Lisbon Private Guide

[wineasmusic]

Does anyone have any experience with a private guide in Lisbon?

[balzak26]

u can rent a taxi, but dont forget to ask the price first, the taxi drivers is Portugal sometimes like to overcharge turists

[LewesBeach]

Oh we had a perfect private guide in Lisbon last November - Alex at Top Ten Tours. website: http://www.toptentours.eu. He has many recommendation on this site. We hired him for a private car for a full day tour of Lisbon. He tailored the tour to what we wanted to do and suggested some very interesting things which we had not thought of. His english is flawless and he is well-educated and and very proud of his country. His rates are very reasonable, and we will definitely use his services again when we are in Lisbon.

[boerneDQ]

We used Jorge Bras in June and he was wonderful! We did a tour to Fatima and it was one of the highlights of our trip. His email is jmvbtours at gmail dot com.

 

Charlotte

[rubysue]

We were in Lisbon a week ago and did a private tour for just the two of us with Inside Lisbon tours. We saw the Belèm tower, St. Jeronimos monastery, had a break to taste a Belèm custard and then had a marvelous city tour. It was a fantastic experience and our guide, Luis, was extremely personable. The prices seem reasonable and can be reserved on-line,

 

http://www.insidelisbon.com

[pearliemae]

We used his services before during a pre-cruise stay in Lisbon and can also say he was fantastic. Email him and tell him what you want to do and he will work out a trip that caters to your needs. Great english and very knowledgeable about his country. We enjoyed so much we have booked for this fall's call in Lisbon to see some more and left it up to him as to where to go. He knows traffic patterns and crowd schedules and can make the most of your time. Cannot say enough good about TopTen and Alex!

[itsjb1]

We used Catia Luis of lisbonstories. She was wonderful, very pleasant, very knowledgeable and speaks perfect English. Her website is http://www.lisbonstories.com and sets out a number of different tours.

[maria_s]

Another suggestion - contact Lisbon Spirit tours - www.lisbon-spirit.pt. They have several regular tours to choose from, but if you are on a cruise and don´t have much time in Lisbon they can create a personalized tour according to your needs and interests.

[pearliemae]

Just realized when I saw the previous posting that I did not come back to this thread and mention our overnight Lisbon visit in November on the Maasdam.

We had set up 2 days of touring with TopTen and Alex did not disappoint. We revisited some sites in Lisbon we had seen on a previous visit and also did an in depth visit to Sintra. With our tour guide several years ago, before we found TopTen, we were taken to Sintra and literally left at the old town square for several hours. We found that a bus was needed to get up to the Pena palace, and had almost no time to see the grounds and the building. What a difference this trip, Alex took us to Sintra, we had two different local pastries, did some sightseeing and shopping, and then the real fun began. He took us to a garden/park where you could see both the castles on top of the distant mountains, rode thru the residential area and saw the old buildings and walls covered with the moss the the humidity makes thrive, then we drove up the serpentine road to the entrance to the Pena palace. We had already gotten a multiple admission ticket when he took us to the Queluz Palace earlier, so we went in and rode the tram up to the palace. Lots of walking up steep cobblestone roads and stairs in the palace, but what a joy to see. Very different from other royal buildings we have visited and worth the legwork.

We also went to the Carriage museum, did some shopping in downtown Lisbon, went back to Belem for pastries, rode around Lisbon looking at the tiled buildings, saw a couple of churches, and went to Cascais and Estoril, both coming and going to Sintra, because we wanted to see both places in the day and the dark. Had two great meals--dinner and lunch-- in places Alex suggested, glad we listened because we later talked to some other passengers we knew on the ship who went to the place we had researched for dinner but did not go to, and they were not very happy with their meal.

I was impressed with TopTen service on our first Lisbon pre-cruise visit several years ago, and remain so even more after this last experience. We went from 12:30 till 9:30 on Saturday, and 9 till 3:15 on Sunday. Glad there was a sea day next to get some rest, but we had a fantastic two days in Lisbon and Sintra.

[crazy4cruisn]

We used his services before during a pre-cruise stay in Lisbon and can also say he was fantastic. Email him and tell him what you want to do and he will work out a trip that caters to your needs. Great english and very knowledgeable about his country. We enjoyed so much we have booked for this fall's call in Lisbon to see some more and left it up to him as to where to go. He knows traffic patterns and crowd schedules and can make the most of your time. Cannot say enough good about TopTen and Alex!

 

I totally agree!! We had Alex give us a tour around Lisbon and then on to Sintra. It was the best! We enjoyed it so much we plan on going back to Lisbon and spending a week just in the area. I want to spend 2 days in Sintra and then see Evora and Obidos. Can't wait to get back!! Alex will certainly have our business.

Nancy

[2Canucks]

Thank You for the tour info for toptentours. We have Alex booked for a Sintra & Cascais tour the end of October. After reading some really good tour comments posted here on the CC boards...I'm sure we're going to have a Great Tour Day with Alex too!! :D

 

Pat :)

[BaseballMomof4]

Does anyone have first hand experience with We Hate Tourism Tours?

[epixx]

Does anyone have first hand experience with We Hate Tourism Tours?

 

Do a search on Tripadvisor. There are numerous reports of this company not showing up or showing up 1-2 hours late. I definitely would not give them a deposit if I planned to tour with them.

[BaseballMomof4]

Do a search on Tripadvisor. There are numerous reports of this company not showing up or showing up 1-2 hours late. I definitely would not give them a deposit if I planned to tour with them.

 

Thanks, I'll take a look. The reviews I saw were mainly positive but I didn't dig too deeply.