Spain

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.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the VBT Costa Brava trip. The biking itinerary was clearly written and well planned. We are confident traveling in Europe after living there many years, however, we believe it is safer and certainly more convenient to bike with a reputable group tour. VBT offers a high quality experience which we can recommend without hesitation.

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 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!

This was our first VBT and it will not be our last! We loved the self-guided trip through quaint medieval villages, quiet country lanes, mountain climbs in the foothills of the Pre-Pyrenees, apple orchards, to the beautiful shores of the Mediterranean. We had a great group of 7 travelers we met up with along the path, and for many dinners. We choose the self-guided because we wanted to go at our own pace. Our local hosts were amazing and always a phone call or text away! We made the right choice by going with the E-bikes! We had never tried them before, and they were amazing!

We had a great sequence of bike rides and visits away from the busy city of Palma. There were lots of small country roads with minimal traffic. We stopped to admire an active herd of goats tossing and hopping around eating leftover bread. Attractive boundary and terrace rock walls are everywhere as you ride by. We were told by our taxi driver that all these rocks basically came from farmer’s fields and the walls were constructed to keep their animals contained. Our VBT guides BB and Jose were both very helpful and informative. It’s a beautiful island and a key highlight for me was riding up the switchbacks to the lighthouse in Port de Sóller. The views were amazing.

A wonderful biking experience on beautiful Mallorca! Our leaders, Jose and Juantxo, were exceptionally knowledgeable about Spanish culture and the island and were simply a delight to spend time with. The biking with easy (with e-bikes) and I enjoyed all the cultural outings. First time in Spain and I can't wait to go back!

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.

The guides and the boat and staff were great. However, the trip did not meet the usual VBT expectations. The trip itinerary lists a warm up ride in Porto. This does not exist. The "warm up" and bike fitting are in a small parking lot the next day where there is no space to adequately test the bike. So you're immediately out on a road with no shoulder in heavy traffic for 16 miles along the river. No doubt there are some nice views, but when you're only concerned about safety and figuring out the bike, there is no time for scenery. The next couple days riding were moderately uninteresting scenery. The best ride was the Rails to Trails - Safe, beautiful, interesting. We were looking forward to the final ride to the Atlantic Coast but got rained out. Because of being on the boat there are daily transfers by bus of up to an hour each way to get to the biking areas and back to the boat. Too much time on a bus!! While it was nice to only unpack once, the trade off of charming hotels and villages with our bikes on the property was not worth it.

This tour is excellent. The biking routes are interesting and offer challenge for all levels, with the option of a ride in the van always there for bikers who want to avoid some hills or just need a rest. The scenery is spectacular. The tour has a perfect combination of ride days and tour days. Our trip leaders were bright, personable, competent and a fun, integral part of the group. The hotels, food, and cultural events tied it all together. I highly recommend this tour. I want to go back tomorrow!

This trip could not have been better. Bikes, guides, hotels, food, history, culture, tours to the prime sights, transports ; all organized and pulled off smoothly, down to small details. The guides were special. Knowledgeable, friendly, organized,encouraging, calm, and just fun to be around. We lost a passport in Cordoba and within an hour the guides tracked it down and saved some huge hassles for us. I don’t typically write reviews, but this trip was just too good.

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

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.

Mallorca is, of course, a spectacularly beautiful place to explore on foot. And when the explorers have the most personable and knowledgeable local guides ever, daily delights abound! We loved the gorgeous views, the satisfying and educational snack breaks (where we enjoyed fresh local fruits and treats, and even sampled the traditional mallorquin sausage, sobrasada, prepared and cured by our lead guide, Jaume!), the cultural and historical education shared by our two proud Mallorquin guides - everything!

Great trails & guides, awesome food, wonderful place