Private Sintra & Cascais Experience – Skip the Line

Rui was wonderful. We left the itinerary and timing up to him - and his choices were superb. We had one mobility challenged participant and Rui was kind and attentive to helping him. We thoroughly enjoyed our day.

We booked with Rui based on his reviews, and how responsive he was to our questions. We had high hopes, and he exceeded them in every way! Rui picked us up in a comfortable vehicle, and we were off on our adventure. When you are with Rui, you won’t feel like you are with a tour guide - you’ll feel like you are spending the day with a dear friend who is excited to show you his home, and to share his deep love of the area and knowledge of its history. He expertly navigated the streets of Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais while answering our questions. In Sintra, Rui made reservations for our lunch at a spot favored by the locals and it was the best meal of our visit! So thankful for his insight regarding the crowds, parking and timing of our visits to the palaces in Sintra. If we’d have been on our own, the day would’ve been more stressful and less enjoyable. On our way back to Lisbon at the end of the day, Rui made some dinner recommendations before dropping us off. He followed up with messages containing more details of local history. We genuinely loved our day with Rui, wished we had more time with him and hope to book with him again someday!

This was our second day with Rui, having toured Lisbon with him the previous day. As we drove to Sintra, Rui continued to share some of his limitless knowledge of Portugal and Sintra. The tour of the castle was very enlightening. Rui was our guide. He explained the significance of the features of the many rooms. His timing of when to arrive was spot on, it was as though we had the Castle to ourselves. We drove to the top of the mountain to view the other castles, but chose not to enter them because of the amount of walking that would require. We had lunch at another restaurant Rui recommended. Again a wonderful eating experience. Afterwards we drove back to Lisbon on the costal route. Rui was more than willing to keep going but it had been a full day and we asked to be dropped back at our hotel. If anyone is considering a trip to Sintra, I wholeheartedly recommend Rui.

Rui was fabulous - the perfect choice for a guide - he was flexible and able to help us around some issues and changes. His knowledge and passion made for wonderful story telling. (without overloading us) Good driver and we always felt safe. And he helped us with choices on the fly. He also had great recommendations for Lisbon.

Rui was the perfect guide. Helpful, knowledgeable, and discreet. Our two days with him could not have been more enjoyable. Perfect frankly.

Rui’s knowledge of Lisbon and surrounding areas such as Sintra and Cascais is impressive, and his love for his country is evident. We had two amazing tours with Rui and could not have enjoyed our days more. He gave us time to enjoy areas on our own as well as guiding us, and he made two amazing restaurant reservations for us that did not disappoint. Would highly recommend Rui!