The Host Portugal

The music was wonderful, the food was not as good as other restaurants we ate at in Lisbon.

Our guide, Guilherme was marvelous, he took us through Lisbon and showed us short cuts for getting up to either side of the city, ie Chiado. As we walked he gave us the history of Lisbon, pointing out events that left its mark on the city, for example the earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which destroyed the city and who was responsible for it being rebuilt. We stopped along the way to sample cod cakes and beer, he showed us where to get the best bifana as we walked over to the Alfama section with its quiet narrow streets. We ended our tour in commerce square and under the archway to the city. By taking us up one side of the city and then across to the other side we enjoyed amazing vistas of the city. I was a bit sad when our tour was done, it was an amazing morning.

This was a marvelous day. We visited Fatima and Batalha in the morning, had lunch in Nazare and drove up above to some amazing vistas, wandering through fun street vendors (The ladies with all the skirts!). On our way back to Lisbon we stopped for a brief stroll through Obidos. The religious art and architecture of both Fatima and Batalha were stunning. Fatima was populated by the faithful, as a mass was about to start in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and we watched the procession bringing a statue of Mary from her chapel to the modern cathedral. In contrast was Batalha, which was quiet and frozen in time, home to the faithful of Monarchs of the past, the architecture was impressive even with the unfinished section being weathered by time and the elements. Nazare is not a large beach community and the day we were there the surf was very calm, but the restaurant we ate at played the surfing competitions on large screens showing a very different surf at Nazare. I can honestly say I ate the best seared tuna there I have ever eaten in my life. It was served with sautéed turnip greens and new potatoes. Absolutely delicious! After lunch we drove up to the part of the beach community on the top of the cliffs, the view was spectacular as it was a perfectly clear day. Our guide led us thru the street vendors to a small chapel that was completely done in tile and told us the story of how this chapel came to be on the cliff. Finally on our way back we stopped in the little historic town of Obidos and slowly wandered as our guide told of the history.

This day we explored Pena Palace and Regaleira. Both of these places are not like anything I have ever seen before, both uniquely stunning and beautiful, rich in history. We both appreciated having sufficient time to take everything in. The tour of Pena had time slots, which was a brilliant way to ensure that the palace was not just swamped with visitors. The palace is meticulously maintained and just a marvel to see as well as the vistas it affords. Regaleira is an architectural masterpiece in both the structures and gardens and while there were plenty of visitors, the grounds have a quality of peaceful solitude.

Walking up to and through the Moorish Castle there was fog rolling up the mountain, which just cleared as we hit the highest parts. It was very breezy making the flags on the battlements flutter. Mother nature was helping us appreciate the ruins with dramatic mystery! From the top you can see Pena Palace which is a stark contrast in time and history. Afterwards we explored Monserrate Palace whose gardens were a tremendous achievement, aside from being beautiful. There was the fern forest, the desert garden filled with cactus, a small lake right in front of the house and a few perfect specimens of immense trees from different continents. Out through the back of the palace were patio areas with pergolas dripping with wisterias all in bloom. The palace itself has no more furnishings, but the architecture is uniquely awe inspiring.

There was some overlap between food we tasted in the morning on our walking tour and the Delicious TukTuk tour. We did visit a small restaurant that was thru a very Moorish patio garden which was very beautiful, there we sample three different dishes all of which were tasty. The best thing about the tour was the little restaurant and sitting still for a bit. I am glad we took the TukTuk tour because it was a memorable experience bouncing along the tram tracks , an unusual way to see the city.

Despite the fantastic rooftop bar, the attentive staff, and the convenient location, we found the rooms to be a bit worn out, and it felt like the hotel caters primarily to large bus tours.

Wonderful history tour with Alexandra (guide) and João (driver) with a Jerónimos Monastery visit, Belem tower, Pastel de nata tasting and more

a tuktuk with Hugo! All over the city with a focus in old town and view points and stops to try more food and drinks

we were picked up by Vanessa (guide) and Samir (driver) and taken to the eclectic Pena Palace, where every texture and design and style and culture meet. Then a dive into the winding streets of Sintra for shopping and lunch where Vanessa also surprised us with a birthday treat for mom! Followed up with a trip to the beach. Then a private tour of the family owned Quinta De San Michel winery

Manuel picked us up and drove us to Porto with long stops at the medieval Óbidos and coastal Nazaré. Phenomenal Seafood lunch with wine in Nazaré.

we met back up with Manuel again and met Tania (our guide for the morning). We had a whirlwind drive to see the coast and city center of Porto before crossing the Douro river to Gaia for a visit at Ferreira Port Caves for a tour and tasting. Then up to Miradouro da Serra do Pilar for a view of Porto and the wall. Back over the river for some additional driving views around the city

What an amazing experience- getting to learn to make a delicious seafood dish in this delightful kitchen. Highly recommended for local and visiting friends!

Manuel picked us up for a drive to Douro valley to Quinta do Val Moreira. Wine tour and tasting followed by some amazing valley view finding then back to the winery for lunch. After that we had a boat tour before heading back to Porto via scenic valleys and hills.

Highly recommend this day trip - amazing houses and castles, and a lovely little town

Batalha Monastery was amazing, probably my favorite monastery we visited Nazare was warm and lovely, a fun little beach town And Obidos was really interesting. It was very crowded on the day we went, so avoid the Chocolate festival!

This is a lovely hotel and we had a wonderful stay. The building looks brand new and is beautifully designed. The room was on the smaller size but perfect for what we needed, and it was very comfortable and functional. The restaurant was excellent (we had dinner there one night and breakfast throughout our stay, both meals were crafted with attention to detail) and the bar upstairs was quirky and fun (they serve cocktails in mad hatter cups). The pool was small and you had to go through the bar to access it, but we still enjoyed using it. The only thing that bothered us during our stay is that I requested an iron multiple times and it was never delivered. In some hotels this is standard room equipment, and in others I haven’t had any issues getting in delivered on demand so I was quite surprised that it was such a problem for them to handle this quite reasonable request.

This was such a relaxing, luxurious experience. We had a room that overlooked the Douro river and the pool was always nicely warm from the sun. The restaurant had delicious food, and their coffee in the morning was my favorite from all the hotels on this trip. The only complaint that we had was that it was difficult to sleep due to all the flies in our bedroom, and there weren't many outlets or surfaces for electronics (the bedside tables were quite small and had large bedside lamps on them).

We loved our stay at this hotel. The rooms are themed after movies (we had the Avatar room with an oval bed!), they are located in a slightly remote area ensuring quiet and beautiful views, and the breakfast was delicious. It is such a unique concept and I loved the nature-y vibe of the place.

We had a great time here. We especially enjoyed the sky pool and the downstairs spa / gym area. The only minor negative thing I can say is that it felt a bit like a cruise ship - it is a large hotel, with many guests, and while for the most part you didn’t notice it so much, on our last morning there was a large number of people at breakfast and we were somewhat overwhelmed by the crowd / noise. I suppose that is expected since they also have the space to host conferences / events themselves, but it took us slightly by surprise because we’d been staying in slightly smaller hotels on this trip. The room was super cool, with a TV hidden behind a large mirror and so many (light) switches that we had a hard time figuring out how to turn everything off at night without activating the blackout blinds. On that note, there were plenty of outlets and USB chargers throughout the room, and the staff provided bottles of water throughout our stay.

We had a lovely stay here. The staff was extremely friendly and did everything in their power to make us happy. We loved both the indoor and outdoor pool, as well as the location close to the beach. Another plus is their focus on sustainability: there are water purification stations on every floor and you can refill a glass decanter to your liking with water. The reason for my lower rating: All extras are extremely overpriced. There is a jacuzzi, but you have to pay 15€ PER PERSON and sign up in advance to use it. There is supposed to be someone near the spa to help with the process, but the desk was almost always unmanned, making the process and the price rather prohibitive to the enjoyment of the spa. Further, the food was very expensive for its quality. For breakfast, lunch and dinner, there was a large buffet you could use against a flat fee. Dinner was 36€ per person! This did not include beverages. The variety was good, but if you didn’t feel hungry enough to wolf down multiple courses, it was hardly worth the money. We ended up getting groceries from a nearby store instead. We would have liked to take advantage of the snack bar and the cocktail bar but were deterred by their prices as well. The building was also complicated to navigate: reception, on the fourth floor, was the connecting hub. Even though the restaurant and some rooms were both on the third floor, you couldn’t go directly from your room to the restaurant - you first had to go up a set of stairs / take the elevator to the fourth floor and then descend again. There was plenty of parking, but there were three entrances to two separate parking garages, and two out of the three entrances were always locked.

Great tour. The guide was extremely knowledgeable and friendly, plus his English was impeccable. All the wines we had on this tour were very tasty. I have to admit that the food items weren't so much my favorite (and we did make the mistake of having some breakfast beforehand), but overall I really enjoyed this tour, especially the visit to the market where we had canned fish.

This was a fairly standard wine tasting trip. It was good, but nothing stood out in particular.

The garden of this place is absolutely incredible, well worth a visit! The guide was also extremely friendly and knowledgeable. The wines were tasty, but I was surprised that none of the places we went for wine tastings had any snacks or food pairings. It might be nice to add some food to some of these tours so you don't get too tipsy ;)

We were initially a bit skeptical about the museum (Douro museum? What is that??) but our skepticism quickly turned to enthusiasm. This is such a cool place! The tour was amazing, and we learned so much about the region and the history of Port. The guide even took us past their back rooms where they are restoring art, showed us a special exhibit (unrelated to wine), and we got some free port at the end of it! This museum is anything but stuffy - they even have some interactive exhibits, where you can smell aromas that are present in wine, and they have exhibits of old machines used to put corks in bottles.

Nice tour and wine tasting. I didn't actually like their wines as much as some others we had on this trip, but the experience overall was still very nice.

When we first arrived at the dock, they gave us a hard time about not having a ticket. Eventually, the magic words seemed to be "The Host" and we were allowed to board, but by then a huge group of other passengers had taken up most of the available seats. We were also expecting some kind of "tour", but we were supposed to download an app for the audio tour which seemed like a huge hassle and we couldn't get it working. The boat ride was only 1 hour, we would have liked to go for longer.

Coimbra is such an amazing city. The university library is phenomenal! Our guide was also very knowledgeable and we enjoyed hearing about the thesis defenses of doctors and other such student experiences. We felt like we saw all the important parts of Coimbra and it was all very interesting.

We hadn't done a cooking class before so we didn't know what to expect. We were surprised by how much prep they had already done - we didn't have to do any chopping, just basic assembly, which was a bit anticlimactic. Of course we never would have finished in time otherwise, since we made three courses. We really liked our starter salad, but the main dish for me was too much to eat. Dessert was probably my favorite part, we had a lava cake with raspberry sorbet. Our cooking instructor was very friendly and we enjoyed spending the time with her. I think I was expecting more of a group class, and more "pro tips" that you can generalize, instead of just putting together someone else's recipe, but we still had fun!

It would have been better to have a guide for this day. We went to Fatima first and were mostly confused by what everyone was doing (like walking on knees), then spent too much time in Nazare and ended up missing the Batalha monastery (we did go, but it was already closed unfortunately). It was still a good day though!

We had a nice guides and learned a lot about the area. Our favorite was definitely the Convent of Christ - what a magnificent church!

Obidos is such a cute town, and their cherry liquor in chocolate cups is to die for. Loved this day!

After an initial mix-up where our TukTuk didn't show up on time, we still ended up going later in the day. I really enjoyed riding in the Tuk Tuk, but the guide didn't have much new information to share - I felt like I'd already heard most of the things from other guides on this trip. Overall, I could've sat in the vehicle for longer, but the churches and descriptions fell a bit flat.

It was nice that everything was paid for in advance so we didn't have to worry about paying, and the food was nice, but I was hoping for a bit more Fado. I loved the music, but they only performed 4x during the course of the night.

I'm not sure how much this trip cost, but it felt like we could have saved some money driving ourselves to Cascais and Sintra, especially since the driver didn't come to the monuments with us. Sintra boasts a gorgeous castle, but it is also very overrun with tourists. We were not prepared for the crowds. We're also pretty sure we missed part of the castle - was there supposed to be an interior? Overall, it was nice to have a day to just sit and let ourselves be chauffeured around, but the car was TOO nice and we were suspicious how much we'd paid for this.

We had a nice time in Evora. The Chapel of Bones is really something else. Our guide was very friendly and we really enjoyed our last guided tour!

Wonderful hotel. Staff were very helpful. Excellent location within walking distance of local restaurants.

Wonderful location for our morning flight. Clean and beautiful. The restaurant was the perfect way to spend our just meal in Portugal . 5 star in every way.

I will never forget this night in Portugal! What an experience listening to these stories being sung with beautiful music. A dinner show like no other.. A must for your visit.

The quality of the food and accommodations were for Star.

Everybody there could not have been more accommodating and kind. It was a great location to get anywhere.

The hotel in Porto was pretty good. It had breakfast included, but the options were limited.

The Real Bellavista Hotel and Spa in Albufeira was great. It had a 4-star rating, and the breakfast options were excellent. They also provided a shuttle to the downtown area, which was a nice addition.

Our food and wine tour in Porto was enjoyable, but we had a slight issue with the meeting point, which was farther than expected from our hotel. We took an Uber and got reimbursed for it. The tour itself was good, but since my parents don't drink much wine, it would have been nice to have more variety in the activities.

The Douro Valley tour was one of my favorites. The scenery was beautiful, and we had a great lunch at a villa with a pool and an amazing view of the vineyards. The food was really good, and the tour was well-organized.

The TukTuk tour in Lisbon was fantastic. The company was very accommodating to our interests, and the driver took us to all the places we wanted to see while explaining everything nicely.

The tour to Sintra, Cascais, and Estoril was really enjoyable. The tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable, and the transportation was comfortable.

The boat tour to the Benagil Caves and dolphin sighting was a lot of fun. The tour took us around the coastline, and we enjoyed the views, dolphins, music, and cruising on the water.