Exciting One-Week Lisbon Itinerary for Families

Zicasso's travel agent was very easy to work with. She put together a great itinerary for our family vacation. She listened to our interests and also included some unique experiences for us that we would never have been able to set up on our own. She was also very quick to take care of some miscommunication at one of our hotels when we got to Lisbon and quickly got it resolved for us. Her communication was great and she took good care of us.

The travel agent from Zicasso's tour company planned for my family of four the most spectacular and luxurious two-week trip around Portugal. We traveled to and enjoyed the highlights of Lisbon, the romantic architecture in Sintra, the incredible history of Évora, the beautiful coastline of the Algarve, the laid-back atmosphere and gorgeous scenery of Madeira, the beautiful, historical, bustling city of Porto, and the stunning scenery of the Douro Valley. 

The travel agent's suggestions and bookings were all perfectly aligned with what we envisioned and the accommodations booked were all beautifully appointed and family-oriented – five-star hotels that catered to the entire family, with indoor pools and kids greeted with backpacks and toys at the door, and nightly treats on pillows.

The tour guides booked were all very knowledgeable and kind. They were patient with my two- and four-year-olds, and taught us all so many new, amazing things.

Every day was a highlight, but I would say my girls really enjoyed the tile painting as well as the pastel de nata-making workshops.

My husband and I really enjoyed Évora and Sintra, and truly seeing the beauty and history of it all.

We absolutely fell in love with Portugal, the culture, and the food. My only regret is not having more time so we could’ve seen the Azores as well and stayed even longer. 

We so look forward to this travel agent planning us another perfect vacation in the near future!

Zicasso’s travel agent and his team did a terrific job planning a two-and-a-half-week trip for my husband and myself. He understood what we were looking for in terms of a mix of guided tours and time to explore on our own, a mix of history and nature, a mix of urban and natural beauty, and planned an itinerary which reflected all of this. He always responded quickly when I raised questions or wanted further clarification during the planning phase before our trip.

During our trip, he and his team member always responded quickly when we had any questions. We were updated each day with the itinerary for the next day, including contact information for drivers. Transitions went smoothly.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short by two days due to a death in the family. They were so incredibly kind and took care of all of the required changes. But as important as taking care of the details and changes, what stood out to us the most was how caring, kind, and responsive the team was before and throughout the trip. They were genuinely invested in us enjoying their beautiful country and in offering us activities we would not necessarily have found on our own.

Logistics: We actually cleared customs and baggage claim very quickly in Lisbon upon arrival. We were able to get to the train station and change our ticket to a train two hours earlier. We were able to notify them such that our driver was waiting for us when we came in. In general, all our drivers and vehicles were top quality (especially our driver in Porto). Our only issue here is that sometimes the pick-up times were far too early for transport to rail stations, especially the one in Albufeira. We arrived well over an hour early in what is not one of the nicest train stations in Portugal.

Hotels: All of the hotels were well located. Some were a little unique, i.e., you opened the room door in Lagos and right in front of you was the toilet area, but all the rooms were adequate, with one exception. We found it somewhat frustrating there was no seating other than the bed in all three hotels, other than the desk chair, or in the case of Lisbon, the small hassock used at the desk. Yes, Lagos had a balcony, but it was not usable due to all the rain. This was especially true in Lisbon, where according to the pictures sent in our itinerary, there was a large sofa in the room for the class we picked, but there was nothing in the room we were assigned. One other little glitch is that when we changed our schedule to drop a night in Lagos and add one in Lisbon, the hotel told us we had our original four-night reservation and then a one-night reservation for the night we came in early. The desk clerk tried to tell us we could check in, but would have to check out in the morning and wait until check-in time the next day to get our new four-night reservation room. I did clear this up with the hotel supervisor the next morning, but if they would have held their position, it would have been very awkward.

Excursions: All the activities they put together were spectacular. They’ve really spoiled us to having travel that doesn’t include 20 to 30 people. The most amazing was the dinner at the winery, as we were the only ones there. The first tour in Porto was a little rough, as it was cold and rainy, and after an overnight flight the day before, we weren’t really expecting a food tour starting at 9am, but it all worked out. Also, the fado dinner was great, although I must say, I don’t usually finish dinner at 22:30.

We are so very thankful that we selected this travel company to be our go-to partner in Portugal. It was a pleasure working with them and they were able to put together a program with what we wanted, not some cookie-cutter program that we needed to comply with. I will be giving a strong recommendation to any of our friends who are considering Portugal as a destination and we’re hoping other Zicasso operators are of the same quality when we visit other destinations.

Thanks again for everything!

Just to clarify one thing, the dinner ending at 22:30 was not a complaint; it was an observation about having a new experience, especially since it was connected to the Fado dinner.

Bob F. and Conni A.

My husband and I took our longest yet trip without the kids to Portugal. Every detail was handled by the travel specialist and Zicasso's tour operator. It was so easy… I put in the things we liked to do and our budget, and voilà, itineraries appeared like magic. The travel specialist was very responsive to my requests to see additional hotel options and swap out a free day location. It was a well-balanced itinerary and we absolutely loved the mix of free time and small group tours. 

All of our tour guides were born in Portugal and provided a great experience and knowledge. I especially appreciated that at every transfer point, the driver came as far into the stations as possible (it made it very easy to find them) and also stayed with us to ensure we were secure at our next location (i.e., we had no problems with check-in or fado tickets, for example). 

Thank you for making our trip stress-free, safe, and extremely enjoyable! We especially loved the small group wine tour in the Douro Valley and the walking food tour, which included the Lisbon market.