Stress-free trip

Portugal | Mar 9 - Mar 16, 2024

Loved this place! It was like having an AirBNB with the services of a hotel. The location was great, it’s an easy walk to most things in Porto and yet perfectly quiet at night. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with all of the staff, particularly Diogo. The place itself had a full kitchen with a washer, living room, and 2 floors - 2 bedrooms upstairs. This would be a great place for anyone who needs to stay for a long period of time. The breakfast offered was always good and a little different each day. Note: This might be a challenge for someone with mobility issues as there are steps to enter the hotel and several steps to get up to the bedrooms. Traveler tip: If you are relying on wi-fi during your travels, ask the hotel for their travel phone device that has maps and recommendations loaded - nice feature but we didn’t know about it until last night there.

It was clean, quiet and safe with all the normal amenities. Staff was friendly. We loved our little “suite” set-up. Had one main shared door and then each room had its own locking door - perfect for families or friends traveling together.

We were given a great overview of Porto. Sara was a lovely guide and knew her history. She told us tips along the way that helped us navigate on our own afterwards.

We loved our ride to Douro Valley. Ivo was our driver but he’s also a guide and knows both Porto & Douro Valley. We learned so much from him. He’s the BEST!! One of our favorite moments was going off the beaten path and seeing an area that we would have never seen on our own.

The boat was perfectly fine, the Captain was pleasant and the ride on the river was relaxing. We only did an hour and that was plenty of time. We got lucky with nice weather but there is an enclosed cabin if it were to rain and they have blankets on board too. The reason for the 3 stars is it was a private boat trip and nothing special l. We had to download an app which made it feel impersonal. I could understand having to use an app with a public boat trip where everyone speaks a different language but this trip was just for us. It just wasn’t special.

First we had lunch and then did a winery tour with a tasting. The restaurant within the hotel, was fine dining with beautiful views. Wine pairing with delicious food. I traveled with college aged daughters who had not tried wine before, this added to the fun of the experience. The wine was great! Many options to pick from for the tasting and can also make purchases. The grounds were simply beautiful even in the off season.

We had Pedro as our guide, he was great! Even though he's originally from Porto, he was very knowledgeable about Lisbon and its history. He was up for adapting the tour in any way that we wanted, our preference was for him to show us the highlights and give us a lay of the land so that we could navigate on our own afterwards. We enjoyed our personal conversations with him, he was very natural and adaptable. He gave us some great recommendations along the way and shared many good tips too. I should have taken notes as he referenced things because later on I realized we wanted to go to a restaurant that he recommended and had to reach back out - got our answer though which we appreciated. The tour ends on a very special note with wine tasting and pairings. It was the perfect way to relax and end the tour.

This was such a unique experience to Portugal. We typically are not night owls and tend to eat dinner on the early side. We were given the option of the earlier Fado or later and chose the later because it's the one that the Portuguese people tend to join and enjoy. We wanted a local's perspective and we got it!

This is a beautiful and charming town and we were happy to see it. The palace was nice but there were lines although they moved quickly. The grounds (gardens and lakes) are pretty, be sure to walk around. We didn't need a full day in Sintra, but it was nice to see.

This was a little more touristy and scripted. That said, our driver was personable and tried to make it enjoyable for us. To discover Belem you need to drive to get out there if you are staying in the heart of Lisbon. We weren't fans of being driven in a TukTuk on the busy streets. Our driver was fine and there weren't any problems, but having done it, I think I would have chosen another option to get out to Belem.