adventure.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Both Sandra and our driver were a lot of fun

Transport

Super cute vintage car

Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Definitely one of the best tours and days I have had on vacations ever! Rui was great. He arranged for a wonderful meal with a wine maker where we bought several cases of wine. I loved this day. Rui is super knowledgeable and definitely a recommended guide.

Quality of Experience

The wine, port and food at the Quinta was amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rui

Transport

Very clean vehicle

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Portugal

Paulo is amazing. His plan of visiting Sintra and Monserrate made sense based on the day’s weather and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Paulo also gave us some great recommendations for our trip to Algarve. He is great. Highly recommend him as a private guide

Quality of Experience

Such a gorgeous day. Paulo is very knowledgeable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Paulo

Transport

Very clean

Catamaran Cruise to Benagil & Carvoeiro w/Snorkeling & SUP

Portugal

We ended up missing the original cruise. I didn’t realize that the meeting point was 30-40 minutes from the hotel. We took a cruise the next day. It was nice

Quality of Experience

The boat was nice the crew was fun

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Tasting & Lunch at a Portuguese Quinta

Portugal

This was wine tasting in Algarve. There was no lunch included. The guide was ok. He was knowledgeable but the wines we tried were low end and well it wasnt great at all . Was lunch supposed to be included?

Quality of Experience

The wines were meh confused about the lunch since it wasn’t included

Food

There was no food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This wine tasting was nothing like the one we had with Rui

Transport

We drove ourselves

Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Portugal

This was fun and the food was good

Quality of Experience

The guide was great and the food was too

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I like walking

This was the first time I used KimKim. It was an easy and fun experience to plan with James. He was responsive, informative and courteous. When our family (with 16 and 18 year old boys) actually went on the trip, everything ran smoothly (with the exception of one slight delay in a pick up due to a mechanical issue which was quickly solved) and all the tour guides and drivers were excellent. We booked smaller, boutique style hotels which were just what I asked…clean, quiet, and central. The one in Lisbon especially had fantastic service and a beautiful rooftop terrace overlooking the city. James introduced us to Rocio right before the trip and she was available to assist if we needed. She called to introduce herself at our hotel when we landed in Lisbon and text us during the trip to ask how we were doing. It was a comfort to know we could talk to her if something didn’t go according to plan. Overall, our family of four had a trip we will always remember! We learned so much about the history, food and culture of Portugal and the time spent together as a family was truly precious. Thank you James and Rocio for everything! We would recommend you to everyone who wants to plan a unique and unforgettable trip. Obrigada!

We loved every minute of our trip. Beatriz recommendations were spot on, and the trip went exactly as we would have hoped (and more!). All the experiences were truly great.

Hotel Reviews

Almaria Ex Libris Chiado

Lisbon

Incredible place, lovely service, perfect location. As a family of 4, we were really comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Lovely staff that went above and beyond

Cleanliness & Comfort

The apartment has everything you need, in addition to breakfast and a well stocked fridge

Flores Boutique Hotel

Porto

Beautiful hotel, centrally located, vibrant rooftop bar with excellent food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Boavista Golf & Spa—Bela Colina Village

Sítio da Atalaia - Lagos

Very comfortable, brand new villas with swimming pools and breakfast. A car is needed to get around, but it is very easy to get around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Really friendly staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Excursion to Sintra for Young Explorers

Lisbon

Wonderful day trip, our guide was very friendly and knowledgable. We really enjoyed this day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

4X4 Algarve Sunset Experience

Portugal

We had the best time, beautiful sites, thoughtfully planned, away from the masses. Very friendly and knowledgable tour guide, overall great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Porto Family City Tour

Porto

Our lovely tour guide was very knowledgeable, friendly and patient with our little girls. We loved our day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Beautiful area, must see. Our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgable. We really enjoyed our day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It was wonderful days in portugal. All the activities and itineries was well covered. Tiago was like our friend who came with us all the occasions and become part of our team. He took photos and videos in difficult situations like costering and kayaking etc.thanks to tiago and my lisbon holydays team for making our trip a most memmorable one.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Dom Carlos Park

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Evora

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Gale Cerro Alagoa Hotel

Albufeira

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cascais & Sintra Guided Visit

Portugal

Mountain Bike adventure

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Coasteering

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Skydive (Tandem)

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Surf Lesson

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tiago is an exceptionally talented guide . His knowledge, time management and one to one dealings worth appreciating. Coastering / biking etc were so much professional than expected. Skydive was amazing… we enjoyed the street walk and food. Would anytime recommend kim kim and tiago combination for any one to Portugal. Cheers.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Dom Carlos Park

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Evora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vila Gale Cerro Alagoa Hotel

Albufeira

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Mountain Bike adventure

Portugal

Coasteering

Portugal

Skydive (Tandem)

Portugal

Surf Lesson

Portugal

Guided Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

Cascais & Sintra Guided Visit

Portugal

Tour trip

Portugal

Évora Guided Day Trip

Portugal

Algarve à la carte - Full day guided tour

Algarve

Sagres and the west Algarve guided tour

Portugal

Overall it was a great experience with your tour package. The extraordinary performance done by Mr Tiago was commentable. We used to roam around the world once ina year or two, Tiago was the best tour guide we ever had. Thank you Kimkim for such a nice package.