Portugal’s Best: Culinary Escapade for Seasoned Travelers

The travel agent from Zicasso's tour company planned for my family of four the most spectacular and luxurious two-week trip around Portugal. We traveled to and enjoyed the highlights of Lisbon, the romantic architecture in Sintra, the incredible history of Évora, the beautiful coastline of the Algarve, the laid-back atmosphere and gorgeous scenery of Madeira, the beautiful, historical, bustling city of Porto, and the stunning scenery of the Douro Valley. 

The travel agent's suggestions and bookings were all perfectly aligned with what we envisioned and the accommodations booked were all beautifully appointed and family-oriented – five-star hotels that catered to the entire family, with indoor pools and kids greeted with backpacks and toys at the door, and nightly treats on pillows.

The tour guides booked were all very knowledgeable and kind. They were patient with my two- and four-year-olds, and taught us all so many new, amazing things.

Every day was a highlight, but I would say my girls really enjoyed the tile painting as well as the pastel de nata-making workshops.

My husband and I really enjoyed Évora and Sintra, and truly seeing the beauty and history of it all.

We absolutely fell in love with Portugal, the culture, and the food. My only regret is not having more time so we could’ve seen the Azores as well and stayed even longer. 

We so look forward to this travel agent planning us another perfect vacation in the near future!

Thank you to our Zicasso tour planner for working closely with us and formulating a great itinerary for our trip to Portugal. The guides were top-notch and very knowledgeable. The drivers were very professional. Accommodations were as expected.

We enjoyed every stage of our visit. Thank you for the dining recommendations in each of the cities visited. The trip app was very useful and loaded with useful information and details.

Our Zicasso travel agent curated a private tour for the six of us, including the perfect mix of historical, gastronomical, wine, and cultural experiences. 

We stayed in Lisbon, Évora, the Dao Valley, the Douro Valley, and Porto. We traveled in a comfortable Mercedes van and, to break up our trips, we stopped at amazing sites along the way as we traveled from city to city. 

Some of our favorite things were a private sunset sail in Lisbon, a fado dinner, the Évora Cathedral, a cork trek and wine tasting in Alentejo, the monastery at Batalha, wine tastings in Santar (Dao Valley), a boat ride on the Douro, wine tastings and hiking in the Douro Valley, the Bom Jesus shrine in Braga, the Port tasting and dinner in Porto, and multiple pastry tastings along the way. 

Our guides were fantastic. They were attentive, on time, and very knowledgeable about the history and culture of each place we visited. 

There were very few issues on our 17-day tour, which was literally one of the smoothest and best-curated trips we have ever had. We will use our travel company and agent again as we intend to go back to Porto and the Douro Valley.

We enjoyed the trip. The guides were good, although our guide in Lisbon provided a little bit too much history. But he was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed his tours. The communication with the Zicasso company through WhatsApp was very good and they were very accommodating to upgrading our transport vehicle because our luggage was large. The food tours were good. We enjoyed all the sites that we saw. Barcelona, especially, was great.

We stayed at four hotels. Only the hotel in Porto was a disappointment. The other hotels were good and we were very comfortable. The breakfast that was served at the various accommodations varied in quality, but the breakfast buffet in Lisbon was extremely good. The hotel in Porto was definitely not a four-star facility. The local airline definitely does not have its act together. When we left Barcelona to come home, the line for the airline was about five or six times the length of every other line. I would have definitely been willing to pay a higher amount for a business class seat in order to use the very short line in the Porto airport.

We took our fourth private tour to Portugal using Zicasso. The travel company we selected was superb from the day we arrived to the day we departed. We received personal care at the highest level. 

The vehicles were top of class, so we were always comfortable in transiting between locations. The guides/drivers were knowledgeable and friendly. They had a well-thought-out itinerary that lasted 12 days and each lodging was six-star in every way. We stayed in a restored nunnery, and several other amazing places. 

The company arranged a wonderful nature hike along the coast with a naturalist and a boat ride along the Douro River, along with a visit to a winery, which had a gourmet lunch for us, combined with the wine tasting. At the end, in Lisbon, we went to a fado dinner at a Michelin-star restaurant, with amazing performers and food. If you want carefree luxury travel, they will hit the mark!

Zicasso's trip planner was exceptional, both before and during the trip. Our 16-day land tour went seamlessly. His attention to detail and follow-up were marvelous.

The hotels were as advertised and wonderful. The drivers and tour guides were always on time and fabulous. The seating for our flamenco show was perfect. The dining recommendations and reservations were wonderful. We loved the window or front-row dining seats overlooking the Alhambra in Granada. We appreciated a last-minute call to a restaurant in Lisbon that lost our lunch reservation, which vaulted us from the outhouse to the penthouse. We have been fortunate to travel many times in the past six years. This trip got elevated to #1. Thank you! We were truly elated that we found our agent through Zicasso.