Treasures of Portugal Reviews

4.7 Rating 46 Reviews

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smarTours is a leading provider of direct-to-consumer, affordable travel experiences to exotic global destinations. The Company offers travelers curated, pre-packaged itineraries to over 50 destinations across the globe. By offering tours directly to consumers, the Company provides premium-quality experiences at value prices, and as a result, has cultivated a highly passionate and loyal community of repeat travelers. More than 200,000 travelers have taken a smarTours trip since the founding of the Company in 1996. smarTours is… the smarter way to see the world.

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“Had a fantastic time on our tour. The country side is beautiful and the history of Portugal is amazing. Our guide was so knowledgable abut the history and the history explorers it was fantastic to learn so much and have it related to the sites we visited. The Roman ruins were fantastic to see and walk among. Have done many smart tours Portugal was among the many great ones you have provided to my wife and I.”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Excellent tour to Portugal! Guide Mena was wonderful! Joyce”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Excellent tour . Well organized. Lots of cobblestones and hills however made it hard for some tour members”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Excellent tour . Well organized. Lots of cobblestones and hills however made it hard for some tour nembers”

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Posted 4 years ago

“SmartTour's Portugal Tour delivered a lot of quality bang for the buck. It was led by Romina, an exceptional tour guide who was fun, knowledgeable, professional but most of all, very patient and caring, ensuring that everyone's needs were being met, keeping our itinerary on target, but always mindful of potential traffic jams, long lines, crowds, etc. and ensuring that all went smoothly from our point of arrival to our moment of departure. She was a sweetie. She even tried to teach us some Portuguese! SmartTours was wise in choosing Romina, such a wonderful guide, whose English was near-native-like in proficiency. I loved Portugal, its charm, its interesting history, its amazing architecture, its beautiful azuejo tiles, its delicious wines, port, pasteis de nata, and most of all, its very warm and friendly people. I could go on and on. Please know this. This is the kind of tour to get an overview of Portugal. to get a sample of its many varied regions. If anyone wants a deeper experience, then target one place and spend a greater amount of time. I for one was blown away with the library at the University of Coimbra and later at the fortress and Knights of the Templar church in Tomar. I found the magnificence of these historical places so jaw-dropping. Later, we went to the small town of Marvão and walked through the charming narrow cobbled streets, and beautiful church gardens overlooking vistas of the Spanish frontier, I thought, this is a place I'd love to come back to, a quiet respite in the midst of such great beauty. The trip left me not just with visual memories, but musical ones, as well. The Coimbra university students' touching nostalgic fado was a special moment as was the emotionally charged fado sung by a mature woman at our farewell dinner in Lisbon. So many memorable moments! For those who may wonder if there are opportunities to meet and talk to Portuguese outside of the tour, my answer is yes, there were many. But, know this. That kind of 1:1 experience is for the tourist to seek out and seize. One cannot be a passive traveler to truly experience a new culture. One must make the effort to read up and prepare in advance for a trip, and to be willing and open engage with people one encounters. That will make any trip all the better. The Portuguese I met were friendly, open to chat, to struggle with their English and my extremely limited Portuguese, and answer questions. So, this, for me, was a truly delightful trip!”

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Posted 4 years ago

“Guide and hotels were fine. Did not like the fact that some trips were optional and add -on costs. In past Smartour trips I have been on, all excursions were included.. Also, one excursion, on the last day, was basically a shopping trip. Cute town, but no purpose.Would have liked formal interaction/meeting/discussions about political/daily life, info on Salazar era, with people who live in Portugal. Guide alluded to it on bus, but would have like more in-depth views. Also 44 is a very large group! But, we did love Portugal, and our guide, Romina, was delightful.”

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Posted 5 years ago