Last Minute Trip to Portugal - Help!

Porto : I would recommend Se Cathedral which is a Hilton Tapestry hotel. Very new modern and fun … if that is what you like. . Reserved two nights … ended up adding one more . Excellent service. Excellent and varied breakfast buffet.
Clean, Friendly, and Professional employees in every area . Great location by bridge to see port wine tours, five minute walk to train station, excellent dining options few blocks away and , near riverfront if you want to relax or take a boat tour.
Next door to St. Clair’s church. Google review with photos will be up soon.
We went on the oldest port wine tour due to it being less expensive. 14€ pp vs 20€ pp at the bigger place. Our guide was friendly and w good basic knowledge. Others in our tour were surprisingly from a neighboring town from our home, so we had a great time tasting our ports and talking in tasting room .
We took train from Lisbon to Sintra which worked out great . Try and set a time limit when you take your tour because you can end up spending too much time at one castle/palace and miss out on seeing a second ior third.
Pena Palace really does not give leeway to time reserved on your pre-purchased ticket . If there is a chance you will not be within 15-30 min of your time then buy your tickets when you arrive.
In Lisbon, Try to visit the waterfront area where there is a large white tribute statue to those who were explorers - especially on a nice day . Lovely walking this area as many locals mixed with tourists. Across street is the “‘real” pasties custard shop where we got them warm -just out of the oven .

We reserved a guide for a full day and although the price seemed high … it was well worth it to learn the history behind churches, castles, monasteries, neighborhoods, assisted us with using the buses, selecting an authentic restaurant for lunch , She had her professional guide badge so we could go directly into historical locations without waiting in the line which reduced wasted time. She gave us recommendations for other things to do and see. And what to pass up. A professional and pleasant guide from 9-5:30 on our first full day, all to ourselves, was a blessing.

Viator isn't a tour company, it's an aggregator. So the tours they show are offered by different tour companies. When you click the "more information" it will show who the tour operator is.

Thanks, mvz. I was looking at this hotel and did book it. Also booked a Hilton in Lisbon as well.

Do you know if they have such a thing as private tour guides to take us around for half a day or so? I have tried contacting several but no responses.

For a hotel in Lisbon I can recommend the Hotel Chiado. It is located in a charming central historic area with easy access to all of the touristic sites. We have had several visitors stay there and they have been very happy. For a tour guide Pats Madeira is highly recommended. https://lisbonwithpats.com.

Hello,

In Porto i suggest a tuk tuk tour, try to reserve the boat tour on Douro that is amazing, and some wine tastes.

For Lisbon the train is very confortable and it gets to the tourist center at the center of the city right near the sea.

Enjoy the best.