Portugal Bike Tour Reviews page 9
- Albania
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bosnia and H…
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- England
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Holland
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Mexico
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Scotland
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- Turkey
- United States
- Vietnam
-
★★★★★ Chris Mayled and Dan Green
Fantastic Trip
Best of the Algarve by Road Bike
A good bike trip for the not so advanced cyclists that are looking for a challenge. We averaged about 75 km each day for 6 days. Certainly covered the Algarve Region from east to west then north to south. The coastline from Sagres to Aljezur was our favourite amongst the days travelled. Accommodations and breakfasts were what we were expecting. Rented bicycles functioned well. Coordination at the beginning, during and following the trip was timely and as expected.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
-
★★★★★ Silvia
Very good overall experience
Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
We enjoyed the bike rides. It was a great idea to upgrade to e-bikes! The terrain was challenging at times. Pedro the tour coordinator was very helpful, he was easy to reach and pleasant !
Overall the hotels were good, but the ones in Spain were much nicer and had better meals . We don't recommend to include the dinners in the package, we had some very poor dinners , particularly in Portugal.
The length of the biking trips were perfect, for most part good scenery although there was a day with too many roads through industrial areas.
-
★★★★★ Cathy62
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.
-
★★★★★ Douglas
Camino
Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela
Overall, this was a fun and interesting trip. The ebikes were great. Never came close to running out of battery power. We used the premium hotel option, but didn’t think all the hotels lived up to that status. The route can be tricky to follow in a few places but the garmin and app do a great job of showing the way. Our biggest complaint was that a few of the rockier sections should’ve been bypassed. The ebikes are not designed for riding over large rocks and are quite heavy to manually maneuver. Since we already skipped a few sections of the trail not good for mixing bikes and hikers, it seemed that these other sections should’ve been skipped as well. Bag transfers and hotel check-ins all went smoothly. The taxi ride to Porto was a bit harrowing, as the driver almost had an accident.
-
★★★★★ julesmcsa
Great 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
-
★★★★★ Astrid Kaulitz
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
-
★★★★★ Vickie Brunstetter
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
-
★★★★★ Reigh Walling
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
-
★★★★★ Ashley Douglas
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
-
★★★★★ Richard Riddell
A great time in Alentejo
Castles and Wines of Portugal
A great self guided tour in Alentejo region of Portugal.
Great e-bikes, accommodation in the pousadas and excellent restaurant recommendations from our guides, and were brilliant making reservations in the restaurants we chose. The staff were on the whole very friendly and helpful and accommodated our extraordinary request on the last day - thank you.
The only reason they didn’t receive 5 stars for us was we thought the farmhouse stay for 2 nights was not necessary, and the owner of the business perhaps shouldn’t front the customers/clients. A tad too direct in her manner which made us feel we were doing her a favour by being there!
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
-
★★★★★ Richard G
Castles and Wine E-Bike Adventure!
Castles and Wines of Portugal
Two couples, seniors, very experienced road bike riders, taking on the six day self-guided Castles and Wine Portugal Tour route in late September 2026. For some, this was their first experience with ebikes. The weather was perfect the whole time and the towns had an uncrowded off-season feel to them, which suited us fine.
The bikes: Rating: A
We were all issued some configuration of the Cube Touring Hybrid One. Loved these bikes! They were our trusty work horses for the week. No mechanical issues, comfortable seats, so much battery that you could ride in sport and turbo mode as much as you like without concern of running out of battery. The step-through design on these models helped with sudden dismounts while riding a 50+ lb e-bike. Even our least experienced e-bike riders were able to rocket up the rugged 15-20 percent cobbled approaches to the castles without worry! The integrated rear racks held a roomy bag supplied with chargers, tools, tubes, with room for extra clothes and snacks.The App: Rating: B-
We were supplied with access to the Roadbook for Discovery app for our phones, which included day-by-day routing with points of interest noted along the way. All day use (recommended) of the app requires a backup phone charger (you supply). They had rubber handlebar phone mounts for your ebike, which were a bit of a hassle to get your phone in and out of to take photos. Would have liked a better bar-mounted quick release method. With two of us running the app concurrently, we had a couple of instances where one phone said “off course” and the other did not. We had also asked the biketours.com people for the GPX files in advance to run our own software (Wahoo, Garmin, Ride w GPS), but one of the GPX routes supplied before the first day was the wrong map and got us temporarily lost on private property. Better to stick with the Discovery app which was the “official” version of the tour, use your Garmins and Wahoos for recording the rides only. Other than that, the Discovery app got us from place to place well enough, just remember to carry extra battery chargers!Accomodations: Rating B+
All accommodations were welcome sights for us weary old riders. That said, Most Favorite: Mar de Ar Muralhas, Evora (2 nights). Good storage and recharge room for bikes, poolside food and drink served, walk to excellent restaurants. Close second: Pusada de Estremoz, Estremoz. Least Favorite: Hotel Solar do Alqueva, Reguengos de Monsaraz. Nothing was wrong with the hotel, service was good, adequate breakfast, just a small economy hotel compared with nicer places on the tour.Support: Rating B
Staff for Tours Portugal were available for our questions through the What’sap. Didn’t need them for any mission critical issue other than the first day’s issue with getting on the right route group. SHOW MOREOverall: Rating B+
SHOW LESS
This was our first self-directed bike tour and six days was a lot of riding, would have preferred 4-5 days if available. That said, we loved the spirit of adventure as we set out each morning to the beautiful countryside and the megaliths, black pigs, ancient castles and wineries. I have done European cycle tours on road bikes in the past but now favor ebikes as they accommodate all levels of riders as a group.- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
-
★★★★★ Arthur Owen
Porto escape to the Mountains of Valongo
Valongo Mountains Porto MTB Tour
Good escape to see the explore the mountains outside of Porto in Valongo. This is an XC (cross-country) ride with some challenging climbs, fun descents and great views. Sergio was a good host and made sure all of the logistics were covered, taking additional staff for our confort, which was a party of only 2...
-
★★★★★ Chloe M.
Vistas and Vineyards
Lisbon Food Tasting E-Bike Tour
Riding through historic districts like Graça and seeing the stunning views from Senhora do Monte Belvedere was fantastic. The wine and liqueur tastings were a perfect warm finish to a day of beautiful sightseeing and cycling.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
-
★★★★★ Adam L
Great food, cool neighborhoods
Lisbon Food Tasting E-Bike Tour
We sampled everything from smoked meats and cheeses to delicious cherry liqueur, covering Alfama and Mouraria easily on our bikes. It was a well-organized and mouthwatering mission that gave us a fantastic overview of the city.
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
-
★★★★★ Dan Q. And Heather C.
Amazing country!
Gravel Biking from Alentejo to the Algarve
The gravel riding was different than anticipated but the support from the local bike tour operator was first class! The hotels we stayed at were 4-5 stars with great food and accommodations. We’d do this trip again! Highly recommend this trip for mountain bikers who want something more relaxed or road cyclists who want more challenge.
-
★★★★★ Andrew Thatcher
12 day bike trip
Portugal's Coastal Splendor from Porto to Lisbon
My wife and I did the 12 day bike trip from Porto to Lisbon in early September. We did this self guided. For the most part, we felt that the hotels that we stayed in were nice and that there were plenty of great places to eat in the various towns. The downside was that many of the dirt roads were so bad that in many instances, we were only making 5 miles an hour as the roads were so bumpy or loose sand, and gravel that you couldn’t go any faster. The effect was it made many days relatively easy rides quite difficult and not enjoyable. There were a few instances where the climb exceeded a 20% grade and that again was on loose Gravel and we were forced to walk up that instead of trying to climb that on a heavy bike out of the saddle and risk a wreck. Due to the length of time we rode our bikes on bad roads we ended up not spending as much time in the various cities as we had hoped to do. So I think in the future, we’ll try to figure out how we can stay in a few select cities for multiple days so that we can enjoy the area a little bit more.
- Countries included in this tour?
- Portugal
-
★★★★★ NoPensionWillTravel
Sunny 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
-
★★★★★ Jeffrey Yarne
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
-
★★★★★ Ann English
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
Email
Mailing Address
Office Hours