Porto to/from Lisbon with stops in 3 cities (Aveiro, Coimbra and Óbidos)

I booked the tour (for 4 adults transferring from Porto to Lisbon), and specifically chose an 8 person van (though it did cost several hundred dollars more) because I knew we would not fit in a car, we were transferring from a long trip with 2 bags each. I wrote directly to Meridian4People a day or two before the tour because I wanted to give them the correct address of the hotel in Porto and I also reminded them that we had 2 bags each at that time. They wrote back only “Great, thanks” so I figured we were good to go. The driver showed up on time for the day of the tour with a very small car. He took one look at our luggage and said “no way.” The number we had for Meridian went straight to voicemail, we had to ask the driver for another phone number. When we finally could reach someone at Meridian, they said the booking clearly referenced a van, but they could not tell us why they sent a car instead. The driver left for a while and we waited. He finally came in the hotel lobby to tell us they were getting a bigger car or van and it would be there soon. Over an hour later, a van appeared. It was comfortable, though we had to ask the driver to turn on AC but he didn’t turn it on high enough to cool us win the back seats. We had a late start, so we cut each of the 3 stops short by about 30 minutes. Our driver was a nice, younger man (Yunico I believe was his name) BUT, he offered NO commentary at all. When we asked (a very few) questions about the cities we were visiting or what we were passing by, he generally answered he didn’t know, and that there wasn’t much to see from the highways. I think he was surprised we asked questions, and I felt that he really didn’t expect to give any commentary. He did drop us off in a central place in each town but gave no recommendations about anything to see or do. He was very prompt about picking us up after the hour or so we had. As it was hot, we asked if he had any water and he said no - he forgot it in the first car, and made no offer to obtain any. Another issue was because of the late start, we were about 30 minutes behind coming into Lisbon, which meant we got there just during rush hour traffic, it took over an hour in Lisbon to reach our hotel - the driver was not very happy and complained a lot (not his fault but the tour companies I feel for sending the wrong vehicle in the first place). This tour was advertised as including bottled water, plus having a guide with “commentary” - so we feel like they did not deliver what they advertised, and did not initially provide the correct vehicle.

This is the best way to get from Porto to Lisbon. Our guide, Miguel, was the best! He was perceptive, professional and a delight to be with. We had previously done the three day package tour with Miguel which was also a 5 star rating and we were happy he was able to do the Porto to Lisbon tour with us. On this tour we were picked up at our hotel in Porto and we visited Aveiro, Fatima, the Monestery of Batalha, and Obidos and then transported to our hotel in Lisbon. We fell in love with Portugal. Our guide took us to the sights we wanted to see and suggested others. His knowledge of history and love of country made this a most memorable experience. I would definitely recommend this tour and this guide.