Our Portugal Bike Tour for roadbikers is much more than just a cycling abroad. It provides cultural, gastronomic and historical insights into Portuguese life. The tour includes 4 cycling tours and an optional two day porto program. You have to organize this yourself – we recommend it because the direct flight flies weekly, but of course it is not mandatory! The tour includes 4 routes (240+ km and 6000+ m elevation) in multi-star hotels, including bike rental and breakfast.
Bike tours take you to places like Peneda-Gerês National Park and Alvão Nature Park, where nature rules. It is not uncommon to encounter wild horses or cattle in the ridge, where one of Europe’s largest waterfall is found and there is a quiet that is difficult to describe in words.
The few villages we cycling through are hundreds sometimes thousands of years old, but hospitality is as clear as few places in the world today. Wandering along the low-traffic roads leading here, we see the magnificent countryside, which is sometimes led by long uphills bringing joy to road cycling lovers.
Anyone who come with us to this challenging tour will have such a cultural, gastronomic and nature experience.
All tours are on asphalt, on low-traffic secondary roads. Each day during the tour a team of experienced cycling speakers in Hungarian, Portuguese and English will lead on/assist the team.
The tour is a tour of our Portuguese partner, Wheel Nuts Cyclotouring.
When?
We will organized the tour 4 times in 2020:
- March 19th – 23rd – There is still space for the tour!
- April 16th – 20th – There is still space for the tour!
- May 7th – 11th – There is still space for the tour!
- May 21st – 25th – There is still space for the tour!
If you don’t want to road cycle in Portugal, we plan more regular tours to there in 2020, you can book these here!
Price, registration
You can apply on the “Apply” tab! In desktop PC above, in your phone in the middle of the page! Fill out the form and we’ll get back to you. Price of the tour: 790 euro + individual travel. (The price shown in HUF is indicative, the Euro price is valid!). Remember! Your application will become a reservation once you pay the deposit (300 Euro). Before applying, please read the tour’s terms and conditions!
Minimum number of departures min. 2 people.
Help
Do you have some doubts or/and need more info? Call us (+351 938 076 430) or write to us to the info@wncyclotouring.pt e-mail address. Under the Contact menu you can find alternative contact information too!
Informations
Prepayment amount: 300 EUR (Requirement to apply, pay as soon as possible! (GTC). Payment of the full amount 45 days before the start of the tour.
Application deadline: 1 month before travel.
Departure/Arrival Location: Budapest, Porto
The price includes
Accommodation in 2 and 4 star hotels with breakfast during the tour
Carbon frame road bicycle for the tour
All transports during the tour
Tour guiding / supported guiding (Read the day trip overview
Liability insurance and personal accident insurance according to the Portuguese law (go to the Terms and Conditions for more info)
Energy drink and bars, water during the rides
Technical support
The price excludes
Traveling to Portugal and/or any other traveling costs excluding the above mentioned
Dinners and other meals
Travel, sport, luggage, sport accident insurance (Recommended)
Public transport costs
Entry fees for tourist attractions
Other additional or optional expenses
Accommodation
The first two days of the cycling tour will be in a two star hotel in ponte Da Barca in double bedrooms with own bathrooms. The hotel is just by the River Lima, with a nice view to the main square.
On the 3rd and 4th day we will stay in a four star hotel in Mondim de Basto, in double bedrooms with own bathrooms. This hotel has a gym, three swimming pools, SPA, bar and restaurant. Also around the hotel there are a few walking routes.
If you would like to add extra days to you tour, we are more than happy to help you to arrange accommodation.
Travel
The cost of the tour does not include travel to Porto and back (Budapest). The easiest way to get there is by plane. There are 20 airlines flying to Porto such as TAP Portugal, Ryanair, Air Transat, WizzAir. From Budapest, the ideal WizzAir airline is direct flights to Oporto on Tuesdays and Saturdays. From the airport of Oporto you can reach the city center by metro, bus or taxi, which does not take more than 15-30 minutes.
There may be an alternative to Lisbon with Tap and Ryanair. From Lisbon you can travel by air or train to Porto, but there are special regulations for transporting bicycles, but you must be informed in advance, which can be done on the CP (Comboios de Portugal) site.
Check with the airline for terms and prices of air bicycle transportation.
Bicycle
The route of the tour is 99% asphalt and we use race bicycle. We use Specialized Tarmac Pro or Trek Madone/Domane 5 (or similar) race bikes for this tour. These bikes typically are equipped with Shimano Ultegra/105 groupsets, they have carbon fiber frame and fork and weigh in between 8,5-9kg. You can read about the rental rules in our Terms and Conditions.
Difficulty
You have to be prepared that the pace and the positive elevation is beyond the average level. But we do cycle in a group, if that is the case, we help and wait for each other if needed as a good team. We will stop a few times during the ride, to take a pit stop or coffee brake, but they wont last to long. In every day there will be long ascents (7-10 km) and some slopes as well. The average positive elevation of each day varies between 1000-2000m, the distance between 50-80kms.
4/5, 5/5 Hard, challenging
Physical preparation level: 3 / 5
This tour is recommended to
We recommend this tour to those who like challenges, long climbs, have good stamina and enjoy the scenic roads (to get to these place we do have to suffer bit sometimes ☺). You should have at least 0,5-1 year of cycling experience and able to handle race bikes properly. The level changes of the tour are quite big so we recommend this tour to the ones in love with mountains.
For those who haven’t been to Portugal, specially in the Northern region
For those who like road cycling and are not afraid of some tough climbs
For those who love untouched nature, and remote places
For those who would like to know better the authentic Northern Portuguese culture
1st day: Discovering the Minho region
We meet in the morning at a prearranged place and time in Porto, already prepared for cycling, than we drive to Ponte Da Barca, which takes more or less 1,5 hours. This town will be the base point for the first two days o the tour. After we arrived, we unpack the bikes, prepare ourselves for the ride. There will be an optional coffee break just before leaving, if someone wants to eat a little bit before cycling.
On the first few kilometers we follow the River Lima towards the historical town of Ponte de Lima. Just before reaching it, we turn uphill, and our first big climb will be ahead of us. We pedal through a few small villages, while we leave the valley behind. At the last few kilometers of the ascent we will be on a scenic road, lined with the typical granite boulders of the region. At the end of the climb we reach the highest point of the day (556m). The place is called Armada, where we can do an optional coffee break.
After this climb, roller coaster type road leads until the Saint Ana chapel. Here we have an excellent viewpoint to the River Vade and the Peneda-Gerês National Park is also in sight. The last few kilometers are downwards on a brand new asphalt road which gives a great pleasure, and practically we roll into Ponte da Barca.
We check in to the hotel, take a shower, rest a bit, and decide where to dinner. The rest of the day is free time.
- Distance: 50km
- Positive elevation: 991m
- Est. cycling time: 3-4 h (with stops)
- Difficulty: 3/5
2nd day: Peneda-Gerês National Park
On this day we will cycle in the rocky mountains of the Peneda-Gerês National Park. After leaving Ponte da Barca the first seven kilometers are excellent for warming up, and we also pass over a bridge which dates back to the XIV. century.
In the next phase the roads begin to climb gradually as we are getting closer by to the park. We slowly leave civilization behind, the villages are getting fewer and smaller. Just before entering the national park, we pass by the Porta do Meizo site, which is an ancient village from the Neolithic Age, dates back to 9000 years.
More or less at half way reach the highest point of route (790m), which doesn´t seems much but until this point we will have 80% of the positive elevation of the complete route in our legs! With a smooth pace we roll towards the village of Lindoso, not sparing time to take some pictures along the way.
At the bottom of the descent, we cycle over the Lindoso hydroelectric dam, after that we can do a pit stop only 2 kilometers away from the Spanish border. The last 12 kilometers are rolling hills along along the River Lima back to Ponte Da Barca.
The cycling begins and ends at the hotel, there is no transport on this day. After cycling the rest of the day is free time, we can do optional sightseeing in Ponte de Lima if all members of the group agree.
- Distance: 70km
- Positive elevation: 1825m
- Est. cycling time: 4-5 hours (with stops)
- Difficulty: 4/5.
3rd day: Alvão Natural Park and the Bastos wine region
Just like on the first day, we pack all our stuff, check out from the hotel in Ponte Da Barca and we move to Mondim de Basto by van, which takes more or less 1,5 hours. We travel already prepared to ride and after the arrival we unpack only the bikes and we do the cycling. Before hopping on the saddle, we can grab some food or do a coffee break.
Immediately after the start the first big climb begins (20km long!) which takes us up to 1012m altitude to the Alto Da Barra mountain. This is a first category climb and from the top we have an excellent view to the Bastos region and the Alvão Natural Park. The next 14 kilometers are pure pleasure, a scenic downhill road in the heart of the park, with zero traffic. At the bottom we roll in to the village of Ermida, where we can do an optional coffee break.
After the village the second climb begins (11,4 kilometers long and 6% avg. steep) leading to the small village Bilhó. Halfway up we can do a minor detour to visit one of Europe´s biggest consecutive waterfalls called Fisgas do Ermelo, the favorite spot of the famous Portuguese poet, Miguel Torga.
The rest of the route is a roller coaster type road back to Mondim de Basto, always in the shadow of the Sra. da Graça mountain, which will be the challenge for the next day.
When we arrive, we do the check in to the hotel, and the rest of the day can be spent in many relaxing ways. The hotel has a SPA section, in- and outdoor swimming pool, bar, gym, etc. We decide also where we are going to dinner.
- Distance: 60km
- Positive elvation: 1519m
- Est. cycling time: 4-5 hours (with stops)
- Difficulty: 4/5
4th day: In chase of the Tour of Portugal
The cycling begins from the hotel, and the first five kilometers are going to be the same as the day before. Reaching yet again the village of Ermida, we take a different road, and the first challenging climb begins. From this point the route will be the same as the queen stage of the Tour of Portugal in 2018. This climb is 12 kilometers long, passes through the Alvão Natural Park, where the last 2,5 kilometers are 10% avg. elevation and on cobble stones. Not an easy one, it might remind us to the classic spring races in Belgium. No doubt, this ascent is the most challenging of them all along the four days.
On the next section we will cycle at the altitude of 1000m and on rolling hills within the natural park. At the last part of the route we reach the Sra. da Graça mountain, with a shrine on top of it, where the finish line used to be on the Tour of Portugal. This climb is 8,4 kilometers long, and in average 7% steep. We will only do the last ¾ of it, and we end up at the altitude of 920m where we have an excellent view of 360º angle to the whole region.
After resting a bit, we roll back to the hotel, and the rest of the day is free time. There are some great hiking routes by the hotel, if someone still has some energy to burn. We decide after cycling where we should dinner.
- Distance: 65km
- Positive elevation: 1650m
- Est. cycling time: 4-5 óra (with stops)
- Difficulty: 4/5.
5th day: Back to Porto
After breakfast we pack in, check out from the hotel, and we drive back to Porto. The cycling tour ends at this point.
Please fill out the form below to apply. We will contact you after successful submission! Before you apply, please read the Terms and Conditions-et!
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