Portugal is all about luxurious spas and posh retreats for those who know it that way. But the real Portugal also throbs in its fascinating flea markets, fishing villages and versatile coastal wonders.

How can you be in Portugal without a puff of piri piri pepper, salt, filho, bacalhau, pastry cream and dried figs? How can you get to know your real soul by sunbathing on the beach and without getting up and wandering the cobblestone sidewalks?

Can you really understand the place without getting familiar with Spices, Port Wine, Nopal, Pomegranates, etc.?

However, companies are ready to tour this land without actually entering. The real passport that makes one travel this land easily is its language and cultural grip, if one can get it at all.

Without knowing the place on a more in-depth, practical and up-close level, it is as good as visiting the place through a glossy brochure rather than visiting it first hand. So why are brands taking the brochure approach? Why did they drop the real deal? Why not stand up and walk down the cobbled yet interesting alleys of the language that defines this place?

They need a good guide, a translator service, to do that. But translating from English to Portuguese is half an effort if a brand doesn’t try hard enough.
Language translation can also be done sitting in a helicopter. Any agency that offers you rough coverage of the area through translation is like this helicopter. But if a brand is ready to hit the real streets, the real flea markets where people actually hang out and shop and have conversations and coffee breaks, they are dealing with a translation expert who can bring an experience full of passion.

Of course, you would need to translate from English to Portuguese in a way that is crisp, instant, and offers formatting versatility for a wide range of translation needs. At the same time, the importance of a rich network of native translators and firm control of the cultural alleys of the place cannot be overlooked.

The language translation would work as the right pair of shoes to walk through this new place with confidence, leaving enough room to roam, but without the risk of getting lost somewhere. A service that can handle the rigor and soul of original English communication; but with the agility and experience to turn it in a way that really appeals to the Portuguese, that’s what good brands look for.

They know that translation cannot be executed in a retirement vacation format. It has to be handled in a way that gets closer to real people on the street, what drives them, what triggers them, what engages them, what motivates them, what disappoints them and what delights them. This flavor can also be had in a distant luxury resort, but the ‘filho’ simply will not taste as authentic as it would in a kitchen within a real town.

So go ahead with the new markets waiting to be wooed in Portugal, but make sure you’ve taken good care of your documentation, having the right translation experience at hand and by your side as you walk through some streets and talk to people like a true traveler.
Visit this place as a tourist if you are on vacation. But if you’re here on business, be the traveler, not the tourist.