Portugal - Historic Villages - Self-Guided Leisure Cycling Holiday

Both guides were very supportive...

I liked all days but probably the most enjoyable was day 3 where we had less distance to cover and could spend some time in Idaho a Velha (Egitanea) were I enjoyed the Roman buildings and we had time for a meal at the restaurant. The small country roads were particularly nice. The road up to Monsanto was very hard but it was worth it to be up there.

Both guides were very supportive throughout and we had the pleasure of their company on several evenings. I left a hat at one of the hotels (Vila Velha de Rodao) and one guide was able to arrange for us to drop by to collect it on the way back to Lisbon. A small thing but I was pleased to get it back. The gift of oranges from the taxi driver was also particularly enjoyed! Overall I felt we got a lot of extra service on this holiday which I was not expecting. The Garmin navigation devices provided also worked well.

Robert, Cambridgeshire

Loved every moment.

Loved every moment. My favourite day was probably day 2 just because we felt such a sense of achievement after. I also liked Sortelha very much. We were happy with the variety, and our tour guides were fantastic. The notes were great especially the maps and elevations. It was a great holiday. We visited a beautiful part of Portugal which we would never have found on our own. The variety of route was a lovely surprise each day.

Anne, Cambridgeshire

I'd highly recommend this trip!

Our representatives were full of useful information and recommendations, for example; what restaurants to eat at in the evening, lunch stops and places to see en-route and were always happy to help or advise. The routes were lovely – we experienced the great countryside with challenging and well chosen quiet routes. I’d highly recommend Antonio to anyone.

Helen, East Sussex

A first rate crew!

I would recommend the Historic Villages Self-Guided to any cyclist. Your local partners were the best. We really appreciated their positive attitude – attention to detail and local knowledge. A first rate crew!

Harold, Canada

Excellent...

This was another excellent chance to visit another country with travel, accommodation & local information all provided.

Good variety of terrain; lovely countryside; amazing wild flowers; so many birds singing & the overall scent of flowers & tree vegetation in the air. The sun was shining & lots of downhills to enjoy! The variety of terrain was exactly as had been described to us. This was our first taste of route navigation with GPS ; no family “consultations” at junctions; no maps and directions to turn over in whatever the weather. What a difference.

Antonio Malvar gave us probably the best service we have received from all our Skedaddle cycling holidays. The holiday pack of information was comprehensive & had everything we needed; our week’s route & accommodation stops were explained to us in detail at our initial hotel venue. Antonio made sure we understood the use of the bike GPS devices and he followed up the next day to check the level of battery power remaining & our route & day’s holiday had been OK. Having A’s company for dinner the first evening helped to explain some of the Portuguese services and what we were likely to find as we went from place to place. A’s partner, Tiago, who joined us for the end of the holiday & drove us back to Lisbon was again as discrete or as helpful as we wished. They both clearly enjoyed cycling themselves; their work and made “customer care” their business and they were proud of their country.

Graham, York

We love Skedaddling...

Excellent service by the Skedaddle – Rui was very attentive and when he was transfering bags he always stopped for a chat and to check we were ok. He couldn’t do enough for us.

Tucker, Leeds