Reviews

Your Words – We tell it like it is! Holiday Reviews by previous Exodus travellers

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It’s the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you’re interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers.

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40 Reviews

4.5 out of 5

Sarah Chesser

Reviewed July 2022

Outstanding

Well crafted trip showing off Portugal’s rural and unspoilt Atlantic coast

Most Inspirational Moment

The pure vastness of the coastline

Thoughts on Group Leader

Outstanding - calm, totally customer focussed, with a strong sense of making the trip work for our group as well as individual needs - and a great sense of humour too!

Advice for Potential Travellers

A relatively easy cycle as the distances are spread over a day including stops for coffee/lunch - but therefore time to take in all the info and the scenery - a holiday with cycling in the sun and unspoilt coastline.

Suggestions

Highly recommend the three guides we had - Reuben, Chris and Rogerio

Wendi Davies

Reviewed July 2022

Porto to Lisbon - A fun cycle of the sunny coast

This was a great trip. Ruben our leader/guide was excellent – enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The scenery, weather (end May), hotels and food were all super – and the cycling was fun and not too strenuous for people who regularly cycle. The distance cycled was about 40 miles a day which meant not too early a start – and adequate time in the evening to visit most of the places where we were staying, and have a good meal. Ruben’s recommendations for evening meals were ideal. The group were also lucky to have Rogerio as the driver and support, who was always keen to help in any way. A really enjoyable holiday.

Most Inspirational Moment

The views from some of the cycle routes over the last few days especially, and visiting Obidos.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Always smiling. Nothing was too much trouble. Organised and committed.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Check the Exodus information about required fitness levels for the trip you're interested in. Be prepared to get along with others and enjoy yourself with the group.

Suggestions

I would nominate Ruben for the leader of the year.

Sue Ormerod

Reviewed July 2022

Fabulous trip with outstanding guides, Reuben the lead guide was fabulous.

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.

Most Inspirational Moment

Looking at the incredible view of the coastline following the steep ascent and visiting Navarro.

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Karen Sandler

Reviewed June 2022

Pleasant, but not an Atlantic Ride. Needs another guide with 16 people.

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.

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoyed most of the company, and the food and the wine, when not organised for us. The picnics were mainly good.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was good, on the whole, and the support driver was excellent.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I would not advise people to do this trip. I just do not think the cycling works.

Suggestions

There were health and safety issues with the cycling and some of the rooms. It needs looking at carefully for future rides. For example, in the hotel room in Obidos, the bedside lamp could not be plugged in as there was no socket. There was a bare, live hole where the socket should be. We were also on what looked like camp beds, with a metal frame and rock hard mattress. Another room we saw was gorgeous.

Lazzaro Amanzio

Reviewed October 2019

Porto to Lisbon bike tour October 2019

It was a great tour along Atlantic coast with good weather, many good views, excellent guide and driver and great&fun group.

Most Inspirational Moment

The day we arrived in Nazarè with beautiful views of the ocean and of the beaches.

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Advice for Potential Travellers

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.

Suggestions

I would like to mention Tiago (our driver) for taking care of all the logistics and food along the all week in a very professional and friendly manner.

Celia Murray

Reviewed October 2019

Perfection in Portugal

Fantastic week of cycling, sightseeing, good company and excellent guiding in coastal Portugal.

Most Inspirational Moment

Fantastic sunsets over the breaking waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Great seafood and wine. Boutique accommodation, especially the Literary Man in Obidos.

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Advice for Potential Travellers

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.

Suggestions

Don't forget the sunscreen, an extra layer for chilly mornings and evenings and padded shorts. A fantastic holiday, our only constructive criticism is that we would have preferred a later transfer to Lisbon to allow us more time to explore Obidos.

Pau Pau

Reviewed September 2019

Too leisurely trip

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.

Most Inspirational Moment

Great to meet people from all over the world. Also, is very stunning to watch the sunset in the Atlantic.

Thoughts on Group Leader

He didn't have a very good level of English and had poor organization skills.

Advice for Potential Travellers

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.

Mark Walker

Reviewed September 2019

Absolutely fantastic Portugal

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

Most Inspirational Moment

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.

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Pack light, I took way too much stuff

Angela Jackson

Reviewed July 2019

Pleasant cycling trip

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.

Most Inspirational Moment

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.

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Advice for Potential Travellers

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.

Suggestions

The last group meal is really the one in Obidos with suggestions of places to go in Lisbon if you wanted to experience Fado. We did not get a guided tour in Lisbon but we were dropped off right in the centre, a guided tour is really not practical given the size of the city. I think it would be better to give everyone a city map with the hotel and nearest metro station marked on it - so you know the way back and with some recommendations of places to go depending on your interests. For the nights when group meals are not organised it would also be useful to be provided with a map and suggestions for restaurants. We can highly recommend the Wine Bar by Cristal in Figueiro de Foz which was very close to the hotel - don't be put off by the name as this was a great little tapas bar with fantastc food.

Sahara Wutzke

Reviewed June 2019

Coastal views

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.

Most Inspirational Moment

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!

Thoughts on Group Leader

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.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Book to stay an extra night in Porto on arrival to see the sites of this beautiful city.

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