Porto Tours and Trips

We were aware of the Douro wine region but not all the other interesting aspects of the region of Northern Portugal we visited. Our guide Teresa Pires is a charming person with excellent interpersonal skills which which she was able to convey her super local knowledge of visited areas. Throughout she was very professional with lots of communication with the group, clear timetables and access to her via phone at any time she was not there, giving an extra sense of security. Flexibility in order to meet varied requests from group members was really appreciated. She was very keen to introduce Portuguese ways, history and food in a relaxed and positive way. She responded in an excellent way when things , not of her making, went wrong. For example taking me and my husband to hospital emergency care, and on another occasion ensuring alll the group was well away from vehicles on the motorway when the van was fired to stop with a flat tyre. Overall the safety and care of group members was always a priority. Whilst it was Teresa on the spot, although she did not need to, she didn't forget to point out that she was supported by the local exodus office team. Teresa was excellent at introducing us to many new experiences and gave much information on the local communities. particular highlights included the organic farm and wine tasting, cruising on a traditional boat in the delta area ( we should have remembered to take our binoculars with us for the birdlife including flamingoes), rail trip through the heart of the Douro with vineyards stretching up the slopes, baking a local speciality cake, immersing our feet in the salt pans and visiting a sparkling wine making cellar. As a finale the end visit to bustling Porto with all its interesting facets was a great end to the trip. Teresa made sure that all the lovely restaurants we visited were able to give us vegetarian dishes. Local guides were excellent on the whole, only exception was the archeology guide who talked about things other than the archeology! Teresa was always happy to take the extra step for members of the group-overall a fabulous trip leader who did an excellent and memorable job.

The overall trip was excellent. This was because of Teresa Pires, our tour guide, who was friendly, very knowledgeable about the local and regional architecture and history and well-organised. Nothing was too much trouble for Teresa and she was calm and patient, even when there were unexpected events, such as one of our party being unwell and needing a visit to the hospital, and a flat tyre on the motorway. Also, even when the lunch or dinner was not included in the itinerary, Teresa provided options and continued to help with arrangements and translation. She has an excellent rapport with all the people at the places we visited and that made us feel very welcome. The group of people on this trip were lovely, like-minded and everyone got along, which was an added bonus. The hotels were all very good, and the facilities in line with the higher expectations of a Premium Adventure.

We had a wonderful time. The only thing I wasn't in love with was the day in Porto. I wish we had the option of free time. We spent 2 hours walking around and way too much time in the train station talking about tiles. I think we had 30 minutes at the end of the tour which wasn't enough time to get something to eat and/or shop. Joao is an excellent tour guide. He is very patient and very knowledgeable of the area.

I found the itinerary excellent with both the tour director and local guides taking us on an amazing journey Loved learning about the royals, Templar knights, moors, Seeing the Roman ruins Would have loved another night in Algarve as it was just lovely and would have liked to explore more

Enjoyed touring north and southern regions of Portugal, Expertise and depth of knowledge of history and culture of *personal info removed by Feefo* , our Tour Director and professionalism and excellent tour driver, *personal info removed by Feefo* Negative aspect: Was suppose to be a small group but number went up to 42! Bus felt tight and crowded and many of us ended up getting sick with coughs and bad colds.

This itinerary includes a lot! Each day you are traveling to a different place in Portugal. There is a lot of walking on cobblestones and uneven terrain. Some of the hotels we had to walk a short distance to with our personal items and carry on luggage as the bus could not get close enough due to narrow streets. We loved this trip - but I think some people in our group had a hard time keeping up. Also - we had 40 people in our group- which was a large group.