Portugal cycling tour
| country: | Portugal |
| location: | Algarve, Alentejo |
| trip type: | Challenging cycling holidays |
| departures: | 2008: 2 May |
| price: | From AU $7650 (18 days) excluding flights based on shared 3 & 4 star half board accommodation. Single supplement AU $1100. Please note, we do not provide bicycles for use during the tour. |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Our tour of Portugal is a discovery of all this magnificent country has to offer. The diverse regions of a country only 560km long and 220km wide reflect changes in colour and mood to please even the harshest of critics.
Although not as mountainous as some of its European counterparts, Portugal has its own share of breathtaking climbs. The climb of Serra da Estrela at 1993m is incomplete without making the 7m journey by foot to the top of the Torre (Tower) to reach its official altitude of 2000m.
Cycle through the golden hills amidst the warm weather of the Alentejo region and spend a night in a restored 16th century convent.
Relax in the waters of the Algarve, the country's southernmost region, after discovering the forest covered ride of the Serra de Monchique. Slip into the slow pace of the Portuguese way of life, savoring the simple and honest food that is such an important part of the culture.
Discovering the mountain ranges, the lively atmosphere of the Algarve and the energetic life that is Lisbon are all part of the tours total appreciation of one of Europe's oldest countries.
We visit Aveiro, Coimbra, Covilha, Castelo Branco,Alter Do Chao, Evora, Faro, Carvoeiro and Lisbon. To view our route, please click on the map on the right.
Although not as mountainous as some of its European counterparts, Portugal has its own share of breathtaking climbs. The climb of Serra da Estrela at 1993m is incomplete without making the 7m journey by foot to the top of the Torre (Tower) to reach its official altitude of 2000m.
Cycle through the golden hills amidst the warm weather of the Alentejo region and spend a night in a restored 16th century convent.
Relax in the waters of the Algarve, the country's southernmost region, after discovering the forest covered ride of the Serra de Monchique. Slip into the slow pace of the Portuguese way of life, savoring the simple and honest food that is such an important part of the culture.
Discovering the mountain ranges, the lively atmosphere of the Algarve and the energetic life that is Lisbon are all part of the tours total appreciation of one of Europe's oldest countries. We visit Aveiro, Coimbra, Covilha, Castelo Branco,Alter Do Chao, Evora, Faro, Carvoeiro and Lisbon. To view our route, please click on the map on the right.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-4: | Aveiro. We begin our tour in a place known as the Venice of Portugal. With a central canal running directly through the town, Aveiro’s surrounding beaches and lagoons provide a magic backdrop for the start of the tour. An introduction to cycling in Portugal includes rides to the beaches of Mira and the magnificent forest ride of the Caramulo. We take advantage of our close proximity to Porto, spending an afternoon in the second largest city in Portugal and while there, pay a visit to one of the city’s port factories. |
| Day 5: | Coimbra. Continuing our journey through the Beiras, we cycle to the regions biggest city, Coimbra. Undoubtedly Portugals intellectual capital, being home to one of Europe’s oldest universities, the cobbled lanes of Coimbra provide a delightful one night stop over. |
| Day 6: | Covilha. An early morning start sees us riding to the city of Covilha situated on the southeast slope of the Serra de Estrela. As we enter into the heart of the Serra de Estrela region we ride through the magnificent surroundings of its national park. Noted for its unique beauty, it is situated within the largest mountain range in the country. |
| Day 7-8: | Castelo Branco. We ride into the centre of Covilha toward the infamous climb of the Serra de Estrela. The climb however, is not complete until you have and climbed the stairs of the 7m Torre (Tower) constructed so that the peak of the mountain would reach 2000m. Descending the mountain we head out of Covilha toward our next destination, Castelo Branco. |
| Day 9: | Alter Do Chao. We ride through the rolling plains into what is the most unspoilt Provence of Portugal, the Alentejo. Our ride is surrounded by vast expanses of land, spotted throughout with cork and olive trees and rolling in wheat. Arriving in the quiet town of Alter do Chao, we spend the night in a restored 16th century convent. |
| Day 10-11: | Evora. As we continue our journey through the Alentejo region amid white washed hill towns and relatively quiet roads, we make a worthwhile detour into the market town of Estremoz, where the abundant use of the regions high grade marble is evident in the startling whiteness of the town. We continue our journey to Evora, a town classified by UNESCO as a world heritage site. The town is awash with historical elegance and warmth, its narrow streets lined with local craft. |
| Day 11-12: | Faro. We leave the Alentejo today for the Algarve and the regions capital, Faro. Driving part of the distance we begin the cycle portion of the journey at Castro Verde. Winding slowly upward through sleepy villages we arrive in the Algarve. |
| Day 13-15: | Carvoeiro. We take a quiet scenic route through ever changing greens and unspoilt rural architecture to the seaside resort of Carvoeiro. Riding north to Silves, the town once referred to as the Kingdom of the Algarve, we continue through the beautiful forest covered hills that lead us to the Serra de Monchique. |
| Day 16-18: | Lisbon. A car transfer covers the distance to our final destination, the enchanting city of Lisbon. Our home for the remainder of the tour is the unspoiled coastline of Estoril. A beautiful ride along the coast and north through the regions lush wooded national park leads us to the fairy tale town of Sintra. We return on a second occasion by car to take advantage of the many wondrous sights on offer in what was once the royal town of Portugal. Our tour is capped by a sumptuous farewell dinner in a picturesque restaurant overlooking the Atlantic. We bid farewell to our fellow adventurers at Lisbon airport, taking our lasting memories of Portugal home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Truly one of Europe’s hidden gems, with regions offering diversity both in landscape and culture, this experience of Portugal is a treat.
As exciting and intoxicating as some of our locations may be, such as the frenetic pace of Lisbon or the picturesque site of Porto, the paths travelled in between each by bicycle are equally inspiring in their simplicity and solitude. We cycle from the quaint town of Alter do Chao through the warmth and quiet of the Alentejo region to the UNESCO Heritage Listed town of Evora, famous for its cork, proving to be a magnificent way to discover the vast contrast of Portugals’ differing regions. Also on our itinerary, the cultural centre of Portugal and the site of one of Europe’s oldest Universities, Coimbra. Delighting with its cobbled streets, surroundings gardens and archaeological remains. Re-visiting the same family owned and operated hotels in smaller towns and villages such as our Hotel in the quiet coastal town of Aveiro or the secluded Abbey in Alter do Chao and sharing with you their local markets, out of the way restaurants and their customs has earned us a rapport with our hosts and local business owners that is irreplaceable. Group size is kept to a reasonable number so that you can enjoy all aspects of your holiday with an ease that comes more naturally with a smaller group, thus any unintended negative impact on the environment can be also kept to an absolute minimum. At the end of the day we dispose of any collected rubbish while out riding to the hotel. Where possible, this rubbish is then recycled by the hotel itself. Please describe your approach to minimising water waste on tour in France  Returning each year brings with it a responsibility to preserve the beauty of our surroundings and by continuing our responsible approach to travel is the perfect way. Not only does this include an effort to not leave anything behind other than our continuing rapport with our hosts, it also includes ensuring we give the lions share of our business to local industry. Not only does this benefit local economy, it also ensures that you, as our client, will experience the most authentic parts of their local custom. The best way we know how to ensure our company approach to responsible travel is exercised throughout each tour is to have the owners of the company guide you personally.We encourage you before and throughout the tour to treat your host country as you would your own home, providing you with ‘Responsible Travel Tips’. These may range from something as simple as perhaps bringing enough cycle clothing to ensure you able to do an ‘economy’ wash rather than wash every day, thus reducing our water usage to showing a healthy regard for our hosts by attempting to use a few simple words of their language. When we are not on tour, we continue to practice our responsible approach to the environment. We recycle and use environmentally friendly products wherever possible such as our cleaning products, energy efficient light bulbs and recycling our rubbish. As a community initiative, we have raised sponsorship funds to invest in a quantity of bicycles and bicycle related equipment and now offer a cycling programme to our local youth. The equipment and expertise of our coaches are offered free of charge in an attempt to promote cycling to our local youth so that they may learn about a whole different side of cycling they didn’t know existed. |
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