Frequently Asked Questions

EcoTours Portugal is an officially licensed Tour Operator by Turismo de Portugal (RNAVT 2811), the touristic official entity in this country. Recently, we have also received the title of “PME Líder” (SMC Leader), an annual prize awarded by the Portuguese Government to companies of excellence.  Besides our official documents that prove our work as an effective Portuguese Tour Operator, you can check out our TripAdvisor profile, a social network where our travellers usually write about their experience in Portugal with us. 

We are a Portuguese Tour Operator specialised in group Tours and customised private Tours through this country. We know everything about Portugal so we don’t need intermediaries. Our team has highly qualified and experienced people who are able to organise unique, fun and educational trips. Having an “eco” philosophy, we have strong presence in 7 countries, including Spain, Brazil, USA and UK, France and Germany.  
 
If you travel with us you will be able:

• To get high qualified and entertaining Tours at very competitive prices;
• To tailor and build a Tour completely from scratch to suit your needs;
• To book directly with a local Tour Operator, avoiding intermediaries and commissions;
• To know the exact price, with no hidden costs or services charged locally;
• To save time and money, booking all the itinerary services directly with a specialised team;
• To travel in modern cars and buses;
• To be guided by experienced and friendly official guides;
• To travel with the Portuguese Leading Tour Operator in Sustainable Tourism;
• To have 24/7 support of our multilingual and dedicated team that is just a phone call away;
• To travel with an official Tour Operator (license no. RNAVT 2811).

We live and work in Portugal. And more important: we do love Portugal. Based on our experience and knowledge, we designed programs that will make your life easier, allowing you to save time on research, money and patience. To reassure you, we sell the most educational and enjoyable tours and we are constantly performing a systematic survey of the available touristic offers, using check-lists and evaluation charts. We also select our partners based on their value of service, excellence and their ability to provide a unique experience while making contact with local culture and nature. We are responsible for planning and organizing the entire trip and we are able to solve every problem that comes up. Our team is available 24 hours per day during your journey in Portugal so we can maximise your opportunity to enjoy an unforgettable Tour and minimise the risk of frustration. Our mission is to make your experience through Portugal as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.

Our long experience in organising trips through Portugal brought along strong links with the best and most highly skilled partners and suppliers. We expect no less than the best quality and excellence for our services, at the most competitive prices. To enjoy the maximum experience, on each trip page we present to you the services included in the price, and the things that many other companies charge locally.  We also leave many other activities as optional, to provide you the freedom and flexibility to choose what you want to do.

You can easily book a Tour with us. Every Tour page has a form that you can fill and submit. Some of our Tours have online bookings and others need the confirmation of our tours’ operators. Nevertheless, you can check the total amount of your booking before payment. And if you need more information or need some adjustments, you can get a free quote or directly contact our Backoffice team (+351 226 191 095) available from Monday to Friday, roughly speaking between 09.00 a.m. and 06.00 p.m.

We ask for a minimum of 72 hours to ensure we can organize everything correctly and also make sure that all services are available. You can also book as early as you want. A whole year if you wish. And for last minute bookings, we advise you to contact directly our offices by email (info@ecotoursportugal.com) or phone (+351 226 191 095).

You can pay either by Credit Card or through Bank Transfer. The payment via Credit Card (VISA/MasterCard) is processed in a safe way from your card to ecoTours Portugal bank account (Ecotravel Group) through a third entity which processes the payment (RedUnicre). Bank Transfer is a normal process but it is not available for online reservations. Both methods are free from payment of any additional fee.

If you have to cancel your booking you must notify us immediately. If you notify us with more than 30 days before the arrival date, we will cancel your booking without penalties. From 30 to 07 days before the arrival date, we offer an 80% refund. For cancellations up to 07 days prior to the departure date, we won’t be able to make any refund.

Group Tours have a fixed departure date and price. On these Tours, people with different nationalities share the same bus and the driver/guide will speak Portuguese, English, Spanish and French. With these Tours you can meet new people and enable new friendships. The Private Tours are customisable and with fully adjustable programs to fit your needs and expectations, from the itinerary to the accommodation. You will have a VIP fleet for you and an exclusive guide that will speak your language.

Made exclusively for your, a Private Tour can be adapted and customised according to your needs and expectations. The possible changes can include adjustments to the number of days, different accommodation, different itinerary. We can also design a new program based on your budget and specifications for the trip.

In a Private Tour, made exclusively for you and according to your demands, the group size is up to you. From 02 participants, we adapt the program and its services to the number of members of your group.  
 
Group Tours have a fixed number of participants, such as:

• Departing from Lisbon: usually travel by bus, we can accept a maximum of 40 participants (the average is 25 travellers).
• Departing from Porto: usually travel by van or bus, we can accept a maximum of 25 participants. 

To travel, independently, you must be at least 18 years old. There are no upper age limits for our Tours. 

The price of our Tours includes an official guide or a private and official driver/guide. Both of them are very professional and knowledgeable but have a different role.  
 
Private and Official Driver/Guide: When you choose a trip up to 08 participants, we automatically select an official driver/guide for you. A driver guide is a Tour specialist, an experienced local selected for his knowledge of history, sense of humor and considerate attitude. This person also has a professional license in order to escort tourists through a region. You just get to sit back, relax and enjoy all the explanations that our colleague has to share. A driver/guide just can’t walk through monuments.  
 
Official Guide: for groups with more than 08 participants, we automatically choose a driver and an official guide for you. The job of our guide is to lead your group to, around and from various locations. Guides are selected for their knowledge and ability to deal with the inherent logistics to a large group. Talking for dozens of people or using audio guides (depending on the group size), they also have a professional license for guiding a group even within the monuments.

We only work with official guides or official driver/guides. Our selection is based on their experience and knowledge of the regions. Every professional selected by us is driven and delivers and excellent approach. They are highly qualified people, who know how to host and who are completely focused on how to make each trip a pleasant and extremely rewarding experience. They are familiar with the places we visit and they want to share their knowledge with each member of the group.

We will check your flight and dispatch your vehicle accordingly. The driver (or guide) will meet you in the arrivals, holding a sign with your name on. You will also have a phone contact that you can call in case there is any mismatch.

It’s extremely difficult to join a tour after it has begun. Any delay you might have must be analysed by our colleagues in order to try to find a new solution. And it is possible to leave a tour earlier. However, you will be responsible for your own arrangements from the moment you decide to leave. You will also be responsible for all costs associated with joining a tour later or leaving one earlier.  If you feel this may be necessary, please consult our Backoffice team in advance. 

We only choose the best accommodation in Portugal for our Tours. Preferably charming hotels surrounded by fascinating beauty. We have privileged and strong partnerships with some of the largest hotel groups in Portugal and all of them have a certified quality label. 

Yes, a single traveller will sleep in a single room, a room for a minimum and a maximum of 01 adult. It means that a single supplement will be charged. The price of single supplements depends on the Hotel.

Yes, we can arrange additional accommodation at our hotels before or after the tour. But you have to contact us as soon as possible for price information and availability (email: info@ecotourspotugal.com; phone: +351 226 191 095).

Our fleet is made up of modern, comfortable and economical vehicles that can fit the needs of all the required standards. Your safety is our biggest priority and we will always select the best vehicle for you and your group. For these selection we analyse your requirements and the size of your group. You can also check our fleet.

Yes, it’s possible to design a specific Tour/Event for companies. Moreover, our Incentives’ Department has a special team with highly qualified people with experience in actively designing excursions for corporate customers. We are able to make unique programs that inspire people, grow business and motivate teams. From Events to Teambuilding activities, we make an incredible corporate program completely customisable and that will fit your needs and budget.

No, our prices do not include the airplane ticket and we can’t provide this service (when the plane is included, we specifically write that information in “the price includes” field). 

Requirements for travel visas vary widely depending on your nationality. Therefore, and unfortunately, we are unable to attain visas on your behalf.

As mandatory in Portugal, we have the Complaint Book where you can write the complaints that you might have. Also, and according to the law no. 144/2015, we inform that in order to solve consumption conflicts, one must contact the arbitral commission of Tourism of Portugal at www.turismodeportugal.pt. 

Yes, we provide the mandatory Insurance that Portuguese Law requires. 

We respect your right to privacy and we aim to ensure you have a trustworthy experience with us, including when using our websites and booking with or through us. We understand that you care about how your personal data is used by us, and we want to share with you the practices we’ve adopted. Your personal data will include data you provide whether: from correspondence with you, verbally to us over the phone or in person, by filling in any field or form on a website, by filling in any printed form we provide you with, by email and from documents you provide. We keep your personal data for so long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which we use it, and if longer, for any duration required by law. We ensure you that we will keep your personal data private and completely safe in our data base. 

At ecoTours Portugal we believe that Sustainability is about re-focusing and adapting. We contribute to a sustainable development and are concerned about minimising the impact of our visits by fostering the respect for the surroundings, the culture and traditions, as well as enhancing positive experiences for both tourists and the inhabitants. And together with our partners we have developed and worked on solidarity projects in different regions of Portugal.

The best way to travel to Portugal is by plane. There are 05 airports throughout Portugal where land all kinds of companies: from low-cost to first class and business firms. So there are flights available from all the largest cities in Europe and beyond. 

We always recommend packing as light as possible. However, the specific requirements for your tour will vary depending on where and when you are travelling. In Portugal, the weather is usually warm and sunny but, in some regions, Winters can be a little bit cold. Comfortable clothes and footwear is always mandatory. And don’t forget to include some sort of protection for the rain. For trips from January to March, bring clothing and footwear suitable to cold weather and add a cosy sweater when travelling from April to October. For more information about the climate in Portugal, please access the official website www.ipma.pt. 

The easiest way to get more information is by email or phone. Our offices are open from Monday to Friday, roughly speaking between 09.00 am and 06.00 pm. And if you already had your first contact, you will have access to the direct number of the colleague responsible for you quote. 

• Phone: +351 226 191 095
• Email: info@ecotoursportugal.com
• Skype: ecotoursportugal
• Head Office (Porto): Praça Mouzinho de Albuquerque nº113, loja 70 (Shopping Brasília), 4100-359 Porto
• Address (Lisbon): Rua Joaquim António Aguiar, No.66, 3 Drt., 1070-153 – Lisboa  

You can also check out our social network, where our digital team answers as soon as possible. 

Turismo de Portugal is the official entity regulating the tourism activity in Portugal, with offices all over the world. They are able to confirm our competence and reliability. ecoTours Portugal is an officially licensed Tour Operator by Turismo de Portugal (RNAVT 2811).