Portugal Mother-Daughter Trip Review: Lagos, Lisbon, Benagil Caves, Ponta da Piedade, Jeronimos Monastery, Sintra, Cascais

Review by traveler

Laurie B.

5.23.2022

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Portugal

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

This weeklong mother/daughter trip to Lagos and Lisbon was amazing. We shared a trip of a lifetime together and enjoyed a variety of activities. We felt special staying in an ocean view room with a walkout porch overlooking the ocean at our hotel in Lagos. Everything about this boutique hotel was gorgeous. The food was phenomenal - our best in Portugal! A beautiful nearby beach was only a 10 minute walk away where we were able to enjoy nature and afterward sit and have a smoothie. Lagos was an easy taxi ride and we visited/shopped/ate there in between excursions. One day we took a private boat tour to the Benagil Caves that was breathtaking. The guide and driver made us feel safe and was very informative. Our favorite tour was kayaking to Ponta da Piedade which was closer to our hotel. Our guide made this trip our top experience with his protective nature, witty personality, and strong love of his country, explaining the history of the caves and his culture. We also booked a half day jeep tour of the coast on our own through the hotel and enjoyed seeing the surfing areas, lighthouse and many beaches. In Lisbon we stayed in a great walking location hotel, which was beautiful and well appointed. Our travel agency booked us personal walking tours which provided much city information in our short two day stay there. The Jeronimos Monastery was lovely, and we enjoyed eating Belem pastries "next door" afterward. We also walked to the Monument to the Discoveries and Belem Tower. Another day we drove to Sintra and toured Pena Palace. We ate a delicious seafood lunch at a seaside restaurant in Cascais. One evening we took a sunset cruise on a beautiful 32 foot sailboat and saw Lisbon from the water -- beautiful scenery with welcoming staff. Our travel agency was quick to assist us when we had questions, or problems. It was obvious they wanted us to enjoy Portugal as much as they did. We felt safe in their hands.

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

We both loved Lagos because we love outdoors and outdoor activities. As mentioned above, our kayak tour was our favorite. Walking on the beach near our hotel, shopping in Lagos, which was very traveler friendly, was enjoyable as well. Having beautiful hotels at both locations relaxed us and gave us the energy to go explore again. My daughter enjoyed Lisbon and big city life since she's used to it; me, not so much. Portuguese people are very kind and welcoming and we felt safe everywhere, which in today's society is wonderful. Beautiful scenery wherever we went will now mean we design a picture book for our memories!
We highly recommend a direct flight if you're coming from the US. We learned that Tap Portugal only did direct flights from Chicago on Sundays, Wednesday, Fridays. The flight was 8-9 hours as it was and a stopover would have been disaster! Be sure to check your options of travel!

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Not a big fan of the train from Lisbon to the Algarve. The 3 hour start and stop train took up too much time and wasn't as nice as an experience as I had on the high speed trains from Rome to Naples. I would have preferred flying. Also, I would skip Pena Palace. We wasted several hours just getting in to tour the Palace due to their poor planning for guests. My daughter said there were other interesting ones. We needed a better description of them so we could have made a better selection. Also, a four hour walking tour we took in Lisbon after riding a 3 hour train was too long! We would have skipped walking down to the Naval Yard since we had run out of energy by then.

Portugal Mother-Daughter Trip Review: Lagos, Lisbon, Benagil Caves, Ponta da Piedade, Jeronimos Monastery, Sintra, Cascais

General Info

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

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