I've been in Lisbon for a week now and have taken every opportunity to explore its main attractions. And in doing so, one thing is certain; you can easily spend all of your vacation time in this area of Portugal and be completely satisfied; there is just so much to see and do. But for those that want more, that want to venture out a little further to see what else Portugal has to offer, I decided to visit a city called Sintra. And to do so, I went with an Airbnb Experience to facilitate the process.
It was a seven-person group in which Canada, Mexico, Belgium, and the USA were represented. We jumped into a nice comfortable van and made our way to our first stop: the Capela de Santa Eufemia. Here the host discussed and showed us one of Portugal's biggest and most important exports: cork, which is harvested from trees once every nine years. That cork is used to create many of the items we see and use today, most famously, wine bottle corks. But one can make just about anything with this type of material, such as bookmarks, shoes, and handbags.
Unfortunately, the colorful palace in the first photo wasn't on todays itinerary. The palace we did go to was the Quinta da Regaleira, and it was terrific. I know I said earlier that you could spend all your time in Lisbon and you would be perfectly satisfied, it's true, but, If you can spare the time, I highly recommend visiting this place. So much so, it's almost a must-visit when in Portugal.
The housing quarter is cool and all; you see some cool things inside, but the garden area is where the magic is. It's a beautiful labyrinth of trails full of trees, flowers, structures, and the coolest part, underground passages.
After that, we worked up quite the appetite and had dinner at a little place called Pensao Sisudo. Although the entire tour up to this point seemed well structured, it was during this stop that really showcased it. We had a table waiting for us, a menu that wasn't overly complicated, and everything went extremely smooth. The food was great, the people were great, and it was all on point. I can't recommend this place enough.
Not too far from the restaurant was our next stop: Praia da Adraga. There was almost no people; it was a sunny day, and with a newfound appreciation for beaches after spending months in Eastern Europe, it put a smile on my face; I loved it.
After that, we made our way further down the coastline to Cabo da Roca, which presents you with spectacular views and a picturesque lighthouse. Not lingering too much at this location due to all the visitors, our host then took us to the next and final stop in which, after a brief hike, was much more secluded and offered a fantastic panorama view of the coastline. It is called the Capela de Nossa Senhora de Peninha.
So are Airbnb experiences worth it? For this particular Experience, yes. I can't say that across the board because I had a somewhat negative experience in Belgrade, Serbia, in which I signed up for one, and at the last minute, he canceled. And he then tried to refund me my money back in person. So it got a little weird. However, in Portugal, it was one of the best decisions I made as a tourist in the last nine months. That's how much I enjoyed it.
I do believe that what made this so great was the tour guide. One of the things that he did well was creating a bond between the individuals in the group. He often encouraged us to to to work together and encouraged dialogue amongst us all. When the tour ended back in Lisbon, the group (minus the host) continued to hang out for an additional three hours of drinking and eating at a recommended restaurant. It was a good time all around.
How To Choose A Great Airbnb Experience
If you've never gone on one of these tours, I do have a few recommendations because they could get pricey in terms of cost and, more importantly, time. When seeking out Airbnb Experiences, you should always choose one that is willing to pick you up from one part of the country and transport you to another (especially when public transportation is questionable) so that you're able to see and do more as efficiently as possible. And in doing so, you eliminate so many headaches involved with getting from point A to point B. My hypothesis was that I could have opted for a train and multiple buses to get to where I went on this tour, but that it would have been a colossal nightmare. I was 100% correct.
A few days after the tour, I went back to Cabo da Roca using only public transportation and it was a mess! Do you ever want to fight (not really, but kind of) your way into an overcrowded bus when on vacation? Me neither, but it happened. More on that in the next video/article.
What about tours that keep you in the city? Are they worth it? It depends on who you are, but for me, not really. At that point, a free city walking tour is more than enough. To pay for a service, it must supply me with something that will facilitate a difficult task, and in this situation, it was transportation. And for that reason, I highly recommend that when seeking out Experiences on Airbnb, it's best to make sure they show you something far from where you're staying.
[Side Note:
The above perspective has amplified my travels since day one. And in time, it led me to create the Planet-TreX travel service in which I am a Travel Coordinator, a.k.a Sidekick. The service offers any aspiring world traveler the following: a friend waiting for them in any European country. The traveler and the Sidekick then set off on backpacking multiple European countries together. Not only is a Sidekick dedicated to building a custom itinerary to your liking, but is with you every step of the way and someone that genuinely has your back when exploring the far reaches of European countries. Click Here for more information or visit Planet-TreX.com and explore the Travel Service info page.]
Back to Portugal: The second thing you should do is dive deep into other travelers' reviews. If the host will be driving you from one place of the country to another, that's a good first step. But if you have to spend one or two hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic, then that's not very fun. I looked into one Experience in Bucharest, Romania, where they would take me from Bucharest to a city in Bulgaria. After reading some of the reviews, it was apparent that the drive time was a big turn off. After all, who goes on vacation to sit in traffic for hours on end? Again, dive deep into the reviews and make sure that there isn't a lot of lag.
When in Lisbon, I highly highly recommend that you seek out this Experience; you will not regret it.
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