01 Nov 2024
What a wonderful tour company and a wonderful tour guide —- could not recommend this tour company more highly! Jose Marques was our private tour guide for our first few days in Portugal. As this was our first trip to Portugal, we wanted to learn as much about the history and culture and Jose’s knowledge about the country is nothing short of amazing!
Jose provided excellent commentary about all of the monuments, and provided extra details about everything that we saw and experienced with him. If you are looking for an intelligent, well-spoken, and knowledgeable tour guide with a fun sense of humor, you should request Jose for your private tour. He’s also a terrific photographer and we got many beautiful photos of us taken by him taken during our tour. He was also a safe and considerate driver in the midst of the complicated and busy traffic of Portugal.
One of the best things about our 2.5 days with Jose is that he took us to places throughout Portugal that were uncrowded, special and unique, so our experiences were personal to us and created special memories. Jose was also able to tailor our tour to what WE wanted to see and asked us many questions about what we wanted to see and do. Here were some of the sights Jose took us to see:
1. Santuario de Cristo Rei — Sanctuary of Christ the King Monument (Lisbon) - Breathtaking views and tour to top of Catholic monument (8 euros) was worth the small additional cost
2. Area of Jeronimos Monastery (Jose gave us a tip to go in the late afternoon and get in the queue to the right of the monastery — short wait and free admission) and Belem Tower and Monument to the Discoveries (all in Lisbon) AND Jose bought us wonderful Pasteis de Belem (custard tarts) from the original historic bakery in Lisbon
3. Parque Natural de Arrabida (Arrabida Park) with abandoned Monastery — Gorgeous views, magical place & beautiful chapel (it is very windy and cold — bring jackets — there are few visitors to the monastery and the chapel was open (a surprise to Jose as it is normally not open to the public) — wonderful!
4. Seisembra (fishing village) — lovely beaches (uncrowded), gorgeous views, crystal blue waters and wonderful restaurant lunch — a treasure of a small village!
5. Multiple stops along Portugal’s beautiful coast for photos and other historical places with wonderful commentary by Jose about the history, political climate (both current and past) and the people of Portugal
6. Extensive visit to Sintra and Cascais, including tours by Jose of the two palaces and their beautiful gardens — Monserrat & Regaleira (Dante’s Inferno well) — both places are well worth the visit, and we got some amazing photos taken by Jose of us. Again, Jose’s knowledge of the many types of plants, trees and grounds was amazing as well as his detailed recitation of the history of both beautiful sights (wear VERY comfortable shoes & be prepared for strenuous walking with MANY hills but it is worth it!)
7. Lunch at Macas Beach (Beach of the Apples) — Beautiful spot and great food at beachside restaurant and
8. Colares on Portugal Coast & celebratory drink with Jose back at our hotel.
Overall, an AWESOME private tour with a WONDERFUL tour guide — Jose is a talented tour professional who is an asset to his tour company — so impressed with his knowledge, intelligence and sensitivity to the needs of his clients — HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!