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.

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 my first trip with VBT, but it won't be my last! Some of their excellent attention to detail: two days into the trip they sent a mechanic to fine tune any issues with the bikes (in general, there really wasn't much he needed to do); created a WhatsApp group prior to the start of the time to make communication with other members as well as VBT quick and efficient; "Ride with GPS" had the 'regular instuctions' plus great details like "turn at sign with green background that says..."; head towards the bright yellow house; you might like to walk your bike here; etc. AND, on our last day, we unfortunately had a thunderstorm forecast so the majority of our group didn't want to ride. VBT quickly organized transport for us to our last destination - at no extra cost. Very professional and dedicated organization!

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.

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!

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.

Excellent support of Manuel/ David. Timo was a hoot. Only one day was over planned. Recommend separate events ( hieroglyphics visit)

Really enjoyed the trip. The guides were excellent and very personable. The hiking took us through some very beautiful coastal inland areas. Some of the hiking was a bit strenuous but overall it was well planned. I would have preferred a bit more free time after the hikes in lieu of the pottery, cheese , and cider presentations.

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.

beautiful locations; great guides, excellent meals

The tour exceeded my expectations. Northern Portugal is beautiful and the walks were interesting and scenic. The hotels were all great and very different. Our tour guides were outstanding! They were very knowledgeable and communicated well. Included food and drinks were of high quality. I don’t have anything negative to say about this tour.