FAQs

Growing up we were fortunate to travel a fair bit around Portugal, and we have never stopped exploring, so we know our beautiful country pretty well. When we started JO&SO, we first focused on those places we already knew of and loved. We also talked to our friends and family to try to get as much inside info as possible. We keep a list of places we want to visit, we call this our <joandso-fontello><joandso-fontello>Watchlist .

We don't provide bespoke travel advice, nor we work as a travel agent. Our top recommendations are all available for free on this website to make it as easy for you to plan your trip.

For more insider tips and easy-to-digest formats such as PDFs and Google Maps check out our shop.

If there’s an article you would like us to write about please let us know. All feedback is very welcome!

We strictly don't let a place pay their way to be featured on our website. Everything we feature has to be 100% because we like it. We also review our lists on a regular basis. We only feature what we consider to be the best boutique hotels, guesthouses and holiday rentals in Portugal. You can submit your place for us to review here.

Sure, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to get in touch.

Yes, here are some boutique hotels in Portugal that are great for families.

It depends on what you’re looking for. Our favourite months are May, June, September and October because it’s quieter and the weather is still great. Note that July and August can get busy and hot. However, there are plenty of sunny and warm days in the winter in the Algarve which can be lovely especially if you come from colder countries.

We genuinely love all of them. Lisbon and Porto are the cities where we spend most of our time, and they’re both amazing in different ways. The region we visit the most on a regular basis for a holiday or weekend break is the Algarve. We love the beaches and the laid-back nature of this region, and it smells wonderful! But then we are also very passionate about sleepy Alentejo (South) and the stunning Douro (North). The Azores are magical. It’s hard to pick 🙂

Yes, many times.

Sure! To begin with check our book 'The 500 Hidden Secrets of Porto'. We think it's the best travel guidebook about our hometown Porto but we might be a little bit biased. 😉

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1. We own and recommend the following guides:
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LOST iN Lisbon: A City Guide

Lisbon (The Monocle Travel Guide Series) by Tyler Brûlé

The 500 Hidden Secrets of Lisbon by Miguel Júdice

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2. We did a video with the lovely folks at Condé Nast Traveller, where we talk about the neighbourhood where we grew up:

Foz do Douro, Porto, by JO&SO: Off the beaten track

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3. We also like the following articles:

Porto’s Creative and Culinary Scene by Condé Nast Traveller

Porto City Guide by The Guardian

Lisbon City Guide by The Guardian

City Break: Lisbon, Portugal by Condé Nast Traveller

Getting Lost in Lisbon by Condé Nast Traveller

Comporta: Portugal’s Best Secret Beach Spot by Condé Nast Traveller

The Authentic Algarve by Condé Nast Traveller

Why Algarve, Portugal Should Be On Your Must-Visit List by Vogue

No, we don’t charge you any booking fee for any service offered on joandso.com. Sometimes we use affiliate partner links and receive a small referral commission from sales at no additional cost to you. Everything we recommend on our website is 100% because we like it. In addition, by booking through JO&SO you are supporting what we do, helping us to keep running the website free of ads or paid content.

We sometimes accept invitations, but we will only feature a hotel if we love it. Our rule of thumb follows these two questions, “would we come back?” and “would we recommend it to our best friend?”.

We feature all kinds of places to stay, be it luxury, a boutique hotel, a simple guesthouse or even a tent in the middle of nowhere. We look for beautiful design, thoughtful service and good energy.

We personally try and test all the places marked as <joandso-fontello><joandso-fontello>Visited. We want to experience everything first hand to ensure that we only recommend places that we would suggest to our friends. We also want to be able to showcase the soul of the places, and that could never happen if we didn’t stay there. We also feature places that are on our <joandso-fontello><joandso-fontello>Watchlist and that we look forward to visiting.

We mostly feature boutique hotels and guesthouses but we also include some villas. We have written about what we consider the best holiday rentals in Portugal, you can check it out here: Where to Stay in Portugal: Handpicked Holiday Homes, Apartments and Villas.

Under each hotel review we sometimes recommend a couple of restaurants, just scroll down or select 'Local Tips' from the sub-menu. Sometimes in our articles (in the Journal) we also mention our favourite places to eat. Also check out our Lisbon TipMap, Comporta TipMap and our paperback book 'The 500 Hidden Secrets of Porto'.

We love travelling and between the two of us, we have visited over 30 countries. We always try to find special places to stay. Below are the hotels that hold a special place in our hearts:
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Papaya Playa Project – Tulum, Mexico

The Siam – Bangkok, Thailand

Zeavola – Phi Phi, Thailand

Bann Makok – Koh Kood, Thailand

Bambu Indah – Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Villa Jacaranda – Varkala, Kerala, India

HOSHINOYA Tokyo – Tokyo, Japan

Hudson Central Park – New York, USA

Soho Beach House – Miami, USA

Home Hotel – Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Soho Hotel – London, UK

Babington House – Somerset, UK

We think Portugal has an incredible amount of gorgeous small hotels and guesthouses, especially in proportion to the country's small size. We have yet to find other websites similar to JO&SO in other countries, but we like the selection of boutique hotels on Best Boutique Hotels Worldwide.