Spain

This was a perfect trip...Seamless. My 8th VBT bicycling trip and all were good but this one was exceptional because our leaders were exceptional. Great biking, great cultural events and guided tours, wonderful food, very cohesive group of 22 guests who really liked each other every single day. Bravo Javi and Andrea..I hope we meet again!

Our favorite VBT trip to date. The cultural experience rivaled the well planned cycling routes. Time spent on and off the bicycle created lasting memories for joyful reflection.

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!

This self-guided ride through the Costa Brava area was our first experience with VBT; we did the trip with our daughter and her husband. We are all fit and active, but only one is an experienced long distance bicycle rider, and none of us had trained for this trip extensively. We selected e-bikes (also relatively new to most of us) and were thrilled with the whole experience. Accommodations were great, the Ride with GPS app was terrific, and our local host was available every morning to check in with if needed. We hope to do another VBT ride together!

Having done one guided VBT tour and one self-guided, I find that the self-guided option offers most of the benefits of the guided version, leaving out only the close supervision and support of excellent tour guides. We were familiar with the bikes and the tools--RideWithGPS--so we were prepared to go it on our own. Worked out great. Got the support we needed--hotels, baggage transfer, assistance with nightly charging etc.--and were free to make our own schedules and seek out our own stops along the way. The routes provided by VBT were enough to make us feel we knew where we were going and could manage on our own, and everything worked out okay. Highly recommended.

The trip was great. The hotels and food were excellent. The leaders were enthusiastic, knowledgeable and caring. The best I’ve ever encountered on other vacations or cruises. My only concerns are the weight of the e-bikes and the occasional routes on busy roads. I’m an inexperienced biker who knew upfront that the trip would be challenging for me. The weight and configuration of the e-bikes made it difficult for me to mount and maneuver them. This resulted in some falls and minor injuries. While’s the periods on major roads are not lengthy, one in particular had a four foot wide bike lane with whizzing cars and trucks to my left and a three foot gully to my right. One of my falls was into such a gully. Having said that, I enjoyed the trip, my fellow bikers, the leaders, and the island of Mallorca. I would sum things up by saying it was comprised of many hours of beauty and enjoyment surrounding moments of sheer terror.

Mallorca is a beautiful island with varied landscape - mountains, farms, seashore. Biking was almost completely on small lanes. Interesting visits to wineries, olive oil operation and salt plant. Great food. Great guides. I would do it 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.

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 was the best VBT trip I've had. Great biking,and mix of culture. Excellent unique hotels,and our guides were extremely fun and happy to share their culture.

Nick and Roman made the trip so special. They were there to meet our every need and gave us of themselves. The biking is superlative and the lodging very unique and memorable

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

Outstanding guides who make the days and evenings fun, stunning and variable terrain, lovely paradors - and beautiful, beautiful Northern Spain.

Excellent trip. I went with my daughter and son in law and we all enjoyed ourselves. Guides Isabelle and Juanjo were delightful, helpful, knowledgeable and fun. Initially I was concerned that we were a large group of 17. However everyone got along well and Isabelle and Juanjo managed to accommodate all levels. The hotels were excellent except that in Polenca we sacrificed space for location. Everyone seemed to prefer the new format of more meals on our own. It worked on this trip because we were in towns on those days with a choice of restaurants and cafes. Mallorca is a beautiful island with friendly people and for the most part very good food. Highlights for me were the coastal walks, lunches at the winery and citrus farm and visits to the towns. Suggestions- more food choices st the last two group dinners, options of some guided afternoon walks. I would rate the walking as more moderate to challenging because it is very rocky and steep in parts.

Incredibly beautiful and enjoyable hikes on scenic paths to historic places, with great guides, delicious fresh food, and new cultural experiences are well worth the journey to Mallorca.