Douro River E-Bike & Boat Tour Reviews — 31 to 38 of 38

Really enjoyed our trip to the Douro Valley. The staff of the AROSA Alva was very attentive and friendly. Our bike guides Jens, Kevin and Johanna were fantastic! We had a mixed language group of 13 and the guides did such a fantastic job of interpreting and handling any scenario. The only complaint was that the actual biking was not as long as I thought it would be per day. Definitely recommend this trip!

The trip was amazing from start to finish. The Douro Valley is too beautiful for words. You just have to see it for yourself to believe it!

The most memorable both positive and negative :
Having a small biking group aboard the ship we were on- we got to get off and bike through the countryside and explore in a way a bus tour group (like the other people on the boat) we not able to . It was a beautiful experience and great guides .
The most memorable negative was the boat was German and all the people on the ship were German and myself and my friend were the only 2 American and english speaking people. I would have appreciated a heads up that this boat rarely has Americans travel on it as I may have selected a different option for my trip and we were both unable to socialize or understand much of what being said . Being that every one on this boat was in their late 60's and 70's it was an old and old world vibe and I can not say that we were meant to feel welcome by anyone other than our waiter and bartender!

Cycling alongside the Douro with views of vineyards, quaint villages, and castles. A picnic lunch prepared by our guide at a castle was the crowning jewel.

The Douro River area is absolutely beautiful with a wide variety of agriculture, geography, cities and small villages to enjoy. Biking provides a great experience unlike what can be done on a bus tour. We were a group of twenty two, estimated ages 50 and up, all with reasonably similar skills and fitness levels. The cycling was well managed by a team from Germany (fluent in English) and the equipment was in excellent condition with a few minor issues promptly addressed. The daily tours started with transportation to a drop off point well above the river to begin cycling to the docking location of the Alva, a beautiful nearly new ship. Much of the cycling was therefore downhill and the occasional up hills were easily managed by most with power settings on the E-bikes. We'd consider most of the cycling as moderate and relatively safe on mostly country roads, although there are stretches of downhill with sharp curves, steep drop offs and city biking including cobble stone roads that less experienced riders may consider risky. The daily biking ranged from about 17 miles to 37 miles with periodic stops for rest, water, refreshments or lunch on the longest day. We'd recommend having at least some prior E-bike familiarity. The September weather was near perfect - cool mornings, warm afternoons, sunny, no humidity so light jackets over short sleeves seemed to be just right.

The entire Douro valley was spectacular with its terraced steep walls. Food was excellent and service was good. We loved the bike tour guides and the rides, especially the one that began in Almeida.

First the good review. The boat was excellent. Food and staff were very good. The Terra Nova biking company was terrific. The guides were knowledgeable and each day’s bike ride was really great. We would recommend this bike/boat to anyone.
However we were extremely disappointed in TripSite as a company!! We have now been on 4 TripSite Bike and Boat, but on this trip there were originally 9 who made reservations 4 couples and one single. We all submitted our reservation and our deposit and all received confirmation. Some time later (a couple months) the single member of our party received a notice that her reservation though confirmed was being cancelled even though she had been paid extra for a single room. She also was a two time previous TripSite customer. The remaining 4 couple fully intended to cancel as well but our friend begged us not to and said she would feel worse if we didn’t go so we continued and took the trip. TripSite that was the poorest business practice we have ever encountered, totally low class and just down right greedy. In the past we have recommended your company to many other friends. We will not do that in the future and in fact will likely avoid booking through your company. Basically you have lost 11 repeat customers. I hope it was worth the extra cash you made booking a double versus a single.
It is unlikely that you will share these comments on your website, but if we could have rated Tripsite you would have gotten zero or one star, so please don’t take credit for the 5 star rating!!!

The biking experience was ok but not great.
The most disappointing part was having a German ship and guides. Maybe we didn’t do our research but we had not expected this. As we would not want a bike ride in Germany by Portuguese guides. Also, totally unsustainable practice to bring the van and bikes back and forth from Germany.