“Ana, our guide, made the trip absolutely wonderful. Her knowledge of Portugal is beyond belief.. what a treasure trove of information and so very kind/thoughtful and organized. We could have never seen Portugal's most famous sites without the organization and pre-planning of this tour. Best to bring Euros along as the US dollar is not received and changing money is not so easy. The hotels were nice and situated well for access to many wonderful restaurants and shops. Loved the castles, cobblestones and stories of Kings and Queens.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thank you, Laurie! And thank you for the tip about bringing Euros. Definitely a good idea!

Posted 1 year ago

“The Treasures of Portugal tour was amazing. Romina, our tour director, was absolutely fantastic. The historical information shared with us was invaluable and she watched after us every step of the way. This is my second experience with SmarTours and the accommodations, tour highlights and everything included have been an incredible value. I am looking forward to my next trip!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Dear Smartours- We enjoyed getting a taste of Portugal-"Treasures of Portugal"; such a beautiful country with kind people. Our wonderful tour director Manuela Nikas was very rich in knowledge and highly intelligent. I was amazed at all her historical expertise which made the trip so interesting. She was great! You are very fortunate to have her! I especially appreciated her getting my bag back for me that the locally hired bus driver forgot onboard. Thanks to her, I received it before leaving Porto. Itinerary wise, I wish there were more meals included besides breakfasts. Only 2 dinners included?? Most of the group have traveled with Smartours before and were shocked not more meals were provided. This caused a huge problem for those not familiar with each city, and especially for the older people in our group. I've been on tours that set up a few lunches at cities en route. This provided a unique experience tasting the local cuisine. We did enjoy staying at least 2 nights at each city. Guarda was not worth stopping. Way out of the way and not worth it since most of the group could not even climb to the top of the fortress. In Lisbon, the walking city tour should've been included and not been an optional tour charging 40 euros. When we first landed in Porto, the city tour was included which offered a nice intro to the city. Sintra was amazing and could've included Cascais or Quinta Regaleira as well for that price. The optional tours were very overpriced. A handful of our group made their arrangements for their optional tours and paid less than what SmarTours charged. They boasted seeing way more than us paying fewer euros for double the time with added places. SmarTours should offer something unique to what local tours are offering. That way people on the tour feel they are getting something that others cannot get on their own. We also missed not having a dedicated bus driver for the entire tour. Hiring local bus drivers are not as dedicated as having just one person throughout the trip. The suggested tip should've been clarified. It stated US dollars but then to find out that in the smaller cities, it's hard for locals to exchange small amounts and service charges. People were confused why tip was in dollars but optional tours were in Euros. Be consistent, please. You can simply state the suggested tip in US dollars but clarify it should be paid in euros. Then people can do the math and figure out the exchange rate. Don't cut back on little details and short change SmarTours' good reputation. Sincerely Colleen S. And Stella M. Oct 15-25, 2019”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Dear Smartours- We enjoyed getting a taste of Portugal-"Treasures of Portugal"; such a beautiful country with kind people. Our wonderful tour director Manuela Nikas was very rich in knowledge and highly intelligent. I was amazed at all her historical expertise which made the trip so interesting. She was great! You are very fortunate to have her! I especially appreciated her getting my bag back for me that the locally hired bus driver forgot onboard. Thanks to her, I received it before leaving Porto. Itinerary wise, I wish there were more meals included besides breakfasts. Only 2 dinners included?? Most of the group have traveled with Smartours before and were shocked not more meals were provided. This caused a huge problem for those not familiar with each city, and especially for the older people in our group. I've been on tours that set up a few lunches at cities en route. This provided a unique experience tasting the local cuisine. We did enjoy staying at least 2 nights at each city. Guarda was not worth stopping. Way out of the way and not worth it since most of the group could not even climb to the top of the fortress. In Lisbon, the walking city tour should've been included and not been an optional tour charging 40 euros. When we first landed in Porto, the city tour was included which offered a nice intro to the city. Sintra was amazing and could've included Cascais or Quinta Regaleira as well for that price. The optional tours were very overpriced. A handful of our group made their arrangements for their optional tours and paid less than what SmarTours charged. They boasted seeing way more than us paying fewer euros for double the time with added places. SmarTours should offer something unique to what local tours are offering. That way people on the tour feel they are getting something that others cannot get on their own. We also missed not having a dedicated bus driver for the entire tour. Hiring local bus drivers are not as dedicated as having just one person throughout the trip. The suggested tip should've been clarified. It stated US dollars but then to find out that in the smaller cities, it's hard for locals to exchange small amounts and service charges. People were confused why tip was in dollars but optional tours were in Euros. Be consistent, please. You can simply state the suggested tip in US dollars but clarify it should be paid in euros. Then people can do the math and figure out the exchange rate. Don't cut back on little details and short change SmarTours' good reputation. Sincerely Colleen S. And Stella M. Oct 15-25, 2019”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Dear Smartours- We enjoyed getting a taste of Portugal-"Treasures of Portugal"; such a beautiful country with kind people. Our wonderful tour director Manuela Nikas was very rich in knowledge and highly intelligent. I was amazed at all her historical expertise which made the trip so interesting. She was great! You are very fortunate to have her! I especially appreciated her getting my bag back for me that the locally hired bus driver forgot onboard. Thanks to her, I received it before leaving Porto. Itinerary wise, I wish there were more meals included besides breakfasts. Only 2 dinners included?? Most of the group have traveled with Smartours before and were shocked not more meals were provided. This caused a huge problem for those not familiar with each city, and especially for the older people in our group. I've been on tours that set up a few lunches at cities en route. This provided a unique experience tasting the local cuisine. We did enjoy staying at least 2 nights at each city. Guarda was not worth stopping. Way out of the way and not worth it since most of the group could not even climb to the top of the fortress. In Lisbon, the walking city tour should've been included and not been an optional tour charging 40 euros. When we first landed in Porto, the city tour was included which offered a nice intro to the city. Sintra was amazing and could've included Cascais or Quinta Regaleira as well for that price. The optional tours were very overpriced. A handful of our group made their arrangements for their optional tours and paid less than what SmarTours charged. They boasted seeing way more than us paying fewer euros for double the time with added places. SmarTours should offer something unique to what local tours are offering. That way people on the tour feel they are getting something that others cannot get on their own. We also missed not having a dedicated bus driver for the entire tour. Hiring local bus drivers are not as dedicated as having just one person throughout the trip. The suggested tip should've been clarified. It stated US dollars but then to find out that in the smaller cities, it's hard for locals to exchange small amounts and service charges. People were confused why tip was in dollars but optional tours were in Euros. Be consistent, please. You can simply state the suggested tip in US dollars but clarify it should be paid in euros. Then people can do the math and figure out the exchange rate. Don't cut back on little details and short change SmarTours' good reputation. Sincerely Colleen S. And Stella M.Oct 15-25, 2019”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Portugal was incredible; rich in history. Our tour director, Manuela A, was wonderful; she was informative, kind, knowledgeable, helpful, and fun. Memorable trip.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Great tour with a fantastic tour guide Romina. The tour provided a good balance of historical and cultural sites with leisure activities. I loved having time to explore the towns and villages at my own pace—shopping for tiles, soap and cork, tasting the namesake port wine and just people watching and enjoying amazing food at one of the many outdoor cafes. This is my fifth tour with Smartours and is definitely one of my favorites so far. Hotels were very good and the included breakfasts did not disappoint. I hope to return to Portugal soon, the cities and people of Évora and Porto stole my heart.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“We just returned over the weekend from Treasures of Portugal, and it was absolutely wonderful! Mina, our tour director, was excellent and made sure that every detail was perfect. I have traveled with many more expensive companies and this tour was equal to, if not better than, any of the others. I highly recommend SmarTours.”

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Posted 4 years ago

Treasures of Portugal Reviews