Private Tour to Nazaré and Alcobaça, giant waves and a monastery

Picked up in front of our apartment by Carlos, we began our tour being driven to the massive Monastery of Alcobaçaz, which is an awe-inspiring edifice, particularly the interior, in its size, facilities and grandeur. It is also the place where the tragic love story of King Pedro I and the body of the love of his life, Ines de Castro (ordered to be murdered by Pedro’s father, King Alfonso IV) ended, buried in 1376 with their tombs facing each other, so they could meet in the afterlife. This story, immortalised in literature, theatre and art, gives this visit a special significance. The journey on to Nazare is a truly scenic one, and with the view over the town, from Forte de Sao Miguel, of the beaches and the waves of the Atlantic Ocean rolling in to shore from the headland, and it reminded us of our Australian coastline. In a heavy rolling Having seafood lunch at a beachside restaurant in this seaside setting, in our own time, was a most enjoyable finish! A great day out! Susan & Graeme (Australia).

My wife and I enjoyed our trip with Carlos immensely. Carlos picked us up at our hotel right on time and we headed out of Porto to Alcobaca. On the drive Carlos shared a lot of the history of Portugal, its geography and political evolution. We arrived at Alcobaca right as the monastery was opening, allowing us a relatively uncrowded tour of the facility. Then off to Nazare where we were able to drive up to and park right at the lighthouse because of a pass that Carlos had purchased (no need to make the long walk or pay for a ride on a tuk-tuk). We were able to climb onto the roof of the museum/lighthouse to view the waves and the beach as well as the village of Nazare itself. Back into the van to drive back into Nazare itself where Carlos dropped us off so we could get some lunch at one of the many restaurants (parking was in short supply). After lunch we contacted Carlos so he could pick us up and take us to see the harbor and extensive fish drying area. Throughout the drives Carlos explained many of the customs and history of the area. In addition, Carlos also gave us several suggestions of what to see and do when we continued our vacation in the southern portion of Portugal. He even took us for a few "bonus" sites to see in Porto and Gaia since we had some time left over at the end of the day (my wife and I were the only ones on the tour, so we were very time efficient). Carlos grew up in Gaia and his pride and knowledge of the area and his country served to enhance our experience and made the day a worthwhile adventure.

Nazare is beautiful and worth seeing as well as the monastery. However, the tour was really expensive for what we got. Every stop included additional costs to get into the monastery, pay for the funicular in nazare, pay to see the nazare museum, and a really pricy lunch that we were not expecting. And the tour guide, tho very nice, seemed to not have ever have been to the locations so could not really describe them well.