Day tour from Lisbon
This item appears on page 32 of the December 2014 issue.
Before joining a Douro River cruise in Portugal in June 2014, my husband and I booked a small-group day trip from Lisbon to Sintra and Cascais at $70 per person. We booked it through Viator (San Francisco, CA; 866/648-5873, www.viator.com).
Departing from and returning to the Hard Rock Café, the tour lasted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and included round-trip transportation in a van with a driver/guide, who provided commentary throughout the day, as well as admission to the Pena National Palace. At the palace, we had about 1½ hours of free time to guide ourselves through the interior.
Our guide/driver for the comfortable van, and what turned out to be a group of eight, was Augustus Silva (email augustus.silva23@gmail.com), who also represents Lisbon Ahead (phone +351 967 717 341, lisbonahead.com).
Gus recommended a nice restaurant with a special fixed-price meal at €30 (near $40) each, which included salad, entrée, dessert and wine.
We took an afternoon drive to the Cabo da Roca Lighthouse near Sintra, had 1½ hours of free time in Cascais, then drove through the seaside resort area of Estoril before returning to Lisbon.
Fluent in English, Gus is a great, safe driver with a most pleasant personality. He knows everything about Lisbon and the surrounding areas and can tailor a tour to suit your needs.