Portugal expert: Joel

“My Travel Ladies (6 in total, all over 70) and I spent 10 days with Joel throughout Portugal, and we all felt it was simply excellent. I started working with Joel in August and nailed down our trip. We discussed sites important to us, where we wanted a guide, and hotel levels. His suggestions were spot on and we could not have been happier. I recommend him for his kindness, his communication and overall ability to meet our needs. Joel has a beautiful sense of humor that blended with all of us. My one wish is that I could work with him on our next adventure but, we all now feel Portugal is like a second home. Beautiful trip!”

“Our agent was very helpful and responsive to our requests for changes to customise our trip. He met us at the airport and was available throughout our trip to offer support and advice.”

“We had a great time. Joel was a wonderful host and took great care of us. He was knowledgeable and friendly. We enjoyed our time with him.   The trip went very well. All the accommodations were more than we expected, and the sights/events chosen gave us a full view of Portugal. I would whole-heartedly recommend Rough Guides and Joel for anyone considering Portugal.    The only suggestion I would make is that an electric vehicle is not the best choice for long car rides. To manage the battery life, we had to go very slow, but we did enjoy our time with Joel on the drives. Electric is great for short visits like Sintra and Belhem, but for the longer drives the technology is not yet there.”

“Our guide (Joel) set up a perfect 10 day itinerary for us in Portugal-based on our requests. He was available at all times if we needed anything. Our tours were with small groups (ideal) and all set up for us. The hotels were also wonderful. We will definitely use Rough Guides in our future travel. ”

“Itinerary fitted our needs. Travel book was very useful and well put together. Joel (our host) was always available and easy to reach and provided good advice as well as addressing last minute requests for changes.”

“I'm not sure where to send this so I'll start here. My parents just reached out to me to ask whether I'd told you how exceptional our experience was in our recent (May 2024) trip to Portugal and, particularly, how wonderful our guide, Joel (mylisbonholidays), was. I let them know I had not, but that I would. At any rate, I wanted to pass this on. Joel made our trip exceptional himself, with meticulous planning to ensure my mother, who is disabled, could participate to the degree possible. Her ability to walk is significantly compromised, yet he "made it happen". He, personally, pushed her around in a wheelchair in a number of circumstances that I was simply not able to or would have been limited. What an experience - I am eternally grateful to him for making this trip possible for my parents (85 and 89 respectively) and for making it a trip I (55) could enjoy without worry. I would recommend Joel and his company 100%. In fact, this experience was so good that my parents, who were thinking they were done with traveling outside the US, are contemplating another trip next year. As an aside, this was my second Rough Guides trip and I recently recommended you to another couple who is taking a trip with you to Italy in October. Thank you, ”