Portugal Private Tours & Local Tour Guides

“Our great Minho experience with Joana A!”

Joana A. is a great tour guide, one of the most thoughtful, energetic, and organized that we’ve worked with on 20+ tours over the years. In Oct 2026, she guided us (a couple in our late 50s) on a tour of some of the key sites and experiences in Minho from Porto. She figured out how to get us to an ancient hill town (Citânia de Briteiros), a vinho verde vineyard with a wine tasting, Guimarães, and Bom Jesus in Braga… all in a single day. To be honest, we didn’t realize the size of the logistical challenge until we did the tour — there are many guides who could never accomplish that. She seemed to think it was a fun challenge and just made it happen. One thing we appreciated was that she was a very proactive communicator. For example, when she was initially putting together the plan, she was going to be away. Rather than going silent, she reached out to give a time when she’d reconnect. Later, she reached out to adjust the start time and proposed a light lunch to ensure we could accomplish our aggressive itinerary. On the days before the trip, she connected via WhatsApp for final details. In terms of thoughtfulness, she was on time at our hotel in Porto to retrieve us, despite nasty Porto traffic. To keep us fed and happy, her car was full of snacks and water. Throughout the tour, she checked to make sure our experience was as expected. To top it off, she created a video of our tour so that we had memories of all the sites! Finally, she is really a fun person to be around. She is personable, has lots of stories about life in Portugal and her own travels, and has a great sense of humor. In short, we had a wonderful experience with Joana. We definitely recommend her, especially if you have unique or complex requests.

“Phenomenal Private Tour with surprise elements”

We had a fantastic day with Joana! She picked us up from our hotel in Gaia, complete with basket of treats and water for our comfort for the day! She was extremely knowledgeable about Porto and explained much about the culture of the Portuguese people as well. She captured photos and videos of us throughout the day and then sent them to us that evening! One of our stops was by the plaza with Porto letters where she surprised us with a quick sip of port wine and photo. We thoroughly enjoyed her hospitality and gracious personality, carefully guiding us through a variety of stops all through Porto and ending with a visit to the Atlantic beach to close out of the day. She even provided additional info for our planned day to Aviero with lunch and tourist stops to consider. The value for the day was exceptional! Thank you Joana!

Joana A.

(28 reviews)

Thank you so much for your lovely review! It was a real pleasure showing you around Porto and sharing some of the stories, culture, and little surprises that make Portugal so special. I’m delighted you enjoyed the experience, from the treats along the way to the photos and videos capturing your memories. Ending the day by the Atlantic Ocean was indeed a very special moment with that amasing light! I hope you had a wonderful time in Aveiro as well and that the rest of your journey through Portugal was just as memorable. It was a pleasure meeting you both, and I hope our paths cross again someday! Warm wishes from Porto, Joana

“Beautiful weather but disinterested guide”

Although the booking was made with Goncalo, he had a conflict and sent a replacement. The gentleman showed a few minutes late and seemed like he had rolled out of bed. Waited to post this review having had 2 other guided tours later in the week. Once those were completed we can say this guide did not provide the level of interest in us or our tour. We felt he would have preferred to be elsewhere that day. Based on the reviews Goncalo received on other tours, I suspect had he been able to provide the tour it would have been a far better experience for us. Fortunately the weather was outstanding so we had excellent views from the Pena Palace. Would have liked some guidance in Sintra, but were left to wander the town on our own. Similar for Cabo da Roca - great weather and clear view. Drive to Cascais was good, lovely town. Were given a few options to seek our own place for lunch.