Lisbon City Private Tour

We had an amazing day exploring Lisbon with Joao! He was punctual, friendly, and incredibly knowledgeable about the city’s history and culture. What really stood out was how he took us beyond the usual tourist spots — showing us local favorites and hidden gems we never would’ve found on our own. Joao’s passion for Lisbon made the whole experience special, and he tailored the day perfectly to our interests. If you want to truly see the heart of the city and learn from someone who loves it, I can’t recommend Joao enough!

Our tour of Sintra with Joao was incredible! His knowledge, sense of humor and warmth made the day truly unforgettable! The gorgeous scenery, delicious food and learning the history of this beautiful region was special. We didn’t feel like we were on an “tour” but traveling with a local friend. Our day with Joao was perfection!

Joao was a great host! This was a perfect way to get an overview of the entire city. We hit all the highlights. Recommended.

Travel can be challenging in general, but traveling with special needs requires additional adaptability and patience. We can be hesitant if not outright skeptical of adventures with my son and (autistic) daughter in unfamiliar places. But Joao changed all that... Over the course of seven days, we toured Lisbon, Sintra, Cascais, Cabo de Roca, Óbidos, Aveiro, Porto, and a brief excursion to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Over that period, we had an air flight delay (upon arrival), (limited) attraction closures due to the possibility of forest fires, and other uncontrollable circumstances. It didn't matter. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Joao knows Portugal and can pivot with the best of them! He will pay attention as he gets to know his clients, propose adjustments or share his personal insights to not just guide you - but acclimate you to Portugal. His grasp of the country - its culture, economy, history, gastronomy, night life, influence on other countries, etc. - is limitless. We always had a reasonable game plan for the day, but flexibility to adjust based on my daughter's capabilities. It's also important to note that Joao was curious. He (respectfully) asked questions to learn more about my daughter and how she saw things, processed her surroundings, etc. It showed me that he wanted to make this an unforgettable experience for her - and he was going to figure it out! As for my son, they loved quizzing each other on geography, politics, and generally laughing along the way. Joao shared stories of his adventures with his children and we all felt like we were no longer with a tour operator but a family friend. We were traveling with extended family on this trip, and we all had positive, reaffirming moments where Joao took time to connect, to share and to engage. We are so glad that we had this adventure in Portugal, but we are truly grateful that our family had it with Joao.

My extended family (7 of us) were treated royally by Joao who managed to plan and execute an ambitious 9-day tour of Lisbon, Sintra, Porto, Obidos, Evora and Galicia (ES), such that a couple in their golden years were just as entertained as their 13-year-old grandson. Joao is gregarious, engaging and acutely sensitive to the needs of his clients, adapting with grace and facility to contingencies. While the trip was planned to almost every detail, his wit, charm and persistence secured favorable outcomes for us with vendors he knows and does not know (e.g. last-minute tables, tickets, etc.). His encyclopedic knowledge of Portuguese history, culture and international affairs sparked spirited dialogue with mutual respect and learning during our long drives and tours. Most of all, Joao's passion and love for his home country is infectious and left us with a keen interest in returning to explore more (hopefully with him)! Go Green!

We had two great tour days with João. He was very informative, and quickly knew what we liked and how to tailor the day for us. I would highly recommend João to anyone looking for a fantastic, energetic, knowledgeable and fun guide who has tons of experience throughout Portugal.

João was AMAZING!!! His love of Lisbon is incredible; he takes you places you’d never see on your own! Thank you João for 8 hours of sheer delight! We will pass your name on to other Canadians who will visit beautiful Portugal.

The tours were excellent. Wonderful, personality and attentiveness to detail . we will highly recommended to others. Communication and knowledge were outstanding. I was entertaining and informative.

Joao was our guide for our Sintra day tour with a lunch stop off in Cascais. He is so knowledgeable and approachable. He made Sintra come to life. We will definitely use João once again for our next trip.

Joao is amazing! He is knowledgeable, friendly, and passionate about his work. He was so patient with our group and customized the tour to our liking. I would recommend him to anyone. Please book with him!

Amazing tour and amazing tour guide. I highly recommend the 4 hour walking tour. You won’t regret it. We love learning the history of Lisbon and familiarizing ourselves with Lisbon. JOÃO has great recommendations and lots of tips for spending time in Lisbon.

Wow! Our tour was amazing!! We were just in Portugal for about 36 hours and Joào made the most of it. He picked us up at the airport and took us on a tour of the coast including Sintra (which was beautiful). The next day, he picked us up at our hotel and took us to all the sights of Lisbon. At the end, of our whirlwind trip, he took us to the airport for the next leg of our journey. Highly recommend. Great tour with an AWESOME guide!!

We used the services of Joao Guadalpi in 4 consecutive days in October 2023. Tours which started in our hotel in Lisbon to various directions: Setubal, Evora, Sintra and city tour. We were extremely satisfied with Joao, his pleasant attitude, his deep knowledge of the history and understanding and knowing the places we toured. the tours were eight hours long, with recommendation on authentic restaurants of the region for lunch and coffee and typical pastery of the region. Me and my wife strongly recommend hiring the services of Joao. His e-mail: joao.guadalpi@westptours.com Benni (Prof.) and Hanna Drenger

João made our short visit to Portugal a 10! My husband and I felt so lucky to be in his hands as he toured us through Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais. João made us feel like instant friends and generously shared the history of his country with us and took us to all his favorite spots, which quickly became ours. João is a gem and Lisbon now feels like home to us. I strongly recommend his services if you are traveling to Lisbon. Obrigado João!

We were supposed to travel in Portugal in October 2020, due to the COVID we were able to make the trip in September 2022. The decision to tour Lisbon with Joao was then and remains. We enjoyed every moment of the tour, we toured a comprehensive tour of Lisbon, lots of information about life and history in Portugal. Joao is knowledgeable about the culture, history and wealth of spirit, fun and what Portugal has to offer in terms of good food, wine, art, music and fado (music that is close to our hearts) and places to see. At the same time, he guides wisely, listens to what we wanted to experience and finds the optimal way to adapt our desire to the world of his rich content about his country. Joao is a warm intelligent person, quick witted and endowed with a kind natural sense of humor, during our tour we tasted at Marisqueira Cervejaria Ramiro, and enjoyed pasteis de belem for the first time. We received a recommendation to contact him and we continue and forward to recommend him to all our friends.

We book Joao for two days in September just as tropical storm Danielle was arriving in Lisbon. Joao picked us up promptly on time and was so friendly and he decided to change our day up due to the weather. He was so gracious even though it pour buckets of rain all day long. He took us to an amazing private wine tasting wine shoppe and it was fabulous! We were all so soaking wet and the windows were steaming up but he turned up the heat and open the windows a little so we could get air. The second day we went to Belem and had amazing day seeing the historic sites. Wonderful pastries and walked old town with great tapas wine wine. All in all I would hands down recommend in over any other private tour operator. He was amazing!!! We feel like we actually made a friend with Joao.

Joao is very professional with very good English and know a lot about History of Portugal, about Lisbon and the area. We learnt a lot and enjoyed the day with him very much.