Portugal Tour Reviews — 181 to 210 of 326

The biking group was wonderful. However there were not enough biking opportunities. I expect longer rides and rides into small towns to catch the culture. Wine tasting is not what I want?

Beautiful beaches. The coast of Portugal is truly remarkable

I can't possibly name the most memorable part of the trip. It was all memorable! The boat was beautiful and quite comfortable. The staff was always so helpful, the food was exceptional, and of course, the location was stunning. As being part of the cycling group on board, the Terra Nova group was adept at executing and leading the group to beautiful and unique locations throughout the Duoro River Valley. I felt that the descriptions of each daily ride was spot on and lived up to what was written in the itinerary. The experiences off the boat was every bit as memorable as the experiences on the boat. The on board programs were great, as they provided the passengers a informative view of Portugal, from its history, culture, food, and national pride. Overall, the trip is one that I would highly recommend to anyone considering an immersive experience in Portugal, in this uniquely special manner.

The trip was outstanding. Sergio is the ultimate trip leader. Some in the group were not expecting as much off road dirt and stone trails, but they managed. Just know this will be part of the route. Until Portugal, and perhaps other countries, eliminate the currency exchange surcharge, I’d recommend bringing Euros with you. AAA is currently exchanging dollars to Euros with no fees for members. And pack lightly! Many had too much clothing.

Traversing by bike through the Vincentine Coast and Algarve was an unforgettable experience! The scenery was breathtaking at each turn...just when we thought we had seen the most beautiful view we rounded a corner and came upon yet another gorgeous view. The varied surfaces that we biked on kept things interesting but we were well guided by our fearless leader Sergio. We completed the ride on hybrid bikes but the majority of our group were on ebikes. We were able to visit many small towns along the way, a stop at a dairy farm with a tour of their cheese making and tasting, a wine tasting at a vineyard and opportunities to jump in the ocean! All of the accommodations were wonderful. We loved the trip and would do it again in a heartbeat!

It was the trip of a lifetime! On top of our own fabulous group of 20 and lots of sunshine, our tour guides, Sergio, Miguel and Pedro,were phenomenal! They were patient, kind and fun and very knowledgable. We had a tour of the back roads and coastlines of Portugal that included visits to ruins, wineries, cheese farm, beaches & many small towns. They always had water and snacks available at each stop. Our guides were always flexible to accommodate the needs and wants of the group and worked very hard to keep everyone happy. A few minor technical issues with the bikes were resolved promptly. The accommodations along the way were all very different and each wonderful in its own way. I highly recommend this trip without reservation!!

Great food, wonderful attentive service, spectacular
beautiful scenery, relatively easy cycling, great trip for our entire family.

Great food, wonderful attentive service, spectacular
beautiful scenery, relatively easy cycling, great trip for our entire family.

Riding along the coastline was incredible. The hill climbs and the terrain was more challenging than expected and some places I had to carry or push my very heavy bike through sand. I am so glad that I had an electric bike for the hills! All of the hotels were amazing, but the hotel de rio was so breathtakingly beautiful I wish we had spent 2 nights there. a suggestion would be to have some videos of the difficult sections on your website, and more detailed descriptions about the daily rides and the types of terrain.

This was an excellent experience for my first time visiting Portugal. What a truly fantastic way to explore and discover the historic attractions. I couldn't have been more impressed with the tour guides, and overall the service was first class. Thanks to Mario and Jorge for making this such an enjoyable trip. My only complaint was that I didn't have more time to spend, two days of riding was not nearly enough. I will be back to fix that as soon as I can!

I booked this tour in 2019 for late February and early March of 2020 - yes, difficult times.
Nevertheless, It was fantastic!

I had the privilege to start the tour and enjoy an incredible experience. I had high expectations but it was much better. The local partner picked me up at the airport and even took the time to drive through the first day of my route with me. Instruct me on all the equipment, fit the bike for me, and they even gave me a local cell phone with credit to call them - or anyone, during my time there. It was much better than any other similar cycling solo trips that I have booked before in the US and Asia through different partners. Then, sadly I had to cancel half of my 11 days trip because of the coronavirus crisis. However, they were super diligent in making sure I could leave safely and they provided some credit for when I can come back- and I will!

The scenery on this route was beautiful. Lots of variety as we walked forest trails, alongside the ocean, through small towns, vineyards. Really enjoyable.

Really enjoyed our trip to the Douro Valley. The staff of the AROSA Alva was very attentive and friendly. Our bike guides Jens, Kevin and Johanna were fantastic! We had a mixed language group of 13 and the guides did such a fantastic job of interpreting and handling any scenario. The only complaint was that the actual biking was not as long as I thought it would be per day. Definitely recommend this trip!

The trip was amazing from start to finish. The Douro Valley is too beautiful for words. You just have to see it for yourself to believe it!

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!

This was a wonderful cycle tour through rural areas and medieval cities of Alentejo! For us one of the best spots was the city of Evora! And if you like wines this is the right region!

Surving the rain. Seriously.... SINTRA.

every day was very special

We did the self-guided tour. My wife took the e-bike, and me and my daughters took normal bikes. It was an excelent combination.
The support was excellent, hotels are amazing.
We loved the tour.

The self guided e-bike trip in the Douro valley was spectacular and went off without a glitch. Planning and communication with Tripsite was spot on and we especially appreciated the guidance and support from Sergio for the bike tour. Accommodations were excellent. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and would certainly recommend this trip.

Cycling alongside the Douro with views of vineyards, quaint villages, and castles. A picnic lunch prepared by our guide at a castle was the crowning jewel.

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.

The entire Douro valley was spectacular with its terraced steep walls. Food was excellent and service was good. We loved the bike tour guides and the rides, especially the one that began in Almeida.

First the good review. The boat was excellent. Food and staff were very good. The Terra Nova biking company was terrific. The guides were knowledgeable and each day’s bike ride was really great. We would recommend this bike/boat to anyone.
However we were extremely disappointed in TripSite as a company!! We have now been on 4 TripSite Bike and Boat, but on this trip there were originally 9 who made reservations 4 couples and one single. We all submitted our reservation and our deposit and all received confirmation. Some time later (a couple months) the single member of our party received a notice that her reservation though confirmed was being cancelled even though she had been paid extra for a single room. She also was a two time previous TripSite customer. The remaining 4 couple fully intended to cancel as well but our friend begged us not to and said she would feel worse if we didn’t go so we continued and took the trip. TripSite that was the poorest business practice we have ever encountered, totally low class and just down right greedy. In the past we have recommended your company to many other friends. We will not do that in the future and in fact will likely avoid booking through your company. Basically you have lost 11 repeat customers. I hope it was worth the extra cash you made booking a double versus a single.
It is unlikely that you will share these comments on your website, but if we could have rated Tripsite you would have gotten zero or one star, so please don’t take credit for the 5 star rating!!!

The biking experience was ok but not great.
The most disappointing part was having a German ship and guides. Maybe we didn’t do our research but we had not expected this. As we would not want a bike ride in Germany by Portuguese guides. Also, totally unsustainable practice to bring the van and bikes back and forth from Germany.

Our trip was fabulous.
The coastal roads were amazing.
We felt like Sergio was available anytime we needed him.
The hotels were mostly perfect.
We would recommend this trip to all our friends!

First 2 days along the Atlantic beaches is great.

Riding along the Atlantic coastline was magnificent.

The trip was more of a bike ride than informational tour of the country. We thought we would learn more about Portugal.

Riding along the ocean. I would've liked to top and embrace the first view of the ocean after riding through all the traffic the first day.

I really appreciated Sergio making arrangements for my early return to Porto before the last day of trip. John was funny and liked his humour. Paul was great to be there when seriously needed for flat tires, chain disconnects, snacks and such. A wonderful time!