Guest Reviews

I can’t emphasize how AMAZING the whole experience was! From our driver, João, to meeting Maria and cooking traditional homemade dishes, to our stay at Pacheca and ending the trip with a beautiful scenic river cruise. And the food was just so, so delicious! I mean, I can’t just pick one thing, really, but my husband and I can confidently say the Douro was the highlight of our honeymoon! We can’t thank you enough for your help and time in making this feel extra special for us and showing us such a beautiful part of the country!

My husband and I have just returned from a four-day trip to the amazing Douro Valley, which was organised by Wine Tourism in Portugal. We are in our 70s and have travelled extensively all over the world in our 50 years together, and this was one of our best trips ever.

From the moment we were collected at Porto Airport by a charming driver to our return there four days later, we were treated with kindness and courtesy by everyone we met.

Wine Tourism organised our accommodation, trips to vineyards, meals, and even a picnic by the Douro River. Everything was superb. This company knows its market and the region, and we couldn’t praise them highly enough.

The tour was great. Our highlight was lunch at Quinta Nova. The food was great, and the wines were delicious at both places.

Thank you so much for assisting with our amazing trip to Portugal! To pick one thing would be difficult as it was an unforgettable time. 
 
We really enjoyed the walking food tour on our first day as it helped us to get better acclimated to Porto. 
 
The river cruise was iconic! The food and experience at Niepoort was wonderful, too.
 
We also really enjoyed Mainova - Pedro was great and we had another delicious meal there, too.

Thank you so much for the trip to the Douro Valley that you designed for my husband, Pat, and me. We loved every minute, and all the bookings and arrangements worked perfectly.

I would like to commend your drivers, Luis and Gabriel. We felt so safe and comfortable with Gabriel driving us on the narrow and winding roads in the Douro Valley. He is a superb driver.

The visits to the vineyards and the restaurants you chose for us were fabulous, and the picnic yesterday on the banks of the Douro River was so memorable.

The Vintage House Hotel was lovely. We asked to change our room because we prefer a bath, and the first bathroom had no mirror. There was a window into the bedroom instead! They handled our request well, and we were happy with the second room we were given.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip, and I will recommend Wine Tourism in Portugal to my friends and family without hesitation.

Our experience was amazing and Barbara truly planned a first class luxury trip for us. She took my guidance for hotels and activities and then planned our 10 days perfectly. We felt so well taken care of by her and the team. Every local vendor selected was special in their own way and true professionals.

Barbara was awesome from start to finish - planning, communicating and supporting even mid-trip when we made a few changes to the itinerary. She was so accessible and flexible. This was my first time not planning my own travel and I learned how amazing it is to have a support system taking care of all the details. Wine Tourism in Portugal has now set the bar very high for our future trips. Thank you for a trip of a lifetime and many beautiful memories.

We had an amazing 5-day trip to Porto and the Douro Valley, all seamlessly organised by the team. From transfers to accommodation, some wonderful dinners and carefully selected activities, everything was thoughtfully arranged and ran smoothly.
The team stayed in regular touch throughout the trip, allowing us to relax and enjoy every moment. Thank you!

Thank you for your good work in helping us create our visit to Portugal. What worked out quite well as we travelled up and down the Douro region , we overlapped with some of the areas we'd been in before on our last trip there which brought back fond memories. All the Quinta's we visited had good tastings and vineyard visits , some , of course better than others. I did manage to find a good white port for my cellar and the most notable wine was actually from where we stayed at Quinta de S.  Bernardo winery and Inn, which only produces 58,000 bottles annually.  It would be an impossible wine to get in the US. I acquired their 2015 and 2017 Reserve for my cellar. We spent 3 hours with the vineyards' "Enologo', and learned a great deal. The tasting with him went 3 hours over 10 wines. That day we set a record for tasting 20 wines in one day.  That wasn't a goal, it just rolled out that way. 

You scored an A+ on two items.  My wife and I keep a list of the " top ten best meals in the world". This list now covers over 20 countries. They are the best meals we'd had anywhere in the world on at least 4 continents. You hit it out of the park with lunch and wine pairing in Pinhao at the Quinta and its restaurant Bomfim 1896. We had a 5 course lunch with wine pairing for each course , each of which was truly a gastronomique experience. I have posted pictures of the food for the world.
 
I always advise foodies that you begin to eat a meal with your eyes first! They presented beautifully & immaculately turned out  courses that tasted amazing as much as they tantalized! Just as one example, desert finished the meal with a white port paired with  pears prepared 5 ways in one bowl. Boiled , coated and sliced, pureed, then done as a slushee, iced . The sweet and the cool. Superb!  While we ate at their sister restaurant, the Matriarca, in Porto, the chefs were different.  The food was quite good there but Bomfim 1896 was a 10! I do encourage you to offer to your clients these choices.

Finally , as I asked for the finest restaurant in all of Porto for my wife's Birthday dinner you chose Casa de Cha da Boa Nova. The chef was a master at blending taste, color, and ingredients to make each bite a taste explosion in your mouth. Truly a Master Chef. The sommelier had paired the wines perfectly choosing style, vintage, grape and taste showcasing Portugal's finest side of its winemaking. 

This is the second time we've used Wine Tourism in Portugal and if we visit Portugal again in the future we'd be happy to use its' services again. You are free to use this thank you as my referral of the quality of your services. 

My advice to the Enologos of Portugal. Many wines we tasted used up to 30 varieties of grapes (some even more) to produce their blend. After tasting many, many of them they become less distinctive or distinguishable from one another. Perhaps a reason we do not hear remarkable things about the oldest demarcated vineyards in the world. They would do better to aim for something very special with fewer varieties thereby offering more of a demonstration of their grape or grapes through their winemaking skills. The vintner at Bernardo produced a wonderful wine using only 5. It's doable.

Again, thank you for a fine adventure, with our sincerest regards,

Kevin P. Deckert & Jacynthe Nadeau-Deckert

A great experience from start to finish
 

My wife and I just finished a three day tour arranged by Wine Tourism. It was wonderful. We spent two nights in a wine estate resort, toured three different wineries, bought three cases of wine to ship home, had a cooking class taught by countess Maria, enjoyed gourmet meals and a sailing trip on the River. Our driver was excellent and we learned a lot about Portuguese culture and history from Gabriel. When we do it again, we will do it in the winter when it is cooler. PS the roads are steep, narrow and very curvy. We’ve driven in many foreign countries but we were glad to leave the driving to our chauffeur.

Thank you so much for planning and assisting in a wonderful trip for our family. It was truly one of our favorite trips to date and we feel so grateful for the experience.

One highlight in particular was how seamless the trip went. All of the drivers and guides were on time, knowledgeable and made our daily trips run smoothly. As a group of 7, this was greatly appreciated. 

We also ended up extending our Douro Valley boat ride for an additional charge to bring us directly to the dock near the winery that was hosting our lunch. We felt this was a better option to enjoy a longer boat cruise instead of longer car drive. 

Overall, Sylvia (our Lisbon tour guide) was exceptional and we really enjoyed visiting Morgado do Quintao cooking workshop. This was a great end to our lovely trip. 

Thank you again for all your help in planning our family vacation. We will have memories that last forever.

We really enjoyed our tour and it was wonderfuly planned. It is indeed difficult to point out one thing as a highlight.

Antonio was amazing, quick to reply any and every question we had about the most random things, he was punctual, great English and super friendly. He was so kind to provide recommendations for future visits to different regions of Portugal and definitely open our eyes to how much variety and beauty this country truly has. 

Bachaloa was an amazing cultural experience where we learnt so much about the town of Azeitao and Palace history. Joao was our guide for the property and wine tasting. He made it very interactive and interesting, with fluent English. I cannot tell you what we enjoyed more - the tour or the tastings!

JMF lunch and visit - again, superb experience! We tasted amazing dishes and were well taken care of. As we moved on to the tour we were amazed with the long history of the winery. 

I could go on and on. Thank you for arranging this wonderful tour for us! Next time we are back in Portugal, we will definitely reach out to you again for new experiences.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead. 

The tour was really really great. There were so many highlights. One huge one that stood out was the car provided as well as our driver Antonio - he was so happy, kind, professional, knowledgeable, patient and helpful. 

Another big highlight was the history we were exposed to as well as just the relaxed hands-off logistics of the entire trip. Oh & of course the Muscatel! The only note for the entire trip is I do wish we were able to personalize our menu selections at the Wine Corner lunch. The location was great but there were so many great options on the menu we would have been more than happy to pay to upgrade. If we’re ever back in town we’ll definitely reach out to you for another experience 🙂

Thank you for everything!

Thank you so much.  We had a WONDERFUL time on our tour.  I think the highlight was our stay at Quinta de la Rosa.  Amazing property with great accommodations. 

We also really enjoyed the view on our second day.

João was an amazing driver.

Thank you for everything - we had a great time!

We honestly cannot say enough amazing things about our driver, Francisco! He was truly our favorite part of the day and he made sure everyone on the tour had an amazing time! Please send him our kudos - he's our favorite! :)

The whole trip was amazing. We loved our room. The staff there told us we had the best room in the Quinta. We appreciated you being able to range that for us. 

My favorite moment was the sailboat ride, second was the cooking class. The tasting and tour at Quinta das Carvalhas was our favorite winery experience of the trip.
 
Helder was wonderful. We loved having him as our driver. He was always prepared, gave us the overview of the day, and always escorted us as we went about. He was truly fantastic. Super friendly and so thoughtful.
 
We really appreciate all your timely communications and willingness to do more. I have not worked with a travel agent in a long time. You set a gold standard.
 
We will be back! Maybe with friends.

We are back home from our travels. We had a wonderful time in the the Douro. There were several highlights. The cooking class with the countess was amazing! What a delightful experience. All of the restaurants were exceptional. The meal at Ventozelo was outstanding, some of the best food I have had on a vacation. All of the wineries were wonderful. The stay at De la Rosa was good, The rooms are quite basic but the views are the best!.Gabriel was a wonderful and kind driver. We felt very safe at all times. I think everyone really enjoyed the trip. 

We had a wonderful time yesterday, thank you so much for your help planning our trip to the Douro Valley! The picnic lunch was perfect. Our group enjoyed it so much that we decided not to go on our cruise - we didn’t want to leave the vineyard! 

Gabriel was amazing and took good care of us. 

Thank you again! 

Our group thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Herdade do Sobroso. We were made to feel very welcome, and the itinerary was excellent. The entire staff was extremely professional and helped us choose the venue that best suited our needs right from the start. We have absolutely no complaints; on the contrary, we were very satisfied with all the services provided. Thank you very much for the excellent organization!

My entire group had an outstanding time. Our guide was knowledgeable and took great care of us. 

Thank you for everything,

We enjoyed the trip very much.

Accommodation at Quinta da La Rosa was beautiful, such a scenic place to stay and the staff were wonderful and very attentive. The meal and wine included was good. I would recommend this being on the first night as the tasting and picnic day 2 is plentiful for one day. 

All wine tours and tastings were good and the picnic at Quinta da Roeda was plentiful and very tasty. The wine tasting day at Bomfim and then Roeda was a really enjoyable day in beautiful surroundings.
We actually booked a taxi so we did not have to worry about driving after doing the tasting and drinking wine with the picnic. This is the one thing I think you should add in on this day. The taxis are plentiful, accommodating and relatively cheap.

Your relationship and communication with all your partners must be strong as everyone was expecting us and everything was ready and ran smoothly.
Your communications from the beginning of our enquiry to the end of our trip has been good and clear.

Many thanks Barbara and I am sure one day we will be back to the Douro Valley.

Many thanks 
Bernadette and Mark