Lisbon + the Good Detours
The field guide a Lisbon local would actually hand you — written by RuaMar, the team planning unforgettable travel experiences, milestone trips, founder offsites, and small-group getaways across Portugal. 104 pins. 13 layers.
Three to five slow days in the country we now call home.
Curated by the RuaMar founders from our HQ in Docas, Lisbon, and our home on Portugal's Silver Coast. Updated quarterly.
13
activity & experience categories
3
insider itineraries
103
hand-picked locations and pins
What is Lisbon +the Good Detours?
Lisbon + the Good Detours is a paid digital guide to three-to-five ‘best of’ days in Portugal, built by RuaMar — a Lisbon-based experience studio that has spent three years planning unforgettable travel experiences, milestone trips, founder offsites, and small-group getaways across the country.
It is a Google My Maps file with 104 pins across 13 activity categories, a 22-page field guide, and three written itineraries (3-day, 4-day, 5-day). Every pin is either personally visited by the founders or sourced from someone in the RuaMar network. Pins we are still verifying are marked plainly.
It is not a blog, an aggregator, or an AI-summarized listicle. It is what a friend who lives here, eats here, and books trips here for a living would give you.
Who is this Lisbon guide for?
This is for you if
You love food and don't want to waste a meal
You'd rather walk one neighborhood deeply than three superficially
You're curious about Portugal beyond Lisbon — Sintra, Évora, the Silver Coast — but don't want to assemble ten Google Docs to see it
You appreciate the difference between touristy and traditional, and you want help telling them apart
You're planning 3 to 5 days and want real, unforgettable insider tips, not a checklist
What's included in the RuaMar Lisbon guide?
Three documents. One trip you'll remember.
The map — 104 pins, 13 categories
Breakfast to nightcaps: cafés to start your days in, markets, long lunches, top seafood, sweet stops, buzzy evenings and wine bars, viewpoints and walks, plus Good Detours to Sintra, Évora, and the Silver Coast. Each pin comes with the address, when to go, what to order or notice, so you’re never guessing on the ground.
The guide — 22-page digital field guide
Designed for phone or tablet reading. Three Lisbon day-routes, three full Good Detours, a Portuguese food glossary, where to stay by neighborhood, and the practical bits no one tells you (which tascas take WhatsApp only, what to tip, when to rent a car).
The itineraries — 3-day, 4-day, 5-day
Three sample plans. Morning, lunch, afternoon, sunset, evening. Specific times. Specific reservations. Specific alternatives for Mondays when half the city closes.
A few moments from inside the guide
A long lunch in Mouraria
"Find Tasca Zé dos Cornos in Mouraria. There's a chalkboard menu. There's no English. The owner will recommend something. Order it. Whatever it is, it will be friendly gastronomy to the belly."
FROM INSIDE THE GUIDESintra without the crowds
"Sintra is a royal hill town, and most visitors only ever see the postcard. We send you through the lesser-known palaces and quintas — the rooms a king actually slept in, the chapels nobody photographs, the garden paths that empty out by 3pm. You'll see Sintra the way the court did, not the way the bus tour does."
FROM INSIDE THE GUIDE
A film on a rooftop
"On a summer night, the Carmo Convent ruins glow behind a screen and the city skyline behind that. Imagine taking in that unique scene while hanging out on deck chairs, with blankets and wireless headphones. Two hours later you walk down into Chiado for a glass of wine and you ask yourself whether you really just experienced that."
FROM INSIDE THE GUIDEWhy you shouldn't skip the Silver Coast
"Most Lisbon itineraries stop at Sintra and call it a day. The Silver Coast is where Portugal lets its hair down — wild Atlantic beaches, surf towns the world hasn't found yet, monasteries older than most countries, ceramic studios, fishing village lunches, and an unhurried rhythm you'll feel in your shoulders by the second morning. It's where we live, and it's the part of the trip people tell us they wish they'd given another day to."
FROM INSIDE THE GUIDE
Why we send you to wine bars on first nights
"You ate a big lunch. You're jet-lagged. Tonight is for three glasses of wine you've never tried, a small plate of cheese and enchidos, and the bartender telling you about the volcanic whites of Colares. It's the perfect teaser — tastes, sounds, wine, laughs, energy — for what's to come during your stay."
FROM INSIDE THE GUIDEHow much does the RuaMar Lisbon guide cost?
Three tiers. Pick the one that matches how hands-on you want our help to be.
The Lisbon map we curate for our own guests: 104 hand‑picked spots across Lisbon, Sintra, Évora, and the Silver Coast, stripped of tourist traps and time‑wasters. One unforgettable, insider route that tells you exactly where to go, when to go, and what to order—so your 3–5 days feel like you already have close friends in Lisbon texting you their real favorites.
One map that replaces ten tabs and Google Docs
Walkable days: no criss-crossing the city for one bite
Only places we’d send a close friend, not the tour buses
Foodie-first routes instead of checklist sightseeing
Detours to Sintra, Évora, and the Silver Coast
The full Lisbon field guide we use for our own guests: 104 hand‑picked spots across Lisbon, Sintra, Évora, and the Silver Coast, plus a 22‑page guide and 3, 4, and 5‑day itineraries. Exact routes, timings, and backups so your 3–5 days feel like you planned with friends who live here and have the insider list on what not to miss.
What’s inside: The full 22-page guide (PDF + Google Doc), the map, and all three itineraries (3-day, 4-day, 5-day). Lifetime access. Quarterly updates included.
For the traveler who wants the whole self-guided experience.
Everything in the Lisbon Guide + Map, plus a 60‑minute video call with a RuaMar founder before your trip. We’ll tune the routes to your dates, budget, and pace, help you pick neighborhoods, and flag the few reservations you should actually fight for—so Lisbon feels like it’s been pre‑scouted just for you.
Includes full Guide + Map bundle (map, guide, itineraries)
60‑minute video call with a RuaMar founder before your trip
Tailored to your dates, budget, dietary needs, and pace
Help choosing neighborhoods and 2–3 key reservations to book
Bespoke RuaMar Getaways
When you want us to plan and book the whole thing — Lisbon plus one or more regions, every detail handled. Three years of doing this for couples, families, small groups, and the occasional wedding party means we know which doors open with a phone call.
What a bespoke trip unlocks:
Private experiences: cooking classes in a Lisbon kitchen, private fado nights in an Alfama chapel, chef's tables, surf lessons in Ericeira, vineyard appointments in Colares or the Alentejo
Hotels matched to you: from Rio do Prado and Aethos to São Lourenço do Barrocal, Areias do Seixo, and gorgeous boutique stays
The tourist headlines, done right: Belém Tower interior at the quietest hour, Jerónimos with the right entrance, Pena Palace on a private 8am slot — the places every blog mentions, finally on your terms
Seamless logistics: drivers, transfers, restaurant reservations, dietary briefings, the small fixes when something shifts mid-trip
Tier 3 buyers get the €99 call cost credited toward a bespoke trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
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After checkout you'll get an email with a Google My Maps link, a guide PDF, an editable Google Doc copy of the guide, and three itinerary documents. Everything is yours to keep.
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Yes. Save the map in the Google Maps app before your flight (My Maps → Star or Download). It works without WiFi once saved.
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Yes. We refresh quarterly — verify pins are still open, swap in new finds, retire spots that have lost their soul. You get every update free for life.
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Not for Lisbon. For the Évora and Silver Coast detours, yes — or hire a driver, which we recommend if you'd like wine at lunch. The guide explains exactly when and why.
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The guide is licensed for personal use — for you and your travel companions on a single trip. If you'd like to gift a copy, we'd love that — there's a gift checkout option.
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The Lisbon section is the centerpiece, but roughly a third of the pins are detours we love outside the city — Sintra, Évora, and the Silver Coast. The three itineraries (especially the 4-day and 5-day) integrate detours fully.
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Each pin has a "best for" tag — couples, solo, families, splurge, walk-in. Most spots have vegetarian options noted in the description. If you have specific dietary needs (gluten-free, vegan, allergies), Tier 3 (concierge call) is the right level.
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Free blogs and AI itineraries can produce a list. They can't tell you which table at Seteais looks at the garden, which fado room is most authentic, or which Évora hotel has an amazing lounge with the best fresh juices. Those answers come from years of hosting real travelers and updating the map after every trip. That's what's inside this guide.
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RuaMar was founded by Carmen and Michael, who moved from New York to Portugal in 2022. RuaMar is headquartered in Docas, Lisbon, with the founders based on Portugal's Silver Coast. The studio has spent three years planning unforgettable travel experiences, milestone trips, founder offsites, and small-group getaways across Portugal.
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“14‑day refund, no questions asked, on Tiers 1 and 2 if you haven’t started downloading or accessing the guide/map. Once you choose immediate access at checkout and the download begins, you waive the EU 14‑day withdrawal right, but you can still email us within 14 days and we’ll review refunds case by case