My husband and I, along with friends, recently spent 5 days of our 12 day vacation touring with Armando from The Best Portugal. It was totally delightful! We had an opportunity to experience Wine tours, restaurants and sites of Portugal we would have never been able to enjoy in the same manner as if we had been on our own. Not only is Armando an excellent tour guide and driver, but more than that he created an experience of the Portuguese people and culture that was up close and personal that we all thoroughly enjoyed. He came highly recommended to us and I agree 110% his services made our visit of Portugal all the more wonderful. Muito obrigada Armando read more

The Best Portugal - Love Portugal! - Food Tours Near Me - Lisbon, 11

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TLDR: Armando is terrific and professional and our wine tour was wonderful. My wife and I, both in our 30s, had a marvelous time with Armando, who drove us around all day in a Mercedes like royalty. Before we departed he bought us espressos that we drank together at the counter like locals. We visited two beautiful vineyards/wineries with tastings of a nice variety of red and white (and one "green"!) wines. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly. We also stopped into Óbidos for a little stroll and lunch. He bought us some traditional chorizo bread on a little whim. Lunch had a nice atmosphere and good service, but the prices were drastically higher than other places we ate on our trip, and the food was a bit plain. This was only a small blemish on an otherwise outstanding day. We would gladly rebook something with Armando on a return visit! read more

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Armando was excellent! His communication before the tour was clear and thorough. He picked us up at our hotel, and his itinerary of wineries and a restaurant for lunch was perfect. The wines were awesome, and the lunch was delicious. Armando was great at explaining interesting things about Lisbon and the wine region, and he took care of us throughout the day and ensured we were having a fun time. He took several excellent photos that he shared via a link the very next day, and he even helped us ship the wines we bought. We will definitely call Armando next time we're in Portugal. read more

Portugal is a special place. The people, the culture, the food and of course, the wine made for a awesome one week vacation but, it may not be as perfect as you hoped unless you pick the right guide. Armando was referred by friends and our expectation was high based on the referral. Well, Armando exceeded our expectation. Such a professional and now a friend. We travel two to three times a year all over the world. Each experience is different and only a few experiences are special enough to highly, highly recommend to other travelers who also appreciate a certain level of service, which includes history, culture and cuisine. Touring with Armando means you will travel in the style in which you expect and are accustomed. All of the previous aside, the tour is topped off by just spending time with someone who appreciates life, family and values similar to you. If you are like us, you research reviews closely and chose guides carefully so you can make amazing memories with you spouse, partner, family. My wife and I left Portugal knowing we made the right choice in Armando. Happy Travels and hope you get to experience what is in store for you when touring with The Best Portugal. Obrigado!! (Thank You) read more

The Best Portugal - Food Tours Near Me - Lisbon, 11

Armando was the best guide we have had for where ever we have went. He showed up at our hotel 5 minutes early, did t rush us, greeted us warmly when we met. Car was very clean and comfortable. Ac kicking in when needed. The 1hour 20 minute drive was so interesting with the Iinformation and history he provided, felt like only 45 minutes. The horseback riding he scheduled was Awesome!!! An hour of riding on a beach in Portugal!! 60 kilometers of nothing but sand and ocean during the beginning of high tide. My wife and I were more tha. Impressed. If this review could give 10 Stars I would give 11!! It was magic, we have been needing for awhile. Then the Resteraunt. OMG. The best wine and the meal. It was spectacular. The waiter brought a big pot to is with monk fish, clams and huge shrimp! With ri e and the sauce and the wine. Again I say OMG. Phenomenal!! Do t bother Nikki g for other guides. For the price and the quality, courtesy and just great guy, you won't find anyone better!! read more

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We visited several areas as a day trip from Lisbon with Armando. He was the best guide we have ever had. He was knowledgeable, personable, and went beyond what our tour included to show us other beautiful places north of Lisbon that were not included in our original agreement. I would highly recommend him for any tour in Lisbon, or day trips from Lisbon read more

We had a fun filled two day tour with Armando and could not recommend a better guide to see the sights and taste the delicious food of Portugal. We arrived Lisbon the day prior and set off the following morning for a full day tour of Lisbon proper. The following day included a tour of Sintra and Cascais. Professional at his discipline, yet funny and gracious to talk with. He is so knowledgable on the rich history of his country. Armando was very helpful in providing us with additional sites, cities and driving routes for the rest of our stay in Portugal. Very responsive to texts and e-mails over our 2-week stay as we drive through the country side from Porto to the Algarve. read more

The Best Portugal - Food Tours Near Me - Lisbon, 11

Armando was the best tour guide we ever had in any country, hands down. We truly appreciated how he went above and beyond to make us feel like family and immerse us in the culture and landscape! It was certainly one of our best and most educational days in Portugal and we plan to come and visit the north next time and hope to reconnect with Armando. The lunch and its views were fantastic as well as the visit to quaint towns outside of Lisbon. The wineries were rich with history and felt authentic and unique to our experience! read more

Armando took us on the most wonderful day touring small wineries in the Lisbon area that we would have never found ourselves. Could not recommend more! read more

We took a private day trip with Armando in March, and it was absolutely the highlight of our time in Lisbon. We visited two wineries, each with a different vibe, and got a really up-close look at the wine making process at each (not to mention very generous, delicious tastings). Armando's knowledge of the region and his kind, genuine personality made it a very special day. He even added on an extra stop at the end of our tour when we had a bit of time left over. The tours are a really personal experience and felt like the most authentic Portuguese experience we had. HIGHLY recommend! read more

The Best Portugal, in particular our tour guide Armando Caetano, was excellent. Armando is engaging, funny and extremely knowledgeable about the history and architecture of Portugal, as well as it's people and local customs. He was always on time and where he was supposed to be. I highly recommend him. read more

Went on a day tour with Armando. Fantastic tour guide. Great tour of local wine yards and the local scenery. We visiting Caiscas and Sintra close to Lisboa. Overall a great day with lots of experiences. The wine experience was wonderful and we saw a lot of local sights. Our only challenge was lunch. Armando took us to a local sea food place. He promised best sea food you have ever experienced. It was ok food but not fantastic. However the bill was impressive. $220 for 4 people without wine. It was a clear rip-off. In summary a great tour but observe the lunch is as expensive as the rest of the tour. read more

Armando is a skilled and sensitive travel guide. My wife and I took a private tour of two wineries and had a fresh-fish lunch overlooking the ocean at Ericiera. Aside from the excellent food and wine, our favorite aspect of the day were the lengthy, relaxed and stimulating conversations with Armando and with the staff of the wineries. We made genuine connections with people, and feel that we got a real sense of the lives of these Portuguese, and of the culture that produced them. read more

Although it was a little rainy on our tour day, Armando still made the day extremely enjoyable. We were taken to 2 wineries (but the first one with Teresa was the best) and lunch in the Setubal region. Armando made sure that my vegetarian boyfriend had something good to eat (a really good veggie pasta) at the fish restaurant that we went to (and my tuna was aaamazing). He made the whole experience easy to set up and picked us up from our hotel. He is so much fun to be around and we loved spending our first day in Portugal with him. Definitely take a tour with him if you find yourself in/around Lisbon! read more

We are very happy to have Armando to lead us to Linhas De Torres for one day private tour. Armando is a amazing , sincere, informative and helpful person with his great professionalism. If we could rank more than 5 stars , we would love to give him 6 +. Thanks Armando, we would love to visit again . You truly are our friends in Portgual!! Kitty and Glen read more

We did back to back private tours with Armando and they were the highlight of a two week trip. The excursion to Alentejo was absolutely amazing! Armando picked out three totally different wineries and each was magnificent. He was so easy to work with, very knowledgeable on wines and accommodating to all our desires. We started up in northern Alentejo and visited two vineyards with incredible wines, we then stopped for a handpicked lunch in an actual castle followed by an afternoon discovering the Roman ruins village of Evora with a stop at yet another wonderful winery in town. The following day we visited Castle de Pena and Quinta da Regaleira in Sintra, he was so knowledgeable about the history and led us to the highlights of each. We then had a marvelous seafood lunch right on the ocean! We highly recommend Armando and The Best Portugal, it is a must when visiting Lisbon!! read more

Thanks to friends who recommended us to Armando and The Best of Portugal Wine Tours - we discovered a wonderful region north of Lisbon that we would not otherwise have found. With only a few days to tour Lisbon - the full day wine tour north of Lisbon was a perfect way to see a lot, taste some wonderful wines and learn more about Lisbon and Portugal. Although we did not have great weather - we had a great time with Armando who has a wealth of knowledge of the region and a passion for good wine and food and who really made it a fun & relaxed experienced. We know we will return and spend much more time touring this amazingly rich area of Portugal. read more

Our tour with Armando was absolutely perfect and I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantastic day in the Lisbon area. We chose the Romantic Sintra and Wines of Colares tour and wish we had more time in Portugal to do another tour with Armando! Armando picked us up at our hotel in Lisbon and shared lots of historical and cultural information on our drive to Sintra. Upon arriving in Sintra, we had some time to explore the historical town center before it got overrun with tour buses and Armando recommended a delicious local pastry to try. After wandering around the cute town and finding a great spot to buy handpainted tiles, we headed up the hill to visit the incredible Pena Palace. Many of the tour companies do not visit Pena Palace because it is so popular and can be frustrating for the tour operators to navigate. This is a real shame as the Pena Palace is truly amazing and we were so happy to be able to visit it thanks to Armando's knowledge of the right time to go. After spending some time at the palace, we left Sintra and headed to a beach town where Armando set us up at an oceanfront restaurant with the freshest seafood we've ever had. I am generally not a fish eater, but ate my entire grouper as it was so fresh and delicious! It was one of our favorite meals of our time in Portugal. Then we headed off to the wineries to learn about the Lisboa wine region and taste some delicious wines. The first winery we visited was in a small village and we were able to meet the winemaker and ask her about the wines. The second winery was one of the most beautiful wineries we've ever been to and included a very informative and fun tour as well. We had a truly fantastic day with Armando! He is so personable, funny, and knowledgeable. We will definitely plan another tour with Armando the next time we are in Portugal as there are so many more wine regions in the country to explore! read more

My wife and I booked the half day wine tasting tour and had an amazing time. Armando does an outstanding job as a guide, explaining in great detail not only about Portuguese wine, but about everything from daily life in this beautiful country, to the history of Portuguese exploration around the world. We visited two wineries, both of which had very interesting tours, and poured amazing wines. We hadn't originally intended to purchase any wine, but the value and quality was so good, we ended up buying four bottles! To top it off, we had 1:30 reservations for lunch at Bel Canto, and Armando made sure to get us there on time! I HIGHLY recommend this tour if you are visiting Lisbon!! read more

What a wonderful experience we had with Armando!! I highly recommend this tour, or any tour Armando will lead. He is extremely knowledgeable, sweet, caring and sincerely enjoys sharing interesting facts and history of Portugal. He clearly knows the area and brings you to areas that would be impossible to see without him. We explored two of the most beautiful wineries and spent our time an intimate setting learning and drinking wine. This was an experience of a lifetime. I'm truly thankful to Armando for giving us the opportunity to really understand and appreciate Portugal and the art Portuguese wine making. We look forward to our next adventure with not just Armando our tour guide, but Armando our friend!! read more

We can't say enough about our day with Armando. We booked a private tour from Lisbon, just myself and my husband. We toured Sintra and then visited a surfing village and had lunch in the most wonderful restaurant with breathtaking views on the water with the freshest grouper we've ever tasted. From there we visited two wineries and tasted delicious Portuguese wine. Armando was the best tour guide and made us feel like we were family. We will definitely be calling him when we return! read more

We recently joined Armando on an all-day tour of Portuguese wines. We visited 3 different wineries and had lunch at a very authentic local restaurant. Armando knows a lot about Portuguese wine and Portuguese history. He is very engaging and entertaining. Speaks multiple language, and is a very safe driver. We had a fantastic time and will most certainly book one of his many tours when we return to Lisbon. read more

Taking a tour with Armando Caetano is a MUST. We had the tour catered to what we wanted to see. Armando is very knowledgable about the Country and the wine region. He took us to wine vineyards, lunch on the sea coast, Sintra and Cascais. The information provided to us by Armando about the Palace in Sintra was exceptional. I would highly recommend taking any tour of Lisbon or the surrounding areas with Armando. I plan to return and book more than one tour with Armando again. He is THE BEST! read more

I wanted a special day to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday and Armando made sure it was absolutely memorable. First of all, he's an amazing company and tour guide. The wine tour was well planned with a local winemaker who showed a lot of passion and taught us a lot (not overwhelmingly) about Portuguese wines. This is perfect if you don't know anything about wine but you appreciate good quality wine and food. Needless to say the day was perfect. Wine perfect, food perfect, company perfect. Worth every second. Highly recommended! read more

My husband and I had a wonderful time on the half-day wine tour with Armando! Everything we experienced -- from the communication leading up to the day, to our drive and conversation with Armando, to the delicious wine and educational tours of the vineyard -- was absolutely perfect! Armando was so kind and funny, sharing with us information about his beautiful country and answering all of our many questions throughout the day. We were paired up with another lovely couple who made the experience that much better! It was fun to take in the culture and new region with other curious travelers. Armando is truly talented at what he does. He took us to two different wineries (Casa Santos Lima and Manz in Lisboa Wine Region), both wonderful yet completely different in terms of operation/size and location. It was such a cool experience seeing the two wineries and tasting their delicious products! I now know a lot more about the process of making wine and how to pair things appropriately. This tour is valuable for both amateur winos as well as those with more knowledge or experience. I look forward to recommending Armando to anyone I know traveling to Portugal! read more

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Planning a trip overseas can be exciting and stressful. Armando enhanced the excitement and completely eliminated the stress! Our first day with Armando began when he promptly met us in the lobby of our hotel at 9:15 am with a big smile and a ton of enthusiasm. We got comfortably seated in his spacious Mercedes Sprinter van and we were off! As we drove towards the coast, Armando was engaging, answering all of our "Portugal" questions and curiosities. It's so apparent that he has such a deep love for his country. Upon our arrival at our first vineyard we were greeted by a lovely young woman who was awaiting our arrival. Our Portugal wine education began! From there, after a stop for a lunch along the Atlantic coast, we continued on to our second vineyard where the winemaker was waiting for us. At that point we spent the next couple of hours with him at 2 different wineries. Armando was constantly adding many interesting notes along the way. Finally, he drove us back to Lisbon and dropped us back at our hotel at approximately 7:30 PM! We were never rushed, we were able to linger along the way for as long as it took to experience the wine. Armando truly planned a spectacular day from start to finish. Our second day spent with Armando was in response to our request to end the day in Evora, and to experience Alentejo along the way. Another well planned day by Armando! After a 9:00am pick up at our hotel, Armando drove us on a very scenic 2 hour drive to our first Alentejo winery. Followed by a truly charming lunch stop at a very local tapas restaurant we continued on to another vineyard. Here, Armando personally gave us a tour of the winemaking process. Finally, we arrived in Evora where Armando dropped us in the town center, while he parked his van, and met us for a cultural walking tour of Evora. Armando was extremely informative and we definitely learned a great deal about this region. We were ultimately dropped at our Evora hotel and Armando returned to Lisbon. I can't say enough about Armando's professional and fun demeanor. He truly elevated our visit to Portugal in so many ways. Between the history, the exposure to the wines, restaurant suggestions in Lisbon, his enthusiasm was amazing! We were glad we planned a trip to Portugal with all of the other places we were considering. Portugal is different from other wine regions we have visited in Europe, which made the trip so interesting. Armando's insight enabled us to leave with a better understanding of Portugal, its wines and its people. You are in for a treat!! read more

We are two couples who had enjoyed a wine tour together in Australia and decided to try one in Portugal. We chose the Lisboa tour. Armando was very easy to work with to set up the tour, gave us precise instructions for a convenient meeting point and was prompt. There was one other couple. We had a fantastic time. The whole day was upbeat, fun and convivial. It was not just going to wineries and tasting wines. Each stop included an extensive tour and description of the winemaking process. We learned much more than we expected and saw a lot of beautiful and interesting sights. The wine was all excellent and interesting. Lunch on the ocean was scenic and delicious. Highly recommended Armando's tours. read more