Portugal

As with all our VBT experiences Portugal did not disappoint. The trips are planned well from the time you take off from home until you land back at home. The transfers, the accommodations, and the in between are well thought out and planned. Any necessary changes are planned for. Portugal is tourist friendly, they are ahead of the curve with the pandemic, follow the rules. It is tough to find a bad meal, the weather was great; there is a lot of history. The cycling was easily doable for all who cycle 25 miles with some wind or hills. If you take only a few trips, make this one.

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

Portugal was culturally rich and the people were warm and friendly. The self guided tour worked well and the routes were well marked. I didn't realize that October was the foggy season or might have scheduled the trip at a different time.

Overall, the bikes were great and routes were good…..the hotel accommodations were hit or miss, some good, some bad. Breakfast as well was hit or miss. VBT staff was attentive and friendly.

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!

I enjoyed the trip. The rides were well conceived and challenging - except for those several towns with the coblestone streets.

Having been on many VBT trips, this one didn't quite measure up. Two problems: 1) the E- bike was very heavy and as a small woman was difficult to manage and get on and off. You do need an E-bike though as many long hills. Number 2 was Portugal itself. There wasn't much to see or do in comparison to other European trips, esp. the bike and barge trips. Here, no cute towns to explore and for the first 4 days the scenery was mostly uninspiring. Also, difficult logistics catching the river boat.The guides and boat were excellent but couldn't compensate for a trip with little off-road interest.

We had a great time on the Camino. The routes were beautiful and scenic. Alberto and Pol were fantastic guides and kept us very busy. They were a very amusing tag team and complemented each other well. Our group was very congenial and supportive. The Paradors were all very comfortable and the food was great. A highlight was the pottery demo and luncheon and the sheephearding dogs were fantastic to watch. Santiago de Compostelo was a very exciting place to be and very inspirational seeing all the people arrive after their long journey.

Awesome Experience. Everything was amazing from the accommodations to the hikes to the guides. Highly recommend this tour to experience different parts of the Camino de Santiago.

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

Portugal is unbelievably beautiful, with the terraced hillsides, wildflowers, vineyards. And the charming little towns with ancient history. Our guides were experts at making it all come alive.