I enjoyed seeing all the cities on this tour from interacting with locals to eating their foods and drinking great wines. Beautiful Architecture, Paintings, learning about Portugal culture I hope to make it back to Porto and spend more time in this area.
This was my third cycling trip with Exodus but the first one that is more or less hotel-to-hotel cycling, with only a bus transfer at the end to get to Lisbon. I loved that the focus was very much on cycling (as opposed to other trips that combine the cycling with lots of sightseeing) and the pace was nice and relaxed. I'm a pretty fit 40-year-old and, yes, I could've cycled faster and further and I still would've enjoyed it but for an active holiday that's not super-strenuous this was perfect. Since I loved the cycling so much I found the beginning of the tour in Porto and the end of the tour in Lisbon to be the least enjoyable. In fact, I think it would be better if the final day was a choice between a day trip to Lisbon for those who want it or an additional day's cycling around Óbidos. Most of us signed up for a walking tour in Lisbon, organised for us by our cycling tour leader, but for me this was definitely the most disappointing part of the whole trip since the guide just wasn't very good. In general, we were all left to our own devices in Lisbon and somehow it felt like an anticlimax after the five days' cycling togather. However, there were plenty of other positive points - the accomodation was of a very good standard and all the hotel breakfasts were delicious, the bikes were pretty good, and the cycling routes were a lovely mixture of coastal roads and forest paths.
Great holiday but should have been longer. Travellers for this trip need to be fit, prepared for steep climbs and humid weather, 'moderate' is not an accurate assessment of the walks. Admittedly 3 - 4mph is a bit of a give away, that said definitely a trip to repeat, this is a beautiful part of the world.