Activity Level 3 Spain/Portugal
Was there really a lot of walking in the 2 to 3 mile range as the activity 3 level set by Tauck suggests by its rating? Were there any locations that were particularly hard to navigate by foot?
How many times did you have to stand for long periods of time? and how long?
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You should read my review of the Spain and Portugal trip in that forum. Here's what I said about the activity level:
Activity level (strong warning!): The activity level for this trip is level 3. Walking for longer distances on uneven and often hilly terrain is definitely a part of this tour. The sidewalks in Lisbon are paved with uneven marble blocks with 1/2 inch gaps in between. Many of the blocks are missing leaving big potholes. Lisbon hills are comparable to San Francisco. Other cities on this tour have rough streets and sidewalks and many places have narrow streets that cannot accommodate the bus, so walking for some distance over rough terrain is required. If you cannot comfortably walk 2-3 miles over uneven terrain, you should not take this tour. We had several people on our tour that were not able to walk well. It made for a difficult and unrewarding tour for them and slowed the entire group down.
I am trying to put your warning in context.
Have you done the England, Scotland and Wales trip which is also rated Activity level 3? If so, did you think walking on that trip was any more or less difficult?
I have some back issues and use trekking poles to walk and did not have any issue with the England Scotland and Wales trip which included a lot of old cobbled streets, climbing hills to castles, lots of steps in old buildings, etc.. Having to stand in one place for a long time is more difficult but in other Tauck tours I would just find a seat if I needed.
I have found Tauch's ratings to be a bit conservative so I don't want to be scared away from a trip that I can manage.
We did the Spain and Portugal parador tour in October and I had problems with the walking (bad knees). I had to skip quite a few of the tours that required a LOT of walking. Although I enjoyed the tour, I am sorry that we did it because I just couldn’t do the walking that it required. The tour guide was also horrible at handling any problems but that’s another story and I hope he was fired as a guide. I did get to set down where I could when we were touring and that was good but it was still too much walking for me. (I’m having knee surgery next month!)
KMK_
Yes, I have done the England, Scotland and Wales trip. This is more difficult. Faster paced, longer walks and rougher terrain. If you need trekking poles, I would not recommend this trip.
We did the Treasures of Spain and Portugal trip aboard the Wind Surf in July 2019. I just looked it up, and it still shows an ‘activity level’ of 2. When we critiqued it we said we thought it was a three. My friend was carrying a pedometer and many days we did five miles ... a bit more than eighteen holes of golf. I had just had a knee replaced so the number of stairs was an issue. I handled it okay but sometimes there were a couple hundred stairs. We loved the trip but would recommend doing it in the ‘cooler’ months. I think it is a ‘three’.
I'm considering Spain & Portugal land journey for October, 2025, but, I'm concerned about the #3 Activity Level. Do you have to walk on steep San Francisco-like hills with uneven cobblestones every day of the 14 days, or just some days or parts of days? I enjoyed the Scandinavia land tour, that was a #2 Activity Level, and I can walk 4 miles a day, but I don't have the best balance if I can't hold on to a railing or a wall. Did anyone find a walking stick helpful for balance? Does the tour continue on rainy days if the cobblestone is very slippery? I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who recently took this tour.
It is very comparable to San Francisco.
As I recall my biggest issue on this tour was the sites that had stairs with no hand rails. A walking stick would have been helpful. I don’t recall that the hills were a problem, but I do have a problem with hills. There was a lot of walking, and I reviewed that I thought it was a ‘three’ not a ‘two’. We did the small ship version.