Bike Tour Reviews  Castles And Wines Of Portugal (page 2)

  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (4/5) Vickie Brunstetter November 7, 2022

    Central Portugal is delightful by bike

    It was wonderful to ride through vineyards, cork trees and small towns. Staying in the posadas and other quaint accommodations really added to the trip. Of course the wine tastings were wonderful as well. It was very educational to visit different wineries. Our only issue was with the bikes that did not consistently maintain the power assist.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Reigh Walling November 8, 2022

    A rich historical past and a vibrant and diverse present. That's Portugal.

    If you told most people that you were going to cycle Portugal, they would only think of Lisbon. Well, that is a beautiful city, but an hour's train ride took us from coastal topography to a totally different landscape of rolling hills topped with cork trees and vineyards. The tour was a nice mix of ancient walled cities and rural rolling roads. Cows graze amid the monoliths. Sheep browse for grass under the olive trees, each wearing a tiny tinkle bell around its neck -- their movement producing a melodious windchime symphony. Accommodations ranged from a rustic farmhouse to an actual palace, and the route and attributes of the tour also bridged history and modern culture. But it's Portugal's people who are the real stars of the tour. And of course, the food.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Gail Skutezky November 8, 2022

    Best bike trip ever - so much history! Beautiful weather

    The trip was very interesting, lots of very beautiful scenery, warm weather, we saw places that you cannot get to by car. An incredible marble quarry, beautiful cork oak tree forests and chromalechs you don't see from a car road. The cafes were so quaint and welcoming. The hotels were 15th century convents, and a beautiful farmhouse with animals, one night we stayed in a beautiful palace attached to a castle that you could climb.
    The bikes were excellent. We had ebikes and they were very light. The food was excellent. The Portuguese love to please you!

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 24
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Ajit Venkatraman 11 months ago

    Turaventur is a great your company

    From start to finish the tour was excellent . Service was outstanding . Mario and Joanna were perfect hosts and guides . Deena at Evora farms house was great cook . Mario was very knowledgeable and gracious and is a perfect bike tour guide

    • Coffee break (photo by Ajit Venkatraman)
    •  (photo by Ajit Venkatraman)
  • (5/5) Lisa Sobieniak 11 months ago

    Great Trip

    Local guides were excellent, responsive and knowledgable. He went out of his way to make everything work for us.
    Only problem was that bike tours .com did not let us know we needed to book winery tours in advance. Local guide did his best to fit us in.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    •  (photo by Lisa Sobieniak)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (3/5) Anne Stanek 7 months ago

    Challenging but interesting tour.

    This was a particularly challenging trip for us as we biked in 92 degree heat every day of the tour. The rides were long, there were many hills and it was extremely dry. Luckily, a couple of us used EV bikes which made a big difference. I think this trip would feel very different with cooler weather. All the folk who we dealt with were so warm, welcoming, helpful, etc. We visited some very cool towns - Evora and Monsaraz were my favorites. We stayed in some lovely hotels - ancient buildings fixed up comfortably with modern conveniences and a working farm. We ate fabulous breakfasts. We stopped at some interesting sites - monoliths, pottery factory, marble quarry were three favorites. It was a good trip despite the challenges.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    10
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • View of the Castle at Arraiolos from our Casa do Platano, our hotel. (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • Wall next to a distillery in a small village. (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • View from our hotel room in Monsaraz - Alqueve Reservoir. (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • Lantana on a dirt road in a small village. (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • Marble quarry in Extremoz (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • Riding the roads amongst cork trees. (photo by Anne Stanek)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Ashley Douglas 6 months ago

    Awesome Trip and No Shame in Using Ebikes!

    Thoroughly enjoyed this trip in spite of not riding bikes at all at home. Having ebikes allowed us to enjoy the scenery and navigate without overextending our physical capabilities. Hotels were excellent and perfect for the areas we were visiting. Some of them were in buildings thousands (?) of years old so don't expect elevators in all, but amazingly they all had swimming pools which we enjoyed after a hard day peddling ebikes!

  • (5/5) Patrick Fenton 2 months ago

    Portugal bike trip

    It was a great trip. We loved learning about castles, marble, cork, wine and Portuguese food.

    What was the date of your tour?
    February 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Patrick Fenton 1 week ago

    Portugal bike trip

    It was a great trip. We loved learning about castles, marble, cork, wine and Portuguese food.

    What was the date of your tour?
    February 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Catherine Buckley 2 days ago

    Honeymoon biking

    This was such a a great way to see Portugal. Because of the bike trip we stayed in some towns much less travelled - full of culture, wonderful people and astounding views/ old castles.
    Would highly recommend

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    First bike tour ever
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens, Families with young kids
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection