Portugal

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

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.

This was our first self-guided VBT tour, no glitches! Routes were great, very scenic. The towns we stayed in were great for touring, good selection of restaurants and shops. Locals were very friendly and helpful! We do enjoy what local guides bring to a tour, but VBT did provide information on all stops along the way.

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 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!

We enjoyed cycling through the Douro River region and seeing the charming villages. The arranged lunches at local restaurants were a highlight. The recent fires in the area did take away from some of the natural beauty, but despite that, we had fun cycling. There are plenty of lovely views to enjoy. Our trip leaders did a great job. The terrain is quite hilly, - be prepared! Cruising on the Douro added to the experience.

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.

Our tour of Northern Spain was a combination of seeing some of the beautiful landscapes of northern Spain, a flavor of what the Camino de Santiago is like and a wonderful history and cultural experience of this region of the world. Our guides were phenomenal. They took care of every detail of the tour, and made sure we got as many experiences as possible throughout the tour. They managed our safety while still giving us the freedom to explore on our own.

Our Guides, Alberto and Pol, made this trip one to remember! Surprises at every bend on the Camino. We especially enjoyed the Northern Coastal areas and the Vineyards (Ribera Sacra) in the mountains overlooking the Sil River. But the cultural experiences really made the trip POP! From the Queimada demonstration to the Pottery making demo at Rectoral de Gundivos, to the Good Shepherd Demo, and did we mention the Paradores! Overall, a great sampler of the Camino, and one we hope to revisit as Pilgrims. Wish we could have spent more time hiking the Camino and less time on the charter bus, but we understand the limitations. Perhaps CW will extend this trip by a few days down the road (path).

Our Portugal adventure was so much fun! The accommodations were fantastic. Our guides Helene and David were knowledgeable and very helpful with anything presented to them. Being able to choose between a shorter hike daily was very nice. The scenery either hiking or relaxing was beautiful. Couldn’t have asked for better weather our entire tour. The guests, now friends, we met on our tour were wonderful, fun and sooooo friendly! This is a must tour if you’re thinking Portugal. Enjoy!

Our trip to Portugal was all we expected and so much more. Our guides, Helene and David were excellent! They had it all, trail knowledge, historical stories, restaurant recommendations, current affairs, etc. All with big smiles and lots of laughter. Our hotels, manors, and castles were top notch accommodations and each stop on our trail had a special treat for us. Be advised, their swimming pools are freezing! But felt so good after a warm day of hiking, especially with a white port and tonic after a few laps to stretch out the muscles. The hiking was as described with a short option every day for those who wished to take it easy. Our guides set a nice pace, not too fast nor too slow and plenty of time to stop and take pictures or hear a little talk about something interesting along the way. We have been with Country Walkers before and have already booked our 2025 trip.