I had an amazing trip! Rita did a good job
Portugal
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Nov 17 - Nov 30, 2023
I had an amazing trip! Rita did a good job of booking exactly what I wanted, and it all worked out in the end. I specifically stated that I wanted Hilton hotels to take advantage of my Diamond status. She did what I asked and all of my Hilton hotels gave me free upgrades to incredible rooms. It only elevated the luxury that I requested.
Starting from my pickup from the Lisbon airport. Marcus arrived to take me to my hotel. He was very nice (5-stars!) and got me to the hotel on time. He and I had a wonderful chat; he was new to Portugal (from Brazil) and so he had a lot of insight as newer person living in Portugal. I was able to meet up that night with a local for a homemade dinner. This is a highlight of the trip. Sofia and Carlos were so nice and welcoming and I had a great night with them. I almost wish that could be done in other cities like Porto. The meal was bacalhau a Bras and it was so good! I thought about it days later.
My tour guide Filipa took me around lisbon, gave me my first taste of Ginjinha and Eduardino. It was a nice walk around the city. I also got an escorted tour to Sintra, Cascais and Estoril. Paulo Pires was my driver. We stopped at his wife's cafe for a little breakfast that was delicious, and from there the tour went well. I sat in the front seat with him and we just had a ball. He is a must use in the future for others. It was great to have a one-on-one guide so that things were at my own pace, including lunch.
Porto was great. My tour guide walked me around to all the great places I shouldn't miss. I walked that route she showed me two more days. I had the delicious francesinha with my friends I met up with who live in Porto. The Se Catedral Hilton was a lovely hotel. The room was great. I would like a screen on the window so I can open it without worry about bugs coming in. Otherwise everything was good. The staff remember me instantly, and the room service was great.
Driving was a panic for me initially, but it went well. Gave me a chance to see myself driving around the country. I want to do that again. I visited the Duoro Valley, and stayed in a winery with the food. Qunita do Tedo has a great restaurant. The serveres are very nice. The steak was so delicious I had to eat it twice.
I also visited Evora and had a great tour of a vineyard. I returned home with over 1,000 euros worth of wine.
This adventure was just what I wanted. Rita did such a good job. I recommended this to other, and I will likely be back to plan another trip. Please make sure I am made aware of the countries you support.
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Hi Bryan,
thank you so much for taking the time to write this wonderful review and for your feedback, which I will make sure to forward to our team of local guides, who will be more than happy to hear that you had a great time with them! It was a pleasure to help you with this trip to Portugal. Hopefully, we can get in touch again in the future as we also support Italy, Spain, and Morocco. A great thank you from the family of Espíritu Travel! Warm regards, Rita😊