“Nuno,
We arrived home safely after a memorable trip thanks to your efforts. Everything went smoothly. I have traveled to several countries over the last 40 years and you and your company are among the very best travel agencies I have used. In particular, your choices of hotels and activities made it a wonderful trip. Also, i was most impressed by you and your partners prompt responses to my emails.
Here are some reflections about the trip:
The car met our needs perfectly even though we almost couldn’t make the turns to get out of a parking garage in Porto because it was so big.
All of the guides were very good including the substitute in Porto.
All of the hotels were especially well located and it was nice that they were all different in character.
The Hotel Lisbon Plaza had a lot of charm and the location was great. We enjoyed wine in the evenings on the terrace. We were tired the first night so we were very glad to find the restaurant Gina’s right behind the hotel. It had a lot of local atmosphere and a really nice and inexpensive menu featuring authentic Portuguese  food.
In Lisbon it worked out well to postpone the car delivery for one day and to take the train to  Sintra and I would highly recommend not driving to SIntra.
In Porto there was no place to park to load and unload baggage at the Carris hotel but it was a beautiful hotel and great location in the middle of everything. The desk clerk told us how to park for only 6 EU per 24 hrs vs the hotel rate of 20 plus EU. You drive through the tunnel in front of the hotel and across the bridge where there is a large parking deck. It is about a 10 minute walk back. You may want to pass this on to you future clients.
The highlight of our trip was staying at the Casa Visconde de Chanceleiros hotel. It is very unique and the views are just magnificent. We ate there both nights since we did not want to drive the road at night. We even ate pork cheek which was much better that I expected.
The over highlight which we enjoyed the most was the visit and tasting lunch at Herrdade do Esparto. In all of my years, I don’t think I have had a better meal including the meals I had at castles in Ireland. The presentation and flavors were outstanding and unforgettable. I think the chef has a very bright future.
The lunch didn’t start until1:30  so we had to ask the chef to speed it up a little so we could make it back to Lisbon to turn in the car.
The programed GPS made it a very easy trip.
I will certainly recommend Portugal Trails to any of my friends who want to visit Portugal.
Again, thanks for all of your help to make our trip so wonderful.”

“Dear Catarina,
Our trip ended with Fado show and dinner. What a great experience.  It was a perfect finale after a well planned excursion. We cannot compliment you enough for the super organization with attention to detail. The punctuality and politeness of the drivers and the special experience of the Vincci Hotel in Porto made for a super vacation.  We enjoyed the serenity of Casa do Governador where we had a chance to share experiences with other Portugal Trails guests from different countries.  It was a nice surprise to find a Swimming pool in their backyard with a horse roaming quietly grazing around us. I could go on and on…Now we are in Milan fending for ourselves and appreciating even more your expertise.  Will definitely book again with you in the future.
Both my husband and I like to thank you for all your kindnesses.
With best regards, Romy and David”

“Ola Ana,
After just returning to Canada I find myself already reminiscing about our magnificent trip to your beautiful country.
I wanted to drop you this note and speak comfortably for the four of us when I say our trip to Portugal was over the top!
The weather, the countryside, the people, the food, the wine, the accommodations, the tour guides and activities were all so amazing
In all my travels I have never been treated so well, so professionally and so efficiently. The moment we landed in Lisbon and were greeted by one of your team, our trip commenced like a well written script. This is no surprise. You and your team had as many questions for us as we did for you during the planning stage in an effort to create the perfect balance between our expectations and your recommendations.
The real value when travelling great distances isn’t the excitement and anticipation before the trip but the satisfaction and memories on its completion. This type of value can only be achieved through precise planning
“THANK YOU” for all the work you did in making this such a memorable holiday experience.
We will be sharing stories of this trip along with the wonderful experience provided by Portugal Trails for those interested in making the journey.

Thank you Ana
Obrigado,
Stephen, Kathleen, Wayne, Nancy”

“We had an absolutely fantastic trip and we can thank you for much of that.

The hotels, guides and GPS suggestions were wonderful. We are looking forward to returning to Portugal to spend more time in some of the places we visited and also explore new places.
We absolutely loved Madeira Island and can’t wait to get back.

Nydia has not stopped talking about the trip and we would recommend your services 1000%.

Briant”

“Dear Rita,
Our trip to Portugal was wonderful. I must confess I was a little concerned when our car was not waiting for us at the airport. We called our contact information and she apologized and the driver was sent immediately. After that it was perfect from start to finish. Our hotels were spectacular. The service was top notched. We absolutely loved the castle.
Both Nadia and Anna were very informative but I must say Nadia went the extra mile. She even gave us her email and phone # if we had any additional questions. I did reach out to her and she responded with the information I requested. The additional wine tours were fun and gave us a relaxing time on this vacation. We found the information you gave us and the book extremely helpful. We would definitely recommend your services and if we go to Spain we would contact you again. Thank you for making this trip so memorable. Michele and Frank.”

“Hi Vanessa, hope you enjoy your vacation.
The following are our more detailed comments, but first let me underline how much we appreciated the arrangements made by your company and also the support you provided during the trip.

Lisbon
– Airport pickup: Greatly appreciated.  very helpful and friendly.
– Hotel Britania: great location and excellent staff.  The desk and the porters were very helpful and were more than happy to suggest restaurants nearby and to make the reservations.
– Tour: Excellent tour!  Tour guide (Anna) was wonderful and was very good at helping us figure out the reservations for the Fado dinner
– Fado Dinner: Great dinner.  staff were very good.  The location was close enough that we could walk back to the hotel .  We found portugal to be very friendly and safe.
– Belem: great place to visit (we actually took the hop on hop off bus to get there..we have been in the habit of using these in other cities)
– Rental Car pickup:   Staff were quite busy as everyone arrived at 930 and they indicted there were a lot of hotel pickups.  Very happy with car and especially the transponder.  it was a little rough getting out of lisbon..but the GPS got us out safely

Porto
– Arrival:  I doubt there is any way to make this easy given the location of the hotel and the nature of the streets.    We arrived when the street to the hotel was shut down.  GPS got us to the car park and we parked then took luggage down to the hotel.   That worked quite well
– Hotel: Fantastic on all points. Staff were terrific, location was superb and we had a great view of the river.  We were very pleased
– Tour: You may recall we joined another group as our original guide was sick.  That worked very well and we were very happy with the guide and the arrangements made at such short notice.  Thank you for all your efforts on  our behalf.
– Port Cellart tour:  The cellar was “Churchills” and finding its location did prove to be a bit of a challenge.  Eventually we took  a taxi, but even  he couldn’t find it.  we did make it and it is actually very easy to find. Tour was ok.
– Guide Book: this applies to all our visits: very helpful.

Porto to Pinhao
– Again, GPS was very very helpful.

Pinhao
– Hotel (Quinta do Pego) Again, wonderful location (although the driveway wasn’t for the faint of heart).  The view, the grounds and staff were all excellent.  We ate at the hotel each night and were very very happy with the menu and wines.
– Boat Trip:  wonderful experience.  the views were great.
– Wine Tasting at the Wine academy:  Fantastic!   One of the true highlights of the trip.

Evora
– Hotel: Very impressive.  The grounds and the facilities were definitely top notch.
– Winery tour/Degausstation lunch:  The lunch was superb!  Another highlight.  Tour was very good.  Difficult to find the location  and the recommendation to ignore the GPS was appreciated.
–  Visit to Monsaraz and Vila Vicosa:  GPS worked well and we found both places very easily.  We did them on a different day from the winery tour and that worked out better for us as we would have found it difficult to go from the lunch to another two places the same afternoon.
– Evora: wonderful place to visit and walk around.  Many great restaurants .
Evora to Lisbon
GPS made the trip quite easy even in Lisbon
Hotel:  As good as before but this time we ended up in the penthouse suite which was fantastic.
Hotel to Airport
Car was there early and the ride out was greatly appreciated.  Plenty of time to make it through the airport procedures.
Overall, can’t think of a better vacation. Portugal is a wonderful country and everyone took extremely good care of us.
Thank you, so much, for a great vacation.
Ken and Sue”