Portugal Bike & Hotel Tour Reviews — 1 to 30 of 291

The bike route was fantastic with stunning scenery along the coast line.

Our stay at the Convento de São Paulo was exceptional. Lots to explore in the hotel and grounds. The food was great.
The 12 speed ebikes were the best we have used on several trips we have taken in Europe. Having the extra lower gears makes a big difference if you want to minimize the amount of power used. The tour staff service was excellent.

Great mix of beautiful coast line, old villages, historic sites and rolling terrain.

Views, great Rute. Excellent hotels, beautiful towns.

The bikes perfect, the gps good, the company where we rent the bikes and move our luggage perfect.

Great experience. Very recommended.

Enjoyed the trip. Last 3 days were the most scenic rides. Tripsite and the local tour operator were easy to deal with.
My only suggestion is to make the downloadable maps available for offline use sooner. The first maps did not correspond to our itinerary and were confusing. When we finally got the right maps it was right before the trip started making it difficult for many in the group.

Awesome trip. Really enjoyed biking along the Portuguese coast.
We had 6 on our trip, 3 e-bikers and 3 human powered bikes. The human powered bikers were able to keep pace with the e-bikes except for the steep hills. It turns out that the cobblestone streets and dirt trails are self limiting on the speed of e-bikes.

The Torre do Rio and Parador de Baiona hotels were the highlight of the trip.

I had some frustrations:
1. The Ride with GPS directions did not match the GPS device directions
2. The GPS device directions were wrong for the boat crossing and no advanced warning that the boat launch location may differ was given.
3. The route lead you to paths that were clearly marked as bicycles prohibited
4. The elevation gain numbers did not match across any of the literature. It was off by hundreds of meters depending on where you looked.

We had no previous experience with a bike tour. We really appreciated the guided aspect of this tour and Sergio and Pedro were excellent guides. We chose the e-bikes because of the flexibility it provided to make our riding as easy or as difficult as we wanted. We recognized that some in our group chose regular bikes and adjusted our riding on the steep inclines knowing it would take them longer to get to the rest stop and cheered them on as we waited for them. The scenery is so stunning and made ride that much more enjoyable. All the hotels were excellent and the food was all wonderful. Each city we stopped in was beautiful. The only suggestion we would make is to make less stops along the Camino and get to the hotel around 3pm each day. That way, even if the rooms are not ready people can can go have lunch and then return to check in and relax before dinner and site seeing.

We had a great week with lots of delicious local foods and wines. Our guides did a great job facilitating everything and provided good information. The accommodations we memorable, especially the two farms where we did cooking classes. The biking was very manageable with the high quality e-bikes. Lots of local sites and history food and wines!

The terrain made this a difficult and technical ride. The word ‘easy’ should not be included in the description.
Also I thought the group size, 21, was too big. It is listed as an e-bike tour but 6 people elected to ride regular bikes, which caused problems on the steep uphill portions.
Except for Porto, the hotels were very nice but we didn’t get much time to enjoy them. There were too many stops during the day but mainly for snacks (provided), rarely did we stop for an actual lunch.

Great trip and unexpected pleasure with different restaurants and sights. Highly recommended! Bikes were in top shape and luggage was always delivered as expected.

I think this trip was rated easy to moderate, but due to some difficult terrain it was hard at times and seemed somewhat dangerous. I wasn’t aware before the trip that more than 50% of the terrain would be off road biking. I could cope with it but many of those on the trip found it difficult to manage at times.
The tour leaders were excellent but the mix of non electric bike amongst the electric bikes could also be difficult at times. Several members of the tour mentioned that if they knew beforehand what the riding would be like they would not have taken this trip. It should be made very clear what the cyclist should expect. Some days seemed longer than necessary due to many frequent stops for coffee and restrooms which meant we had little to no time to enjoy the nice towns we were staying in. All hotels were great except for the first night in Porto which was in a strange part of town away from the bike garage(long walks needed to get there) and the unfriendly staff on the front desk.

A wonderful immersive tour of the heart of Portugal. Great biking, beautiful landscapes, cooking classes. The accommodations were great as was the food. Interesting tours (cathedrals, caves, cork factory, cactus farm). Everyone everywhere went was so inviting and hospitable. We had an amazing guide who made sure we had an amazing tour. It was truly a great and memorable trip and left us feeling we had truly experienced Portugal. This trip left us wanting to return to further explore Portugal.

The trip involved spectacular scenery, wide open bike paths and roads, and small villages and cities. We did the trip in December which was cooler with fewer travelers than other times of year. Our local guide Sergio was kind, energetic, and knows the area— routes, restaurants , hotels-inside and out. I would highly recommend this trip.

The locations on this tour are fantastic, from tiny towns and ancient villages, fields of grapes, olives and cork, to medieval castles and cathedrals. That being said, it was the people made this tour awesome. Bernardo, our guide, and Sonia, our support person, were outstanding. Both are very knowledgeable about the region and Portugal, and all logistics were seamless—they are a great team who put us all at ease. The hotels and meals were a highlight, we stayed in 2 converted convents, one of which was like staying in a museum but with a 4-star hotel inside! The restaurants that our guide chose were authentic and charming, the food and service were amazing. We sampled many local specialties and locally produced wines. Our guides dined with us, answering all of our questions about the food and region. The e-bikes were top notch, and any small issues were handled promptly by Bernardo. This is such a great way to see a country, very different than what most tourists will experience, we loved it!

This trip was excellent overall. Tripsite was easy to work with ahead of the tour and then, even though we were self-guide, the tour operator was communicative, hands-on, and all their staff were friendly and helpful.

The app they use for directions is excellent, and even in the intricate streets of rural Portugal, we were able to easily find our way and knew within a couple minutes when we were off track. This also made it easier to find points of interest because they were clearly marked in the app. The points of interest were good and were a mix of "look at this" (roman ruins, churches, etc) and "get a tour here" (cork factory, several wineries, etc). If you are self-guided, the tour operator will help you book reservations for tours once you get there, but we missed a few because they needed to be booked more than a week in advance and we didn't know that. As soon as you get access to the app, take a look at what you want to do and either contact them yourself or ask the tour operator to book them. Some days only have a couple viewpoints/tours, and if they are both closed or not booked it could be disappointing.

The cycling was generally pretty flat. I've seen other reviews that there is a lot of climbing, we didn't find that. There are some long uphills, but the longest of these was clearly mentioned in the app before we started up to that point of interest. The bigger challenge for us was the routes that aren't asphalt - I think every route had us on gravel for several sections and sometimes it was quite sandy or rutted. The most difficult section we biked was marked as an "alternate more adventurous path", so we expected it. If you're worried about the hills, I would suggest an e-bike, although I did it with a normal bike.

The bikes were in excellent condition. We were provided with everything we needed - water bottles, repair kit, handlebar phone holders, chargers for e-bikes, and a bike jersey.

The dinners at the farmhouse were excellent. They were home-made and rich at the same time and are a highlight of the trip. The rooms are well appointed, and although the building is old, it worked very well for us once we realized you have to run the shower for 5 minutes to get hot water.

The trip was excellent. Starting with our local host Bernardo who explained everything clearly (the best we’ve had on any tour), to the brand new e-bikes and accessories, the fabulous accommodation (which was a highlight of the tour) right through to perfect weather, all went well.

Bernardo and Sonia were both fantastic. Bernardo created great routes each day with coffee stops in towns where we could explore a bit. Sonia made extraordinary picnics each day. The dinner venues, cuisine, and service were extraordinary. They both anticipated our needs and catered to every request. It was the best bicycle tour I have experienced!

The local team in Porto did an excellent job. My ebike had two flat tires during the first hour, before we lever left the city. but they switched out the bike and the remaining 6 days of riding the bike was perfect! The navigation through the app - Ride GPS was flawless. Two of the hotels were beyond amazing, all the others were perfectly fine. The logistics of the airport pickup, luggage transfers, hotel reservations and transportation back to Porto all went off without a hitch. The only suggestion that I might make in terms of route is if a group is NOT staying in Vigo having the route go right though downtown which we hit during lunchtime rush seemed unnecessary, confusing and long.

This tour exceeded our expectations. We had completed the North Portugal tour 3 days earlier, resting in Porto, then jumped back on the bikes for this tour to Lisbon.
The route was a great balance of coastal areas & through nature parks. The hotels were a mix of boutique & larger premises.
Recommend using e-bikes to enhance the touring experience, & add an additional night at day 3 or 4 to freshen up with a light day.

Our Porto to Lisbon self-guided cycling tour was absolutely incredible. The scenery, accommodation and the Portuguese people were fantastic.
Dianna the receptionist in Porto did a great job of going through everything before we started. This was last minute for her due to the person who was meant to do it not showing up.
We were given a Garmin for the navigation, but the GPS app we found easier to use on our phones.
Our one ask is that some information and times be updated. A major bridge was closed to cyclists, so we had to turn around to get a ferry. Unfortunately, the ferry crossing time was different to the information we had been given.
That said this was a fantastic trip. Easy, mostly flat riding. Watch out for those Portuguese drivers when on the open roads though.

Sergio and Miguel, our knowledgeable and experienced tour guides, worked to make this journey the most memorable experience in our lives. This was our first guided tour and it certainly will not be our last one that we schedule with Tripsite. No words could adequately explain the beauty, landscape, architecture, food, history, and the people we met in Portugal and Spain. The cycling every day presented challenges with the headwind one day and the rain on another day, which made the adventure more challenging and rewarding, too. Every detail is taken care of from the bike fitting to the snacks at each stop to the magnificent hotels and restaurant options. We were taken care of with all of the support needed for an awesome trip. Don’t hesitate to reserve your chance for a one of kind experience. Thank you, Sergio, Miguel, and Philipe (transportation).

All in all it is a beautiful tour. However, be sure your biking skills are top notch and don't expect an easy ride. Lots of long uphills and downhills with sharp hairpin turns. The vineyards are beautiful and so are the views. I would not call it a wine tour, rather a castle tour, as the long daily distances leave very little time - if any - for wine tasting. Also, only a few vineyards are open for tasting after pre-arranged visit. But, enjoy the excellent, inexpensive local wines with your lunch and dinners.

We really thought the GPS could have been updated. We approached a few places where we could not continue on GPS route because there was a new road or bridge built, we had to stop and figure it out. I was injured the first day and ended up in the hospital with 6 stitches in my index finger. Turns out the endcap was missing from the handlebar which landed on my finger when I toppled over.
Portgugal is very bike friendly, which is nice. On the roads or bike paths next to the road it was nice. We also travelled on paths thru farm land that were gravel and full of potholes that we had to dart around.. Not fun. The last day, we were on a path that was very treachurous had we tried to ride our bikes on it. We had to get off and walk our bikes.

We thought the operating company could have done a better job.

We did this tour self guided on e-bikes and of the 3 we have done with Tripsite I think this was our best! The tour is so well organised, the partners in Portugal were so helpful! The scenery along the way is spectacular, from long coastal beaches to shady forests, waterfalls and all the little churches along the way. Riding amongst those walking the Camino was very special-- listening to some of the different reasons for doing it and making friends along the way. The hotels were good with two being amazing and one that was very average. We loved exploring the local towns to find somewhere to eat at night and loved the seafood rice on offer, always prepared a little differently. Also the pastel de nata were delicious! The Spanish and Portuguese were very friendly and I would love to do another tour in one of these countries. We had great weather which always makes for a memorable time.

1. The switch backs (hair pins), dirt road, pot holes, gravel road, flat road… various terrain.
2. The hotels and luggage transportation is very helpful. The luggage delivery is on time.
3. The seafood, including clams is yummy.
4. Each fishing town or beach town is unique.
5. Óbidos is a great final destination. We finally can take time to walk around the town.
6. Ferry time-it would be helpful to know the ferry schedule so that we can schedule our time earlier instead of waiting for 50 min.
7. A few roads and bridges are under construction or not for bikes. It would be great to know the updated notes to avoid the unnecessary turns.

Our trip was amazing and one of our favorite tours of the five Tripsite bike trips so far!  The Coastal views along the seashore in Portugal were beautiful, and majestic.  We shared the trails/roads/paths along other hiking Pilgrims, making the experience more communal. Our guides, Miguel and Felipe, planned for our meals with local restaurateurs who served delicious traditional Portuguese foods. They took very good care of us and were attentive to our needs including preparing us for any challenges we would experience along the way.  The hotels, especially the Parador de Baiona Hotel & the Torre do Rio Hotel offered an unforgettable experience overall. 

we only went to Obidos, but part of me wishes we would have done the longer tour to Lisbon!
i loved the route, and the variety of terrain on the route! The Garmin made it easy to not get lost! We loved seeing the Atlantic Ocean so much. we loved the towns... and Obidos being a walled city was something new and different too!
the terrain changed as we headed south.. that was nice. We also had perfect weather and a tailwind every day! we saw other bikers going from South to North and said they had headwinds every day! We loved the town of Costa Nova! we only passed through, but i wish we would have spent more time there!

The scenery and people were amazing. Guides weee incredible . Everything I dreamed of but I would not say the tide was easy to moderate

This trip was completely amazing from the natural beauty to the personalized activities designed by our guide.