If you have traveled to Lisbon recently, it’s hard to miss the increasingly popular tuk tuk tours of the city. So on our most recent visit, we decided to take the plunge and view Lisbon from a whole new perspective.
Step 1: Find an Awesome Tuk Tuk Operator
After researching and reading all the online reviews, we landed on Live Portugal Tours & Tales. They were the quickest to respond, the easiest to communicate with and the tuk tuks seemed newer. Having 500 five -star reviews also really helped.
Once we actually completed our trip, I can confidently say that we made a great decision. Jefferson and Diana were amazing and combined a passion for all things Lisbon with the patience of someone who has done this before.
But our preferred partner for tours, GetYourGuide, actually has over 25 different tuk tuk providers so you can do your own research as well.
Step 2: Find The Right Type of Tuk Tuk
Now most people probably can skip this step. But we had a large group of almost 10 people but surprisingly were able to comfortably fit into two tuk-tuks. As you can see from the pictures, the tuk tuks are smartly arranged in a face to face layout and have benches to accommodate up to 6 people.
We also saw some 4 seaters but those clearly would not have fit. I will say that while most of the trip was pretty comfortable, there were times over bumps or hills when I waited for individual seats. But it is nice to get a full panorama of the city especially from the rear facing seats.
Step 3: Plan Out Your Custom Itinerary
Now most operators will work with you on this but they do have some suggestions. After all, they are experts at this.
We saw anywhere from 2 hours to 6 hours being advertised online and landed in the middle at 4 hours. With 3 kids in the party and some seniors, this actually worked out great. It felt long enough that you got to visit different parts of the city but didn’t feel like the tour was dragging at any point or rushed.
Given that we were based in Chiado within walking distance to Baixa, we intentionally focused on Belem and Alfama for this tour which Live Portugal was happy to accommodate.
Step 4: Enjoy and Appreciate Your Private Lisbon Tour
Cruising around in an electric tuk tuk was awesome. We had a blast and just to give you a taste, here is what we landed on.
- Pickup up right at Corpo Santo in Chiado – Make sure to read our review of this centrally located and amazing property
- Head to Belem and appreciate the sights and sounds of the city including magnificent views of the Ponte 25 de Abril. Fun fact is that if this bridge looks familiar, it was designed by the same company that designed and built the Golden Gate Bridge
- Stopped at Pasteis de Belem (reputed to be one of the oldest pastry shops in Lisbon). With some of the best pasteis de nata that we can attest to.
- We then visited Jeronimos monastery and the church itself was free to go in and was really quite beautiful. There was a long line for the monastery so we had to skip it which was a bummer
- Check out the stunning Belem Tower that is right on the Targus river. Note that there is some renovating happening right now so it may be closed for a bit.
- Head to Monument to the Discoveries – This actually turned out to be an unexpected surprise. The carvings on the side of Prince Henry the Navigator, Vasco De Gama etc were stunning and the museum was well worth it. The artwork in front of the monument etched into stone was one heck of a picture.
- We skipped the Maritime Museum and Museum of the Presidency but those are really good options as well for spending more time in Belem.
- Head to Alfama and see grand views of the city. Took us about 20-25minutes on a Saturday which wasn’t too bad
- We visited Lisbon Cathedral, Church Sao Miguel and Monastery of Sao Vicente De Fora which were all beautiful and well worth it
- Miradouro de Santa Luzia and Miradouro da Graca – These were two viewpoints up on Alfama hills with sweeping views of the city, the Targus, the bridges and just all of Lisbon! Lots of great picture taking here
- Head to Chiado where we saw Carmo Convent and the very pretty Largo do Carmo
- Drive past Livraria Bertrand which is officially recognized as the world’s oldest operating bookstore and actually survived the earthquake
- Elevador da Gloria – After the heartbreaking funicular accident, all of the funiculars were closed but hoping those open shortly
Overall Recommendation
Even with a large group, the folks at Live Portugal crushed it. The guides were very friendly, knowledgeable and personable. They knew exactly where to get that perfect family picture or where all the bathrooms were located. The history of the city and the intersection of old and new means there is always something to see even if it’s a repeat visit. And given the distances involved, there is no way to cover all this ground on foot so we are glad we chose this approach and this tour company. This is a 10 out of 10 for us.
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