Portugal  Bike Tour Reviews (page 6)

  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) John Koester May 25, 2023

    Great trip on the Algarve coast!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This was a very enjoyable trip on the Algarve coast. The route was easy to follow on the GPS and the bikes worked flawlessly. But the accommodations were the real stars. Each place we stayed was superb. We had a great time and highly recommend this trip on the southern coast of Portugal.

    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 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
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (5/5) Ajit Venkatraman May 19, 2023

    Turaventur is a great your company

    · Castles and Wines of Portugal

    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

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Coffee break (photo by Ajit Venkatraman)
    •  (photo by Ajit Venkatraman)
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) Donna Barron May 19, 2023

    Great Way to Experience the Algarve

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    We had a wonderful adventure riding along the Algarve. We loved that we rode on different surfaces and saw a lot of variety. The GPS was a little slow at time with directions.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Riding the Algarve (photo by Donna Barron)
  • (5/5) Allan Ruus May 19, 2023

    May Algarve Family Trip

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This cycling trip was a wonderful way to see the Algarve, much better than driving to hotels/vrbo and walking around to see the sites. The coastal nature parks with all the birds are impressive. The hotels were great locations, clean, breakfasts excellent, staff friendly and helpful. GPS worked perfectly and Biketours replaced one of the bikes within 3 hours of when a couple spokes broke.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
  • Portugal's Atlantic Coast
    (5/5) JORGE VARGAS May 13, 2023

    Great scenery and perfect routes!

    · Portugal's Atlantic Coast

    This is a tour that was made by cyclists for cyclists. The routes chosen will give you the best scenery and taste of Portugal’s Atlantic Coast and Villages. It was a wonderful experience.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by JORGE VARGAS)
    •  (photo by JORGE VARGAS)
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) Michelle Dagenhart April 30, 2023

    Top notch amazing trip, and affordable!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The self-guided Algarve coastal trip was amazing in every way! Varied landscapes and terrain, beautiful coastal, farmland, marshland, and city views. GPS worked great and was mandatory given all the turns. Hotels were fantastic, usually ocean views, 4 stars, and amazing breakfasts.

    What was the date of your tour?
    April 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill March 16, 2023

    Authentic Beautiful Portugal

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This trip is an amazing challenge by bicycle, from flat country roads to busy tourist towns to the climbing and winding hills and valleys that lead to sweeping views of the sea in Sagres and Cape St. Vincent. My husband and I are long-time cyclists and did a self-guided tour of the Algarve Coast. We found this ride to be challenging and rewarding. Our local representative was super helpful in lending tips and advice. The hotels were A-plus. The luggage transfer was flawless. The GPS device provided by the tour company was a great addition and helped us navigate throughout the trip. Written directions were harder to follow as not all roads are marked with bike route information. You must trust mainly the GPS and fill in with Google maps. The only reason I’m not giving this a 5-star rating is that our bikes were in need of some love. They were good hybrid bikes that could handle rough roads and smooth pavement. We biked on some cloudy, rainy days and it would have been nice to have the Dynamo lights working for safety. We also had some trouble with our chains slipping off the gears, and the suspension being really tight. You want suspension for some of the rougher roads. Otherwise, this was such an amazing trip by bicycle. If you love adventure, check this out.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Early March 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill March 15, 2023

    Authentic Beautiful Portugal

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This trip is an amazing challenge by bicycle, from flat country roads to busy tourist towns to the climbing and winding hills and valleys that lead to sweeping views of the sea in Sagres and Cape St. Vincent. My husband and I are long-time cyclists and did a self-guided tour of the Algarve Coast. We found this ride to be challenging and rewarding. Our local representative was super helpful in lending tips and advice. The hotels were A-plus. The luggage transfer was flawless. The GPS device provided by the tour company was a great addition and helped us navigate throughout the trip. Written directions were harder to follow as not all roads are marked with bike route information. You must trust mainly the GPS and fill in with Google maps. The only reason I’m not giving this a 5-star rating is that our bikes were in need of some love. They were good hybrid bikes that could handle rough roads and smooth pavement. We biked on some cloudy, rainy days and it would have been nice to have the Dynamo lights working for safety. We also had some trouble with our chains slipping off the gears, and the suspension being really tight. You want suspension for some of the rougher roads. Otherwise, this was such an amazing trip by bicycle. If you love adventure, check this out.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Early March 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • Best of the Algarve
    (5/5) Jamie PRORACKI January 7, 2023

    First bike trip experience

    · Best of the Algarve by Road Bike

    Great first trip of this type. Also first time to mainland Europe. This was a great way to experience the land and meet and interact with so many people. The food was amazing and most of the accommodations were top notch.

    What was the date of your tour?
    December 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 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
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) Mark Stow November 26, 2022

    Good biking, excellent service

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This was our seventh cycling trip and our third self guided one. Based on our experience we would rate the cycle tour company quite highly. We were provided with good bikes which were appropriate for the terrain and the appropriate maintenance equipment which came in handy as we did have a flat tire on day 5. The gps provided came loaded with the day by day routes and was invaluable in finding the out of the way paths that we occasionally found ourselves on. The hotels were very nice with most having balconies and ocean views and all provided an excellent breakfast to start the day. The van pick up and drop offs were on time and we enjoyed the local knowledge that Angus shared along the way. The scenery was spectacular from the salt marshes and dunes in the East to the cliffs and ocean vistas in the West.

    What was the date of your tour?
    November 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    7
    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Best of the Algarve
    (4/5) Timothy Libassi November 9, 2022

    Beautiful road biking through the Algarve countryside

    · Best of the Algarve by Road Bike

    Beautiful tour through the countryside of the Algarve. The routes provided kept you on quite almost car free roads for the most part and where it couldn’t you are still on well maintained secondary roads with a good shoulder to ride on. The weather was great, not too hot during the day and no rain while we were riding. The carbon fiber road bikes were high quality, well-tuned and setup for us on the first day. The hotels were good to great, we stayed an extra night in Sagres, which was not only a great way to break up the trip but also the nicest hotel on the tour. The Garmin provided worked fine, we had one glitch where it sent us to the wrong hotel, but since we had also downloaded the tours to our phone, we worked it out quickly. Communication was great with biketours.com and even better with the local tour company who kept track of my bag which the airline had lost and had it to me just in time for the first day of riding. Overall a fun trip, I would go back to Portugal in a heartbeat.

    What was the date of your tour?
    october 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (5/5) Gail Skutezky November 8, 2022

    Best bike trip ever - so much history! Beautiful weather

    · Castles and Wines of Portugal

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 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)
  • (4/5) Reigh Walling November 8, 2022

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

    · Castles and Wines of 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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 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
  • (4/5) Vickie Brunstetter November 7, 2022

    Central Portugal is delightful by bike

    · Castles and Wines of Portugal

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 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
  • (5/5) Kenneth Crossman October 26, 2022

    Portugal Adventure!!

    · Castles and Wines of Portugal

    We enjoyed our ride! The vistas, the accommodations and all the people we met along the way were great!! Wish it had not rained our last two days, but what can you do. We were able to ride with our luggage the day it was unsafe to ride our bikes, which was very much appreciated. Overall, a wonderful experience.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) Emily Jaskot October 23, 2022

    Simply Incredible!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The bike trip was a perfect way to experience the Algarve region of Portugal. The bikes, ride routes, and hotels were fantastic. With rides between 20 and 35 miles per day, we arrived at each town with plenty of time to explore each wonderful town.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
  • Portugal's Atlantic Coast
    (5/5) Ellen Steury October 16, 2022

    Fantastic touring company and lovely scenery

    · Portugal's Atlantic Coast

    My husband and I took an unguided trip of 6 days, along with a younger woman (age 50) who was on her first time bike tour. The preparatory information the company provided, and the interactions we had with various staff both before and during the trip put this local bike tour company in a class of it’s own — first rate. The company has put together a great information packet to help you maximize your enjoyment on the trip — recommending sites and restaurants — and loaded it on apps for your mobile device. During the trip, they provided true 24 hour assistance. They immediately pick up the phone. I know this because I had a couple of mishaps (unrelated to the biking or the equipment) and I twice contacted the company for assistance. The response was immediate, to the point, and without hesitation, even when it incurred private transportation to take me from one hotel to the next. The person who met us to deliver the bikes and fit them to us did an excellent job. He covered all the details and answered all the questions. The hotels were an interesting mix of spacious-modern and historic-antique, with only one (in a small beach town) a little worn. All in all, this was the most smoothly run bike trip with the most accessible and responsive staff that my husband and I have encountered in our 10 bike trips over 8 years. Their attention to detail and focus on giving the client a good experience shows. It’s real. My compliments to the local tour company. At our ages (83 and 70), the hills with heavy electric bikes was a bit challenging, but this is disclosed by the tour advertising. For our 50 year old friend on her first long distance bike trek, it was a piece of cake. She handled it with ease and wants to do more such trips.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    10
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 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
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (4/5) Astrid Kaulitz October 13, 2022

    Great week on the bike in a beautiful countryside

    · Castles and Wines of Portugal

    The combination of plan, map and digital tour-advise was great to find our way.
    The tour was all in all beautiful and interesting. The planning had been done before covid and was not adjusted now. Some recommondations were wrong this way. day2 : Cafe Pola could not be found, Manizolas Farm could not be passed. There was a huge fence. day 4: there was no leather factory any more, day 7: Tasca do Anotonio dos Potes does not exist any more.
    Mario was always to be reached and helped promptly. Very nice!
    Hotels were a good choice, every spot was different. only the Solar de Alqueva in Reguengos de Monsaraz was a bit uncomfortable. Breakfast poor.
    I had expected more knowlege about the wine. The wine tasting was mostly in the day either in the morning (wine and bike is not that becomming) or in the early afternoon. You never really could plan how long the trip was - so we had to taste the wine at night with the meal, but had no instructions.

    Anyway we had a great week.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Portugal's Atlantic Coast
    (5/5) SALLY ROTH October 11, 2022

    Great mix of countryside villages, rolling hills, and coastal towns

    · Portugal's Atlantic Coast

    The hotels were all comfortable and quiet and convenient to restaurants and sightseeing.
    Nuno and Bernardo with Portugal Nature Trails were very helpful in setting us up before the trip and shuttling us at the end and provided interesting information about the areas we were in. I also appreciated the extra accommodation made to collect us and drop us before and after the trip in locations different than the standard trip (collect at Porto airbnb and deliver to Lisbon hotel which saved us travel time)
    We were expecting paper maps based on prior trips through biketours and while the app on our smartphones worked for navigation, they made it hard to take photos along the bike trip and to preserve our phone power. It would have been helpful to know in advance so that we could prepare accordingly. Hotels weren't always prepared for charging batteries but we worked it out.
    The gps contradicted itself often with confusing left and right turns but the map lines worked.
    The only surprise extended climb was heading up to Sintra which was tough even with electric assist but I probably didn't pay close attention.
    This is my second biketours trip and I would recommend them wholeheartedly.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept/Oct 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    2 self-guided through biketours and 1 self-guided with campgear coast to coast in US
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Melissa Dubois October 7, 2022

    Beautiful trip

    · Portugal's Atlantic Coast

    Traveling down the coast was beautiful. The hotels were all great quality. We were all glad that we had e-bikes due to the high mileage and the steep hills on this trip.

    Some downsides- several of the roads were quite busy with cars and tour buses and the gps app really drained my phone battery which made it hard to also take photos. Having the option to have an actual gps rather than the app would have been helpful.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Sept/Oct 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    5
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection