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Cycling in Portugal: From the Mountains to the Sea
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Cycling in Portugal: From the Mountains to the Sea Reviews
1 Cycling in Portugal: From the Mountains to the Sea reviews from past travelers that booked with Global Journeys.
Northern Portugal (Moncao to Porto) 1
Scott, BC, Canada, May 2022
I would not do this trip again. The nature and style of the trip is not what I look for. There was way too much off-road riding. The brochure says 14% off road. This might be true in distance (although I doubt it) but certainly not in time. Slow, grinding, tedious dirt trails are not my thing. The start hotel was a poor choice for a cyclist being several read more kilometres out of town.
Day 1 from Moncao to Camenah on a paved rail trail was really good. Hotel Porta do Sol in Caminah was very good. Day 2 first half was great along the Atlantic coast down to Viana do Castelo. The second half to Ponte de Lima was not enjoyable on disused goat tracks. The hotel in Ponte de Lima (2 nights) was really good. The town of Ponte de Lima was a highlight. Day 3 loop ride to Arcos de Valdevez was both pretty and tedious on the goat trails. I abandoned the route guide on the return trip and simply rode on the paved roads. This way I could actually look around at the scenery while I rode instead of staring at the track to avoid rocks, roots, puddles and other obstacles. Day 4 to Barcelos was an utter drudgery; no more need be said. Hotel (Art ‘Otel) in Barcelos was barely adequate. This was, by far, the worst day of the trip. Day 5 to Vila do Conde was a good day on quite roads and paved rail trail. Vila C Hotel was probably the best hotel of the trip. Day 6 to Foz (Porto) was a very nice relaxing ride along the shore. The Hotel Boa Vista was good but nothing special.
The trip says it ends in Porto, which is technically true, but the actual end was in Foz which is a seaside suburb of Porto. The centre of Porto is some distance upstream. In summary, Day 1, 5, 6 and half of day 2 were good. Day 3, 4 and half of day 2 were not good. Most of the hotels were good. Some were not good. The bike I rented was good. The tool kit was incomplete (as I found when I had a flat). The GPS route mapping was excellent: Accurate and complete. All in all, not value for money and I would not use this company again. There were some good aspects but the negatives combined with the cost outweigh the good.
Day 1 from Moncao to Camenah on a paved rail trail was really good. Hotel Porta do Sol in Caminah was very good. Day 2 first half was great along the Atlantic coast down to Viana do Castelo. The second half to Ponte de Lima was not enjoyable on disused goat tracks. The hotel in Ponte de Lima (2 nights) was really good. The town of Ponte de Lima was a highlight. Day 3 loop ride to Arcos de Valdevez was both pretty and tedious on the goat trails. I abandoned the route guide on the return trip and simply rode on the paved roads. This way I could actually look around at the scenery while I rode instead of staring at the track to avoid rocks, roots, puddles and other obstacles. Day 4 to Barcelos was an utter drudgery; no more need be said. Hotel (Art ‘Otel) in Barcelos was barely adequate. This was, by far, the worst day of the trip. Day 5 to Vila do Conde was a good day on quite roads and paved rail trail. Vila C Hotel was probably the best hotel of the trip. Day 6 to Foz (Porto) was a very nice relaxing ride along the shore. The Hotel Boa Vista was good but nothing special.
The trip says it ends in Porto, which is technically true, but the actual end was in Foz which is a seaside suburb of Porto. The centre of Porto is some distance upstream. In summary, Day 1, 5, 6 and half of day 2 were good. Day 3, 4 and half of day 2 were not good. Most of the hotels were good. Some were not good. The bike I rented was good. The tool kit was incomplete (as I found when I had a flat). The GPS route mapping was excellent: Accurate and complete. All in all, not value for money and I would not use this company again. There were some good aspects but the negatives combined with the cost outweigh the good.
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