On Foot Holidays - Portugal Traveller Reviews

3 day walking holiday in national park in Northern Portugal. We had 4 overnight stays in small /tiny villages. The scenery was magnificent - we saw virtually no other walkers and the locals in the villages could not be nicer.

Excellent support in every way from start to end of holiday. Even the local who collected us from the airport and returned us there was delightful

Well planned itinerary with beautiful accommodation. Comprehensive tour notes. Excellent support at all stages of the walk.

Answered all questions promptly and readily contactable.

Self guided walking, staying in different accomodation and meeting new people. Northern Portugal is an interesting and scenic area and we loved staying in small villages and eating some good food.

Very helpful and thorough. Felt very safe and that we could ask questions and for help. We were treated as individuals.

Self-guided walking holiday in a national park in northern Portugal with On Foot holidays. A beautifully planned route with an interesting range of places to stay.

On Foot were outstanding. Firstly, the range of holidays they offer and the options (length, etc) within each holiday. Secondly for the quality of the holiday and the support (eg local support person) available during the holiday. But principally for their helpfulness from the very first contact - quick to reply to emails, offering help in person (with using GPS, in my case) and additional instructions. Always friendly and able to give as much time as you might need.

I'm a 50-something Australian and I took two teenage nephews on their first overseas holiday: a five-night self-guided walk in rural northern Portugual. The program was especially tailored for us by On Foot Holidays (OFH) so as to get the best dining options en route. It was a truly marvellous experience, right from the time the OFH driver picked us up in Porto to take us to the starting point, to the last night in a beautiful monastery that is now a pousada (luxury hotel). The walks were beautiful, the OFH hosts in each village were friendly and welcoming, the accommodation was clean and comfortable and the meals provided were very generous. This is a wonderful way to see the greenest, most beautiful and yet least known part of Portugal and to experience the traditional village life. It was our first walking holiday but it definitely won't be the last. It was a wonderful break from the rush and stress of the modern world, and a great way to immerse yourself in the wonders of nature.

I was very impressed with On Foot Holidays. They are very organised, they supply all the information you need well in advance: not just the practical stuff (paper maps, waterproof folders, digital maps, very detailed directions for your self-guided walk, emergency contact details, and outlines of what to expect of each day's route etc) but also interesting historical and cultural background information so that you have a good sense of the region before you arrive. Their on-gound staff in Portugal (the drivers, the hosts in each village) are helpful, multilingual, and very familiar with the OFH product. The main local contact and route designer Paul Burton kept in touch regularly both before the start and during the walk, sent us weather updates and alerts, and very kindly came to join us for breakfast one morning midway through the trip, which was great. Bascially, On Foot Holidays are very organised, very thorough and efficient, but a very personal one too - you don't feel like a number, you feel like you have a personal mentor, which is comforting if - as it was in our case - it happens to be your first walking/hiking holiday. In all sincerity I give On Foot Holidays10 out of 10.

This self guided walk took us through part of the Peneda-Geres National Park in Portugal from Soajo to Santa Maria do Bouro. It was like living in another time: ancient villages, the espigueros, women tending long horned cattle, paths built by the Romans with mileposts to help guide the way, all through an interesting variety of terrains from day to day. At the end of each day our luggage greeted us at a new, always interesting abode where we looked forward to the new restaurant for dinner and then to the more than adequate breakfasts which sent us on our way again!

All our contact was via email as we live in different countries. This holiday, (and others with the same company), was exceptional in its walk organisation, provision of information, reliable accommodation, immediate feedback to queries and generally friendly, caring attitude. I highly recommend them.

Our 3-day hike through northern Portugal brought a sense of awe and wonder like no other. The countryside was amazing, the people warm and friendly. The weather was perfect (early October) for spending the day outside.

On Foot Holidays answered all our questions immediately and completely as we prepared for our trip. And we didn't have that many questions because their up-front communication was so good. Every detail of our trip was attended to - we did not have to worry about a thing. The accommodations were lovely. Each place gave us a unique insight into the villages we visited. On Foot is a 5-star organization.

We did an On Foot self-guided walking holiday in Northern Portugal. The walk took us along a Roman road through the Parque Nacional da Peneda-Geres, in the north east corner of Portugal . We did the shorter version of the walk which was over three days (four nights) starting in Brufe and ending at Santa Maria do Bouro. There was a huge variety of scenery which included long vistas down to colourful valleys with mountain peaks in the distance, boulders the size of houses, mountain streams and wooded glades. Accommodation included a converted stone cottage with a traditional Portuguese bread oven inside, a village albergia (basic hotel stop over), a quinta (small chateau), and the superbly comfortable Pousada at Santa Maria do Bouro which had been built from the ruins of a 13th century monastery. Walking was relatively easy with cumulative climbs each day of around 400 metres and daily distances ranging from 11km to 21km. We were extremely lucky with the weather which was 25 degrees or above every day; we were told that this was much hotter than usual for late October in northern Portugal. Overall, we could not have hoped for a better introduction to self-guided walking.

On Foot gave us a very personal service from the beginning. After our initial inquiry it took them 2 to 3 days to confirm that the accommodation would be available for the dates we wanted to go. We were sent a very informative pack which included ways of getting to and from the airport at the beginning and end of the walk, our itinerary, detailed notes and maps for each day's walking, a description of the area we would be walking in, and name and phone number of a local contact if we needed any help when we were away. We were also sent a link to the GPS system that On Foot use with maps for our three days walking pre-loaded on the system. Whenever we contacted On Foot, we got through to a person who knew all about our booking and we were phoned by On Foot the day before we travelled to check that there was nothing we were uncertain about. There were no hitches at all on the holiday - all owners of accommodation expected us, pre-booked taxis met us, luggage transfers worked seamlessly and route maps took us where we needed to go - and we had the comfort of knowing there was a local contact even though in practice we did not need to contact him.

My husband and I did a short hiking trip through Northern Portugal with On Foot Holidays. The preparation was very well done, and the landscape was unmatched! We had a lovely time, and when we ran into travel hiccups On Foot's local contact was incredibly helpful.

My husband and I did a short hiking trip through Northern Portugal with On Foot Holidays. The preparation was very well done, and the landscape was unmatched! We had a lovely time, and when we ran into travel hiccups On Foot's local contact was incredibly helpful.

We walked in the remote Gerres National Park with OnFoot Holidays. The scenery is diverse and beautiful..from lush valleys,Roman roads to steep granite hillsides We saw one other walker in 6 days of walking

This is our second trip with OnFoot. Already planning a 3rd next year. We found them efficient,friendly and informed. Logistics all worked well