Our editorial approach
Portugal Trip Planner exists to publish useful, specific travel guides that help you plan a better trip to Portugal. It's the sister site of Greek Trip Planner, with the same founder and the same rules.
We aim to be practical (what to book, where to stay, how long things take), honest (including when a famous place isn't worth it) and specific (names, prices, times, not "explore the charming streets").
Our founder, Panos, is Greek, not Portuguese. We say that openly, and it's why every guide tells you where its recommendations come from.
How we know what we know
Every guide carries one or more of these source labels:
| Label | What it means | Can earn ★ Editor's Pick? |
|---|---|---|
| Been there | A member of our team personally visited, stayed, ate there or did the trip. | Yes |
| Local check | One of our contributors who lives in Portugal has confirmed it's current and worth recommending. | Yes, when the contributor visited personally |
| Researched | Compiled from primary sources: Turismo de Portugal and regional tourism boards, operators' own timetables and prices, official statistics, and traveller review data. | No |
A guide can mix labels; individual recommendations are labelled where it matters. When a "Researched" place is later visited, we update the label and the date.
How we make money
All content on Portugal Trip Planner is free, including the AI trip planner. The site earns from three clearly separated sources.
1. Affiliate commissions, our main source of revenue
When we link to hotels, tours, transfers, car hire, travel insurance or other travel products, some of those links are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Our partners include Booking.com, GetYourGuide and Viator (through the Travelpayouts network), along with selected transport and travel-service providers.
We decide what to recommend first, then check whether an affiliate link exists. If the best option has no affiliate program, we still recommend it. All affiliate links carry rel="sponsored".
2. Featured Partner placements: clearly labelled, never disguised
A small number of travel businesses pay to appear as Featured Partners in specific sections of the site. Every placement carries a visible "Featured Partner" label, is visually distinct from editorial content, and appears in its own section or as a labelled row in a comparison table.
3. Editor's Picks: never for sale
The ★ Editor's Picks in our hotel, restaurant and tour guides are chosen by our team only from places one of us has personally visited. No payment, commission rate or partnership can buy one, and a Featured Partner can't become an Editor's Pick through payment.
What we don't do
- Accept payment for editorial recommendations or Editor's Picks
- Publish sponsored content disguised as editorial
- Sell dofollow links: all commercial links are rel="sponsored"
- Run display or programmatic advertising
- Sell or share your personal data
- Present researched information as first-hand experience
Editorial independence
This is the part we care about most. Affiliate relationships and Featured Partner placements never influence what we recommend or how we rank it.
- Recommend first, monetise second. The list is written before we look at commissions.
- Negative is allowed. If a popular attraction, tour or hotel disappoints, we say so, even when it would pay us.
- The friend test. We only recommend what we'd tell a friend visiting Portugal to book.
- Partners can't edit. Featured Partners can check their listing for factual accuracy, but the wording and placement are ours.
Featured Partner program
Businesses must be legitimately operating, well reviewed across independent platforms, and something we'd be comfortable recommending. Where possible, a member of our team or one of our contributors in Portugal visits in person; otherwise we use a documented credentials check. We remove placements if quality drops during a contract. Full details are on our Featured Partner program page.
Our use of AI
The trip planner
Our free trip planner uses AI to turn your answers (dates, pace, budget, interests) into a personalised day-by-day itinerary. It draws on our own database of destinations, logistics and tips, but it's an automated tool: check opening times and timetables before you travel.
Our guides
We use AI tools to help with research, structure and drafting. Every guide is reviewed, fact-checked and edited by a person before it's published, and recommendations come from the sources labelled above, never from an AI's opinion alone.
Content accuracy & updates
Travel information changes constantly: restaurants change owners, train timetables shift, prices rise every summer. We review guides regularly and show the date each one was last updated.
Prices are approximate and vary by season. Always confirm details with the operator before you book. If you spot something outdated or wrong, email us at panos@greektriplanner.me. Confirmed corrections go into the guide with the new update date.
Photography
We use a mix of our own photography and licensed stock images. Where a photo was supplied by a business or partner, we credit it.
Questions about this policy?
If you have questions about our editorial approach, affiliate relationships, the Featured Partner program or anything else on this page, email us at panos@greektriplanner.me. We're happy to explain.