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Associated Press
03-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Yes, You Deserve! Named Best Private Tour Company in Portugal of 2025 by Evergreen Awards
Yes, You Deserve! has been honored with the title of Best Private Tour Company in Portugal for 2025 by Evergreen Awards, a recognition of its commitment to offering exceptional, personalized travel experiences in Sintra and surrounding regions. Sintra, Portugal, July 3, 2025 -- A New Milestone in Personalized Travel Yes, You Deserve! has added another prestigious recognition to its collection, as it was named the Best Private Tour Company in Portugal of 2025 by Evergreen Awards. This accolade acknowledges the company's tireless dedication to providing intimate, high-quality travel experiences and further solidifies its reputation as one of the top boutique tour companies in the region. The recognition underscores the brand's focus on offering authentic, personalized experiences to travelers exploring Sintra's rich cultural and historical landscape. Daniel Ponce, Founder and Lead Guide of Yes, You Deserve!, expressed his gratitude for the award, stating, 'Receiving this recognition is a true honor for our team. It affirms our commitment to delivering exceptional travel experiences that go beyond typical sightseeing. Every tour we offer is designed to be deeply personal, enriching, and a genuine reflection of the beauty of Sintra and Portugal.' The Best Private Tour Company of 2025 award acknowledges Yes, You Deserve!'s continuous growth, the evolution of its offerings, and its emphasis on cultural immersion. Guests who take part in Yes, You Deserve!'s tuk-tuk tours not only see the famous sights of Sintra, but also gain access to hidden gems, local eateries, and family-run vineyards, with each experience tailored to individual preferences. A Tailored Approach to Touring Sintra Yes, You Deserve! is renowned for its deeply personalized approach to touring, offering private tuk-tuk experiences that blend sightseeing with storytelling. Unlike other companies in the region, Yes, You Deserve! goes beyond simply driving past landmarks. The company provides guided access inside Sintra's iconic monuments, offering guests a more intimate and knowledgeable perspective on these historical treasures. Whether it's a visit to the ornate Pena Palace or a quiet walk through lush gardens, guests are treated to detailed, engaging narratives that bring the history of Sintra to life. The company's approach emphasizes a human-centered experience, where guests feel like they are being shown the region by a knowledgeable local friend rather than just a guide. Ponce further elaborated, 'The essence of our tours lies in the connection we foster with our guests. It's about sharing stories, not just facts, and creating memories that last long after the tuk-tuk ride ends.' Expertise Behind the Experience Founded by Daniel Ponce, a seasoned tour guide with over 15 years of experience, Yes, You Deserve! blends deep local knowledge with a genuine passion for storytelling. Daniel's unique approach to guiding has been a significant factor in building the company's exceptional reputation for offering premium, private tours that emphasize comfort, culture, and connection. 'We're not just taking people to sights, we're taking them on a journey through time, culture, and personal connection,' Ponce said. The company's intimate approach has garnered praise from over 200 five-star reviews across platforms such as TripAdvisor and Google, underscoring the high level of service and knowledge that travelers value. Cultural Immersion and Local Expertise At the core of Yes, You Deserve!'s offerings is its focus on cultural immersion. The company goes beyond typical tourist destinations, offering travelers a truly local experience. The tours extend to lesser-known spots that offer a glimpse into Sintra's authentic lifestyle, such as local cafes, scenic viewpoints, and vineyards where guests can enjoy tastings of Portugal's finest wines. Unlike other tour services, Yes, You Deserve! takes the time to ensure each guest feels personally welcomed and fully immersed in the destination. This level of dedication is reflected in the company's recognition as Portugal's Most Unique Tuk-Tuk Tour Company by LUXlife magazine in 2024. Building on Success and Expanding Horizons With the accolade of Best Private Tour Company in Portugal of 2025 firmly in hand, Yes, You Deserve! continues to expand its footprint. While Sintra remains the heart of the company's operations, future plans include extending their unique travel experiences to other parts of Portugal, such as Lisbon and the Algarve region. Despite these exciting expansion plans, the company remains committed to maintaining the high standards of personalized service that have earned it this prestigious award. 'We're thrilled about the future and the opportunities to share our passion for Portuguese culture with even more travelers. But no matter how much we grow, we will always keep the personal touch at the core of our service,' said Ponce. About Yes, You Deserve! Yes, You Deserve! is a premium private tour company based in Sintra, Portugal. Specializing in personalized tuk-tuk tours, the company offers an immersive and tailored way to explore Sintra's beauty, history, and culture. Founded by Daniel Ponce, a passionate tour guide with over 15 years of experience, Yes, You Deserve! has earned global recognition for its commitment to providing unique, human-centered travel experiences. With a team of professional, multilingual guides, the company offers a deeper connection to Portugal, making every tour an unforgettable experience. Media Contact Daniel Ponce Email: [email protected] Contact Info: Name: Daniel Ponce Email: Send Email Organization: Yes, You Deserve! Website: Release ID: 89163765 In the event of encountering any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release, we kindly request that you immediately contact us at [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our dedicated team will be readily accessible to address your feedback within 8 hours and take appropriate measures to rectify any identified issues or facilitate press release takedowns. Ensuring accuracy and reliability are central to our commitment.


Telegraph
31-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
I visited Scotland's most beautiful (and remote) beach
Nobody ends up at Sandwood Bay by accident. At most of Britain's 1,500-or-so beaches, you park up and within a few minutes your toes are in the water. Today, after arriving at Sandwood Bay's nearest car park, I had been walking for an hour and still hadn't seen the sea. If it wasn't for my guide Alastair's expertise, and the fact that there is only one path to the sea, I would have been tempted to sneak a look at Google Maps to check we were on the right course. But that would have been futile, too. There wasn't so much as a whiff of phone signal in the air – only skylarks and the breeze. So we crunched forth. But with drizzle clouds threatening to unload and Sandwood Bay so stubbornly out of sight, I allowed a whisper of doubt to enter my thoughts. Will this beach really be worth the effort? A walk across Martian bog Our adventure began at the small gravel car park in Blairmore, off a single-track road dotted with occasional crofting houses. It's big enough to fit roughly 20 cars, but on our Saturday morning visit there were only three. 'You've got proper boots, that's good,' said Alastair Kennedy, an ex-Army man who now leads private tours of Scotland's most rugged corners. 'Would you like walking poles?' I said I should be OK, but it gave me an idea that we weren't in for a brief stroll. A sign pointing down a stony track told us it would be a 6.5km (four-mile) walk. We walked past a series of little lochans, each one bordered by a miniature golden-sand beach. Little trailers of the main attraction to come. If it wasn't for these traces of water, you could fool yourself into believing you were traversing the surface of Mars. Or perhaps the Patagonian tundra. No trees, no signs of human life – just the boggy steppe and a long path, seemingly to nowhere. After almost an hour we reached a crest and began to descend. I caught my first glimpse of the North Atlantic and the dune system behind the bay. 'Not far now,' grinned Alastair. Instinctively, we picked up the pace. Mermaids, ghosts and fallen pilots When I said nobody discovers Sandwood Bay by accidentm that wasn't entirely true. Over the years, quite a few souls have ended up on these golden sands by mistake. In 1941, one Sgt Michael Kilburn was flying a Spitfire out of Cape Wrath when the engine failed. He crash landed on Sandwood Bay and escaped uninjured. While much of the wreckage has since eroded away, the engine still sometimes emerges after a storm. In 2009, a microlight pilot named Keith Brown crashed on the beach after a failed manoeuvre and also lived to tell the tale. The accidents at Sandwood Bay haven't always had happy endings. Before the lighthouse at Cape Wrath was built in 1828, the choppy waters claimed many shipwrecks. It is believed that vessels from the Spanish Armada, merchant ships and even Viking longboats are hidden beneath the sands here. Unsurprising, then, that there have been reports of hauntings in the bay, a prominent one being sightings of a mysterious bearded sailor, supposedly from a Spanish galleon (although some suggest this was, in fact, the local – bearded – hermit James MacRory-Smith, who lived in a stone cottage near the beach for more than 30 years). Mermaid sightings are also commonplace in this part of the world. Again, a more prosaic answer is that these were seals viewed from a distance, bathing on the rocks. Otters, dolphins and basking sharks can also be seen in the waters here, while sea eagles and buzzards patrol from above. With the sun breaking through the clouds, we descended the stony track, which was now flanked with gorse showcasing the Platonic form of yellow. We passed through the links land with its mohican marram grass and skidded down a final dune. We had arrived. A beach to rival the Caribbean The first thing that strikes you about Sandwood Bay is its scale. Satellite maps calculate it as 1.23 miles in length, but the real-world impression is triple that. To the south is the sea stack of Am Buachaille (Gaelic for 'the shepherd'), a lonely 150ft monolith of Torridonian sandstone. To the north the bay curves away towards the hostile edgelands of Cape Wrath. In between there is a vast blanket of pink-white sands, so pure that you feel guilty polluting it with your footsteps. We walked down towards some boulders on the beach, painted in that distinctive sandstone hue developed over hundreds of millions of years and interspersed with little turquoise pools. Alastair poured out a consommé soup that he had prepared and added a wee dram of whisky, a nice touch, and regaled us with his theories on the myths and legends of Sandwood Bay. After, I scrambled up to the top of the boulders and, scanning the full length of the beach, realised we were completely and utterly alone. At, what, 11am? What a paradox, what a great relief, that Britain's most beautiful beach happens to be set at the end of a four-mile track, in the deep end of Scotland's wildest corner. I realised that I had been framing the schlep to this beach all wrong. Sandwood Bay isn't just worth the effort – the requirement of effort is what makes it so special. I can see why the ghosts never left. How to do it Alastair Kennedy of Go Highlands Tours is a font of information and a highly skilled tour guide, offering private itineraries ranging from Outlander tours to excursions around castles and battlegrounds For bespoke tours such as a walk to Sandwood Bay, enquire direct (07500 519140; mail@ If you are tackling Sandwood Bay solo, enter Blairmore Car Park into your navigation system. There are clean public toilets available at the car park. Be sure to bring wet-weather gear, plenty of supplies and proper walking boots. The walk is around four miles each way and requires a fair level of fitness. There are no facilities en route. It is advised that dogs are kept on a short lead. Where to stay Greg stayed as a guest of Newton Lodge, a comfortable and recently refurbished hotel, restaurant and bar right on the North Coast 500, around a 45-minute drive south of the Applecross Pass car park. The hotel has superb views across Loch Glencoul and an honesty bar stocked with local whiskies and gins (doubles from £129 per night). The sister hotel, the Kylesku Hotel, just a few minutes away, has a high-quality restaurant selling local catches – request a seat by the windows and look out for seals and otters.


Travel Daily News
23-05-2025
- Travel Daily News
Experience Santorini through authentic and sustainable private tours
Instead of large, standardized excursions, VIP Santorini's private tours are carefully curated to offer personalized insight into the island's culture, history, and flavors. Santorini, one of the world's most iconic travel destinations, continues to enchant visitors with its volcanic beauty, cliffside villages, and unforgettable sunsets. But beyond the postcard-perfect views, true magic lies in discovering the island through meaningful, responsible experiences – something VIP Santorini specializes in delivering. Sustainability in Action At VIP Santorini, sustainability is not just a trend – it's a commitment. The company actively reduces its environmental footprint through energy-conscious practices, route planning that avoids overcrowding, and partnerships with certified carbon offset programs. In 2024, VIP Santorini proudly received carbon offset certification, ensuring that every guest's experience contributes positively to the island's future. Private tours with purpose Instead of large, standardized excursions, VIP Santorini's private tours are carefully curated to offer personalized insight into the island's culture, history, and flavors. Guests can enjoy local wine tastings, visit traditional villages, explore lesser-known historical sites, and connect with local guides – all at their own pace. Premium transfers with a local touch With a fleet of modern, luxury vehicles, VIP Santorini provides private transfer services for airport/port arrivals and departures, as well as flexible transportation throughout the island. Safety, punctuality, and comfort are at the core of their service – with the added value of local expertise. A trusted local partner for travel professionals VIP Santorini works closely with international travel agents, DMCs, and luxury travel advisors to offer high-end, responsible experiences for discerning travelers. The company welcomes new partnerships and offers reliable local support for any itinerary on the island. Photo by James Ting from Unsplash