“Marta,
I wanted to give you feedback on our trip which was absolutely wonderful.  We had a much easier time communicating in northern Spain and found the locals to be congenial.  We were the only guests at the hotel in Santillana  and bonded with Raphael, the inn keeper.  We ultimately felt that we were staying with a friend, not just paying for a room.  Patty, our guide in Santiago, was a delight and was helpful in recommending stores and restaurants frequented by locals.  I have a tendency to second guess itineraries after our trips but would not have changed any part of our vacation.  Let me know how I can do a review on-line for your company as we have done in the past.  Thanks again for your help.
Seth”

“Dear Sofia,
I wanted to send a note to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip.  All the plans you made for us went like clockwork…except when the clutch went out on the car as we were  heading to Cascais toward the end.  You may have heard about this as we called the helpline for advice and to help us communicate with the tow truck driver.  Avis provided another car and all turned out well.
We enjoyed the posadas very much, especially the one in Obidos.  The rooms and service at both Obidos and Porto were exceptional,  Sagres lacked services…seemed to be short staffed…but had a great view.  The hotels were very nice.  Our 1/2 day city tours were most interesting and we found the guides to be very pleasant and knowledgable, particularly Patricia Longa in Santiago and Miguel in Lisbon.  Karla, the nature guide in Sagres was delightful and her walk was most enjoyable.  Of course, the beaches and coastline are beautiful and the historic palaces, churches and fortresses were fun to visit.
We loved the food and wine overall.  The golf courses had lovely views although were not as well kept as we had expected.  Nonetheless, we enjoyed playing.
Thank you so much for making these arrangements …we will not hesitate to recommend Portugal Trails to others.  Thank you also for the gifts… those cookies were great…we enjoyed them throughout the trip!
Best Regards,
Linda“

“Hi Cristina,
Good morning. I wanted to give you feedback about our trip. I can truly say that overall, you and your company exceeded our expectations!
1. I was impressed with your professionalism, knowledge, patience, and kindness.  You were always so prompt with your responses and felt that you really wanted to help us. I appreciate all the last minute help you gave us…like helping us find the soap, good octopus meal, soccer shirt, etc.  I met several travelers using Portugal Trails and they all had positive comments to say about their travel consultants. I will definitely recommend Portugal Trails to my friends (and you’ll probably hear from me again when we make plans for Spain).
2. All accommodations were excellent. Our very favorite hotel was Pousada de Belmonte!  Pestana Palacio do Freixo was beautiful…a little far from town which was not a problem for us since we like to walk (yes, we walked back one night by the river…45 minutes).
3. All drivers and local guides arrived on time. I liked that we did not have to share the local guides with other tourists. Both guides were excellent.  The woman who picked us up at the airport was just “ok”.  The driver who took us to the airport was excellent…friendly, asked about our trip, etc.
4. The preprogrammed GPS was a lifesaver!  We were impressed with the ease of using it. (When we took a wrong turn, it did couple of times take us on a different route to our destination…using very narrow back roads…scary at times).
5. My favorite site, as you know, was Monsanto!  I loved that there were very few tourists there and that people still live there.  We really liked the route and places we visited on our way to Porto…Evora, Belmonte and Duoro Valley.  Places felt more “authentic”…definitely compared to places like Obidos.
6.  Harry’s favorite place was the Duoro Valley. I think I mentioned that Harry loves port. We did not know that Duoro Valley is where the grapes are grown (ignorance on our part)…we always thought it was Porto. Since we stayed there, Harry found his favorite quintas and we went to three Porto tastings. He was like a kid in a candy store!
The only negative comment that he wanted me to share is that the Churchill Porto tasting was a disappointment and I agree. The tour was cursory…the guide took us to look at the view from one of the rooms (river and town) and also took us outside to look at the view the second time! Harry says that unless someone wants to go there, he suggests going to a larger cellar, not a boutique cellar like Churchills.
7. We visited many of the places you suggested. The Portugese Stonehenge, historical villages and castles were amazing…it looked like some of the areas we visited has not been discovered by tourists yet (which was great for us)!  Because we went back to Monsanto before heading to Duoro Valley, we only stopped in Amarante (went to local bakery). We decided not stop to see the Guimaraes castle because there was too much traffic around the castle.
On the way back from Porto, we only stopped in Obidos because we wanted to spend more time in Lisbon. Since we visited medieval villages on our way to Porto, Obidos felt just too touristy…too many tour buses and tourists!  The itinerary you set up was perfect for us!
8. We really enjoyed the Fado dinner in Lisbon.
We ate at Casa do Alentejo Restaurante in Lisbon – we thought it was very good.
We also had Francesinha at Cervejaria Brasso (Rua Ramalho Ortigoa 28, Porto)…recommended by our city guide. We really liked the restaurant!
The food at Restaurant of Pousada de Belmonte was delicious!
I can go on and on but I think I better stop. I loved Lisbon and wish I could have spent more time there. I guess that’s a good reason for returning to Lisbon.
Once again, thank you!
June
(Spain…spring 2018)!!”

“Dear Diana,
I am sorry I am so late replying to your email requesting feedback on our Portugal Trails experience in Portugal.
First, I have fallen in love with your country and have been spreading the word among my friends and everyone who asks, “How was your trip?” I say, “You HAVE to go to Portugal, and I highly recommend Portugal trails!”
Everything that Portugal Trails arranged — from the pickup at the airport, to the tour guides, to the information packet — was outstanding and exceeded my expectations. I was especially glad we used the private driver option; it made everything go so much smoother for us “older ladies.” Our driver/guide, Fernando, was delightful and worked very hard to enhance our experience.
My one regret is that, in trying to keep to our budget, we didn’t go with your original hotel recommendation in Porto. The hotel we stayed in was certainly acceptable; the lobby spaces were pretty and the breakfast was very good. The location was excellent. But the rooms were kind of strange and the beds not the most comfortable. We thought the hotel we ended up staying at in Sintra was very nice, and the service and location were outstanding.
Please accept my thanks for working so hard to make our time in Portugal so memorable!
Sincerely,
Bunny Smith”

“Hi Nuno
Thanks for your follow-up email.The four of us very much enjoyed our driving trip around Portugal and all of the activities that were paid for with the vouchers. More specifically, to start at the beginning, we felt a warm welcome when we were met at the Lisbon airport and transferred to our hotel. We were pleasantly  surprised to receive the package containing the port wine, cookies and soap – the wine and cookies were very tasty. The road map book and the other tourist book contained so much additional information that added to what we were seeing and we carried the relevant pages from the road map book around daily.The GPS unit worked very well and we were able to find everything without a problem. We sent the GPS back by mail from the Lisbon post office, as instructed, so hopefully you have or will shortly receive it.
The walking tours of both Lisbon and Porto were excellent and Elsa and Maria respectively, had a wealth of knowledge that made the walks very interesting and informative.
The dinner and fado performance was an  experience to be remembered, as we did not previously know what “fado” was and so learned that aspect of Portuguese culture.   We also learned that Portuguese servings can be quite large!
We enjoyed that side trips to Belem and Sintra (but decided to further explore Lisbon rather than go to Cascais.)   Similarly, we decided to further explore Porto rather than to Braga.
On the way to Aveiro we found Obidos and the Alcobaca monastery to be interesting and on arrival in Aveiro could really see why one of the tourist books we read described it as “the Venice of Portugal.” We enjoyed the boat tour and the local snacks before heading out. At this point I will say that the night before the boat tour we had dinner at a restaurant called, ” Mare Cheia” and would recommend this to anyone spending time in Aveiro.  The food was delicious and the staff very friendly.  John had a sore neck and one of the owners (I think) gave him a neck massage! They did not have an English language menu but another owner translated and made recommendations.   It appeared that “locals” ate there and the restaurant was full by the time we left.
Another restaurant to recommend was one in Evora called, “Restaurante A Chaupana”.Once again the food was superb, it seemed popular with the locals and there were people waiting on the street for a table when we left.
We very much enjoyed the port wine tasting outside Porto and the wine and cheese tasting outside Evora. The medieval town of Monsaraz was also fun to explore.
It almost goes without saying that Lagos was beautiful and very relaxing after a busy itinerary.   Once again, we chose to stay there
rather than go to Albufeira.
All in all, Nuna, we had a wonderful time, learned a lot about Portugal and its culture and took 953 pictures.
Thanks again for arranging such a full and interesting itinerary for us.
Sincerely,
Nancy Godwin”

“Good morning Sofia,
Many thanks to you and Portugal Trails for organizing such an excellent trip for us. The support materials from the road book to the preprogrammed GPS made following the itinerary extremely easy. We appreciated all the excursions you organized and thoroughly enjoyed our time on the ocean and beside the ocean.
Thanks also for your careful selection of charming hotels. We enjoyed them all from Madeira to Cascais.
We also appreciated the restaurant recommendations  with the programmed locations  along the way.
We have done a number of self drive trips but the organization  and attention to detail from you and Portugal Trails was particularly impressive.
We would highly recommend Portugal Trails to anyone.
Thanks again, Sofia”