Portugal

Enjoyed this trip to Portugal. Good mix of easy and moderate riding to work off the fantastic food/beverages.

This was our first VBT vacation. We were very impressed with the planning, accommodations, and route. It was a wonderful experience to bike along country roads with guides who knew the area. The hotels were lovely and the meals were delicious. Everything was top-notch.

Portugal offers super routes for biking - coastal, plus quiet inland ag areas and small villages. The roads are not busy and there were bike paths too. Our equipment more than met my expectations - comfortable, reliable, always plenty of charge. Our tour was mid-Sept with perfect weather. The GPS riding app took all the worry out of our self-guided tour. The points of interest were very helpful. All in all, I'd love to do more rides with VBT!

We have done 4 VBT cycling trips before we decided to do this self-guided trip as we wanted to spend some time in the part of Portugal - the Silver Coast. All of the hotels, places we stayed and the cycling was wonderful. Despite this, and being a self-guided trip VBT has plenty of room to step up and make improvements. Most guests noticed within the first couple of days that the tire pressures were low and the little hand pumps VBT supplies are completely inadequate. Our VBT support people finally provided a proper foot pump at the end of the trip but the foot pump is something that should be provided and move along with the luggage each day. We also had a mishap and a leg injury and was surprised that a first aid kit was not provided with the bike supplies. And, finally there were 2 dinners provided on the trip mainly because the hotels were in more remote places. I guess because there is no VBT rep there for the dinners to provide feedback the one dinner seemed somewhat inadequate being a buffet style and not too appetizing. All in all, this was a wonderful trip - the Atlantic coast of Portugal is beautiful and the many cities, towns and villages we visited were spectacular.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first VBT experience. The tour route was very well laid out and we cannot not say enough about how impressive our tour leaders, David and Frederico, both of whom are natives of Portugal. Kudos to VBT for the way they planned and conducted our tour!

We loved this trip! Beautiful and varied biking routes; knowledgeable, competent and engaging guides, top-notch hotels, delicious food and interesting cultural activities. I wish I could do it all over again!

This trip is a great way to see Portugal. Pre-extension in Lisbon, Emerald cruise in the Douro River valley, and post-extension in Porto. Great food, service and extremely well thought out bike routes. 14 of 16 of us used e-bikes, and unless you are a serious rider, I recommend the e-bikes. It is a river valley, so you are either climbing out of it, or coasting back in. The surrounding area is hilly. The small towns that you visit along the way are beautiful and historical. The folks are very gracious. The ship is delightful - 104 passengers, and a crew of 37. Two outstanding leaders wrangle all the bikes, and act as hosts on all the side tours at lunch, and pedaling days end. Can't say enough about how well we were taken of. All in all, a wonderful week!

This trip was the perfect combination of biking and cruising. The Emerald Radiance was a top-notch level Riverboat with a crew that felt like family by the end of the trip. The rooms were small but had every important amenity. In the evening were entertained by local dancers and singers that were an excellent representation of the local culture. This trip should be on everyone’s list.

Fabulous trip! The guides were great, landscape unbelievable and the rain made it an adventure

We loved this trip - which was the first for this itinerary. Our guides were wonderful, very knowledgeable, and adapted easily when the weather didn’t cooperate. We hiked gorgeous country, learned a lot, and made friends with great people. The accommodations were outstanding, as was the food. We had looked forward to an Camino adventure for years, and this trip did not disappoint!

Wonderful trip. Guides, Luis and Helena were excellent. Our group of 16 were all compatible. Aside of the countryside walks and hikes, there were a number of surprises that added some great experiences to the trip.

Awesome guides, very enjoyable learning experiences each day, wonderful accommodations, delicious food and drinks, and delightful company.