Road Bike

The trip was absolutely unbelievable. Biggest takeaways: Portugal is an amazing country, each day on the bike is so different from the next, the days are challenging- especially as a novice biker, but doable. I quickly learned to trust every one of Ricardo’s suggestions- he is extremely organized, responsive and knowledge about all the best restaurants. Live Love Ride Portugal is truly a one of a kind family and I’m so glad I was able to experience the culture, food, wine and country by bike. Also, we did the trip in April- got very lucky weather wise, no rain, some chillier mornings and windy days but sunshine and 75 most of the time.

This was my first bike tour trip and it was the best vacation I have taken. Despite having biked recreationally in many different places, I greatly underestimated the joy I would feel from cycling as a mode of transportation while on vacation. Traveling town to town, over varied terrain including beach boardwalks, medieval cobblestone roads, dirt paths, rocky trails, and cruising through small towns, thriving cities, beautiful agricultural lands and vineyards, and bisecting gorgeous pine forests, fed all my senses. Each day led to a different challenge with unique rewards along the way and at the finish line. My biggest concern going into this trip was not having enough time to explore each town once we arrived by bike. Fortunately, this was not an issue, we arrived each day with plenty of time and extra energy to really enjoy the scene.

The boutique hotels Live Love Ride chose for us were each special in their own way. Whether it was a lushly landscaped garden, a castle walled courtyard, or a cozy hotel bar, arriving to a beautiful stone walled manor at the end of the day’s ride was always a great surprise. The luggage transfer service was very reliable and well worth it. In addition to the exceptional customer service and outstanding hotel choices, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the restaurant recommendations; I strongly suggest going with their choices.

Portugal and Spain are each beautiful countries and the culture changed more than I expected as we moved along the route. Experiencing the region on two wheels gave us the opportunity to experience these countries using all five senses, at a perfect pace to take it all in. We Lived. We Loved. & We Rode our way through one of the best experiences of our lives.