When we booked 3 consecutive days with Igor Araujo of Porto Tours & Transfers, I knew that he had the potential to make or break a large portion of our trip. But I had read so many overwhelmingly positive reviews that I wasn’t too worried. And I was right not to be – he was phenomenal and definitely took our trip to the next level.
I first heard of Igor on the FaceBook group, Travel Portugal. I had read some posts where people were glowing over his tours but what really attracted me were the posts that he made himself. The pictures were unbelievable and I knew that I wanted to see as much of Portugal through his lens as I could. We ended up booking three tours with him: the Douro Valley, a transfer from Porto to Sintra with stops in Aveiro, Nazare, and Obidos, and a tour of Sintra and then transfer to Lagos.
Our first tour with Igor was the Douro Valley. We knew that we wanted to do a private tour of the valley for a few reasons. We were not renting a car and although the train could get us there, getting around once we were there and to and from vineyards would be difficult so a tour that included transportation from Porto made the most sense. We also wanted a private tour since we had kids and didn’t necessarily want to spend the entire day winery-hopping, which is what most group tours did. Since Igor is based in Porto and specializes in tours in the area, he was the obvious choice. He took us to his favorite winery, Quinta da Pacheca, to lunch at a great local spot, to Pinhão for a river boat cruise, and then to some scenic spots in the valley on the drive back. It was a great day and we definitely appreciated his knowledge of the area… as well as his driving ability on those narrow, windy roads! It was great to get to make a custom itinerary that worked best of our family.
Igor’s tour that had grabbed my attention the most was the transfer tours that he did between Porto and Lisbon. In the interest of time and our schedule, we were set on taking the train from Lisbon to Porto the same day our flight arrived in Lisbon. But when we made our way back down to the south of the country, I thought it would be great to take advantage of the travel day and make some unique stops along the way. Although he is willing to customize his tours, the most common stops are Aveiro, Coimbra, Batalha Monastery, Nazaré and Óbidos. (Time allows for stops at 3 of the 5 locations.)
We chose to stop at Aveiro, Nazaré and Óbidos, and it was my favorite day of our entire trip. Even a downpour in Aveiro didn’t take away from this magical day. I loved seeing three such unique places, and Igor navigated the different cities and their attractions masterfully. There is absolutely no way we could have done this on our own and having a local expert show us around and take us between places was invaluable.
Originally I had only booked these two tours but when I asked Igor for a recommendation for a tour guide in Sintra who could also take us to Lagos, he said he could do it. I hadn’t thought to ask him because his home base is Porto and spending the night in the Lisbon area and then driving to the Algarve seemed like a big ask, but apparently he goes all over the country (and even into Spain) and was happy to do it.
So Igor met us at breakfast in Sintra and then took us to Pena Palace and Quinta da Regaleira. Here again, his local knowledge and expertise was so helpful. From navigating the city streets, to the parking, to the tickets, and finally to touring the sites themselves, he made the whole day so much easier than if we had done it on our own.
And there’s more! What set him apart even further was how he went above and beyond by helping me with my lost luggage. When he heard about what was going on, he called the airport for me and was able to get through and talk to someone in the Portway office. Having a native speaker advocating on my behalf made a huge difference. After days of us getting nowhere with the airline and the baggage company, he was immediately able to figure out what was going on and help make a plan. When my luggage didn’t show up the next day or the next, he called again and again and even went so far as to offer to pick it up from the Lisbon Airport himself and drop it off with a friend who would deliver it later. The entire luggage situation would have been so much more stressful without Igor’s help. He was so kind to step in and help and I don’t know what I would have done without him.
Igor is a wonderful guide and a great person. He is extremely knowledgeable about so many places in Portugal and loves to share that knowledge with his customers. He is reliable and gives an overall great tour experience. And he is just a nice, friendly person that is fun to spend a day (or more) with.
So whether your budget allows you to book one day or three days or even more with Igor, it will be money so well spent. He will give you a great experience and make you fall in love with Portugal like we did.
