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.

Enjoyed this trip to Portugal. Good mix of easy and moderate riding to work off the fantastic food/beverages.

Portugal is a beautiful country with spectacular scenery as well as many historical sites. We generally road south along the coast line with excursions inland into farm land and orchards. We traveled through small towns and villages, many of which had cobblestone streets, castles, and very old churches. The hotels were all nice and clean, although the rooms in some were quite small. The rides were generally easy to moderate, although the final day was quite challenging with many hills. Both Porto and Lisbon are worth spending some extra time visiting. The "Ride with GPS" app generally worked pretty well, although traveling through some towns it was easy to miss turns and have to backtrack. Our group of 12 got along really well and we would cross paths frequently during the day. While this was a self-guided tour, there is a need for at least some level of support. One of our group had a low tire, and the small pumps on the bikes are not adequate to inflate a road bike tire to the recommended pressure. It took some cajoling to get the local support person to provide us with a floor pump. I would recommend that a floor pump be included with each group. Alternatively, a CO2 inflater with each bike would be helpful, at least for road bikes. The bikes were nice, and several in our group road e-bikes, which they enjoyed. Overall, we enjoyed the trip, particularly the people, although I am not sure I would do another self-guided trip.

This is the only way I want to vacation from now on. I’ve never been a fan of the typical sightseeing vacations. I loved cycling through orchards, small villages, and along the coast. Weather was perfect and hotels top-notch. The equipment was excellent and the VBT staff were wonderful. Not a single complaint.

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!

We really enjoyed this trip and would recommend it. The routes were scenic; the bikes excellent; the food very good; the leaders outstanding; the other experiences (tours, wine tasting, etc.) were fun and informative; the hotels at the beginning and end were very nice. We would suggest using the e-bikes as the terrain is hilly.

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.

As always, fabulous guides but, for the first time in 10 tours, so-so walking that was nowhere near what was originally outlined when I first signed up. Disappointing at best.

Enjoyed the trip. leaders were great as always with Country Walkers.Just the right amount of hiking and difficulty. scenery beautiful.

VERY LOVELY GUIDES. LOVELY HIKES. LOVELY ACCOMODATIONS. MEDIOCRE MINUS FOOD. WE WERE LEFT TO TAKE CARE OF DINNERS & LUNCHES IN PLACES WHERE THERE WAS ALMOST NOTHING TO GET. IN ONE OF THE HOTELS, THE RESTAURANT WAS CLOSED, UNBEKNOWNST TO COUNTRY WALKERS.

This was our first Country Walkers trip and it exceeded our expectations in practically every way! Our guides (Helene and Rita) were excellent and filled our walks with historical and ecological knowledge and tidbits about wherever we were that day. The regions were fascinating, beautiful and seemed to be indicative of authentic Portuguese life away from the cities! Lodging was wonderful in two out of three locations but adequate and interesting in the third! We very much enjoyed meeting and spending this journey with the four other walking companions that we had. In essence, we had a great time, a lot of fun and felt like we really got to see the heart of Portugal! We absolutely loved it!