Across Portugal

This trip was Amazing! Diana Mota is a superb travel expert for her country of Portugal. From our first contact, I knew Diana would be a great person to work with. As a travel agent myself and having never traveled to Portugal, I relied on her expertise throughout the process. She carefully listened to our desires, likes and dislikes, to create a tailor-made vacation for us. This was my first time using kimkim and I will definitely utilize their services for other clients. The timings of all activities from the drivers to adventures were all on time and well described. Diana's travel agenda was well planned and well timed for all that we wanted to see and do.

The drivers from Carlos whom first picked us up from Lisbon to Porto, Ivo for a beautiful experience in the Douro Valley, Riccardo on our journey from Porto through Coimbra and Tomar back to Lisbon, and the two drivers in the Algarve to/from the Albufeira station to Lagos were all professional, courteous, on-time, and so knowledgable. Many thanks to them. Our guides were also outstanding, Sara in Porto, Margredia in Lisbon, and Fia on our Ponta da Piedade boat trip
were all so pleasant and extremely knowledgable. We greatly enjoyed all the time they spent with us to make our trip even more enjoyable. We left Portugal with a much better understanding of the people, places, culture and food. A truly outstanding trip. Thank you Diana and all for the constant communication and updates.

Dennis Sindel

Hotel Reviews

NH Hotel Porto Jardim

Porto

Great location in Porto, staff was always so friendly and helpful. Room was well maintained and very quiet. The breakfast facility and quantity and quality of the food was great. Would definitely recommend this hotel and stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very near everything in the old town of Porto

Staff

All truly wonderful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean

Hotel Lisboa Plaza

Lisbon

Hotel, though older, was excellent in character and quality. We were fortunate to have been upgraded to a mini-suite. The suite was great, plenty of room. Hotel is well maintained. Staff courteous and very friendly. Breakfast was excellent. Would definitely recommend it and stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Deliteful hotel

Location

Need to be able to walk in Lisbon or take locale transportation. Lisbon's attractions are very spread out.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Marina Rio

Lagos

Wonderful location a short distance from the old town but still a short walk. We were fortunate to have a marina view room with a small balcony. It was great just to sit on the balcony and enjoy the view. Breakfasts were great. Even has a rooftop pool and a rooftop terrace .

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

They all were so friendly, kind, and helpful. Many have been there a long time which tells you a lot.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Meliá Lisboa Aeroporto

Lisbon

We were only there for about 12 hours as our train was late coming in and we needed to be at the airport in the early AM so it is hard to give a full rating. The room was nice, small, but very clean. The overhead shower did not work as the knob controlling it came out. Not a big problem as there was still a hand held shower head. I mentioned it on check-out and they would get it fixed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

We could walk to the airport, no transportation needed.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The Flavors of Port Wine - Sip & Discover

Porto

A great learning and tasting experience. Our guide, Pedro, was very informative and we learned a lot about Port wine. A neat experience on the Gaia side of Porto.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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

Portugal

Wonderful place to visit, quite crowded, but not as bad as during the summer. Once you got through part of the castle, it thinned out and you were able to wonder around easier. Beautiful and amazing place. We felt it was less over-the-top than a place like Schoennbrun outside Vienna. Felt very nice.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pepe was great

Transport

Nice Mercedes vehicle

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Sara was an outstanding guide. She really knows and loves her city and that was very apparent. We felt that we had a much better understanding of Porto beyond what the guidebooks/reviews give.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sara was great

Scenic Voyage along the Douro River aboard an Exclusive Boat

Portugal

Ivo, our driver, gave us a wonderful experience on a day trip to the Douro valley. He asked us exactly what we would like to see and do. Our focus was to see the area, take the 1 hour boat trip, and get and overall perspective of what happens in the valley. We did not visit any wineries as that was not our focus. I am sure the Quintas would be lovely to visit but that was not our goal. He took us to some quaint areas, gorgeouse views of the valley area, and even stopped at one of the 5 locks so we could see how that functioned. A great day out of the city. The restaurant in Pinhao he recommended, the Veladouro, was great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Portugal

see review of the boat trip

Lisbon's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Lisbon

Great walk of the Alfama and Biaxia areas of Lisbon. Margareda was an excellent guide give great perspectives on the city, the culture, and the people. She gave a great history of Lisbon of the pre and post 1755 earthquake happenings in the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Exclusive Panoramic Boat Tour to the Ponta da Piedade Caves

Portugal

We were fortunate to have a private tour, arranged by kimkim, with Fia as our guide. She was so informative about what we were experiencing and had a great knowledge of the area and the coastline.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

What an absolutely wonderful trip! All thru the planning stage to the very last day...we had excellent care from Pedro and his team! The choice of itinerary...to the hotels chosen for us were exceptional!
The schedule of events was well planned out and gave us a diverse agenda to truly enjoy what Portugal has to offer. The personalized service with private transfers and drivers made every step of the journey stress free and enjoyable (especially Pepe!)
The local tour guides were also very knowledgeable and gave us an in-depth history of each town we explored.
We loved our cooking class (Pastel de Nata), our gastronomic tour and the art of tile making workshop.
Although it's hard to pinpoint what our favorite experience was...the Douro Valley for us was a highlight for sure! The vineyards throughout the valley were outstanding and the lunch at the vineyard was very delicious!

Kudos to Pedro and his team for providing a very memorable trip for us! We will definitely be recommending KimKim to friends/family!

Ian & Margie Burman

Kimkim you have pulled through again. We all enjoyed the Portugal trip. Right from the beginning, speaking with Pedro our trip was planned so well! Places, activities, workshops, hotels and travel and recommendations for restaurants and places to shop.
Pedro was professional knowledgable and very friendly, always there to answer our questions and directing me for the technology part of the trip.
Hotel selection was right on.
The drivers were friendly and professional and looked so nice in their suits. Pepe was one of the drivers we spent more time with and enjoyed his company and driving skills. Loved the comfortable Mercedes Benz vehicles perfect size.
All guides were friendly, professional, knowledgable and passionate.
A wonderful memorable trip, thank you Pedro❣️
Sandy & John
Sandy & John · 38 minutes ago
What a beautiful country. So much history and beautiful historical buildings! Thanks to Pedro for planning our wonderful well executed itinerary, I think you covered it all and well, from tours to workshops to lodging to transportation. We lucked out for warm sunny weather for the 9 days

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.

We have experienced the most wonderful introduction to Portugal. Pedro and the Across Portugal Team planned the perfect week for us. Our drivers Ivo and Ricardo took such great care of us all along the way from suggesting the best restaurants to helping us join a grape stomping tour at the last minute during our stay in the Douro Valley. Our tour guides in Porto and Lisbon were both so knowledgeable and such a great treat to spend the day with. We couldn’t have asked for better planning. Thank you Pedro for such a memorable week in your beautiful country!

Hotel Reviews

PortoBay Liberdade

Lisbon

Great location and friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Vintage House

Pinhão

Beautiful location on the River.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely lovely view of the river from our terrace.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

PortoBay Flores

Porto

Lovely and convenient location.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely courtyard

Location

Easy to walk to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Diana and her team made this trip a truly magical experience for me and my husband. This was our first trip to Portugal, and we will definitely be back! From the walking food tour in Lisbon to the bicycle tour in Lagos, everything was fantastic. The transitions and logistics were also seamless, even when we had some travel snafus on our end! We would highly recommend Diana and her team and will use them again on our next trip to Portugal.

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