The Best of Portugal: From the Age of Exploration to Today

Informative trip from Lisbon the Porto- Portugal. If you get a chance I highly recommend Road Scholar.

It was a great program. The sites and information presented were very interesting. Rita the group leader was always there and ready to help. She also did a great job in adjusting meals for my dietary restrictions and other participants dietary preferences. The things I liked best is how well we all got along and that I traveled alone but never felt lonely.

We just completed the Best of Portugal trip. It was excellent. We had a great group of travelers and were lead by a terrific guide - Luisa Gomes. It included the large cities of Lisbon and Porto, the smaller seacoast town of Figueira da Foz and the mediaeval town of Obidos, among others. The unexpected highlights for us were a visit to an elementary school classroom while it was in session in Figueira da Foz, followed by a group discussion with many of the teachers, and a chance to hear from and engage with locals of the town. It was fun, educational, sobering, and thought provoking. The hotels were fine, the food authentic and the prices very affordable. There is not enough space to talk about all that we enjoyed. Our only disappointment was that the trip was too short.

If you're still hesitant about traveling again, especially solo, take the risk! My first Road Scholar trip was better than I ever imagined and I can't wait to take my next journey.

This was a well organized and interesting tour of Portugal! Our group leader was excellent as she was very knowledgeable, organized and always receptive to questions!

If visiting Portugal is on your bucket list, definitely check out this program. This trip was my best holiday ever. I felt that I got a wonderful immersion into the history, culture, and people of this charming, rich country and I'll always hold it close to my heart. Obrigado!

A variety of meaningful experiences in different regions of Portugal enabled deeper understanding of this country's culture and history. I enjoyed interacting with local residents while building appreciation for their rich heritage. Every day was full of fascinating adventures!

I could not imagine trying to travel on my own in a time when many sites are very busy with people from all over the world. Road Scholar got us to the front of every line and they moved us from planned event to planned event like clockwork. On our last day we reviewed everything we did - and almost could not believe it.

Our trip and tour of Portugal was amazing. We learned so much. Met wonderful people. Had a lot of fun. Had a perfect balance of structured and free time. We can't wait to take another Road Scholar trip.

Poetugal is an exciting and beautiful country. Isabel, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic and made out trip most enjoyable,

It was terrific. Beautiful sights, interesting lectures, great guides, food and weather were both fabulous! Thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

The The Best of Portugal: From the Age of Exploration to Today was delightful! It was my first Road Scholar tour, but it will not be my last. I enjoyed meeting people from around the country who had a similar passion for travel and learning about new cultures.

I highly recommend everyone experience at least one Road Scholar Program.

An unforgettable learning experience in Portugal. Thanks, RS

Lovely introduction to Portugal! Now to see more.

An excellent program that offers a variety of experiences in different locations. Excellent local guides and presenters, excellent group leader, and well organized. Free time offered opportunities for independent exploration or down-time, depending on one's preferences.

Everything was excellent, especially Adriana, our tour guide. She was always well prepared. She communicated our schedule so well -enough to know, not overwhelming with details. Her upbeat personality and love for Portugal were contagious. The variety of things we saw and did was wonderful! I enjoyed the history lectures and hearing from the three locals in the restaurant. Though seeing old places is interesting, it was really valuable to hear issues in Portugal today. The hotels we stayed at were all excellent too. I spent the day the tour ended in Porto by myself. The desk people at Hotel Dom Henrique were so nice to keep my suitcase as I went to see a couple places. Listening to Fado music was much better than I'd expected since it's described as melancholy in every description I'd read. I'm glad we heard it twice. Being a former teacher, I really enjoyed our time at the school-seeing the enthusiastic students, then hearing from the teachers. Walking around and learning about the University of Coimbra was excellent, too. If I'd change anything on the tour, I'd add going inside the Monastery of Jeronimos in Lisbon. I did that with my friend and sister and loved seeing it. All the meals were outstanding. It was an ideal variety. my favorite was the salmon dinner, which I think was at the Sweet Atlantic Hotel. The wines were wonderful!

This trip was expertly led and facilitated by our local resident guide, Isabel. The content and pacing of the program was outstanding and comprehensive for a one week “ best of “ type tour.Sturdy ,comfortable shoes are a must as the sidewalks are tile covered and hilly!

This was a wonderful introduction to the charms of Portugal. Our tour leader, Isabel, did a splendid job of conveying her knowledge of and passion for her country, and kept everything moving smoothly with good humor. All the Portuguese people we encountered were genuinely warm and welcoming, the seafood, wines, and food in general all excellent (especially the Pasteis de Belem, egg custard pastries worthy of multiple samplings), our lecturers interesting. Highlights for us were the Tile Museum, the visit to wine estates in the Douro River Valley, the charming medieval village of Obidos, the visit to an elementary school, and the relaxed urban energy of Lisbon and Porto. I would be very happy to visit Portugal again!

Learn about the interesting country of Portugal. Nice pace, excellent guides

Portugal is a beautiful country. We enjoyed this incredibly well organized and managed educational adventure.

This is a fantastic program. Our guide Adriana was superb. There was plenty of time to learn about the country and the people. I enjoyed all the walking in the cities and on the side trips. It was fun to be able to talk with people who lived there as well as visiting a local school and talking with the children. The lecturers were all excellent and had extensive knowledge about the history of the country. The vegetarian food options were varied and the food in the local restaurants was excellent. There was a good mixture of city life as well as visits to local fishing villages and small towns.The balance between free time and lectures and side visits was well coordinated. I would highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to learn more about Portugal and meet some of the people. I can easily understand why more people want to move there.

I found this to be a wonderful introductory program to Portugal. I definitely want to return to Portugal because of what I learned. It's a wonderful country!

A comprehensive, enjoyable and informative introduction to a fascinating country.

It was excellent! The host, hotel, food, wine, the things we did and friend were terrific.

Absolutely one of the best trips I’ve ever taken and I do travel a lot. Our tour guide , Paula was one of the best tour guides I’ve ever had. She is well informed and knew answers to all our inquiries. The accommodations were comfortable and clean and conveniently located. The food was outstanding. The other participants were knowledgeable and welcoming and very well educated. I need to improve my knowledge of European history! I am planning my next trip withRoad Scholar. Just enough free time and planned activities.

This was my first time travelling with Road Scholar and I very much enjoyed the trip. Our excellent guide, the wonderful meals, the tours and the connections with local people enhanced my experience. I would definitely recommend Road Scholar to other travellers.

The Tour of Portugal was our first Road Scholar trip and we were very pleased. It was very well-organized with a wonderful tour director. We learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the tour.

This was a great introduction to Portugal ... I want to return and explore this country further. It is so rich in history and culture, the people warm and engaging, the food and wine absolutely divine! :)

This was my first trip with Road Scholar and also first trip with a group. I chose Portugal trip to see what is like to travel with a group. I was very impressed with the whole organization of the trip, information, people and the provided opportunity to experience Portugal. I already signed up for 2 more trips in 2024.

Such a great trip to Portugal! Our group leader, Sandra was AMAZING! A well rounded trip with great food, lectures, exploration of history, culture, music, cities and landscape. Loved our group of fellow travelers. Ellen and Jim

This program was a great introduction to Portugal. We are much more knowledgeable about the history, the people and to some extent the politics of Portugal. Our group leader Ana was everything you could hope for and more.

I feel confident when I book a tour with Road Scholar. It's always informative and very flexible. Learn as little or as much as you choose. The itineraries don't disappoint anyone on the trip. The group size is suitable, and the people on the tour are always the best.

I loved Road scholar, it was my very first guided tour. I highly recommend them. You are so well taken care of.

What a great introduction to Portugal. Our guide was warm and wonderful, as well as being incredibly informative!

This was my seventh Road Scholar trip and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures and appreciates the beauty of our world. The trip included just the right amount of history, local expertise, good food, beautiful surroundings and for us we had an amazing leader and a great group. We started as strangers and quickly became a friendly group of travel companions. It was a great trip!

Our trip was spectacular, in big part due to our amazing tour guide illeana. We were well informed about everything. The bus drivers were excellent, especially our last one , Nuno who drove us up to Porto on narrow ,windy roads with no guard rails. Because the group was small,with only 21 people, it was easy to meet everyone, and we all got along. ILLEANA set the tone for fun and laughter. The first hotel was comfortable, the rooftop bar was always crowded, and one coffee machine for the large groups was insufficient. The hotel in Figuero de Foz had a very grumpy staff serving meals and the same coffee machine problem. Our last hotel in Porto was fine, but again, with very large tour groups converging in one breakfast space and one coffee machine doesn’t suffice. I was surprised that no one wore masks on the entire trip,from the planes,buses,hotels, airports, no masks. Some highlights of the trip will last forever such as the Fado Performances, the trip to see the school and children, the wineries and beautiful Porto. My final recommendation , as I’ve said in other reviews, is that RS should try to choose hotels for us with safety bars in the showers and tubs, especially when seniors are concerned about falling. Tiles are very slippery, often no mats in tubs can make for dangerous conditions.

I highly recommend this wonderful introduction to Portugal, coordinated beautifully by our leader, Ana! This program is filled with a variety of experiences, interpreted by exceptionally good guides on location. As always with Road Scholar, the accommodations and meals are well chosen. We ate extremely well! As on previous Road Scholar trips we enjoyed our fellow travelers. My husband and I are glad we chose this trip, and it may be one of our RS favorites so far. Ready to sign up for another trip soon!

This is such a well-organized and presented trip to one beautiful country, the art, architecture, the urban and countryside scenery (and the delicious meal with plentiful wine) was all spectacular. And the bonus is, you meet people from all around the US and friendships develop!

Just returned from the Best of Portugal: From the Age of Exploration to Today. Excellent program! While you can't do everything in 9-10 days, we did a lot! I recommend this program, and I hope to participate in other Road Scholar programs (this was my first). Extremely well organized and led.

I highly endorse the Best of Portugal Program - every aspect was wonderful and I learned so much from scholars (to include our leader, Adriana) - the accommodations, meals and itinerary were excellent -

At least one person contracted COVID during our trip. I learned that I also had been infected with COVID at the end of this trip, and unknowingly transmitted it to my immune-deficient husband upon my arrival home. It looks us 4-6 weeks to recover, with medical intervention. Therefore, I'm seriously disappointed in the RS decision to discontinue vaccine requirement.

This trip to Portugal fulfilled a dream of learning more about this small but beautiful country. I highly recommend it those who are curious about this wonderful country

A truly life changing experience!

Overall very good trip. Excellent guide, variety of things to do and places to visit. Two suggestions. First I would suggest a change to the trip to Obidos and to the Alcobaca Monastery. Obidos is an interesting small town with a fortress, churches and many interesting shops, bookstores etc. Alcobaca though a pleasant town had none of what Obidos offered. We spent 1.5hrs in Obidos and then went to Alcobaca for lunch and free time before going touring the monastery. All participants I spoke to agreed that it would have been better to stay in Obidos longer, have lunch there and then drive straight to the tour of the monastery in Alcobaca. Second suggestion is not completely under your control but is in regard to options for lactose free desserts. Fruit was always the option and was a good choice. However it was always the same fruit - pineapple, melon, kiwi. Could they add some berries or other type of fruit for a little variety?

Wonder hostess and beautiful country. Now looking for trip for solo travel Jan or Feb to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam but appear full

The best of Portugal trip was amazing! Loved the walkability, our most precious guide, the white glove treatment we received, the wonderful, wonderful places we saw. It is no small wonder that the majority of the 21 people on this tour had made multiple (double digit) trips with Road Scholar! Can easily recommend this company and this tour!

This program was a superb experience that revealed the beauty of Portugal and highlighted a variety of cultural, historic, and culinary attractions. The tour guides and presenters were engaging and thoughtful in sharing their expertise. Travel to 3 areas of the country was well coordinated. Overall a wonderful trip!

Great disappointment was on the bus more than exploring. The teacher/historian was a complete waste of time and many of us thought the same on his presentations.

Great trip. Comprehensive introduction to Portugal. Well organized and paced with just the right amount of time for individual exploration.

This was a well-managed, interesting, fun tour. The food was excellent, the hotels first class in the heart of the cities, the guide a delight, the sites visited each day were interesting, and the others in our group were friendly and thoughtful to one another. Highly recommended.

If you want to understand the history of Portugal, see the history of Portugal and feel the history of Portugal, this is the program for you.

The Best of Portugal program was outstanding. There was a wonderful balance of scenic beauty, history, and culture that was never overwhelming and always engaging. There was just the right amount of free time to explore on our own in each city and a perfect balance in the types of activities and sights that we visited. The hotels, food (and wine!), and transportation were of excellent quality. Above all, our group leader Adriana Alves took this experience to the next level. Her humor and warmth, along with her remarkable knowledge, fostered a fun, relaxing and engaging environment that all of our group clearly enjoyed. This was our first RS trip, though we have travelled extensively on our own snd with other companies, and it will certainly not be our last!