We're Joana and Sofia, two sisters from beautiful Porto in Portugal.

We’ve been discovering Portugal all of our lives. From memories of a 12-hour journey from Porto to the Algarve in a packed car when there weren’t even proper roads or street lights to garden walks in Vidago with our grandparents. Countless experiences that we hold close to our hearts.

We love travelling, and between the two of us, we have visited over 30 countries. We always try to find special places to stay – be it a fancy boutique hotel, a simple guesthouse, or a rural cabin. We look for beautiful design, thoughtful service, and good energy.

In 2015, in the aftermath of the economic recession that hit our beloved country so badly, we noticed something happening. From a couple of design-led guesthouses opening in the Miguel Bombarda neighbourhood in Porto to the first boutique hotel in Lisbon, and eco-stays that few people knew about popping up in rural areas.

A year later, we launched joandso.com as a fun side project, born out of a genuine desire to share our discoveries with you. JO&SO is an online guide to what we consider to be the best hotels in Portugal for like-minded travellers. It’s like a list of recommendations we’d give to our friends who plan to visit our beautiful country.

We also wanted to get to know the people behind the hotels we were featuring and bring their stories to light. At the time we couldn't find this anywhere and we thought this was such an important aspect. The vibe and the soul of places are directly connected to the creative minds behind them.

Our website became more popular than we ever imagined, having helped people from more than 100 countries plan their trip to Portugal. We’ve also appeared on national television in Portugal and France, picked up some lovely awards, and been featured in cool publications such as Condé Nast Traveller and New York Magazine.