Sunny Portugal

CONS: . Communication with this company is appalling. . Processing a refund for a cancelled excursion took weeks + several phone calls. . Sales agents told lies to customer regarding excursion . Allowed a tour guest and his wife to remain on the tour despite the fact that he had a serious case of the flu with cough and fever. Persistently coughing over other tour guests. At the end of the tour 25 percent of tour guests had similar symptoms. . Informed by agent when asked, what is average age of tour guests on this tour? I was informed it to be between 45 and 55. The average age actually was 65 to 70. .Had an issue over travel insurance purchased with this company-very costly- realized did not need it. They were very reluctant to refund my cost even though it was less than 24 hours after purchase and three months before the tour date. PROS: .Tour Guide was excellent .Coach Driver, very skilled, safe and courteous. Vehicle Clean and comfortable. .

South Portugal part of the tour, Lagos, Faro, Sail Boat trip along the cliffs and caves.

Our travel agent booked the service for us. It went smoothly. The trip was enjoyable. Our tour manager was very nice, helpful and organized. The only problem I had is that the side trips were not always as advertised. For example the description for dinner at a castle made it sound like it included a tour of the castle when in reality it only included dinner in a restaurant that was located in a castle. Also the Madera extension description made it sound like we would have a Collette tour manager with us but in reality you hired a local tour/limo company to pick us up and take us around. The quality of service from this person was not as good as a Collette tour manager would have provided.

Beautiful country and well organized trip

Loved our tour guide, he had a great sense of humor, was very entertaining and was very considerate and polite. Enjoyed the Collette tour, loved that most dinners were included plus most tours were included. The accommodations were great, nothing to complain about.

It was a fantastic 9 days. Got to see lots and had some down time.

The agents are all helpful and pleasant. I would recommend them to my friends

Every dinner was a wonderful experience. We visited many different restaurants. Each had several choices of entree. The service was good and the food delicious. The Fado dinner was very interesting. The seafood was varied and tasty. The vineyards were beautiful and delicious. The city, historic sights and walking tours were all excellent.

My third or fourth time with Collette. This guide Javier was outstanding.

Very good in spite of cold & rain. Most memorable was a pastry shop, the cork factory and the tile factory. Loved the wineries-plus the wines for dinner

I would definitely buy again and recommend to friends. Great value for the money. First class hotels, food and the guide was wonderful.

The tour took us to visit tourist areas and also the little off the map special places in the small towns like the herb and liquor shop to taste astries and liquors and see a 2000 year old olive tree.

Guide went out of her way to give us a great experience. Trying to keep us dry from the rain. Collettte goes out of their way to give us a unique experince. Great lodging as well and really good bus drivers.

Loved the walled towns and walking tours.

Everything was planned out very well. Getting from and back to the airport was easy. The tour guide was excellent and the local guides were engaging. The hotels were simply magnificent. It was just a great experience over all.

The tour itself was great. The tour guide and local guides were excellent and informative. I really enjoyed seeing Cascais. Beautiful city. The countryside from the coach was nice, and the local foods excellent.

Everything was done very well. It was nice to have the Sedan ride with ways. The meals were very good and the tours were excellent. Being with only 35 guests plus the tour director and bus driver helped us to know one another,

Everything was a wonderful experience. We got our money's worth.

The guide was very knowledgeable and interesting. The trip was well organized. The accomadations were clean and comfortable. Overall, it was a good trip.

No one is perfect. The trip to Madeira was memorable.

Loved visiting Portugal. Collette gave a thorough tour visiting many beautiful locations. They provided immersive cultural experiences at local restaurants and businesses. We left feeling we needed to return again. The only reason for the 4 stars is the pace of the tour. There were days where too much was packed into the day giving us a feeling of being rushed. It would have been nice to spend more time in some of the small towns. Portugal is a destination worth visiting and Collette provides a wonderful experience.

The only reason for the 4 star rating is the rushed feeling we had because so much was packed into each day. It would have been nice to have a day or two added to the tour so we could have spent more time in the small towns.

The tour guide was terrific and most of the hotels were excellent, The restaurants and the meals were very good. I would have liked more free time and a little slower pace. I was disappointed that we never saw the famous castle in Sintra.

The pace was too fast and I would have liked more free time.

We have traveled with Collette on ten different excursions and have always been more than satisfied with the service they provide. The hotels are always first class, the guides knowledgeable, great food, great bus drivers and the excursions are very diverse and we have probably seen things that we would not have choosen.

From the time of planning to the end of the tour we have always been taken care of. We missed our connecting flight this last trip due to an emergency stop by the airline, We called the 800 # given to us to use in case of emergency we called to let them know the circumstances and they arranged a connecting flight and a late PU at our destination, also they contacted the hotel of our late arrival. That is service. Thank You!!

Too little free time. Tried to cram too much into too little time. spent too much time loading/unloading on bus.

Spent too much on bus. Not enough free time to explore sites visited.

The service Collette provided was very good. Pick up and drop off at the airport was fine, the hotels we stayed at were also fine, Sergio our guide was excellent and the places we visited were very interesting. One suggestion, provide more free time during your trips. Most of the travelers are senior citizens and find being out touring for 8-10 hours a day, several days in a row to be too much. Four hours per day is enough touring. I was over-tired by the end of the trip.

The tour is rated 4 stars mainly due to the insight provided by the tour manager about the places we visited and the historic background about Portugal. His knowledge made the sites we visited much more meaningful and his delivery was very entertaining. Portugal has a lot to offer. No one experience stands out above the rest.

As always, the sites, hotels and food were excellent. Sergio could verbalize a little more.

Madeira Island was the highlight. The beauty of the cliffs and countryside was breathtaking. The toboggan and cable car are a must do!

well coordinated daily trips, good choices of hotel locations, warmest, friendliest and well informed tour managers

mentioned it in the previous statement

We had an excellent tour guide, Maria.

We went to so many interesting places each day...good optional choices, too

Collette responded to questions very quickly. You planned a fun, interesting, and yet relaxing enough tour. When our plane was delayed in Paris because of mechanical problems, I called the emergency number and transportation was arranged for the much later arrival. Our tour manager was organized, knowledgeable, and fun. Great tour.

Seeing cork trees being harvested and learning about and seeing many products made from cork was an interesting highlight.

We'd definitely travel with Collette again. The trip was well organized, the hotels were lovely, the guide, *Personal Details removed by Feefo* , was fabulous - friendly and full of information. The tour took us to some places we would never have found on our own.

Loved Portugal and the historic places we visited.

Tour manager was well-organized, thoughtful and kind. Liked having exploring time at several locations.

Liked the blend of historical and present-day Portugal. Enjoyed the tours of the cork factory and the tile factory.

COLLETTE DID A FANTASTIC JOB, RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL. OUR TOUR DIRECTOR WAS FUN, PROFESSIONAL AND VERY KNOWLAGABLE.

THE VALUE OF THE TOUR WAS PERFECT FOR OUR BUDGET

I would travel again with Collette, well organized

Well planned tours, hotel and meals were great

I absolutely loved the tour. Portugal was beautiful, prices were reasonable and food was excellent. (personal details removed by Feefo), our tour director was fantastic. She was so kind, organized, knowledgeable with a great attention to detail. She even remembered my birthday. I was disappointed with how my flight was booked. The person who booked my return flight from Lisbon to Portugal allowed us 1 hour to get through customs and catch the connecting flight back to the US. I mentioned this to the costumer service agent and to (personal details removed by Feefo) and I was assured "everything would work out fine" I am a frequent traveler, and know from experience many things can happen with connecting flights- However, I trusted the information provided to me. I ended up missing my flight- (there was some sort of problem in customs) I arrived home 12 hours later than scheduled arrival time (with no luggage.) I was fortunate. My fellow travelers from the SF bay area- made their flight only to be held on the plane for two hours before it was decided they would cancel the flight. I think Collette customer service could have done a better job booking the flight. This was nerve wracking experience after a wonderful trip. I do realize things happen that are out of our control. If we were allowed more time for connecting flights it would have lessened our anxiety. We were concerned about a potential from the beginning of our trip. My advice- use a more customer service oriented airline ( no Delta or United ) and make sure there is enough time to catch connecting flight. It was at the back of our mind the entire that there would be a possibility of us not catching our connecting flight.

Portugal is beautiful, food was great tour director (personal details removed by Feefo) was wonderful - really wanted to make sure we had a good time. Very difficult to manage 30 + people. Well done!!!

The tour guide had physical limitations, which definitely affected the activity level and pace of this trip. Although she knew her stuff, I felt that we were treated like children. In a large group like that, it would be nice to get a little information about the others in the group. We never had any introductions other than names in a packet.

Enjoyed the visit to Fatima.

Excellent travel experience with comfortable accommodations, meals, and timely day trips. History of the country was highlighted and local attractions were an interesting addition to the beautiful sea coast.

Tour of the cork factory and tile factory were very educational.

Overall, our trip to Sunny Portugal was very good. Flights, connections, pick-ups, transfers, hotels, meals, guides etc. were as we expected from our past trips with Collette. A few things could improved upon. 1.Our incoming flight to Portugal from Heathrow was right on time, however, it was scheduled to close to the beginning of our tour. As a result, we arrived a bit late to our hotel. We missed the orientation meeting and missed going on the bus to the restaurant with our tour group to the welcome dinner. We had to take a taxi there and arrived late. We paid for the taxi ourselves and asked our tour guide, **************, if we could be reimbursed but no compensation has been made as yet. It was not expensive (4 euros and 60 cents) but we felt it was the principle of the matter that was important. 2. Both of our optional tours were cancelled. We paid in advance and yes a full refund was given. I realize this is always a possibility that they may be cancelled for a number of reasons. However, the Portimao cruise, museum and dinner tour that was to take place was cancelled as the company did not have an up-to-date license for operating the boat. Isn't this something that should have been addressed well before we arrived? Perhaps another company could have taken us. We hope to book another tour with Collette. Hopefully, these small issues can be taken care of and improvements made for next time. Rea Staples

- group dinner at Lagos restaurant - Madeira Is. extension

I loved the tour! the tour guide was excellent, sites covered were comprehensive, hotels were wonderful, bus was comfortable!

I loved the trip to the Algarve and the small bout ride into the caves!

Great trip. I met lovely people and had a great time.

The tour was rated an activity level of 2 to 3 but this was way under rated. The group was 99% seniors and the activity was more of a 4 or 5. Not enough free time to rest.

The locations we went to were great but we never got more than an hour to visit each one. We arrived very late to Sintra and only had about 40 minutes and this was the area I wanted to visit the most.

thorough knowledge of the trip, quick response to questions, good information flow and follow-up reminders.

The hotel change make in Algarve was to all inclusive hotel and not near a town thus was not what we wanted. Have done previous collette tour and Caravan tours and did not have this issue. the rest of the tour was very good.

Considering the the short trip having a hotel change that affected a full day of seven actual tour dates was signficant.

Because of a hotel change, we were stranded in an area with nothing to do. The hotel was lovely, but there was no sightseeing opportunity without taking an additional tour, no cafes, no shops. As the trip was expensive, that day was an expensive waste of time.

Too much time in some areas, not enough in others. Evorra--too much time. Sintra--not enough

Every interaction was precise and helpful/

We enjoyed the tour and the tour manager (Maria) was terrific, however we consider the hotels we stayed at (Vila Gale chain) more like three star hotels vs. the 4 stars that were displayed at the hotels.

We did not see enough of Lisbon, would like the hotel there instead of cascais! Sintra was too fast and did not have a local guide

The dinner at Don Sebastian in Lagos! Exploring lagos and the beach Dona Ana which was not included in the tour