Portugal Best Private Tours - Help Please!

[BostonGal35]

Visiting Ponta Delgada, Lisbon and Portimao  next year.  Who are the top private tour providers you've all used?

[alaskancruzr]

Don’t know your interests but we did a fantastic tour in Lisbon via motorcycle and side car.  

[dronnygirl]

We got off the ship in Lisbon and there were plenty of tour operators waiting. We opted for  tuktuk which was great as it was very hot weather. The driver spoke English and we had a great time.

[grnrab]

in Lisbon and general vicinity, We Hate Tourists tours. Excellent trips reasonable prices. Most trips leave from  Av Liberdade area  or their headquarters at the foot of the April 25th bridge.

 

[Joolsverne]

Earlier in May this year we used a company  run by Pedro called ‘Lisbon Taxi - Splendid Transfer’ for airport and hotel transfers.  They were reliable, had nice drivers and reasonably priced.  They also offer tours although we didn’t try those.  We will certainly use them again.

 

Would also recommend the free Discover Walks (they operate on a tip basis) which we enjoyed very much.  

Get a Viva Viagem card from any Metro station and ride the tubes, buses and trams - €6.90 for 24 hours and use it as much as you want.  OR you can just Pre-load the amount you want for one or two journeys.  Staff speak good English.

 

if you want the HoHo buses they go from just outside Marques de Pombal Metro Station in Eduardo V11 Park.  Enjoy Lisbon, it’s lovely.

[newistcruiseaddict]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:10 PM, alaskancruzr said:

Don’t know your interests but we did a fantastic tour in Lisbon via motorcycle and side car.  

I'd love more info! I'll see what I can google.

 

On 5/6/2019 at 12:48 PM, grnrab said:

in Lisbon and general vicinity, We Hate Tourists tours. Excellent trips reasonable prices. Most trips leave from  Av Liberdade area  or their headquarters at the foot of the April 25th bridge.

 

What tours have you done? The "lunch in our home" sounds fantastic.

 

On 5/20/2019 at 5:17 PM, Joolsverne said:

Earlier in May this year we used a company  run by Pedro called ‘Lisbon Taxi - Splendid Transfer’ for airport and hotel transfers.  They were reliable, had nice drivers and reasonably priced.  They also offer tours although we didn’t try those.  We will certainly use them again.

 

Would also recommend the free Discover Walks (they operate on a tip basis) which we enjoyed very much.  

Get a Viva Viagem card from any Metro station and ride the tubes, buses and trams - €6.90 for 24 hours and use it as much as you want.  OR you can just Pre-load the amount you want for one or two journeys.  Staff speak good English.

 

if you want the HoHo buses they go from just outside Marques de Pombal Metro Station in Eduardo V11 Park.  Enjoy Lisbon, it’s lovely.

We love tip based tours. I'll check out Discover walks...thanks!

[dalesmouse]

On 5/2/2019 at 1:10 AM, alaskancruzr said:

Don’t know your interests but we did a fantastic tour in Lisbon via motorcycle and side car.  

http://www.bikemyside.com/

 

We also did this tour ...it was the best tour we have ever done from a cruise

 

[kodesthemoose]

In Ponta Delgada we did a tour with Azorean Tours.  Was a great way to see some of the island, we got to stop at the thermal hot springs baths for a while.  They have various tour options and are pretty reasonably priced.  

 

In Lisbon, we did a tour called the Real Lisbon Street Art tour.  You can find it on Viator etc but we ended up booking it directly with the company itself as we wanted to modify it somewhat.  Really cool to see the very interesting street art around Lisbon.  

[BostonGal35]

On 6/19/2019 at 7:09 PM, kodesthemoose said:

In Ponta Delgada we did a tour with Azorean Tours.  Was a great way to see some of the island, we got to stop at the thermal hot springs baths for a while.  They have various tour options and are pretty reasonably priced.  

 

In Lisbon, we did a tour called the Real Lisbon Street Art tour.  You can find it on Viator etc but we ended up booking it directly with the company itself as we wanted to modify it somewhat.  Really cool to see the very interesting street art around Lisbon.  

 

Thank you !!!!

[austenfiend]

On 5/25/2019 at 12:31 PM, dalesmouse said:

http://www.bikemyside.com/

 

We also did this tour ...it was the best tour we have ever done from a cruise

 

Is it bad for me to wish my husband wanted to stay on the ship so my son and I could do this tour?  There's got to be ONE odd man out!

[dalesmouse]

1 hour ago, austenfiend said:

Is it bad for me to wish my husband wanted to stay on the ship so my son and I could do this tour?  There's got to be ONE odd man out!

I think they have more than one bike ,any chance you could link up with someone on your roll call and share so you could all go? It would be such a shame to miss it.If your hubby is just really not into bikes,I can assure him I am the least likely petrolhead you could imagine.My husband thought I'd gone completely mad when Daniel turned up  with the bike  as a surprise at the port . ..I had an absolute ball 😀

[FionaMG]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:40 PM, BostonGal35 said:

Visiting Ponta Delgada, Lisbon and Portimao  next year.  Who are the top private tour providers you've all used?

 

Bit late to the party here, but since you're not going till next year and nobody has given you any suggestions for Portimão yet, which is 30-minute drive down the motorway from me...

 

To be honest, we don't have a lot of historical stuff in the Algarve (Lisbon is way better for that), but if you like that kind of thing there's a Moorish castle in Silves and the Sagres Fort of Prince Henry the Navigator fame fairly nearby, both of which are interesting.

 

However, if you're on a port-intensive itinerary, this would be a great port to enjoy as a rest and relaxation day. There are various water parks in the vicinity and an absolutely fabulous beach just a mile or so away. It's called Praia da Rocha, which means "Beach of the Rock". Take the opportunity to try some locally-caught fish or seafood for lunch too. A very traditional dish is "cataplana" which is made in a copper pan, consisting of two hinged half-moon-shaped halves, in which various meats and seafood can be cooked. Also, Portuguese wine is little-known and very underrated. If you like wine, you must try some. Vinho verde (pronounced veeh-nyoo ver-day) is a slightly sparkling wine, which pairs very well with seafood. The name means "green wine" but this refers to the fact that it's a young wine and not to the colour. Usually it's white but you can occasionally get red too.

 

Also, depending on when you're coming, there is a motor-racing track just outside Portimão, so if that's something you might be interested in you can check their website in case there happens to be a competition on: https://autodromodoalgarve.com/

 

Active options would include such things as jeep safaris into the inland area, scuba diving and deep-sea fishing.

 

To help with your planning, I suggest you take a look at the tourist board's official Visit Algarve website, where you will find endless information, photos and suggestions: https://www.visitalgarve.pt/en/Default.aspx  This website has links to all of the authorised tour operators, so you can check them out and see if any of them are offering any excursions that would be of interest to you.

Edited July 27, 2019 by FionaMG

[BostonGal35]

thank you Fiona!

[alaskancruzr]

Word of warning on the bikemyside tour with Daniel.  He took us on our first tour in Portugal in 2013...we will be headed back in a couple months for our 4th long term stay thanks in part to his introduction to what is now one of our favorite countries.  That first tour can be addictive!!