Spain

VBT never disappoints. This was my 4th trip with VBT and it was fantastic. Our guides Oriol and Martin were outstanding. Loved the visit to the Dali Museum and came away with a new appreciation for his work. The landscapes were beautiful and the visit to the cider company was fun. The post trip in Mallorca was a pleasure.

It starts with the guides and they deliver on a continuous basis. Andrea and Javier (Javi) are excellent at delivering the experience promised by VBT and go above and beyond to make it all work and make sure you are happy. There are always glitches along the way, mostly created by the guests. They work tirelessly and effectively to solve every problem. Like all the other trips (we have done many). It's so much more than the wonderful biking. The farm visit to the apple orchard is amazing. Who knew so much science and technology are needed to be successful in this day and age. They explained why more than 150 apples stresses the trees and produce inferior apples. They showed us the technology they use to eliminate excess blooms. The resultant apples, juices and ciders are wonderful. The enjoyment of our visit to the Dali museum was magnified many times over by the enthusiasm and knowledge of Kim, our guide. I had no idea how many elements were in each Dali painting and how his mind worked.

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 just returned from a wonderful self guided trip through Costa Brava. The hotels were perfect, great locations for exploring and wonderful amenities. The routes led us through beautiful countryside, panoramic views and charming medieval villages. Only suggestion would be to search for additional routes as we road the same road section 3x!!!! A few routes were a little nerve racking with high speed traffic, but VBT kept those sections short and we were well warned with the Ride with GPS app. The app with voice directions was very easy to follow. Overall this was a great trip filled with fun memories.

As my wife and others have mentioned the routes, scenery and accommodations were all excellent, as were the bikes! We chose the carbon road bike option since that’s what we ride at home. After a couple of stops to get the seats adjusted to our liking we were off and found the bikes to be very comfortable and well geared for the hills. We’re in our mid sixties and trained over the summer working up to doing 3-4 rides per week with lengths of 20-40 miles and elevations from 900’-2,100’. That training was sufficient as we found none of the climbs too difficult (although we did choose the longer, less elevation route leaving Girona). While the bikes did have a bar end mirror and a clip on tail light I was glad we brought our own helmet mirrors and front and rear lights. They made the few short sections of high traffic roads much less nerve racking. The drivers were all very courteous however, passing with the required 1.5m clearance. At a rest break a car even stopped to see if we needed any assistance! In addition to the lights and mirrors we also brought wireless earbuds to better hear the excellent Ride with GPS route cues, only using the right ones so we could still easily hear traffic. I do wish we had brought our own phone mounts as the ones provided use rubber corner straps which makes accessing your phone for photos difficult and time consuming. In addition, if they’re not strapped properly the phone can fall out as my wife’s did. Luckily we found it and there was no damage. All in all a great trip even though the bike accessories could be improved.

Terrific bike trip on Mallorca organized by VBT…made especially good due to 2 fantastic leaders and a wonderful group of riders.

Terrific: guides, hotels (except one hotel was not good), countryside, e-bikes, wineries, guests. I didn't like the late night group dinners that ended around 9:30 at night. It's difficult to get a good night's sleep after a late dinner and then get up early the next morning to go bike riding.

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 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.

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.

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!

Wonderful trip, great guides, good food, well-organized. Guides Alberto and Pol were a great team and anticipated our every need. Moreover, they were fun to be with and full of helpful information. The route was well planned to experience both the Camino Norte and the Camino Franca. The paradors were generally good though not spectacular, with the exception of that in Santiago de Compostela. Visits to the winery and cheese factory were also pleasant and provided variety to the walking treks. The length and elevation gain of the walks were fine for the elderly group, though the initial information should be checked for accuracy. Some walks were more and others were less than advertised.

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 loved this trip. Mallorca was more Beautiful than I imagined. Our leaders Helle and Joseph were amazing. Joseph knew so much about the area and the history. It was nice to have a local guide. Helle is a fantastic guide. I came on this trip because she had lead the Norway trip that I was on and I liked her so much that I booked my Mallorca immediately after reading from Norway

The itinerary, trails, meals and lodging were top notch, complimented by the best two guides we have ever had....they missed no opportunity to please.