Highlights of Portugal

An excellent varied trip led by an extremely knowledgeable and friendly guide

This was my third trip with Explore and I was a little disappointed. There were several days where we had free time scheduled. Unfortunately, although our leader was lovely, and enthusiastic, she wasn't armed with suggestions and guidance on how we could fill those free hours. I found that I spent a lot more time researching how to best spend my time. Part of what makes traveling with Explore so fun is that my days are planned and I can give myself over to the vacation fully. This trip required me to research, plan, book, and pay for several activities throughout the week. There were also items on the itinerary that felt like they should have been included in the cost of the tour. Yet, they were extra charges for tickets/participation. When we visited the library in Coimbra, the visit to the building was included but were told we would need to coordinate our own reservations for entrance to the library. Our entire group wanted to go and 3 group members were unable to get tickets that evening and had to go the following morning. It would have made so much more sense for our leader to coordinate the tickets for everyone so that we could have gone as a group. Overall, this tour needs some tweaking. There are plenty of things to see in Portugal and plenty of sites that can be included. We shouldn't be visiting the museums on a Monday when most of them are closed. I also hope that Explore will take the time to ensure that their leaders have the resources they need to give their travelers the best experience possible. I love it when a leader has a restaurant to suggest or a fun extra excursion on a free afternoon if some folks are so inclined. I don't like feeling like I'm paying for a guided tour and then still need to plan out my days. Lastly, there were 4 of us in the same airport transfer taxi on departure day. Our taxi was late and we had to have the hotel call a different taxi to ensure that we would get to the airport on time. The four of us paid out of pocket for the cab because we couldn't afford to wait for the missing transfer. Since our leader had already left, we didn't have any support from Explore on getting the issue sorted. This is a process that needs to be managed better.

Explore Leader Susi was amazing! The pace of the trip was excellent and we covered so much. Disappointment was the hotel in Lisbon - “Empire” - too corporate and the location was awful.

Wish hotel in Lisbon had been closer to historic districts. Group leader knowledgeable, patient, funny, and caring.

Trip was travel from Lisbon to Porto so obviously not covering other areas of Portugal. Plenty of places seen/experiences but also plenty of free time to visit museums etc not on the itinerary (would recommend Puppet Museum, Gulbenkian, Museu Medeiros e Almeida in Lisbon)). Hotels in Lisbon and Porto were excellent for central location.

Siri was not from Portugal She gave too much info that could not be assimilated so often had to be repeated Much of it couldhave been accessed via Google she was kind and friendly but not the best guide She needed to borrow a hat during a rainstorm sunblock when it was sunny and 3 minutes after leaving our hotel was asking for paracetamol for her headacke She asked us to leave Duora valley at 0750 when breakfast was only available at 0730 then wanted to take us out for 4 hours in the midday heat for a tour of Porto when most people were sleep deprived Was that really necessary?

Our tour guide Siri was the best! She was always suggesting great places to eat, and provided our group with an amazing tour. She tailored our trip to the group's preferences where possible to ensure that each of us was having the best experience. She spoke individually with each of us to ensure that our needs were being met and to trouble shoot any issues/problems that we might have had. The highlights of Portugal tour was exactly that. It provided a great introduction to the country and left us wanting more. I will definitely go back to Portugal to explore more of this beautiful country.

A great opportunity to have a good look at central Portugal where there is plenty to see. There was quite a lot of free time which could be filled as part of the tour but the tour leader had lots of great suggestions for visits. Accommodation and food was very good and the tour leader picked out some great restaurants. Towns in central Portugal are very hilly so lots of steps and walking. Plenty of opportunities for port and wine tasting and custard tarts!

Excellent trip. I thought the amount of time spent in each place was just right.

I think local leaders and some important sits should have been included in the price of the overall trip.

The value for the trip was excellent. The room at the first hotel that we stayed at was very small and including the shower in the bathroom. Our guide couldn't have been more personable, but did not provide many historical details. We enjoyed the variety of places that we were able to visit, but wished that more tours were included in the package.

We believe the orientation walking tours of both Lisbon and Porto would have benefitted from a local guide. Our tour guide led these walks and gave little/ no information as to building styles, age of building, history within the city.

I enjoyed the itinerary because it allowed me quite a bit of time on my own to spend focusing on my own interests while still enjoying the benefits of being with a group,

Great balance of planned activities and free time with opportunity for guided tours of Lisbon and Porto for those who wanted them. Special thanks to our guide, Susi, whose support and advice enabled me to get around the hilly cities despite injuring my hip a few weeks before the holiday. The Douro Valley was beautiful but Porto was definitely the highlight

This was a very good trip, but I give it four stars rather than the five I normally give to Explore trips. There was a slightly higher level of self-guidance on this trip compared to previous Explore trips I have been on, but I like being 'spoon-fed'. The tour leader was excellent - very organised, efficient and friendly. She was not a local person, however, and therefore this tour would benefit from more add-on local tour guides, which our guide organised for us, on request, largely at our own expense. The length of the tour and the places visited presented an excellent itinerary, and I would have no reservation about recommending this trip to others, but with the above proviso.

Does what it says on the tin as always with Explore! Great way to see more of Portugal.

Whether this was Explore fault of just the leader, we did NOT have a great experience with knowledge of the cities we were visiting. She had superficial knowledge only of the cities, and had not offered or arranged for any local guides until we pushed her to do that on the very last day of the trip, and what a difference that made. (we paid for it) Was it her job to do that or explores? She was lovely and nice, and got us from one location to another, but with minimal attention to details at times. We should have known in advance that she was not a city guide, we should have been given an option of hiring one. There was no communication from Explore prior to the trip. None from our leader. Airport pickup and transportation did not go smoothly. and on day of departure, our leader was the first to leave, at 0700, therefore not able to assist with departures if there were any issues. The last two nights accommodations in PORTO was a great location, but a real BUDGET hotel, no place to put a suitcase other than floor, VERY minimalistic, and horrible breakfast, really not worth it. We got what we paid for, a very budget oriented trip. but I did not learn about Lisbon despite three nights there as our guide really knew nothing about the city other than where stuff was. "well if you want to go to Sintra, I will show you the train station" Everyone in the group was very disappointed, it just becoming the running joke of the trip. So, first trip with Explore, and it might be my last, or at least go in with eyes wide open, that this is a budget trip, and nothing is included, and you should really make additional plans on your own for guides in every city.

I was looking forward to this trip, and the explore service and communication during the booking process was great. But I was a little disappointed on tour in the lack of guided content. There was plenty of free time in Lisbon and Porto at the beginning and end of the trip however there was no included walking tours with detailed history and cultural information which I found very disappointing. Of course I could’ve arranged this myself but assumed it would be part of the trip. The “orientation walks” in the itinerary were just strolls around the local area without specific information as to what we were looking at or seeing. And so needed to return on our own with a guide book. As Sintra is a highly desired destination I feel it could’ve been included as an overnight stay or a full day event. A number of people in the group did the half day which the guide did help arrange and facilitate however we had already spent four nights there and really enjoyed our time there so we’re glad we didn’t rely on a half day to take in its delights. Recommend arrival a few days early for that. A local guide giving local information and perspective would’ve greatly enhanced this trip in Lisbon Porto and Coimbra esp. Our guide was not local however organisationally was thorough and helpful. We did have a wonderful week, particularly as we had a great group of people travelling and certainly have made some friends.