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.

Lovely part of Portugal in the off season. I don’t bike ride but with the e bikes and the moderate terrain, it was easy. Loved self guided and the Ride with GPS app!!!!

It is such a beautiful country with some of the nicest people I have ever met.

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!

This trip is a great way to see Portugal. Pre-extension in Lisbon, Emerald cruise in the Douro River valley, and post-extension in Porto. Great food, service and extremely well thought out bike routes. 14 of 16 of us used e-bikes, and unless you are a serious rider, I recommend the e-bikes. It is a river valley, so you are either climbing out of it, or coasting back in. The surrounding area is hilly. The small towns that you visit along the way are beautiful and historical. The folks are very gracious. The ship is delightful - 104 passengers, and a crew of 37. Two outstanding leaders wrangle all the bikes, and act as hosts on all the side tours at lunch, and pedaling days end. Can't say enough about how well we were taken of. All in all, a wonderful week!

Wonderful trip! Biking along the Douro and surrounding areas was amazing. We were able to go to some remote places and really experience the area without a lot of tourists around. The meals we had in the small towns were top notch! We had wonderful tours as well. Matyas and David were excellent guides. Riding an ebike on this tour enabled me to enjoy the multiple steep hills.

The trip was fabulous, we explored northern Spain along different parts of the Camino. The local guides were fantastic; friendly, knowledgeable, confident, concerned for our well being and safety. Everyone got along really well. The tours of the towns with the pottery and goat cheese tours with lunch was a highlight. Food was abundant, we actually agreed that after the luncheons we only needed a very light dinner. Hotels were amazing. Absolutely loved this trip and our guides. I went into this trip thinking we were walking enough distance to obtain the Camino certification, we went to get one and the official man behind the counter told us “ impossible “ This was a disappointment for me. I would have liked that in the description of this trip. I was not the only one with this expectation. I called the office of country walkers when I realized it was not an official walk a few days prior to the trip and was told to just walk another 15 miles to reach the criteria. This was not possible on this tour. I am planning to return and walk the Camino as a pilgrim and obtain the Camino certificate. That is important to me and from this trip I realize it is doable. The trip was more than just the walk and I got so much out of this trip that I can say was well worth it and will be life changing.

The itinerary for this trip was very well thought out. The local guides, Diego and Pol, were beyond great. I would rate this trip as moderate, but you could elect to skip portions of the hikes to make it easier. The accommodations along the Camino were originally monasteries. The trip was so much fun. Thank you, Diego and Pol.

One of the best, if not the best, organized tours, all due to our two tour guides, Helen and Rita.

Talk about breath taking vistas, extraordinary guides, mouth watering foods, ports to sit and sip, hikes to remember for a lifetime and awe filled companions, this trip had it all in abundance !!