4 Star Portugal Tour Reviews — 31 to 52 of 52

The parador in Baionne. Crossing to Spain. The last hotel before Arriving in Santiago

Great Trip!
Best part was night at Torre do Río hotel WOW. Second best was boat crossing into Spain. Third best was night at the castle Parador de Baiona.
The trip lost a star because of the death bridge Ponte Effle, the long walk across bridge Ponte Fao and riding in traffic of Vigo and Porto.
thx-mik Sep23

Meeting all the pilgrims on the trail was lots of fun. Everyone was friendly and kind. The trail was a challenge at times with lots of rough rocks, quick hills, little streams to cross but we had e-bikes and can’t imagine doing it without them. Probably avoid doing this route in July and Aug because of the number of pilgrims on the trail.

This was a river cruise with a biking contingent of 19 people out of 100 people. I would have enjoyed more biking. I especially enjoyed our picnic at Castello Rodrigo, the food and views were fantastic. Later that same day we stopped for a break in a small town where the local townspeople invited us to see their church. Truly magical!

Visiting historical towns. I would build in some rest days to explore the towns.
I also enjoyed trying to navigate and stay on track. Some of the dirt tracks were a bit much, however. I think the routes should stay on more well-used tracks, even if they are dirt.

You will love, love, love the quiet days on the road, the accommodations, the sights and the breakfasts. You may not love the instant coffee in some locations or the fact that the gps system stops talking to you in the towns where you most need it. The Evora loop day was a bit of a disappointment due to travelling on a highway for a good part of it, especially after having so many glorious days prior to that.

scenic views.great accommodations and enjoyable group dinners. Guides were friendly and helpful.

suggestions- rating it as " easy" was not accurate. the varying terrains made it more challenging. hill durations might be described better. I would give participants a branded water bottle as a take away.

The most memorable both positive and negative :
Having a small biking group aboard the ship we were on- we got to get off and bike through the countryside and explore in a way a bus tour group (like the other people on the boat) we not able to . It was a beautiful experience and great guides .
The most memorable negative was the boat was German and all the people on the ship were German and myself and my friend were the only 2 American and english speaking people. I would have appreciated a heads up that this boat rarely has Americans travel on it as I may have selected a different option for my trip and we were both unable to socialize or understand much of what being said . Being that every one on this boat was in their late 60's and 70's it was an old and old world vibe and I can not say that we were meant to feel welcome by anyone other than our waiter and bartender!

The Douro River area is absolutely beautiful with a wide variety of agriculture, geography, cities and small villages to enjoy. Biking provides a great experience unlike what can be done on a bus tour. We were a group of twenty two, estimated ages 50 and up, all with reasonably similar skills and fitness levels. The cycling was well managed by a team from Germany (fluent in English) and the equipment was in excellent condition with a few minor issues promptly addressed. The daily tours started with transportation to a drop off point well above the river to begin cycling to the docking location of the Alva, a beautiful nearly new ship. Much of the cycling was therefore downhill and the occasional up hills were easily managed by most with power settings on the E-bikes. We'd consider most of the cycling as moderate and relatively safe on mostly country roads, although there are stretches of downhill with sharp curves, steep drop offs and city biking including cobble stone roads that less experienced riders may consider risky. The daily biking ranged from about 17 miles to 37 miles with periodic stops for rest, water, refreshments or lunch on the longest day. We'd recommend having at least some prior E-bike familiarity. The September weather was near perfect - cool mornings, warm afternoons, sunny, no humidity so light jackets over short sleeves seemed to be just right.

Riding along the Atlantic coastline was magnificent.

This was a beautiful tour of northern Portugal. We rode through vineyards, along beautiful rivers and the Atlantic coast. The accommodations were excellent and the suggested restaurants gave a great example of classic Portuguese food.

The tour is amazing. It's the best way of knowing the north coast of Portugal. The villages are really nice, the landscape is beautiful, the hotels were good. The route was really easy to follow. We didn't have any trouble at all. The only thing that would have been better is if could have ridden over less national roads.

Biking town to town is a great way to get to know a country; you see places off-the-beaten trail, ride through tiny towns, national forests and coastal cities, sample local specialties from seafood to wine to dessert. The comradeship, meeting new people was also great.

Suggestions? Drink water and wear lots of sunscreen!

Hotel in Caldas de Reis was outstanding as wel as the last journey to Santiago de Compostela.

Our tour Guide Joao in Oporto was excellent, he was always worried how the trip was going on and ready to help us in case something went wrong

Interested in more info

The highlights were the following:
RIDING - Sergio and his team were outstanding in every aspect ...nothing was too much trouble for him!
We loved every day of cycling except the day from Praia de Mira to Figueira da Foz - I would recommend that you cut this day out of the cycling completely as it is not only ugly due to the fire but it is uncomfortable for 35km. We would recommend that you have two nights in Coimbra ...even if you must transport the cyclists in order that the day is not too long. Figueira da Foz is not as nice as the other towns either.
HOTELS - all hotels were wonderful except for the one in Porto - I would recommend a different hotel - maybe one a little closer to the town (the wifi didnt work and the water was cold and just not the same standard as the rest)
RESTAURANTS- the recommendations were brilliant and we had amazing meals every night
HIGHLIGHTS - We would suggest that as well as the booklet that the guests are given a small"daily highlights" card which they can peg onto the front of their bikes (so that they dont have to get the booklet out of the bag) The card could indicate the "attraction" / "highlight" and the number of kilometers so that they are easy to find.
We have cycled with various companies in France and Italy and these would be the tips which we feel could benefit your company

My wife and I did the self-guided Camino tour. It did not start well, as promised reception at airport did not appear, definitely the fault of Trip Site staff, who were barely apologetic. Level of difficulty was billed “easy” to “moderate,” but for this weekend biker it was more like “moderate” to “difficult.” Nonetheless, it was a really gratifying experience. Our e-bikes were top notch, and with GPS we were able to navigate pretty well along the route, some of which was definitely “off the beaten track.” When the description of route says "hard surfaces," implying smooth going, what they often mean are hard-on-the-butt cobblestones Cannot say enough about Sergio and his team in Oporto. Maybe it was because we were older and didn’t look like Tour de France candidates, but he made it a point to check in with us 3 or 4 times during the week to make certain we were ok. If anything had gone wrong, we knew he’d be there in a flash. The accommodations were excellent, and the gratification of making it into the cathedral square at Santiago de Compostela was profound. If your purpose in taking on this challenge is at all spiritual, highly recommend.

We were unfortunate to do this tour when the weather was unseasonably bad. It would be a much better experience with good weather and tail winds! However, the tour providers kept in touch and made the tour as good as it could be under the circumstances.

My wife, I and two friends took this trip in September. The farmhouse was a wonderful place to stay and rooms and common areas are very comfortable. Pool and grounds are lovely. The farm's owner has a classic car collection that is an added bonus if you are able to see it. Breakfasts are excellent. The staff we dealt with --Maria, Manuela and Johanna--were beyond great. They consistently went out of their way to make sure we had the best trip possible. Bikes were well maintained and appropriate for the terrain. I have been on three self-guided bike trips in Europe and the daily directions here were excellent--the best I have seen. The only caveat I have about the trip is that the difficulty level should be moderate and not easy. Daily trips were challenging beyond an easy category. In fact, four of the five days riding instructions listed the route as a medium bike ride. Other than that a great trip and good value. I gave the trip four stars rather than five due to the difficulty level.

The accommodation was excellent! (although we weren't very please with the location of our room in Evora at the Pousada Convento dos Loios as we were right next to the eating area which was occupied by diners from 7 am for breakfast and up to 10 pm for dinner)

However, there are two things something that could easily have made the trip more enjoyable: putting kick stands on the bikes and improving the maps and written directions.
It was incredibly annoying not to be able to stand the bikes up as we stopped frequently for pictures and most of the time, there wasn't anything to lean the bikes against. Having to lay them down on the ground sometimes resulted in the rear pannier getting knocked off centre which then meant readjusting it.

Even though a gps was provided and was invaluable, we found the maps to be very poor most of the time, one time even the local tourist office couldn't help us! It would be very helpful if simple written directions were included on how to best leave the hotel and / or town to start the day's journey.

We were impressed with the care and attention given to the safety aspect with the tools and equipment provided including a phone. We very much appreciated being picked up by Francisco at the train station in Pinhal Novo and also by Sofia who drove us from Evora to our hotel in Sintra. Thanks again!

I wish I could say more about the route, but unfortunately, because of a biking accident, I was only able to ride the first day. The ebike seemed to be a really good one, but the combination of wet, slippery roads, the boost of power from the ebike, and the urging to use a higher boost mode on the bike was not a good combination. I know it's why I fell.

The scenery was spectacular, the challenge was invigorating, the people were interesting, the guides were ever helpful and informative. Loved everything.