João Branco

We spent a truly memorable week recently in Portugal. Portugal is a country that we have wanted to visit for quite some time ever since we were unable to do so on a trip we made to Spain approximately 10 years ago. The 10 year wait was rewarded because Portugal is a beautiful country with amazing scenery and very friendly people. Perhaps the highlight of our trip which involved stops in Porto, Lisbon and the Douro Valley was the time we spent at the port winery and surrounding area in the Douro Valley. This part of Portugal reminded me of Tuscany in Italy with its beautifully landscape and terraced vineyards in a micro climate that is truly unique on the Earth. Our trip organizer João was amazing in his desire and ability to craft many activities and tours that we enjoyed immensely. Our driver Eduardo was full of good and useful information about his beloved country and made our time traveling around Portugal, enjoyable and informative. The lunch that we had at the Quinta de Pacheca winery was truly a highlight, and the 20 year old Port wine that we were served was exceptional. All in all, this was a trip that we thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated the efforts that Joao and KimKim went to make it the success that it was.

Activity Review

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

A highlight not to be missed!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We spent 8 wonderful days in Portugal. It was enjoyable learning about Porto and the history of the city. Our tour of the port winery Sandeman was very interesting and the Port wine was very good. We visited the Douro Valley and the rolling hills of the vineyards were beautiful. We had a wonderful lunch and wine tasting was delicious.
The second part of our trip was in Lisbon. We had a great walking tour and learned more history. We saw some amazing surfers at the beach and also went to the magical city of Sintra. Thank you João for arranging this great trip in Portugal.

Hotel Review

Hotel Britania Art Deco

Lisbon

Activity Reviews

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

We enjoyed this city tour. We learned a lot about Porto's history.

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

This was a great day! The Douro Valley is beautiful. We enjoyed our wine tasting experience.

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

This was a great day! The lunch was delicious. And after lunch we enjoyed having our personal wine with regular and port wines.

Quality of Experience

The Flavors of Port Wine - Sip & Discover

Porto

We enjoyed the tour of the winery. I knew nothing about port wine and enjoyed the wine tasting along with the cheese board we had with it.

Quality of Experience

The extra cheese board was a great addition.

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

We weren't really sure if we would enjoy this but I'm glad we went. The food was fine. Not the best but not bad either. I enjoyed watching and listening to the music.

All of the guides spoke excellent English and were infailingly courteous & well informed. The trip was well planned, so no hurried. Restaurants choices were well made, reflecting that we desired true Portugese cuisine, not touristy or American food.

Our trip to the Azores - Sao Miguel was wonderful. João was amazing with his suggestions and the jeep tours we did were so special because the tour guides were unbelievable. They were friendly, patient, knew what they were doing and just love their country. Our highlights were Vila Franca do Campo Islet, we took the ferry and spent the afternoon there - this was really beautiful and the ferry on the way back loops around the island which was unexpected. We loved the unexpected fabulous views at Castelo Branco and the adorable tower that sits there waiting for you to explore. The abandoned hotel at Sete Cidades is eery cold with fabulous views. Our hotels were great but the best thing at the Pedras do Mar Resort was the walking/hiking trail along the coast - views were unbelievable.

Hotel Review

Pedras do Mar Resort & SpaOpens

Fenais da Luz, Ponta Delgada

Location

The access to the walking/hiking trail along the coast

Activity Review

From Tea to Thermal Baths - Small Group Jeep Tour in Furnas

the Azores

Eduardo was excellent. We enjoyed his island knowledge and expertise. The Cozido das Furnas was a great filling meal - we really enjoyed it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Joao
It was a wonderful trip. We just landed and being driven home.
We couldn’t have had a better eleven days of weather.
I will definitely rate your company a five star and we were also very pleased with Rui and Darsi XP.
Our group loved the trip overall.
A couple of suggestions:
When you sent the itinerary all of us missed pressing the details button. I guess we were all new to this type of service and is why there was some confusion on my part in asking you several questions.
The only restaurant that we suggest you don’t recommend in the future is Pinoquio in Lisbon. The experience was awful from food to rushed service to screaming kids sitting right behind us.
Most importantly the tee times were later than we would’ve expected. That made for little downtime after golf and before dinner. Especially Mar de Fora. The restaurant had excellent food but we totally missed the ambiance of the sunset.
But as stated the entire experience was amazing including tour of Lisbon, Fado dinner both the boat ride along the coast of the Algarve and sailing up the Tagus. All of the tour guides were informative personal and friendly.
As far as the hotels were concerned we were very pleased with PortoBay Liberdade and the Tivoli in the Algarve. The Miragem is getting dated and you will probably want to consider a different hotel in the future.
Obrigado
Richard

Hotel Reviews

PortoBay Liberdade

Lisbon

Well located Friendly staff Clean and comfortable Wait staff excellent I’m writing 5 star on each not sure how it’s coming through

Authenticity & Character

See above

Location

Just off the main street quietly situated Not enormous so more manageable Food preparations were much better than expected

Staff

See above

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room lobby

Tivoli Carvoeiro

Lagoa

Once again beautifully located Walking distance or hotel buggy service to town Great restaurants in area Pool and poolside clean and accommodating Pool service excellent

Authenticity & Character

Location

See above

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

Dated Largest king sized bed I’ve ever seen Too large for our tastes A convention was there during our stay Word has it that it is being redone soon Lobby bar pool area pleasant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Renovation

Activity Reviews

Explore Sintra's Fairytale Villa with a Private Driver and Pena Palace Tickets

Portugal

A must when visiting Portugal Plan lots of time Special tickets let us skip the enormous lined

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Informative

Transport

Tee time - Quinta do Lago Golf Course

Algarve

We love golfing Need we say more If possible plan earlier tee times to have time to relax shower before dinner

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exclusive Boat Tour to Ponta da Piedade Grottoes with a Swimming Stop

Portugal

A must Beautiful landscape If you dare take a dip

Quality of Experience

Skipper was informative and personable

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tee Time - Dom Pedro Millennium Golf Course Vilamoura

Algarve

As above Two courses would choose the other one Can’t remember name starts with an “L” I think Laguna more water views

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tee Time - Oitavos Dunes Golf Course

Portugal

Best of the four courses we played. Make sure you reserve a buggy unless you’re a walker. They do have caddies with push carts. We are in our 70’s and the walk might have been a bit much considering my wife had a knee replacement six weeks prior. Our faithful driver intervened and made sure we had carts.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exclusive 2-Hour Sailing Experience on the Tagus River

Portugal

Beautiful way to end our trip to Portugal. Sunset on a sailboat on the Tagus River. Lovely clean boat with friendly crew.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

A must on the trip Food wine horrible Not a box wine type, wine list didn’t provide improvement Food fair at best

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour with Ginjinha & Pastel de Nata

Lisbon

Informative walk/journey through the streets of Lisbon. Pedro was knowledgeable and friendly. Showed us the highlights of the city in two hours and we covered a lot of ground.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To Eat Suggestion: O Pescador (Carvoeiro)

Algarve

One of the best we had in the Algarve Preferably you like fish Great wine list Wonderful friendly service Spectacular view

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uber

To Eat Suggestion: Mar de Fora (Carvoeiro)

Algarve

Food service was wonderful Unfortunately due to a late tee time we were not able to experience a beautiful vista during dinner as the sun had already set

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uber

To Eat Suggestion: Bougain Restaurant & Garden Bar

Cascais

Not a typical Portuguese restaurant More continental in offerings Food was very good and in a lovely garden setting in downtown Caiscai

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To Eat Suggestion: Marisco na Praça

Cascais

Food was good There are two places in Caiscai We went to the wrong one first but eventually found our way to the one at the Marina A little commercial for our tastes poor wine list Meh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Either we speak Portuguese or they speak English

Transport

Uber

Tee time - Palmares Golf Course

Algarve

This course is new. It will be some day (2-3 years) great. Beautiful views and challenging. Groundwork in progress Layout of bag drop clubhouse awkward They are building a Marriott hotel across from the clubhouse which may affect views

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To Eat Suggestion: Pinóquio

Lisbon

Worse meal of the trip We were rushed We sat by the kitchen and armies of servers were constantly running by Two screaming children (non existent parental intervention) behind my wife and I made matters worse Looked forward to the Parlla until it was served Dreadful

Quality of Experience

Don’t go

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To Eat Suggestion: O Faroleiro

Cascais

Perhaps our best meal On the ocean Philip (who titled himself the Captain) prepared a spectacular meal. My wife and I had been to Portugal 26 years before and had a fish baked in salt. We have searched high and wide to find fish prepared like that again and only once found it in the states. Philip prepared a Sea Bass in salt and

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To Eat Suggestion: Touriga Wine & Dine (Carvoeiro)

Algarve

Great dinner Waiter was very helpful Told us we were ordering too much food He was right despite taking his recommendations The Red Snapper for four was more than enough Apps were bread olives olive oil and cheese Thank god we didn’t order a full appetizer

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uber

To Eat Suggestion: Black Salt (Carvoeiro)

Algarve

Well prepared food Great chef presentation of food Not commercial but authentic

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Uber

Our trip to Portugal was fantastic from beginning to end. Everything that was promised was delivered, and the entire experience felt seamless, thoughtful, and very well executed.

I work in the travel industry for a company that provides luxury travel services (Nothing to do with Portugual or Europe), so I’ll admit that I have fairly high standards and can be a little skeptical about turning over the planning of our own family vacation to someone else. Joao very quickly put those concerns to rest.

From the initial contact, he was responsive, thorough, and understood what would make the trip right for our family. Traveling with a 14-year-old, an 18-year-old, and two parents isn’t necessarily an easy audience to please, but Joao created an itinerary that was remarkably well balanced. There was enough planned to make each day interesting and memorable without ever making the trip feel over-scheduled. Everyone had something to enjoy, which is no small accomplishment!

Joao’s attention to detail continued well beyond the planning stage. He checked in with us just before we left, throughout the trip, and again after we returned home. He also remembered that we were celebrating our 31st anniversary, and that personal touch ( with flowers and treates) meant a great deal to us.

Our accommodations were wonderful, well chosen, and very well located. Condes de Azevedo Palace in Porto was a particular highlight and such a memorable place to stay. The locations of all the hotels made exploring easy, whether on foot or using Uber.

Our driver/guides in each city were personable, punctual, friendly and gave us a deeper understanding of the region. The vehicles were immaculate and comfortable.

Perhaps what I appreciated most, especially given my own background in travel, was how effortless the trip felt. I know that “effortless” travel usually means someone has done a great deal of work behind the scenes. Joao clearly had. We were able to simply enjoy Portugal, enjoy our family, and celebrate 31 years together without worrying about the details.

We came home with wonderful memories and an enormous appreciation for Joao and the care he put into our trip. I would absolutely use KimKim again and would recommend Joao without hesitation.

Hotel Reviews

PortoBay Marquês

Lisbon

Comfortable and well located for easy transportation.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Condes de Azevedo Palace

Porto

Beautifullly restored. Loved it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It wasm very convienent that it had a small parking lot that allowed pick up/dropoff/

Staff

The Manager on Duty was from a sister hotel but but he carried our luggage and went out of his way to get ice for my husbands knee and provide restaurant recommendations.

Cleanliness & Comfort

They don't provide daily housekeeping unless you request. This is fine, we requested and received but I do like to have my room made up daily without any additional effort.

Hotel Cascais Miragem

Cascais

Very spacious. The hotel is being renoveated in two months so any review seems irrelevant but it was great for near term travelers.

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Especially wonderful, knowing the hotel was dosing soon.

Staff

Especially wonderful, knowing the hotel was dosing soon.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Lisbon’s Historic Center & Belém in a 3-Hour Tuk Tuk Adventure

Lisbon

Explore Sintra's Fairytale Villa with a Private Driver and Pena Palace Tickets

Portugal

The Essence of Douro - A River, Wine, and Gastronomy Experience with a Private Driver

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tickets to Lello Bookshop

Porto

It was good but would have benefited from clearer understanding of how the tickets work. The guide for the walking tour didn't seem to know we had tickets and didn't give us clear understanding of how the ticketing system worked.

Quality of Experience

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

Performance was good. Service was terrible, Food was mediocre, Didn't like that the performer came around to sell his CDs.

Quality of Experience

Food

To Eat Suggestion: Brasão - Coliseu

Porto

Although we had a reservation we had to wait. Confusion about our order.

Quality of Experience

Across Portugal, along with Joao and his team, planned an amazing trip to Portugal for us! Beginning with the initial planning, Joao was attentive and receptive to what we were looking for in our vacation, and willing to update the details as we shifted our ideas of what we wanted. We loved the hotels and the tours he recommended and then booked for us (which made things so easy!). Probably the thing that stood out the most for us is that his job didn’t end once we paid for the trip. He and his team were readily available throughout the trip via a WhatsApp chat group for any questions or concerns we had. They responded quickly to our questions and checked in with us frequently.
We highly recommend Across Portugal to others who are planning to visit!!

We had a magical and effortless trip to Portugal thanks to the fine work of Joao and his team. Every need and transfer requirement was anticipated and provided for making every day so relaxed. All of the accommodations were exceptional - especially the Albatroz Hotel in Cascais and the Savoy in Madeira - in terms of proximity and quality. Our guide and driver in Lisbon and Cascais - Ruy - went the extra mile at every turn making our planned excursions even more special. He was such an exceptional person to meet. And Ricardo's wonderful gastronomic tour of Lisbon exceeded our expectations as he brilliantly brought to life Lisbon's history through its food. Our time at Lisbon Winery was particularly fun and informative! Madeira was a wonderful way to end our trip. We were so glad that Joao booked two days with Madeira Safari - with our guide Gabriel - so that we got to see so much of the beautiful island and drive off road into amazing areas otherwise not accessible. The views and flowers and walks and waterfalls and lunches both days were simply astounding. I highly recommend working with Joao for a trip that caters to your interests and needs. It was fantastic!

Activity Review

Flavors of Lisbon in a Premium & Gastronomic Private Walking Tour

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Decided to go to Portugal with about a month's notice. João listened to my rambling because I was unsure about anything other than when we would arrive and depart Portugal. João patiently adjusted the plans as I added people, removed people, added requests, and changed my mind. Once our group finally arrived, we really appreciated João's daily report on what to expect and the details for the following day. João arranged for Richardo to drive us from Lisbon to Porto and around, and back to Lisbon. Ricardo was a wonderful driver and guide over the few days we spent with him. Ricardo was so kind and made many wonderful suggestions. We also spent time with Carlos as we toured from Lisbon to Sintra to Oeiras. My husband, who always sits in the front passenger seat, really enjoyed the discussion and the perspective on Portugal's history and current events. Carlos made food recommendations that were spot on. We also spent most of one day on a walking tour with Claudia. We loved learning about a day in the life of the average Portuguese living in the capital city, surrounded by so much history and beautiful structures. We laughed so much with Claudia as her sense of humor aligned perfectly with ours. Everyone with Kimkim proudly shared their beloved hometowns and country with our group, making our time in Portugal feel like more than just a spur-of-the-moment getaway. I highly recommend and trust Kimkim to make all of our trip arrangements in the future, including when we, one day, return to Portugal.

Activity Reviews

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour with Ginjinha & Pastel de Nata

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Claudia was amazing

Transport

We walked and rode the public elevators.

The Essence of Douro - A River, Wine, and Gastronomy Experience with a Private Driver

Portugal

Everyone loved the drive, the boat ride, and the lunch at the winery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ricardo was amazing

Transport

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Portugal

The food was delicious. The performance was moving. The venue was incredible. I would have liked the venue to provide some history of the establishment, the performance, and the artist, as well as a timeline of the evening.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dropped us off at the front door

We have rarely used tour guides, though we travel frequently. And we'd never used an online tool like Kim Kim before. It really was a great combo of tech (KimKimm) +people (Across Portugal). The trip was well planned, fit our criteria, gave us the freedom to explore while securing must-see and do activities. From the jump, Joao at Across Portugal worked with us to shape our itinerary and communicated regularly. But all that really was just the start. Joao's team at Across Portugal reached out to us via Whatsapp twice a day and, for example, linking us to the tickets we'd need for our trip to Sintra so they were handy on our phones. It felt very much like we had friends in-country to the point that somewhere along the way we started sending the team photos through Whatsapp. Perhaps though, best of all, when our flights got canceled out of Porto due to weather in Amsterdam, Joao supported us by securing transportation to and a hotel in Lisbon. All that service, plus a tech platform that was intuitive and delivered clear itineraries. So ... do see Portugal. It's an amazing place full of kind people, great food and signature moments (we'll certainly remember many as life-long travel highlights) ... And when you do, use Across Portugal and Kim Kim.

Muito obrigado!!! to Joao, Diana, Marisa and Pedro at Across Portugal; Our drivers Carlos, Ruis and Ricardo; Our walking tour guides Rita (Lisbon) and Sara (Porto) and the many great folks at the Heritage Liberdade Hotel in Lisbon; PineCliffs Resort in the Algarve and PortoBay Flores Hotel in Porto. 5 stars all around!