The land tour titled Spain and Portugal was our favorite. It has changed since we took it, but we had no problem with the activity levels. One of the many reasons why we enjoyed it so much was that there was ample free time to explore on your own and at your own pace. It is a fabulous tour!
Just returned from Portugal and Spain trip. Trip is very busy. Activity level is 3 and average steps for most of the group was around 8000 to 13,000 per day. Some streets are cobblestones, steps along the way do not have handrails, so be realistic on what you can do.
Most times for the morning start was 8am, some days 9am. Wonderful nonstop trip.
Very active tour. Lots of walking. We had some people with mobility issues on our trip that held up the group. They were not appreciated by the rest of the group.
We are currently on this tour. Just began this past Wednesday. Walking can be an issue. Porto is under construction for a new subway so there are barricades and detours and extremely treacherous sidewalks and everywhere is uphill or downhill. Lisbon is up and down as well.
Everyone seems to have maneuvered it well so far but be forewarned!
For the Spain and Portugal land journey, did you encounter "treacherous sidewalks" each day of the 14 day tour? Are there a lot of stairs with no railings or walls to hold on to? Did some people on your tour use a cane or walking stick to help with their balance?
The best thing to do is to call Tauck and ask to speak to the manager who is In charge of that tour area. They will have been on the tour. If you explain your abilities to them, they might better asses whether you might find it difficult. If the tour says, 3, then Tauck are describing to their best knowledge, what you might expect to encounter on some of the days.
Personally, I don’t want to be on a tour that might be compromised by people slowing the pace. Once we find our walking ability is diminished, we will take independent tours and hire a private guide who can lead us at our pace. I think that it is much easier to do these days with so much choice for such vacations.
We just returned from this fabulous trip a couple of weeks ago. I have mild balance issues and did fine. I held on to my partner in the no railing situations. If I had been traveling solo, I would have wanted my walking stick. I would say there were a lot more railings than not, but it certainly wasn’t unusual not to have a railing. The “treacherous sidewalks” were not much of an issue after Porto. The cobblestones were everywhere though. I was glad for my Keen day hikers.
Beverly…. there are plenty of stairs as in all of Europe. We found in Spain and Portugal some had railings some not. We are still on this trip and no one has had any mishaps. Several people have canes but have not hindered the group in anyway. Porto was the most precarious to walk in my opinion. You just have to look where you are going. It is a wonderful tour!
The only treacherous walking areas in my opinion were in Lisbon due to the limestone walkways. Beautiful to look at but dangerous when wet. One just needs to be cognizant of their footing. The best footwear are sturdy ones with hard rubber soles and ankle support. I would discourage wearing American-type sneakers.
On several of our tours the group has been divided into two groups, one of which is for those who wish a more leisurely pace. I am referring to small group tours here; I have no experience with the larger group tours. We have had several local guides who are quite adept at finding alternate routes to avoid steps.
We did the small ship version “Treasures of Spain and Portugal” a couple years ago. I have artificial knees which I find make stairs and hills a bit of a challenge. Stairs unprotected by handrails are very difficult, but with handrails are no problem. Some of the sites that we visited were of course very old, and some did not have handrails, and some had handrails that only protected some of the stairs. There were several sites that I simply said, “I[m not going there.”
FYI, the Spain and Portugal land journey, 2025, small group does not include Porto - so, that might mean that I will encounter fewer risky stair situations:)
Just returned from this trip. It was a wonderful tour. The Alcazar, Alhambra, Mosque-Church in Cordoba all absolutely stunning not to mention the many churches we visited. Mile after mile of olive tres and vineyards just beautiful.
It is a very strenuous walking trip . We averaged 10000 steps per day up and down walking on uneven surfaces everywhere.
Only drawback is that 6 people got sick with stomach bug which caused them to miss some tours. There were 3 people at the farewell dinner that left because they were not feeling well.
Our tour guide was very good although a bit standoffish.
I would recommend this trip but bring a good pair of walking shoes!!!
Where do you think was the culprit? How big was the group? Tauck guests would never miss the farewell dinner unless they were really, really sick. Did the TD help out?
Did this tour take you to Pena Palace or National Palace in Sintra? Did the day start really early?
A person took a hard fall walking down the path from Pena Palace due to pouring rain last year when I went on A Week in Portugal.
I really like my TD Sergio.We had 18 to begin with and 2 left the first day due to Covid.These two sat next to me at the airport transfer and welcome dinner.
I don’t think we did as much walking as eleonore on the small ship version. We did skip the afternoon tour in Mallorca cuz it was just too hot. We went back to the comforts of the “Wind Surf”.
Sounds indeed like Norovirus. Very easily transmitted via surfaces. Think buffet meals, everyone touching the same serving utensils. Not helped by hand sanitizer, only by thorough hand washing. You are still contagious even when you feel better, for a few days. Occurs any time of year. It is fairly common.
I feel really badly for the people who got sick. I have fond memories of that tour, also with Todd H.
For the Spain and Portugal Land Journey 2025, I'm considering Sept. 16 or Oct. 22 departure. Has anyone gone that time of year in 2023 or 2022? I'm wondering if it's typically too hot Sept. 16 and too rainy October 22.....
We took this marvelous tour in 2015 in the Sep/Oct timeframe. Southern Spain can still be warm in September, but I wouldn't classify it as being hot. I think you will be fine with either date, but my preference would be the 22 October departure since I prefer cooler temperatures. We have traveled to Spain and Portugal many times, always in the fall, and only recall a brief downpour in Porto and intermittent showers in Lisbon one day.
Beverley, my husband and I are confirmed on the 10/22/2025 land tour. We suspect temperatures will be more comfortable then. As for rainfall, you take your chances anywhere these days. Weather has become increasingly unpredictable.
Comments
There are quite a few trips that involve Spain and Portugal. You might need to be more specific to get some accurate comments.
The land tour titled Spain and Portugal was our favorite. It has changed since we took it, but we had no problem with the activity levels. One of the many reasons why we enjoyed it so much was that there was ample free time to explore on your own and at your own pace. It is a fabulous tour!
Just returned from Portugal and Spain trip. Trip is very busy. Activity level is 3 and average steps for most of the group was around 8000 to 13,000 per day. Some streets are cobblestones, steps along the way do not have handrails, so be realistic on what you can do.
Most times for the morning start was 8am, some days 9am. Wonderful nonstop trip.
Very active tour. Lots of walking. We had some people with mobility issues on our trip that held up the group. They were not appreciated by the rest of the group.
We are currently on this tour. Just began this past Wednesday. Walking can be an issue. Porto is under construction for a new subway so there are barricades and detours and extremely treacherous sidewalks and everywhere is uphill or downhill. Lisbon is up and down as well.
Everyone seems to have maneuvered it well so far but be forewarned!
Looking forward to it. We just booked for October 2025!
For the Spain and Portugal land journey, did you encounter "treacherous sidewalks" each day of the 14 day tour? Are there a lot of stairs with no railings or walls to hold on to? Did some people on your tour use a cane or walking stick to help with their balance?
The best thing to do is to call Tauck and ask to speak to the manager who is In charge of that tour area. They will have been on the tour. If you explain your abilities to them, they might better asses whether you might find it difficult. If the tour says, 3, then Tauck are describing to their best knowledge, what you might expect to encounter on some of the days.
Personally, I don’t want to be on a tour that might be compromised by people slowing the pace. Once we find our walking ability is diminished, we will take independent tours and hire a private guide who can lead us at our pace. I think that it is much easier to do these days with so much choice for such vacations.
We just returned from this fabulous trip a couple of weeks ago. I have mild balance issues and did fine. I held on to my partner in the no railing situations. If I had been traveling solo, I would have wanted my walking stick. I would say there were a lot more railings than not, but it certainly wasn’t unusual not to have a railing. The “treacherous sidewalks” were not much of an issue after Porto. The cobblestones were everywhere though. I was glad for my Keen day hikers.
Beverly…. there are plenty of stairs as in all of Europe. We found in Spain and Portugal some had railings some not. We are still on this trip and no one has had any mishaps. Several people have canes but have not hindered the group in anyway. Porto was the most precarious to walk in my opinion. You just have to look where you are going. It is a wonderful tour!
The only treacherous walking areas in my opinion were in Lisbon due to the limestone walkways. Beautiful to look at but dangerous when wet. One just needs to be cognizant of their footing. The best footwear are sturdy ones with hard rubber soles and ankle support. I would discourage wearing American-type sneakers.
On several of our tours the group has been divided into two groups, one of which is for those who wish a more leisurely pace. I am referring to small group tours here; I have no experience with the larger group tours. We have had several local guides who are quite adept at finding alternate routes to avoid steps.
We did the small ship version “Treasures of Spain and Portugal” a couple years ago. I have artificial knees which I find make stairs and hills a bit of a challenge. Stairs unprotected by handrails are very difficult, but with handrails are no problem. Some of the sites that we visited were of course very old, and some did not have handrails, and some had handrails that only protected some of the stairs. There were several sites that I simply said, “I[m not going there.”
Many thanks to all of you who responded to my May 28 comment. All the responses are very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to do it.
FYI, the Spain and Portugal land journey, 2025, small group does not include Porto - so, that might mean that I will encounter fewer risky stair situations:)
Just returned from this trip. It was a wonderful tour. The Alcazar, Alhambra, Mosque-Church in Cordoba all absolutely stunning not to mention the many churches we visited. Mile after mile of olive tres and vineyards just beautiful.
It is a very strenuous walking trip . We averaged 10000 steps per day up and down walking on uneven surfaces everywhere.
Only drawback is that 6 people got sick with stomach bug which caused them to miss some tours. There were 3 people at the farewell dinner that left because they were not feeling well.
Our tour guide was very good although a bit standoffish.
I would recommend this trip but bring a good pair of walking shoes!!!
Where do you think was the culprit? How big was the group? Tauck guests would never miss the farewell dinner unless they were really, really sick. Did the TD help out?
Norovirus but that’s my opinion. it spread pretty rapidly.TD was very helpful in getting those folks what they needed. There was 33 in our group.
Wow! It was a big group.
Did this tour take you to Pena Palace or National Palace in Sintra? Did the day start really early?
A person took a hard fall walking down the path from Pena Palace due to pouring rain last year when I went on A Week in Portugal.
I really like my TD Sergio.We had 18 to begin with and 2 left the first day due to Covid.These two sat next to me at the airport transfer and welcome dinner.
I don’t think we did as much walking as eleonore on the small ship version. We did skip the afternoon tour in Mallorca cuz it was just too hot. We went back to the comforts of the “Wind Surf”.
Sounds indeed like Norovirus. Very easily transmitted via surfaces. Think buffet meals, everyone touching the same serving utensils. Not helped by hand sanitizer, only by thorough hand washing. You are still contagious even when you feel better, for a few days. Occurs any time of year. It is fairly common.
I feel really badly for the people who got sick. I have fond memories of that tour, also with Todd H.
We visited the National Palace of Sintra not Pena. Palace. Days usually started by 8:30. Had one free day in Marbella which is beautiful.
For the Spain and Portugal Land Journey 2025, I'm considering Sept. 16 or Oct. 22 departure. Has anyone gone that time of year in 2023 or 2022? I'm wondering if it's typically too hot Sept. 16 and too rainy October 22.....
We took this marvelous tour in 2015 in the Sep/Oct timeframe. Southern Spain can still be warm in September, but I wouldn't classify it as being hot. I think you will be fine with either date, but my preference would be the 22 October departure since I prefer cooler temperatures. We have traveled to Spain and Portugal many times, always in the fall, and only recall a brief downpour in Porto and intermittent showers in Lisbon one day.
Beverley, my husband and I are confirmed on the 10/22/2025 land tour. We suspect temperatures will be more comfortable then. As for rainfall, you take your chances anywhere these days. Weather has become increasingly unpredictable.