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A fabulous trip with brilliant Portuguese guides. Reuben, the lead guide was outstanding and his team had a genuine passion for their country which was truly infectious. Nothing was ever too much trouble. The cycle paths meandered their way through beautiful pine forests, villages, coastal areas and farms. The pace of the trip is relaxed but their were also many opportunities to cycle faster and the guides were very flexible. The restaurant recommendations were all excellent and the Portuguese people were most welcoming. The perfect trip if you want to cycle 35-40 miles per day on fairly flat terrain using cycle paths – you won’t find better guides! Thank you Reuben, Christofe and Rogerio.
Looking at the incredible view of the coastline following the steep ascent and visiting Navarro.
Reuben was simply outstanding, he has a wonderful, cheerful disposition which is truly infectious, his love for his country shone through everyday. He shared lots of information and stories about Portugal. Nothing was too much trouble. The bikes were in excellent condition and the lunches were delicious.
This was described as an Atlantic ride. We did not even glimpse the Atlantic until the end of day 3 out of 5. After that, we saw it in parts and it was lovely. It was hopelessly misdescribed. The ride was reasonable, but incredibly slow, particularly on the first 2 days, and on main roads. I am not a fast cyclist, but to travel at an average of 10 to 12kph on a flat main road is ludicrous, and dangerous. It was very hard to control the bike at these speeds and to keep stopping and starting on busy main roads is far from ideal.
The problem was that there was only one guide and no support vehicle following us, so the guide had to keep stopping and then riding very slowly. This was incredibly frustrating and annoying, especially as the scenery was boring for the first 2 days. This was not good enough.
The accommodation was a bit hit and miss. It was okay, with a couple of very poor and cramped rooms. In one hotel, not only did we get the booby prize of an unsafe room, it was also the venue for the group dinner. The food was inedible, and my husband and I ate very little. The hotel was quirky and very interesting, in Obidos, but we drew the short straw.
Overall, I would not particularly recommend this trip.
I enjoyed most of the company, and the food and the wine, when not organised for us. The picnics were mainly good.
He was good, on the whole, and the support driver was excellent.
I would not advise people to do this trip. I just do not think the cycling works.
It was a great tour along Atlantic coast with good weather, many good views, excellent guide and driver and great&fun group.
The day we arrived in Nazarè with beautiful views of the ocean and of the beaches.
Ruben (our guide) was great. Always smiling and having a good word for every person of the group. He supported the all group very efficiently and in a friendly/professional manner.
Some bike training is recommended before to start the tour due to some hilly parts and eventually rent an e-bike to have full fun.
Fantastic week of cycling, sightseeing, good company and excellent guiding in coastal Portugal.
Fantastic sunsets over the breaking waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Great seafood and wine. Boutique accommodation, especially the Literary Man in Obidos.
Ruben is an exemplary ambassador for his country. He is a remarkable and engaging young man. I doubt we have had a better leader in any previous Exodus trips. After a leisurely first day's ride he was able to accurately gauge everybody's level of competency and ensured that each individual had the best experience possible. He was well supported by Rafael who was in charge of transportation and excellent picnics. Between them their calm and friendly nature made our whole experience delightful.
Book an extra night in Porto at the start of your holiday. It is a smaller city than Lisbon and easier to explore on foot. We ate in Volta e Meia in Figueira da Foz on Ruben's recommendation and it was fantastic. If you want to go as a group be sure to book as it is very small and intimate. The first 2 days of cycling are predominantly flat and easily managed by infrequent cyclists. The following 3 days are more challenging so either get some practice in, hire an e-bike or take up the offer of a ride in the support van for the longer hills.
The itinerary is beautiful, except for some bits were you ride in some areas devastated by the fires in 2017. Expect a very leisurely pace, less than 20 km/h in average and four stops a day, and do some hills after lunch. You should expect to arrive at the hotel at 4 pm or more by the plan. The average age of the group is 55-65 years old. Generally, good hotels are chosen, however, the Literary Man in Obidos is not worth it, except for its breakfast.
Great to meet people from all over the world. Also, is very stunning to watch the sunset in the Atlantic.
He didn't have a very good level of English and had poor organization skills.
Do it with self-guided if you can cycle for 30 km around 2 hours non-stop and you want to do some exercise. The group is guided at a very leisurely pace and does four stops each day at least, adding some extra photo stops.
This trip was an amazing experience with absolutely stunning scenery, around every bend was a picture postcard view of the ocean. The guides were excellent and their spoken English was great. This being my first premium trip I was very impressed with the hotels and watching the sunsets over the Atlantic from our hotel balconies and resteraunt tables was a highlight for everyone. The cycling was a bit harder than I anticipated, the trip is graded a two but is as hard / a bit harder than the indochina trip I did earlier in the year which was graded as a three. The first few days are definitely leisurely, but on later days there are a couple of hills one long climb and one short but steep one, the last day is more undulating. I wouldn’t let these put you off though they are manageable by anyone that’s done a bit of prep or cycles regularly and there’s always the van or an ebike. The bikes were trek dual sport 3’s and were excellent hybrids with hydraulic disc brakes giving confidence on the way down. The trip was mainly on excellent quality cycle paths with only a limited amount of road riding to link them together. We were generally in the hotel for 330 each day with most starts about 930
Eating a group dinner after a hard days cycling on a cliff top resteraunt as the sun set over the Atlantic & getting to the top of the hill with a smile in my face.
Paulo was excellent, really great full confidence in his abilities and adjusted the plan to cope with hotter than expected days and when we wanted to stay loneger in the town or wanted an extra coffee break.
Pack light, I took way too much stuff
This is a pleasant cycling trip but as some reviewers have previously highlighted despite the grade 2 we were often arriving at the hotel about 5.00pm or later and so we didn’t have much time for relaxation off the bikes. This was not too much of a problem until the arrival in Obidos which is worthy of some time to look around. There are some diversions from the original route following the devastating fires in 2017. Generally good hotels are used, The Literary Man in Obidos is very interesting and quirky.
Not really inspirational - but overall this is a very pleasant relaxing trip. We had great company. We had a short guided tour of Porto prior to the wine tasting.
Ricardo worked really hard all week and was well supported by Ruben. He took some videos of us cycling which he tried to edit each evening for viewing whilst giving the next days briefing. Both were really nice guys who were enthusuatic about the outdoors and Portugal.
The kitty for lunches worked out great and I would recommend as everything was ready prepared on our arrival with a good choice of food, this included picnic lunches as well. Book extra nights in Porto and Lisbon as they are both worthy of more time.
Portugal is a beautiful country and cycling along its coast felt like I experienced all it’s best parts.
Cycling: This is rated correctly at “moderate” because of the hills. However it is a comfortable “easy” ride for the average fit person. I don’t ride a bike at home and felt this was very doable. I really enjoyed how the cycling increased in time on the bike and pace as the trip progressed. From the first day where we took it easy, stayed together as a group and didn’t go too far a distance, to the last day of rolling hills, go at your own pace (fast or slow) and longer distances. Since you are travelling as a group it is to be expected that sometimes you will be waiting for the last person. But it is nice since, you can have yourself a little snack and coffee while you wait a lot of the time. Plenty of opportunity to take your time or even ride in the support vehicle if you aren’t up for the hill that day. I took advantage once myself of the ‘free’ ride.
The ride is on mostly flat, or rolling, paved bike paths, through forest and coastal towns. We spent little time on roads and if we did they weren’t busy. Since it is a cycling trip the majority of your day is spent on the bike or ‘in transit’. Sightseeing in the towns you stay in is limited but a part of the consistent paced itinerary.
We really enjoyed the other travellers in our group. I enjoyed conversations both during the ride and at meals with other travellers from around the world. Highlight: Picnic lunches!
Alex was an excellent guide, skilled at maintaining a group pace and had great knowledge of Portugal. He gave great directions and appreciated when we wanted to pick up the pace.
Book to stay an extra night in Porto on arrival to see the sites of this beautiful city.
Excellent hotels apart from first and last because they were not in the Center of Porto and Lisbon. We had to travel by Exodus transport. We did not have the walking tour of Porto as advertised despite arriving early afternoon just the port tasting. We would rather have had a walking tour. We understand it was not the usual tour guide on that particular week, could that have been the reason?
The cycling along the Atlantic coast, the scenery and all the hotels apart from first and last as mentioned above.
Understand that Rafael usually works in the office so was not very informative although very pleasant. He also kept us cycling at a very slow pace a lot of the time, keeping us all together, not letting us ride on ahead and wait which a lot of us found extremely frustrating. Our hands were constantly on the brakes and therefore most days didn’t arrive at our hotel until late afternoon and it could have been much earlier, especially the first two very flat days. Daniel was the driver and he looked after us very well and organised excellent picnics.
Yes arrive in Porto a day early to see this beautiful city, and perhaps have an extra day in Lisbon because our group flight involved us getting up at 4.15 am.
We would like to thank Denise for her review, although we are very sorry that she was disappointed with certain aspects of her trip, and that the orientation tour was not offered on this departure. The orientation tour is dependent on the time available after the arrival of the group flight, and we will review timings of each activity to maximise the opportunity to enjoy a short walk in the city centre before or after the wine tasting, whilst still ensuring enough time is given for check-in and the main trip briefing. For those wishing to spend more time in Porto, we recommend considering an earlier flight or pre-tour accommodation to allow more time to visit the city and its many highlights independently, as mentioned in our Trip Notes.
We regret that Denise was disappointed with the leadership on this tour. Rafael works in our local operator’s main office but he is fully trained, leads trips every year and knows the route well. A group’s pace will often depend on the difference in each client’s ability and, whilst there are some sections during which clients can cycle on their own, generally the tour leader must keep the group together for safety reasons. The pace is therefore tailored according to the trip grade, which is 2 (leisurely/moderate).
We were sorry to learn that Denise was disappointed with the final day of the tour, and we will ensure that every group is offered an optional guided tour in Lisbon from now on. Those wishing to explore independently will be provided with detailed information regarding highlights, maps and directions. Tour leaders have also been briefed to offer an optional farewell dinner from now on. Marta Marinelli – Product Manager
Good cycling beside the Atlantic Ocean. Blue sky and sunshine with wind behind us. Lovely hotels, great beaches and lots of surf. Nice bikes, and fun cycling.
The view of the Atlantic Ocean as we cycled, particularly if we came round a corner and saw it below us blue with the white surf and the cliffs ahead.
Nino was great. Good leader. Assessed the Group on the first day, and let people go at their own pace, so if they wanted to race ahead they could but had to wait. Gave enough time for those of us who didn’t want to race to get our breath back before setting off again.
Go for 80 euro lunch kitty. It also paid for drinks at the cafe stops and saved a lot of time, and the picnics were great, as well as the buffet lunches we had. When they say there may be a point that vertigo sufferers may not like, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I hate edges and drops, and it was ok. It was only one small part one day. There is a barrier at the worst bit. Only slightly hairy bit is coming down the road, with cars behind you. Just stay in the middle of the road and make them wait! We were given the option of going in the van to miss it out, but I’m glad I did it.