Trip of a Lifetime!
Portugal | Oct 29 - Nov 10, 2022

Athena
Athena N.
South Salt Lake, UT | Reviewed on Nov 17, 2022

Bea was so patient and helpful in planning our trip to Portugal and Morocco! She checked in with us throughout the process and during the trip. The trip itself was incredible. All of the guides we had throughout the journey were fantastic, but particularly our two guides in Lisbon: Gisela Gouveia for our tour of the city and Paulo Pires for our day trip to Sintra. They were both so knowledgeable, kind, and fun. I would highly recommend them both to anyone who has never visited!

During our stay in Morocco, we had a designated guide/driver with us throughout the trip which was really nice for consistency. Our guide in Marrakesh, Hamid, was fantastic. I was so impressed with his knowledge and ability to help us understand Moroccan culture. He was very kind and helpful. We also had a really great guide in Chefchaouen, also named Hamid. This was my favorite city in Morocco and he really helped us see so much of it's beauty. Overall, just an amazing vacation!

Hotel Reviews
Palais Zahia
Old Medina, Tangier

I really loved this hotel--it's beautifully decorated and well cared for.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
We had booked a twin room and when we checked in there was only one bed but the staff was very kind and accommodating when we asked to switch to a twin room with two beds.
Cleanliness & Comfort
Hotel Dom Henrique Downtown
Porto
Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Olissippo Castelo Hotel
Lisboa

We loved this hotel! On our way back through Lisbon before heading home, we ended up booking here again because we liked it so much. The staff was wonderful. We had some issues with lost luggage and they were so helpful in calling the airport to check on the status of our bags so we could go out and do some sightseeing. The rooms are lovely and it's a great location with a beautiful view of the city.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Riad Chergui
Marrakech

This was probably my favorite hotel of the trip. It was in the middle of the medina so it was easy to walk to everything and the hotel itself is just gorgeous inside! I could have spent all day sitting in the courtyard.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Oum Palace Hotel & SPA
Casablanca

Pretty average hotel. It was fine for just one night stay but it was really loud because of the street noise.

Authenticity & Character
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Riad Kalaa
Rabat

Beautiful hotel. We only stayed one night but I would definitely go back.

Authenticity & Character
Beautifully decorated rooms and courtyard. Very clean.
Location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
VANCII HOTEL
Chefchaouen

Really nice hotel--very clean and well taken care of. They have a beautiful rooftop deck where they serve breakfast and a lovely sitting area where you can see the entire town.

Authenticity & Character
Location
It was really close to everything. We could easily walk to restaurants and shops. The only downside was the street noise at night, which was really loud.
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Activity Reviews
Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril
Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril
Portugal

This was one of my favorite days during the whole trip. Our guide, Paulo, was friendly, kind, and knowledgeable. We really appreciated his good recommendations for food during our tour as well as other suggestions for food and sites to see in Lisbon. I really loved the visit to Pena Palace and the beautiful walk through the woods on the way back down.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our driver and guide, Paulo Pires, was fantastic!
Transport
Privately Guided Tour of Chefchaouen
Privately Guided Tour of Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen

This was my favorite city in Morocco, by far! I couldn't stop taking pictures! We had a really lovely guide, Hamid, who took us on a walking tour of the city. He led us up pretty high in the city so we could get a nice view of the whole area and led us down through all the shops. He was very patient as we stopped all the time to take pictures.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride over Marrakech
Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride over Marrakech
Marrakesh

Honestly, I was a little disappointed in this experience. We thought it was a sunrise hot air balloon ride but when we got to the area with the balloons they had already taken off with other passengers so we didn't get to watch the sunrise in the balloon. There was a lot of confusion about when we would get to take the balloon ride and, essentially, we spent almost an hour waiting around not knowing what was going on. After about an hour, our driver had us get back in the car and drive to another point to get in the balloon. The ride itself was nice but leading up to it was pretty disorganized and there was a lot of waiting around.

Quality of Experience
Organization and communication
Food
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Transport
Our driver was late picking us up so by the time we got to the balloon field the balloons had already taken off with other passengers. We missed seeing the sunrise in the balloon.
Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise
Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise
Porto

Beautiful drive and experience. We did a wine tasting and had the entire place to ourselves. We had a wonderful lunch and a scenic boat ride along the river.

Quality of Experience
Gorgeous area
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guide, Nelson, was great!
Transport
Privately Guided Visit of Marrakech & Bahia Palace
Privately Guided Visit of Marrakech & Bahia Palace
Marrakesh

Overall, this was a really great tour. Our guide, Hamid, was incredibly knowledgeable and kind. Marrakech is an amazing city and we were able to see quite a bit in just a short time. The only criticism is that we were taken to two places (one that sells creams and perfumes and one that sells rugs) to basically sit for a sales pitch to buy things from these vendors. It was interesting to learn about how these things are made but this cut into our tour time significantly.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Get to Know Lisbon with a Local
Get to Know Lisbon with a Local
Lisbon

Lisbon is such a beautiful city! We really enjoyed our tour with our guide, Gisela Gouveia. She really helped us get acclimated to the city and taught us a lot about Lisbon in such a short time.

Quality of Experience
Guides, Drivers and Staff
Our guide was fantastic!
Local specialist: Beatriz De Pablo Rocha
Beatriz
Beatriz De Pablo Rocha
Local specialist in Madrid | Replied on Nov 18, 2022

Hi Athena! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review and for your feedback, which I will make sure to forward to our team of local guides, who were very happy to show you around Portugal and Morocco! I'm so glad you had an amazing vacation and it was my pleasure to help you with this trip. Best regards, Bea.