Braga and Guimarães history and local flavours review: 5.0 from 10 reviews
My verdict. €45 for six hours, two cities, a castle entry and a tapas lunch. The other day trips here that feed you start at €89, so on price this is not a close contest. What you give up is the clock: six hours is the shortest of the 11 two-city days on this site, and fitting two cities and a meal inside it is a tight schedule.
What the reviewers say, and what the names give away
Boldis Marin named the guide Manuel. Margareta named Carlos as the host. Desiree named Miguel. Three reviewers, three different people. Compare that with the Soul of Braga, where three of four reviewers name Rui, or the tuk tuk tour, where the same driver-guide comes up again and again. Neither pattern is better in the abstract. But when a product runs on a rota, you are booking the itinerary and the price, and the guide is whoever is free that morning.
All ten ratings are five stars, which reads well and is still only ten ratings. I would treat it as a promising start rather than as a verdict.
The entrance ticket line
The inclusions name an entrance ticket to Bom Jesus. Entry to the sanctuary grounds is free and the grounds are open around the clock, and entry to the basilica is free. Both of those sentences are accurate, and I am putting them next to each other without further comment, because the reader can do the rest. The Guimarães Castle entry in the same list is a real ticket for a real gate, and the tapas lunch is real food. The tickets page is where I go through this properly.
Usually included
- Round-trip transport from Porto
- An English-speaking guide
- Entry to Guimarães Castle
- The exterior of the Dukes’ Palace
- A tapas lunch
- An “entrance ticket to Bom Jesus”, at a site where entry is free
Not included
- Drinks beyond the meal
- Gratuities
- The funicular fare at Bom Jesus, which is yours to pay
- Anything not named in the listing
Six hours across two cities
Take the drive out of it and the sit-down lunch out of it and the arithmetic gets uncomfortable. Braga is 42 km from Porto and Guimarães is beyond it. This is a sampler, and it is priced like one. If your reason for coming north is the sanctuary rather than the region, six hours split three ways will not do it, and one of the longer two-city days or a Braga-only day will.
What works
- €45 including a tapas lunch, against €89 for the next cheapest with food
- Guimarães Castle entry is included and is a genuine ticket
- Ten reviews, all five stars
- Six hours is a shorter day than the eight- and nine-hour trips
Worth knowing
- Six hours is the shortest two-city day here, and it shows
- Ten reviews naming three different guides — you cannot book a person
- The listing advertises an entrance ticket to a sanctuary that is free
- The Dukes’ Palace is exterior only
Eat before you go if you are fussy about lunch. The meal is a fixed part of a six-hour schedule, and the half hour it takes is the half hour you might rather have spent on the terrace at Bom Jesus.
Who it is for
Travellers on a budget who want to say they have seen both cities, and anyone who would rather be back in Porto for the evening than out for nine hours. Anyone whose main interest is the sanctuary should look at the three-hour walking tour instead, and the cost page works out what the day comes to if you simply take the train.
Alternatives worth a look
Most reviewedFrom Porto: Braga & Guimarães Tour with Bom Jesus & Castle
Braga onlyFrom Porto: Braga Day Trip with Bom Jesus & Cathedral Ticket
Deep diveThe Soul of Braga: Cathedrals, Palaces and Sanctuaries
Frequently asked questions
Is lunch really included for €45?
A tapas lunch is in the listing, yes, and the next cheapest day trip here that includes food asks €89. That is the strongest thing about this product. See the full comparison for how the 22 tours line up on price.
Does it include entry to Bom Jesus do Monte?
The listing says it includes an entrance ticket to Bom Jesus. Entry to the sanctuary grounds and to the basilica is free for everybody, all the time. I will leave those two sentences together — the tickets page explains what a tour can and cannot sell you at a free site.
Is six hours enough for Braga and Guimarães?
It is the shortest two-city day of the 11 on this site, and it also has to hold a sit-down lunch and the drive from Porto. It works as a sampler. If you want either city properly, read one day or two first.