Local Tour Guides or DIY

Often, the Rick Steves guidebook will have some guide suggestions in each city's section.

We used a guide from the RS guidebook that is also one of his Portugal tour guides, for a tour of the Sintra region. She asked us what we wanted to see and made suggestions on what she felt we could see on our own. It was well worth the money we paid.

hey hey rmill.ace
wou're welcome to check these sites out. don't know what you are not seeing on the tour or your budget. many tours are private own and make their own rates knowing many will pay or not. my own opinion is that some feel if you can travel you can pay!! plus many guides go to school/classes to get a "license" that cost them money & pass it on
guruwalk.com
free walking tours, guided tours in lisbon at a cost,
discoverwalks.com click lisbon
Taxi Lx Mar (she is on facebook ) ([email protected])
she is a taxi driver and does tours, email her and see what she offers & rates.
tukdreams.pt
look at tours and email them for rates
airbnb/experiences/lisbon
click culture tours and your dates. # of people
in a few cities we talked to empty taxi waiting, asked them to take us on a tour for an hour or so, gave him what we wanted to pay, was yes or no. he said yes and off we went. money in his pocket
hope you find something to your liking, friends just got back from lisbon/porto and absolutely loved it. enjoy
aloha

We always get a rental car and go on our own. It takes some research, but we find plenty of interesting places to visit that are not in most tourists radar, especially in small towns.

jules m/ margie> Thanks for the guide book suggestion. It's a source that I did not know about. It may be helpful now and on future trips.

princess pupule> Thank you so much for going to the trouble of providing this info. I'm going to check them all out.

jaimeelsabio> You and I are on the same wave length!! My wife and I have driven MANY miles all over Europe doing our own thing. We have traveled to some amazing places, met some amazing locals, and enjoyed many out-of-the-tourist-box things. If a rental rental car floated or could fly, it would be my only mode of transportation.LOL

hey hey rmill.ace
you're welcome. traveling with my friends put me in charge of searching for things to do & see. when i find things run it by them and we all decide together.
gpsmycity.com
type in lisbon or any other city, download the app and look at all the different self guided walks available and what they offer.
pasteisdebelem.pt
famous for their custard cups. visit the shop and enjoy the pastries and other goodies. my mom's family were from the azores, took a ship to hawaii (big island) and worked the sugar plantations & ranches. mom baked and cooked the food from portugal which is so different here, the kings bakery hawaiian sweet rolls is mass produced and no comparison with our sweet bread from back home in hawaii. like our homemade portuguese sausage is not chorizo or linguisa. i was spoiled and am old school. enjoy your meals in lisbon. have a fabulous and fun time
aloha

princess> Sorry for the tardy reply. We have been traveling again. I looked into all of your suggestions and find that the Taxi Lx Mar option may suit us well. The others were good, but require a lot of walking. I want to see a country without exercising. LOL. As you suggested, I emailed her and am waiting for a reply. Hope it works out.

We have been to now 50+ countries and have seen enough structures made of rock to last us a life time. LOL We now prefer a local guide to take us off the beaten path.

Again, thank you.

Great discussion — many travelers face the same dilemma between doing everything on their own or hiring a guide. From my experience in Portugal, the best approach is often to mix both: spend part of the time exploring freely and, at certain points, rely on a local guide who can reveal details you’d probably miss otherwise.

In Porto, I had an excellent experience with a small local team called Bluedragon. They only operate in the city, with knowledgeable local guides who adapt the route to your interests — private tours are also available, which helps avoid large groups. It’s a great option if you want something authentic rather than overly touristy.

In Lisbon, there’s Boost Portugal, which follows the same philosophy — local guides, flexible itineraries, and a focus on genuine cultural experiences.

For travelers who like to combine independent discovery with guided moments, these kinds of local options offer a very good balance between convenience and authenticity.

debora> I looked at the Boost website. Had I known about it, I probably could have saved myself many days of research and planning. LOL

Much of our 8 days in country are now planned. But, I have not been successful in finding a food tour that did not involve a lot of walking. Exercise during vacation is never on my agenda. LOL. So I am focusing on the Portuguese Cooking Class with Meal. There won't be as many tastings, but I am an amateur chef who has done other cooking classes around the world. All great experiences.

Thank you!!

hey hey rmill.ace
i'm with you about no walking, have bad knees and too old for it. have you heard from the taxi lady?
we were in geneva for 2 days few years ago then onto annecy for 6 nights. we found an empty taxi with driver at stop. asked if he would take us on one hour or so tour around the area, pay him cash 100E + tip, we were so happy and so was he was a great tour and dropped us off at flower clock on the lake.
eatwith.com/ lisbon
check headers above (dinner, lunch, cooking classes, food tour etc). many are prepared in a residents home to enjoy with a small group. you can use them for other cities
we also used some tuk tuks, rickshaws in different cities. i loved it. hoping you find what you're looking for or whatever floats your
boat., be careful with that bee under your bonnet!! HA HA good luck have fun
aloha

Have a good trip!