Published on Dec, 2024

Alex was an amazing guide! He made our wine tasting tour unforgettable with his knowledge, passion, and attention to detail. The wineries were authentic and offered incredible wines with rich stories about the Douro Valley.

Published on Oct, 2024

We had a great day on this tour and highly recommend the tour company, and our guide Julio. We booked this tour as two couples. Julio picked us up at our hotel at about 8:15 in a nice Mercedes station wagon (1 passenger riding shotgun, 3 in the back seat). Our tour included a quick stop in Amarante for pastries, two wineries that we hand-picked, a 45-minute quick eats lunch, and a 1-hour river cruise. He returned us to our hotel at about 19:00. What we liked about this tour operator: - Julio. He absolutely made the tour. He is a professional, and the tour guide work is his side gig. He offered us an excellent overview of Portugal’s history (our weak knowledge of European history showed, yet he was kind in setting us straight), a regional perspective of a Porto resident about the country and the EU, and helpful tips to find small, local businesses. He was a delight throughout the day, spoke excellent English, and was a very safe driver as well. We can’t say enough good about his tour. - The small group size. We saw the bus-size tours in a couple places and were so happy to be in our group of 4 plus Julio. - Preparing and customizing our trip was easy. Mariana of Touch Tours was particularly responsive to our requests. About two months out, we proposed an itinerary. With her advice we made a couple adjustments for time, and she arranged everything. We just paid the bill for the activities at the end of the day. Pro tip: you can use a card, yet cash is preferred for end of day settlement. Julio helped us find a bank ATM (not one of those rip-off Euronet machines), so really didn’t cost us anything and everyone wins.

Published on Oct, 2024

We had a great day on this tour and highly recommend the tour company, and our guide Julio. We booked this tour as two couples. Julio picked us up at our hotel at about 8:15 in a nice Mercedes station wagon (1 passenger riding shotgun, 3 in the back seat). Our tour included a quick stop in Amarante for pastries, two wineries that we hand-picked, a 45-minute quick eats lunch, and a 1-hour river cruise. He returned us to our hotel at about 19:00. What we liked about this tour operator: - Julio. He absolutely made the tour. He is a professional, and the tour guide work is his side gig. He offered us an excellent overview of Portugal’s history (our weak knowledge of European history showed, yet he was kind in setting us straight), a regional perspective of a Porto resident about the country and the EU, and helpful tips to find small, local businesses. He was a delight throughout the day, spoke excellent English, and was a very safe driver as well. We can’t say enough good about his tour. - The small group size. We saw the bus-size tours in a couple places and were so happy to be in our group of 4 plus Julio. - Preparing and customizing our trip was easy. Mariana of Touch Tours was particularly responsive to our requests. About two months out, we proposed an itinerary. With her advice we made a couple adjustments for time, and she arranged everything. We just paid the bill for the activities at the end of the day. Pro tip: you can use a card, yet cash is preferred for end of day settlement. Julio helped us find a bank ATM (not one of those rip-off Euronet machines), so really didn’t cost us anything and everyone wins.

Published on Oct, 2024

What a fabulous day we had with Julio in the Douro valley!! He was early to arrive to pick us up in Porto but waited patiently for us. On the drive to the valley he educated us about the area and how they make wine and explained the 3 ‘Ts’. He was very passionate about Portugal and its wine. Our first stop at a winery was at a beautiful Chateau overlooking the Douro river. We tried 3 wines and 2 olive oils. All of it was amazing. We then went on a tour to see how they used to make olive oil. The second stop was down at the bottom of the hill where we went on a cruise of the Douro and were able to bring a bottle of the wine we just purchased. It was beautiful scenery. Third stop was for lunch and more excellent wine followed by some education on ports by a very smart 19 year old! We also got to taste the ports. Fourth stop was in Amarante for some vino verhde (both white and red). Then it was time to head back to the city. Julio was a great guide and made the day super special. Thank you Julio!

Published on Oct, 2024

Jose was THE best! He was so friendly, personable and knowledgeable and provided many interesting facts on our tour. Jose made our day so memorable. I can’t recommend him for a tour enough.