Portugal  Bike Tour Reviews

  • (3/5) NoPensionWillTravel December 8, 2018

    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
    • Photo 1 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 2 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 3 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 4 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 5 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 6 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (3/5) 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
    • 1/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Shifty September 27, 2016

    Good trip

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The scenery, transportation and accommodation were top notch. Several of the bicycles were difficult to shift, no water bottle holders and poor tread (five punctures). The GPS supplied did not always follow the route. The comment about most road riding is on traffic calmed roads is not correct. If any of your group has trouble riding in traffic you may want to look elsewhere. Having said all that I would repeat the trip after addressing the comments above.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    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
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) PeteN September 30, 2016

    Algarve Coastal Route

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    Very enjoyable scenic route. Great seafood, excellent weather (September). Good logistics. Challenging in parts however, due to traffic on roads and more hills than expected. We were glad to have ebikes. Tires supplied were not up to the trails and we suffered several punctures. I recommend checking equipment carefully before setting out.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 12, 2016
    How many tours have you completed?
    This was the third
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Nature Preserve along Algarve (photo by PeteN)
    • Photo 2 (photo by PeteN)
    • Tavira (photo by PeteN)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Delane October 6, 2017

    Beautiful Scenery !!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 24, 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    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
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Chuck1 December 18, 2017

    Great adventure !!!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This was a wonderful trip.
    Other than 2 issues I thought this was a well planned trip, great hotels / flawless luggage connections / good route aided by supplied GPS.
    The 2 issues were :
    The bicycles were not very good. Shifting was erratic as they obviously hadn’t been tuned prior to our trip.
    The other issue was the promosed transfer to the airport at the end of the trip did not happen, we waited almost an hour in the hotel lobby only to hear through the consierge that the ride to the airport was not happening forcing us to catch a cab and rushing to make our flight connection.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 1st thru 7th
    How many tours have you completed?
    3
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany December 19, 2017

      Chuck, thanks so much for your thoughtful review. We're glad to hear that you had a great time but sorry that you had some troubles. I'll follow up with you via email to make things right. Thanks again!

    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (4/5) Bamboo March 30, 2019

    Great trip along the Algarve

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    We loved visiting the Algarve towns and beaches by bike and it was exciting to discover our next guesthouse with our luggage at the door.
    Next time, we would have used mountain bikes instead of crossovers, which were heavy and not as smooth on the trails and cobblestones.
    The maps were clear and we were able to self-guide without any problem.
    Loved the feeling of biking from the spanish border to the westerly tip.

    What was the date of your tour?
    March 16th
    How many tours have you completed?
    First tour
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Made it! (photo by Bamboo)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Karen Burnham 10 months ago

    Self Guided Algarve Tour

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The connections at the beginning and end of the trip with the bike company went very smoothly and the bikes and GPS were of great quality. Our favorite towns were Vila Real and Tavira, and the paths the first 3 days were delightful. Day 4 was grueling with all busy road traffic. We wish this day could have been avoided via rerouting. All the hotels were fantastic, and the breakfasts were wonderful. We would have liked to spend 2 nights in Lagos so we would have had time to explore. Reaching the lighthouse at the end of the week was such a feeling of accomplishment! Portugal is a great place to visit, so be sure to spend more time after the bike ride to explore.

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    Two
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Bike and GPS instructions with Agnus (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Fun boardwalks to cycle on (photo by Karen Burnham)
    •  (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Half way across the Algarve (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Negotiating a town square (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • The FINISH LINE!!! (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Neil Gordon 10 months ago

    A mixture of old and new

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    A very nice mixture of quaint fishing villages and modern tourist towns. The cycling is mostly a mixture of unpaved trails and back roads, but there is some heavily traveled roads to navigate. Hotels are all 4 and 5 star. Bikes are heavy, buy designed for terrain. Excellent support.

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    7
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill 3 months ago

    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)
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill 3 months ago

    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) Melissa Dubois 8 months ago

    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
  • Best of the Algarve
    (4/5) Timothy Libassi 7 months ago

    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
  • Camino de Santiago
    (4/5) Silvia September 24, 2017

    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.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 16 to 22,2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    4
    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, Spain
    • 4/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 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) Cari October 21, 2017
    · Camino de Santiago: From Porto to Santiago de Compostela

    What was the date of your tour?
    October 7, 2016 - October 13, 2017
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal, Spain
    • 3/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Camino de Santiago
    (4/5) 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.

    What was the date of your tour?
    10/7 to 10/13
    How many tours have you completed?
    7
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal, Spain
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (4/5) julesmcsa November 8, 2019

    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
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 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)
  • Castles and Wines of Portugal
    (4/5) Astrid Kaulitz 8 months ago

    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
  • (4/5) Vickie Brunstetter 7 months ago

    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
  • (4/5) Reigh Walling 7 months ago

    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