“Ola Madalena,

We would just like to let you know what a wonderful time we have been having.  Sadly we have only 4 days to go.  Your organisation of the trip has been fabulous.  The hotels have been terrific. We love your country, the people have been very friendly and helpful.  Our wine tastings and any meals you have organised have been first class.  Our grotto trip yesterday was great and our hike today was very good.  All our guides have been lovely friendly girls who have done a wonderful job.

Again it all comes down to your organisation to make everything go so smoothly.

Obrigada,

Lynette Harrison”

“Thank you for making our trip so wonderful. It was really perfect in every way — from the selection of hotels, to your recommendations of tour guides and activities, to the preprogrammed GPS. We have already told several friends that if they are contemplating a trip to Portugal that this is the way to go.  Please let us know if you are planning to expand beyond Portugal.”

“Dear Diana

I would like to make use of this opportunity to express our sincere thanks to you for arranging a life time experience – all your arrangements and advice were spot on and perfect.

We enjoyed every moment in you beautiful and extremely friendly country – you can be proud!!!

I will not hesitate to recommend you and Portugal Trails to my friends and any person who asks.

Thank you also for the beautiful gifts it was much appreciated

We wish you all of the best for the future – please send me your Manager – email address

Regards,

Piet”

“Dear Diana,

Just a quick note to say “Many Thanks!” for all your help while we traveled through your beautiful country!  We all had a wonderful visit.

We found your organizations very professional.  Appreciated the information you provided and the detailed itinerary for each location.  The guides you provided were excellent and a joy to be around.  The hotels were in good locations and staffed well.

All in all, we had a wonderful time, many thanks for all your support.

Warm regards,

Jeanne”

“Hi Sofia,

Everything was terrific. We loved Portugal and everywhere we went. I do have some comments that should not be viewed as negative, just positive feedback.

We particularly want to praise Carla, our guide for the walk in Sagres. She was terrific.

The one activity that we changed was the boat trip in Lagos. As you know, we had friends meeting us in Lisbon later that day and were anxious to see them. So when we arrived and talked to the boat company, we were concerned about the length of the boat trip (4 and a half hours; I thought it was 4 but either way our desire to see our friends changed our thinking because it would mean getting to Lisbon later than we wanted). The heat that day was also very bad. It also seemed that the trip was more a leisure cruise, although the grotto tour was included. So we changed to a shorter grotto trip without an additional charge. I probably should have asked more about this trip. I assumed it was more nature oriented, but I don’t blame you for setting it up.

We also took a short boat trip in Tavira, which was excellent. I think I would have liked to have seen options for slightly longer trips in the Formosa.

Our guide in Lisbon, Patricia, was also excellent. Although we discussed where we would tour, I felt we could have had a couple of short stops for shopping during the walk, which was half a day. Once again, this is not a criticism just a thought that it is good to have time to rest and look at things a bit more closely. Please don’t share these comments with her.

The road book was generally fine. In a few instances, it seemed to have some duplication. There were also a couple of times where it had information on a place we were not headed. For example, the section on the drive from Lagos to Lisbon had a stop along the coast and a listing for a hotel.

We followed a couple of the restaurant suggestions. With respect to hotels, Altis Avendia was excellent and provided superb service and help. All the hotels’ personnel were incredibly helpful. The hotel in Evora was very good and roomy, but also felt that it was almost too big a place. Would have liked to have tried the other hotel. The Pousada in Sagres was fine, but does feel a bit dated. But it was very clean and welcoming and was located perfectly.

Once again, these aren’t criticisms, because every day we rave about our trip AND Portugal Trails. You did an excellent job and really appreciate your approach and appreciation for the beauty and hospitality of Portugal.

We will use you again and recommend you without question.

Obrigado,

Steve”

“Hello Madalena,

We are home safely with many happy memories.  Thank you for organizing such a successful trip for us.  We were most satisfied.  We will recommend Portugal to family and friends and we hope to return in the next years.

If you’d like a little feedback, I’ll give you a few of our reflections.

Lagos was beautiful.  Check with your clients if they’d prefer to kayak or go in a fish boat.  The kayaking might have been our choice.   You don’t have to drive all the way to Sagres to dolphin watch.  It was fantastic but the boat came back almost as far as Lagos.  We didn’t think Sagres was anything special but maybe we missed the little town.   We loved driving north to near Aljezur.  I can’t remember the name of the beach but there was surfing and a warm lagoon.  The fog rolled in which was eerie but beautiful.    I loved Porimao and the Praia des Roches – beautiful long long beach and warm water.   Albufeira was beautiful but quite crowded and touristy.   We didn’t make it to Silves or Tavira.

We loved Evora and we would highly recommend the Pousada.  1 day and 1 night is enough though.

We loved Setubal peninsula and had an amazing afternoon at a sandy, lagoony beach.  Beautiful warm water.  It was an easy drive back in to Lisbon.

Lisboa was amazing.  The GPS helped us and the hotel is perfectly located to the metro.  Our walking tour was excellent.  The 3 hours was interesting and we ate the traditional pastries and had some wine and cheese.   The fado dinner was excellent and the music moving, but we were tired by midnight.  We found a great restaurant for dinner that was delicioius, huge and inexpensive – 4 courses for 16 E .  I believe it was The Story Restaurant, in a square / walk through near the elevator.

Sintra was very special.  We only made it to the 2 sights up on the moutain but they were fantastic.  WE stopped at a beach near Caiscas (sp?) but we weren’t able to find the bikes….we didn’t make it to the west  of Sintra but that’s okay.

We loved Obidos, and we had a great beach swim in warm water near Peniche.   The hotel Mar Bravo was excellent.  Loved the location and the view.  The water was a bit chilly with big waves but it was still great fun.  2 nights were enough as the Saturday crowds arrived.  We found a fantastic dinner restaurant right around the corner from the hotel that was deeeeelicious and inexpensive….we ate there both nights.  The name was ….darn, I can’t remember nor find it on the web.  It was just around the corner from the hotel.

Aveira was a nice stop on the long day of driving.  It was pretty and the boat ride was nice for 8 E.   WE loved the pousada at Geres!  Amazing views, great pool, fantastic breakfast and a big dinner.  The rooms are a bit shabby but still great!   We loved swimming in the lake, too, and we did a hike and drive all around.  Well worth a couple of days.

We wish we had driven to Porto via the Douro Valley.  The Ponta da Lima and west to Castelo…wasn’t as pretty.  The cathedral was lovely and a great view.   We couldn’t find a warm beach for our last swim before Porto, but that was maybe our fault.  IT was windy and the water cold.  Someone told us after about a built in pool in the rocks just north of Porto.

We LOVED Porto.  Our hotel was cool….Musica….very modern and comfortable.  The service was excellent and the breakfast excellent.  It was close to a metro too.  The tour down the river was good, but I would ask your customers if they’d like a longer tour, with dinner, that goes up the river more.  I’m sad to have missed the Douro wineries….we loved the port tasting !!!!  WE were tired and it was hot so we were glad of the hop on hop off bus as Porto is big!

The rental car worked beautifully.  Driving there was fine, way easier than the narrow streets of Scotland.

Obrigada, Magdalena.  Those are just a few reflections.  It was a wonderful 2 week trip.  We used your booklet a lot but didn’t track down the restaurants that you suggested often, as we found that overwhelming.  There are soooo many restaurants everywhere that we just chose 1 that we came across.   The breakfasts were so delicious and filling that we often didn’t eat lunch!

Take care.  If you ever come to Victoria or Vancouver, let us know.  We could arrange a beautiful trip for you!

Thirell and David Trottier”