Portugal

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.

The trip was a perfect way to visit southern Portugal. The guides were awesome, always there to lend a hand or offer guidance. The bikes were outstanding - brand new fleet. The routes were interesting and scenic with little traffic. The food and wine were great. And above all the opportunity to spend time with old friends and to meet new friends was rewarding. Thanks

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 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 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!

Incredible experience getting out to the villages and learning about the history of the land. The guides were terrific, tending to our needs while riding and along the way. I would suggest that if you are considering a road bike for this tour, think twice and go with the e-bike simply because there is a fair amount of areas where you will ride on cobblestone, which proved to be tricky for even the experienced road bikers in our group.

We love VBT and the best part of this trip was our leader, Manu. He is awesome! All VBT leaders are great, and he is at the top. It was the initial offering of the trip, and some kinks will be addressed, I am sure. Coordinating the boat and the buses (there were A LOT of buses) and biking is complex. We enjoyed the chance to mix with other travelers on the boat. We enjoyed unpacking only once. The Douro is not a river where you can bike alongside, like the Danube--so there is a lot of bus transfer time on twisty steep roads (some complained of car sickness). It is a hilly area--definitely on the "moderate" scale, not the "easy-moderate" scale. Climate always a question-in late April we had both cold (40's) and wet and warm (70s) and sunny. The olive oil mill and winery were good experiences. The archeological site was sketchy.... If you like hills and don't mind the bus, a good trip to some less accessible areas.

Our trip was personal and wonderful from beginning to end!

Landscapes of the Camino de Santiago was a great experience. I always thought "Seize the Moment" but this trip gave me a new perspective, "Let the moment Seize You". The beautiful scenery of this trip was amazing.

This walking tour was so well organized and well executed! I was very impressed. The guides, Ana and Helen, were probably the best I have ever encountered on tours. They worked well together and were very knowledgeable on the history and culture of the area we were traveling in. They always had a "can do attitude". And they were fun!! I was surprised on the amount of time we spent traveling on the bus. But after traveling to the area, I can understand that the distances between the 3 areas we walked in was too vast to have traveled any other way. The good news was we had a very luxurious bus that was comfortable, and we could spread out and enjoy the scenery as the bus traveled. My other surprise was the food. I did not find it very good. I am sure this is regional. The area is not by the sea. The people of the region eat a lot of meat. Country walkers did a good job to make sure that there were food options for everyone. There was always a fish option (cod) and a vegetarian option. But again, in my opinion, the food to the region was plain and simple. Not a lot of flavoring is used. I thought the food in Porto and Lisbon was different, there you can find some very savory palate pleasing meals. The walking part of the tour was well planned, and the length options were good. My favorite walking days were on the first and last days. I loved walking through the National Park. Most of the walks were downhill and on uneven surfaces. I would not recommend this tour if walking down hill or on uneven surfaces is an issue for you. The guides always discussed the walks the day before hand so one could make a decision to walk or not. And the guides were very safety conscious about the walks keeping everyone under a watchful eye. The other activities such as the boat ride and Port wine tasting were much appreciated and interesting! I would recommend this tour with a whole heart if you came in with knowing that the food may not be the best tasting. Go for the adventure of walking in beautiful areas where the history of long ago is still standing and to brush elbows with the local people who are lovely, friendly and very proud of their region and country. You will not be disappointed!

Our guides on our Portugal trip, David and Luis, were attentive and knowledgeable. Our accommodations were uniformly excellent . The Douro Valley landscape of vineyard after vineyard was impressive, and we enjoyed learning some of the finer points of grape cultivation. Would have liked more hiking/walking, but overall an enjoyable trip