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.

Amazing experience - highly recommend! Beautiful countryside and stunning coastal views! I also recommend the E-bike due to some very challenging hills!! The bikes were high quality and held the charge! Great hotels and everyone was so kind and welcoming throughout the entire tour!! We are looking for our next VBT experience now!!

The bike routes were well planned and reasonable is length of travel. We were in need of an air pump and it was promptly provided. This however should be available in future ventures and should travel from hotel to hotel with our luggage. The hotels were reasonable but not a five star as we expected. The meals provided by VBT we less than average and should have perhaps been planned at a more authentic Portuguese restaurant. Our bike routes had very little authentic stops along the way. Some pre arranged activities would have been enjoyable for example a port tasking, or a local Market or even an authentic coffee shop where we might be expected and served a coffee and pastry. Also a planned final dinner with the group and perhaps a leader to join us would have ended our trip nicely.

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 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.

This trip was the perfect combination of biking and cruising. The Emerald Radiance was a top-notch level Riverboat with a crew that felt like family by the end of the trip. The rooms were small but had every important amenity. In the evening were entertained by local dancers and singers that were an excellent representation of the local culture. This trip should be on everyone’s list.

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.

I have been on 4 CW trips and the guides have been great. Helene and Luís were next level. They were definitely one of the highlights for me. The accommodations were historic and amazing. I did not enjoy the hikes as much as previous trips but didn’t feel disappointed.

This was an amazing trip! Beautiful country…castles, wonderful walks through the valleys, wine, delicious food and the best guides!