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.

It is such a beautiful country with some of the nicest people I have ever met.

Portugal has unexpected beauty! An incredibly clean country with incredibly gorgeous surroundings. The accommodations were average, not as nice those we had on other guided tours from VBT. We missed not having daily insights to the culture and the surroundings that come with a guided tour. The Portuguese food we had was bland and average at best, but their bread and pastries were exceptional. The route was mostly easy, except for the last two days were moderate to difficult, which should be outlined in the trip description.

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!

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 really enjoyed our cruise along the Douro River. Everyone on the Emerald Radiance staff was helpful, courteous and genuinely friendly. The combination with our VBT bike trip made an exceptional vacation.

It was the inaugural edition of the tour but it ran like they had been doing it for years - well planned and well run. Paradors and meals were excellent. Our guides, Diego and Pol, were the best. Great guides and just fun to be around.

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.

Excellent tour, beautiful country, the guides Ana and David were amazing and the tour group the best we ever had in a CW tour.

Loved our trip!!! Great hiking especially the Douro Valley!! Terrific guides giving us lots of information and assistance!