One team. One standard. 70 homes across Portugal, each managed end to end by our people.
OUR STORY
We started by showing people Portugal. Then we changed how they stay in it.
Portugal Active began in 2017 as an adventure tourism company in Viana do Castelo, founded by Ricardo Viana — a sports scientist who left academia to build something on the coast he grew up on. Bike tours, horseback riding, canyoning, surf guiding. Then a single property changed everything. We took on one lodge and ran it the way we ran our adventures: with obsessive preparation, personal attention, and a team present from the first moment to the last. Guests noticed.
We looked at how holiday homes were rented across Portugal and saw the same pattern everywhere: beautiful properties, handed over with a set of keys and a phone number. No team on the ground. No one behind the experience after check-in. So we redesigned it from the ground up — a full-time housekeeping team, maintenance crews, a concierge who lives in the region, a 147-point preparation checklist before every arrival. Not a rental with extras. An entirely new model: the private hotel.
From one property to 70, each managed end to end by our people. Forbes, The Times, and The Guardian have written about what we are building. We are still based in Viana do Castelo. Still independent. Still growing at over 100% per year. And still driven by the same conviction: the way people experience a holiday home is broken, and we are the ones fixing it.
Ricardo Viana, Founder. Viana do Castelo.
Ricardo Viana, Founder. Viana do Castelo.
2017
Founded
70
Private hotels
5
Regions
24/7
Concierge
As featured in
BEHIND THE SCENES
The 147-point checklist
Before every guest arrives, our in-house team runs a 147-point preparation checklist. Linens pressed, amenities restocked, every surface inspected. This is what hotel-grade service looks like when applied to a private home.
No third-party cleaning crews. No shortcuts. Our team manages every property personally, so the standard never slips.
“From the airport transfer to the last morning, everything was seamless. The concierge arranged experiences we would never have found on our own. Truly local knowledge.”
Verified guest review
The people behind every stay.
Our team is not in a call centre. They live in the regions where our homes are located. They know the best restaurants because they eat there. They know the hidden beaches because they swim there. When you message your concierge, you are talking to someone who drove past your property this morning.
Ricardo Viana
CEO & Founder
From adventure tourism to private hotels. Built PA on the coast he grew up on.
Diogo Boissel
Head of Staff
Manages the in-house team across all regions.
Susana Queirós
Head of Field Operations
Runs the daily operations that guests never see but always feel.
Tomás Matos
Manager of Field Operations
On the ground, every day, in every property.
João Dinis
Head of Reservations
Your first point of contact. Knows every property personally.
Joana Ferreira
Concierge Manager
The person who finds the restaurant before it makes the guide.
