Portugal

Portugal was our 11th VBT trip and 12th biking trip. It was the best or at least equal to our other great trips. The guides were the best ever and the hotels , especially the Farm House, were excellent. The biking was challenging at times but very good overall. We highly recommend the trip and very much want to return to Portugal. Great food, great wine and a beautiful country. We felt very safe on the roads and highways as Portugal drivers are very courteous to bikers. Absolutely nothing to complain about and as with all VBT trips, a great value.

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.

Absolutely epic trip! VBT Staff was great from the moment we booked the trip and throughout. Our accommodations were amazing in every city we rode into. Our luggage was always there before we were which was awesome. GPS app on the self-guided tour were perfect. We had perfect weather, which also really attributed to the amazing time we had.

Beautiful, mostly easy riding through farmland, residential neighborhoods, and ocean roads. The route is mostly bike paths and back roads. Some short trafficked areas and some hills, but mostly flat to rolling. Self guided is the way to go with the smartphone app. You go at your own pace. Beautiful scenery, nice people, wonderful hotels, and very inexpensive compared to the USA. A trip that will not be forgotten.

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!

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!

The guides and the boat and staff were great. However, the trip did not meet the usual VBT expectations. The trip itinerary lists a warm up ride in Porto. This does not exist. The "warm up" and bike fitting are in a small parking lot the next day where there is no space to adequately test the bike. So you're immediately out on a road with no shoulder in heavy traffic for 16 miles along the river. No doubt there are some nice views, but when you're only concerned about safety and figuring out the bike, there is no time for scenery. The next couple days riding were moderately uninteresting scenery. The best ride was the Rails to Trails - Safe, beautiful, interesting. We were looking forward to the final ride to the Atlantic Coast but got rained out. Because of being on the boat there are daily transfers by bus of up to an hour each way to get to the biking areas and back to the boat. Too much time on a bus!! While it was nice to only unpack once, the trade off of charming hotels and villages with our bikes on the property was not worth it.

Good route, and the ship, with unpacking once, makes it better. The guides were very good, and the food on the ship was excellent. The group of 18 were very enjoyable people.

Our trip was personal and wonderful from beginning to end!

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.

Portugal has been on our bucket list of destinations for years and it did not disappoint. The countryside, terrain, people, and cities were filled with beauty and history. Our Country Walkers Guides shared their knowledge and enthusiasm and of course made our trip that much more enjoyable. The other guests were all especially friendly and kind which added to our overall experience.

The tour exceeded my expectations. Northern Portugal is beautiful and the walks were interesting and scenic. The hotels were all great and very different. Our tour guides were outstanding! They were very knowledgeable and communicated well. Included food and drinks were of high quality. I don’t have anything negative to say about this tour.