Portugal Bike Tour Reviews (page 5)
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★★★★★ Cathy62 October 27, 2017
Hardest bike trip I've ever done. Proud to have finished.
· Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
I think this trip is a level 4 rather than a level 3 ride. It had some very difficult terrain that resulted in several in our group doing a fair amount of walking with their bikes. An electrical bike would have made the trip even more difficult.
Because of the difficulty of the terrain I missed seeing a lot of scenery. Keeping my eyes on the off-road trails to navigate the loose rocks meant I couldn't look around.
The Live, Love, Ride contact was great and responded in a timely manner to our needs. We did have one flat tire for which the incorrect sized tube was loaded on that bike. We did find the correct size on another bike in the group.
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★★★★★ julesmcsa November 8, 2019Great trip
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
What a way to see the castles of Portugal! The history of the country is amazing, and seeing it all at eye level, literally, was amazing. Perfect weather. Our tour guides were fantastic. The food was overwhelming, there was just so much of it! Tasted a lot of wine, but expected more. Thank god for our E-bikes; some of the routes were too high for us. Overall, very enjoyable trip. We did not care for some of the accommodations: the farmhouse was too remote for us (we wanted to be in the city).
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 19th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 1
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ 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
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★★★★★ Ashley Douglas 6 months ago
Awesome Trip and No Shame in Using Ebikes!
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
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!
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ NoPensionWillTravel December 8, 2018Sunny Cycling in a Very Popular Spot
· Algarve Coastal Route
The tour operator provided very responsive and friendly service throughout this trip. The hotels were excellent, being mostly four-star (although we're usually happy with two or three.) We particularly liked the staff at the Hotel Apolo in Vila Real de Santo António. As the description says, this is one of the few places you can cycle warm, sunny weather in Europe in late November! We would caution prospective riders to do their research, though. If, like we, you imagine the Algarve as quaint and quiet - as it may have been in the past - you may be surprised at how built up it has become. We were rarely out of sight of high-rise hotels or flashy marinas. The "fishing villages with Moorish architecture, cobbled lanes, Roman ruins, beaches, lagoons, and inlets" all exist - but there's a lot of development in between, and growing. And this also means traffic and more challenging cycling. When we see a "2" rating, we usually expect we could invite capable non-cyclists, but in this case, the preponderance of busy, sometimes narrow roads, and complex traffic circles made us glad we didn't have newbies with us. So, do your homework - but if you know what to expect, this is a well-run operation with nice bikes and a super GPS route-finder.
- What was the date of your tour?
- November 12, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7 or 8 (plus club-organized in NA)
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Jeffrey Yarne 7 months ago
Do your research
· Algarve Coastal Route
Note: we have ridden the flatter and paved bike trails of the Danube and Bruge to Amsterdam. If those rides are rated 1, this ride should be more than 1.5 primarily due to the amount of loose gravel paths coupled with deep ruts from cars. Also is you are close to 5’1” even the extra small bikes with narrow tires might be tough to handle. The area is warm in late Sept 2023. And if you are expecting smaller towns we found the stopping places generally large catering to many tourists which is the primary industry. There are some wonderful places to eat. All hotels had air conditioning although some were noisy others were nice and set back from the crowds. The Portugal people are very nice and the local tour company is as accommodating within reason although if you break a chain in the midst of no where it is a challenge. It would be good to bring at minimum a master link and chain river tool for a roadside repair.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Ann English 6 months ago
Prefer not to be riding on hwys and in big cities
· Algarve Coastal Route
The friendly people in Portugal, the delicious and nutritious food, and most of the hotels were wonderful! The e-bikes were fine and when needed I quickly got a replacement. However, the bikes should be fitted to each person as well as the replacement bike. That was not done so the inappropriate fit gave me much shoulder and back pain. The route had way too many hwy and larger cities round abouts for us. We prefer small towns and rural/ocean scenery.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 2023
- How many tours have you completed?
- We have been on 4 bike tours
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ John Matthew Schley 2 months ago
Both really great and just OK
· Algarve Coastal Route
The weather in February was perfection. We saw many beautiful sights. Each days biking was varied. We stayed in very large hotels/spas. They were objectively good hotels. We hated them. Really felt separated from environment. Felt I could have been anywhere. Restaurants we visited along the way were all excellent. My wife had a problem with her bike. The team handled it wonderfully. Every person who we interacted with on their team were gracious and helpful. While there are many examples of natural beauty in the Algarve , the amount of development, both miles of very expensive holiday homes, and strips of pizza joints and t-shirt stores made the trip not completely what we hoped for.
- What was the date of your tour?
- February 2024
- How many tours have you completed?
- 6
- 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?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ beyeKur November 5, 2016
Downsized tour, questionable difficulty rating.
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
Overall we are all glad we did this tour, but we agreed that an honest review was required. Our group of 4, downsized the tour to 3 days of unguided cycling in the 4 star hotel option. Two of our group had, one month previous to this tour, completed a 7 day bike tour in France that was rated as a 1-2 in difficulty. So, expectations were to have a comparable tour since the difficulty rating was the same. This was not our experience however. Our contact person for the Alentejo tour was really great during the first day orientation, answered all our questions, checked us out on the bikes and gear and left us with her personal phone number in case of problems. Terrific! Our group range in age from 66-76, all fit (2 active bikers one runner) and ready for the challenge. The first 6 miles or so were on the main highway to Lisbon (fast drivers and trucks closely along side the shoulder used for biking). Then when we turned off to the quiet roads as in the suggested option, the dirt roads were not in the 1 or 2 difficulty category rating as outlined in the tour. These unpaved roads were more like 4-5 difficulty as they were often like mountain bike roads for at least 1/4 of the days' 35 mile route. Steep upgrades, deep ruts from recent rain, many rocky and sandy roads impeded travel. It rained much of this, the first day. Even though our tour operators could not control the rain, they should have reassessed the level of difficulty and road conditions and report honestly about current road conditions status of deteriorated due to recent rains. Two of our group opted out for day 2 due to exhaustion and lack of faith in level of tour difficulty, but the two who continued enjoyed the quieter country roads which were less harrowing than the dirt roads, but more trafficked and still above level 1-2. Day three was great, though still there were several long, lowest-gear slopes more of a 3-4 rating and still on medium trafficked roadways. This days' outlined tour was also changed--we walked the 3 miles each way to the top of the hill town, as the 'road' very steep and all jarringly cobbled (in the level 9-10 difficulty range). Safety concerns: due to roads with traffic, tour company should supply high viability vests and warning lights. Hotels were great, maps good. The personnel we dealt with was great!
- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 11-15
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Anne Stanek 7 months ago
Challenging but interesting tour.
· Castles and Wines of Portugal
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
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
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★★★★★ Amanda Jennings 7 months ago
Serious amounts of traffic
· Algarve Coastal Route
This ride has you in a lot of heavy traffic and even on the motorway at some places. The ride takes you through heavily touristed areas and then areas with nothing. This country very much highlighted the haves and the have nots in the country. I did not like the ride, it wasn't worth all of the traffic that we had to deal with.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2023
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
