About Us

Our team

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  Eduardo Melo Cláudio, Managing Partner

  Eduardo likes to think of himself as a person of multiple interests. Has built a solid career in Portugal’s number one Telecommunications and Internet service provider where he took over management jobs in the areas of Product Development and Management, Customer Service and IT Management. During the time he worked as Product Manager he launched Mimo, the first worldwide pre-paid mobile phone, which is mentioned to this day as one of the greatest Portuguese innovations of all times. This drive towards innovation led him to join professional and personal interests – to travel and to enjoy life to the fullest- and Portugal Trails was born. This is a project that he grabbed with deep conviction and with the belief that Portugal Trails innovative approach allows travelling in an independent and yet safe way and enhanced by local travel consultants.

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  Pedro Duque, Director of IT

  A hardworking computer worker and a large family father, in which everyone loves to travel. Considering all the diversity that our country offers, they have focused their travels and family vacations in Portugal, with some incursions to Spain – land of his paternal grandmother. Invited by Eduardo Cláudio to embrace Portugal Trails and Spain Trails projects, he accepted it with the enthusiasm that innovative and challenging projects offer. Certain that the knowledge of our Travel Consultants allows Portugal Trails to have the most extensive and deep knowledge of the country, he take’s advantage of this knowledge to offer his family even more enjoyable and relaxing trips.

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  Vanessa Pinto, Sales Director

  A Portuguese in love both with Portugal and Spain, since her mother’s side of the family comes originally from Seville. Studied Tourism at University and got a degree as an Interpreter Guide precisely because she knew that her true passion was to travel and to be in contact with many different cultures. And that’s exactly what she did for three years, having now returned to tell you all about it. Indeed to tell you about the secrets and hidden gems that are only familiar to a native. Vanessa also travelled through America, Europe and Africa yet it is in this little corner of Europe that she really feels happy and from where she believes, can turn Portugal Trails customer’s tours, into truly unique experiences. She currently lives in a coastal town on the outskirts of Lisbon.

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  Alejandro Ramirez, Travel Consultant

  Alejandro is Spanish, but he came to Portugal when he was 7 years old and he didn’t leave yet!
  He choose to stay in Lisbon to study college instead of going back to Madrid. He took Hospitality Management as a career due to his ability to create empathy with people and his fluency in Spanish, Portuguese and English languages. He believes that in order to a traveler to fully enjoy travelling, he must feel at home and be understood, so good communication is mandatory.
  After two years at a front office in a hotel in Lisbon he moved to Portugal Trails and Spain Trails to expand his options. “Why promote only one city, when you can show the whole country?” he asks. Even better! His two favorite countries! Portugal and Spain have hidden gems, secrets, amazing culture and gastronomy waiting to be discovered, and Alejandro will be one of the best assistants to discover it all!

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  Ana López Guerra, Tour Guide

  Ana is an official tourist guide in Seville. She has been working as a tour guide for more than 15 years and she loves her job. It is a pleasure to show off her city, hoping you will enjoy it. “We will explore together the highlights in Seville and my purpose is that you would like to return”.

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  Ana Mercader, Tour Guide

  Ana was born in Madrid and considers herself to be a “purebred Madrilenian”. She loves her city and since she was little, she lived it intensely. Independently from the different times of Ana’s life: young girl, adolescent or university student, she’s always discovered different corners of Madrid. Her passion for beauty led her to take a masters in History of Art, when she finished it, she began to look at life with a different perspective. Her interest in continuing to learn made her finish her studies in Rome where she ended up living and working as a tourist guide, that’s where she discovered how to turn her passion into a profession. As “the land called”, after living 10 years in Rome, she returned to Madrid to rediscover it and found a city that was becoming even more fascinating than she remembered. Since then her life goal has been making her clients falling in love with Madrid and Spain: with its history, beauty, heritage but also with its vitality and gastronomy! She likes to be always aware of the latest restaurants and always knows where to have some good wine or the best Tortillas.

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  Beatriz Cassona, Content Editor

  Beatriz was born and raised in Sintra, Portugal, and believes that it is possible to make people travel through words and stories. With a degree in Journalism and a course in Digital Communication and Web, she realized that writing is also a way to visit places and experience new things. She has traveled to several countries, including Holland, Spain, Tunisia, England and France, and seeks to explore every corner the wonderful country that is Spain. She never misses an opportunity to discover new cultures, new traditions and new ways of life. Beatriz loves being in touch with nature and does not say no to a good camping experience! Working as a Content Editor at Spain Trails gives her the perfect opportunity to share with you everything there is to know about new experiences, new places, new stories.

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  Catarina Martins, Travel Consultant

  Catarina has started her route in tourism travelling by car with her parents from North to South of Portugal. At the age of 12, she began organizing trips for her family and, at the same age, left with her family in a car adventure along several European countries, such as Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Her main interests are traveling, learning new languages and try new restaurants in every place she visits. Catarina was born and raised in Inner Portugal and took her bachelor in Tourism, Territory and Heritage by Coimbra’s University. During her life, she had the opportunity to live in different regions of Portugal and to adapt to the national cultural diversity. With the goal of learning about other cultures and how to attract tourists, she went to Stockholm, Sweden, to work in tourism and has visited Cape Verde and Thailand and she is keeping her promise to visit a new country every year. As a Portugal Trails and Spain Trails Travel Consultant, Catarina will be able to show you what her loved country has best and to meet your expectations.

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  Cristina Chagas, Travel Consultant

  Cristina, since childhood, won the taste for traveling and seeing the world. The only Continent missing now is Oceania, but it won’t be for long! Totally in love with meeting new realities and cultures, she saw in Tourism an excellent opportunity to share her taste for traveling with others. Has a Degree in Business Communication and also has a Master’s Degree in Advertising. Although Tourism is not her area of expertise, she won her passion through all her experiences as a traveler. Currently lives in a town by the sea on the outskirts of Lisbon, having previously lived in Barcelona (Spain). Her greatest wish is to share all her knowledge and to make every trip, to Portugal and Spain, unforgettable! For her there is no greater satisfaction than seeing that the trip she designed exceeded the expectations of the visitors! Feels fully accomplished now that she found her true calling as a Travel Consultant at Portugal Trails & Spain Trails!

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  Diana Ramos, Travel Consultant

  Diana discovered her passion for travelling when she was a young child and it has not stopped growing.  Her curiosity has led her to visit a lot of places in Iberian Peninsula, but she desires to visit and learn much more about her homeland and Spain. She loves Portugal and Portuguese food, and is really proud of the fact that her homeland has so much variety to offer. Every year she takes half of her vacation to discover more about Portugal and Spain, and the other half to explore other parts of the world. Diana graduated in Tourism Management in Portugal and also earned a certificate in Guest Service and International Tourism from the University of Central Florida, in the USA.   Her enthusiasm for the Tourism Industry was reinforced by travelling in other countries, learning about different cultures, and even more by living and working in the USA where she shared her experiences with people of many countries and with different perspectives. Working as a Travel Consultant gives her the opportunity to put together all of her passions, and she truly loves it!

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  Eric Zint, Tour Guide

  After living in Honduras, Germany and Australia and traveling all over the world, Eric chose the spectacular Granada as his home and co-founded his tour company Walk in Granada which he now manages along with Jago and Juan Pedro. Despite having a degree in Industrial Engineering, his passion for traveling made him pursue a career in the tourism industry. He fell in love with the beauty of the Granada, the richness and variety of its history, the joy of its people and of course its gastronomy, like so many tourists who visit the city every year. Despite being a destination of choice for so many, Eric believes in responsible tourism and is always in favour of local guides, supports small businesses and believes that a different kind of tourism is possible. One in which tradition and culture are always shown by the locals and the traveler has an experience of much more than the obligatory photographs. Eric and the rest of the team will receive you with arms wide open.

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  Federico Vasco Garcia, Local Driver

  I am passionate about tourism and public relations, a people’s person, living through and for them. I am also passionate about hospitality and welcoming people to Barcelona, but also to Spain, so that they can enjoy, discover and learn about this beautiful country.

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  Filipa Rodrigues, Travel Consultant

  Filipa always wanted to work in Tourism. Her passion for other languages and enthusiasm for exploring her own country and others is what drives her!  She studied foreign languages, and specialized in Tourist Information. It is her goal to discover more of Portugal and Spain and to use her knowledge to put together wonderful experiences for her clients. Filipa has travelled through Europe and Africa, and looks forward to other adventures to discover other continents.  She lives in a seaside town near Lisbon, and couldn’t feel happier about being a Travel Consultant at Portugal Trails & Spain Trails!

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  Frederico Rodrigues, Travel Consultant

  Travelling and all the memories that come with it have always been his passion. It all started when he went on a safari quest in Namibia and South Africa and it hasn’t stopped ever since. Graduated in Hospitality Management, Frederico has travelled all over Europe, Africa, worked abroad in hospitality for three years in Rome and São Paulo, what has given him the privilege to work in different multicultural environments, meeting people from all over the world and experiencing different cultures. In love with his country and with what it has got to offer, Frederico found himself promoting Portugal and Spain as travel destinations to other travelers every time he could. Today he puts together all his experience to give our customers the best tours that won’t be easily forgotten

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  Gonçalo Oliveira, Travel Consultant

  Born in Lisbon in the year of 1996, Gonçalo realized from an early age that traveling was something he loved. His passion for traveling led him to join the Tourism Management Graduation, in the Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo do Estoril, in 2015, which he concluded in 2018. Very communicative and charismatic, Gonçalo has an obvious taste for organizing and planning events and trips. He considers himself to be a simple and methodical peson, and has a huge desire to make the World a better place. Focused on the relationship and customer service, Gonçalo thinks he is in the right place to advise and prepare our costumers trips in both Portugal and Spain. On a personal level, he is cheerful, available and effective. With an enormous interest in Sports, he entices this interest to the desire to know the entire World.

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  Inês Oliveira, Travel Consultant

  Inês was born in the village of Cascais, where she lived all her life. Born to a northern dad and a southern mother, she has a good knowledge of Portugal and its richness. From a young age, she developed the interest of knowing different locations due to the tradition of traveling on her birthday. In 2017, she flew to Vienna – Austria, where she lived and studied for 6 months. It was her first big solo adventure, where she got to know a lot of amazing countries. She loves the direct contact with different cultures and she’s always eager to help you organizing your next trip with Portugal Trails and Spain Trails, making sure you have an amazing experience like she’s had!

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  João Silva, Travel Consultant

  Tourism is João’s passion and you can see it once you have the chance to meet him. Fascinated by the Travel Market, He has based his career in Tourism and Customer Service. After a Hospitality management degree, João started to develop a good multicultural awareness and became really interested in not only learning new cultures and languages, but to have an influence on Portuguese visitors, in order to make them get to know better and understand the Country he loves. Sharing the Portuguese culture has been the most important part of João’s professional and personal life. Having a passion for both Portugal and Tourism, makes João a great asset for travelers who search for the true authentic hidden gems of Portugal.

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  José Quelhas, Travel Consultant

  José is what you call a true local, born and raise in the Capital of Portugal, Lisbon. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and experiences. His degree on Management of Tourism Companies allowed him to have already professional experiences in Hospitality, Local Lodging, Touristic Animation and performed as a Guest Service Officer in the most prestigious Cruise Company operating the seven seas. Any excuse is enough to discover another place that his never been to, for it’s the surprise and the feeling of discovering something new that improves the experience, and there are so many new places to discover. That’s why he joined Portugal Trails and Spain Trails, to provide you with his knowledge of the places he knows and wants you to know!

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  Juan José Pardo Eimil, Tour Guide

  Born in the northwest of the northwest of Spain (Coruña, Galicia) he moved to Barcelona in 1984.  Inquisitive for/of cultures, languages, people, and history he worked as Tour Leader all through Europe during years, while He was working as well as Official Local Guide of Catalonia.  Teacher of new guides, student of humanities at the University.  Delving into the old Barcelona’s archives, walking around the city, trying to discover the secrets that Barcelona hides. Since five years ago collaborates with Portugaltrails and Spaintrails designing private walking tours in Barcelona for their guests, in order to share with them Barcelona’s history, stories and secrets.

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  Juan Serrano, Local Driver

  Juan Carlos is Spanish and he has lived in Madrid since he was born. At university he studied Computer Science and was dedicated to it for more than 13 years. His passion for dealing every day with different people and different cultures led him to the tourism sector, as a private driver. He and 14 other colleagues are responsible for transfers in and out of Madrid as well as private experiences both in Madrid and in the nearby cities such as Toledo, Segovia, etc. What motivates Juan Carlos the most in his work is that every day is different, every day there are new people and, on many occasions, he discovers with the passengers of Spain Trails places that not even in his best dreams he thought he was going to visit. Juan Carlos thinks that his job is the most beautiful in the world.

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  Pedro de Blas, Tour Guide

  Pedro graduated in Economics and from a very young age his vocation has been gastronomy and Spanish history. On a personal level, he took a professional cook degree from the Madrid City Council and several certificates in Spanish wine tasting. His personal and professional challenge is to promote Spanish gastronomy and culture through his company.

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  Rita Bernardo, Travel Consultant

  Rita was born in Cascais, near Lisbon, and believes that it were the weekend detours with her parents, when she was little, that got her so interested in exploring the country, wandering through new sights and places, as well as understanding their history. The fact that she has always been keen on communicating with new people, led her to a Journalism degree, with the hopes of being able to tell what she sees and witnesses through her writing and also her photography, her two main occupations. Besides Portugal and Spain, to which she refers as two lovely countries with much to discover, she got to visit other international destinations. Rita loves to discover natural sights, acknowledge new cultures and is very enthusiastic about independent travelling. Now she hopes to share what she has learned with you, by suggesting new settings for fresh adventures and happy memories.

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  Rosa Terrones, Tour Guide

  Rosa is in love with Granada and her job and finds the experience of meeting visitors and introducing them into the beauty and the cultural topics of the city amazing. After 20 years of professional activity, knowing people from different parts of the world still provides a constant learning and enjoyment. Listening to the traveler’s own live adventures is an incredible source of information and helps her to create their best story-telling program. To answer questions or to ask them, provides an interesting conversation and a great information exchange. She believes that being a tourist guide is the best job, it is like being on holidays all the time. Clients are optimistic and happy, and it is my job providing them the best experience for the time we spend together. Guides spend hours and hours looking for the most amazing spaces and perspectives. Trying to find the best presentation and looking for the way to impressed the visitor with the panoramic, with the architecture or with the explanation. The explanation needs to be fresh, it cannot be done by memory, because it loses the emotion, and guiding needs to be personal and an emotional experience. A University degree in Tourism, Translation and Interpretation in both languages, German and English, helps our team in Granada, to understand tourists from different countries and a Postgraduate degree in Heritage Interpretation, provides the knowledge to select and transmit the best of the place. Today with the professional and human support of Portugal Trails, this job is lot easier. We just need to wait for the enthusiastic clients to arrive.

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  Sofia Martins, Administrative Assistant

  One of Sofia’s passions is to explore Portugal and Spain, which considers unique countries, for their heritage and cultural richness, varied scenic beauty and rich and tasty cuisine. Graduated in Tourism and with a postgraduate degree in Business Management and Strategy, in Portugal Trails & Spain Trails she has the opportunity to combine her taste for tourism together with the administrative and financial area, ensuring a quality service through a crucial role she plays in back- office. Embraced the privilege to work in a company that share, in an innovative and exemplary way, the charms and wealth of both countries and provides clients with unique and unforgettable experiences.

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  Sofia Silva, Administrative Assistant

  Sofia was born in the calm and beautiful Oeiras coastal town and always watched the Tagus River horizon with a glimmering glow in her eyes longing for the adventure of travelling. A Fine Arts student, majored on Design and Photography, she has always worked in creative departments and teaching. Europe and Africa are her favorite destinations but she always considered Portugal and Spain as the most memorable experiences inducers. Naturally fascinated by tourism, culture, civilizations, arts and food, that to her represent interest, experimentation and knowledge, she embraced the Portugal Trails and Spain Trails concept, where she feels fulfilled sharing experiences in this journey with co-workers and clients.