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.

We are experienced riders and found this trip to be moderately challenging. Ride very doable with ebikes for hills, cobblestones and gravel. Majority of ride on roads with little traffic while we were there. Back up support was available to assist with chain problem. Rides a mix of ocean views, small towns, and agricultural areas.

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.

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!

Thus was our 13th VBT trip and the combination of biking and a small cruise ship was wonderful. I had not anticipated the great food options on the ship. The guides, Manuel and Matayas, were amonst the pantheon of great VBT guides. The biking was challenging, but the electrics were appreciated by my 80 year old body.The roads were mostly low traffic. loved the lunches in the small towns on the daily rides.The bus rides to the rides were like a thrill ride at Disneyland-big bus-little road.

Perfect trip, VBT staff/guides above and beyond!!!

I loved this trip. The group was so compatible, no "problem people". The hotels were top rate! The meals were great, albeit too much food. The guides became friends! The bus driver rocked! And the path/trails well thought out. Totally enjoyed it!!! Hope to do another country walkers trip again in near future. Jean

The tour was outstanding in every way. The two guides were excellent. My only complaint is with the travel arrangements which were resolved, I believe, only because I complained vociferously. .

As has been true with every one of our previous Country Walkers trips, we were so impressed with the skills and knowledge of our guides, Ana and Luis. They made the daily experiences stress free and so much fun. We learned a lot. We enjoyed the interactions with the others on the tour. The teaching from local people was great. I was so impressed that you were able to keep Marialva on the tour despite the big fire two months ago. We included both the pre and post trip extensions in Porto and Lisbon. We enjoyed exploring Porto and scheduled two port wine tastings. In Lisbon, we explored restaurants, museums, and churches. We had an extra day in Lisbon when our flight home was cancelled. (We were glad that we had purchased travel insurance). We got to visit a couple more places and walked around some different neighborhoods. Despite being in November, we had decent weather. The only really rainy morning was while we were on the boat on the Douro river. The rain stopped by the time we got off. I have a few suggestions for improvements: 1) The tour of the olive oil facility was the only disappointment of the week. I wish that there had been more time spent to discuss old and current methods of making olive oil. A short video with still pictures and some vignettes demonstrating olive harvesting would have been a big improvement. 2) Keep the nature preserve walk at Marialva. It was great, as was the knowledgable leader. Getting to know a bit more about "rewilding" and something about wildlife was great. 3) I suggest that the evening meal at Marialva be included in the tour. There weren't many choices for where to eat. Or include a driver and vehicle to a near-by town with some suggestions.

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