Portugal Cultural, religious and historic sites Trips

Benni our leader was excellent enthusiastic cheerful and loooked after our group . The hotel selected (as usual one was having work done ) was too far away from main town so there were no places to wander to nearby other than a main road without a pavement ! Fortunately for the evening meals a minibus was provided to take us from hotel to Funchal ( even if you wanted to go elsewhere in Funchal ) but there wasn’t one provided on the free day . Fortunately could use local buses or taxis / uber

Very varied and excellent itinerary with food and wine tasting on several occasions. Beautiful scenery and a very knowledgeable guide who enabled us to see most of the island. I love the small group size too and enjoyed getting to know people

I was expecting beautiful scenery on the coast but the beauty of the area exceeded my expectations! The hiking was enjoyable, not too difficult or long. Our hike leader Ester was wonderful as expected. My husband and I purposefully picked this trip because of Ester. She was our guide on our Camino trip last year so we knew we would be in good hands. She’s fun, energetic, organized, knowledgeable and excellent at taking care of a group. As far as accommodations, Casa Azul was perfect! We loved the family atmosphere, the location, cleanliness, and breakfast. This was our 3rd trip with Explore and they have all been great!

For a person of faith these are inspiring shrines and gorgious basilicas. One should see ones in life time. Tour manager was excellent. The bus driver was great. I felt that bus travel for two days was a bit tiresome and time consuming. The hotels were great except at Lourdes. But it was close to the shrine, to have personally access to spend time. And so I sacrifice a bit of luxury when it comes to hotel at lourdes. On the whole it was excellent. I recommend any day.

Wonderful planning. Hiked sensational. Wine tastings so much fun. Our leader Andreas was amazing, going above and beyond to make this a great experience. He made sure that everyone was comfortable at all times. He even got a restaurant that was closed to open just for us. Unforgettable in every way. Would highly recommend!!

This walking trip was a wonderful experience. Our guide, Bert, was so organised, knowledgeable and caring. He kept everything running smoothly, made allowances for different fitness levels and ensured we all had fun. The hotel was a great place to relax after a day’s walking and the different restaurants each night were most enjoyable, We finished the trip with a sense of achievement and lots of new friends.