Great holiday in beautiful surroundings with excellent leaders Five days of short walks in fascinating and varied countryside, brought to life by our great leaders Lina and Carla, with instructive wine tastings, followed by a day and a half in vibrant Porto.
A relatively short trip from Porto to Lisbon - only five days cycling but excellent nonetheless. It helped that I was with a terrific group of people who all enjoyed each other’s company and the tour leader, Cristovao and support driver Joao were probably the best team I’ve encountered on my many trips. The ride is fairly easy, with one ‘mountain’ and a few minor hills but an absolute doddle on an E-bike. The Atlantic coastal scenery was breathtaking and we rode for 99% of the time on secure bike paths. Portugese cycling infrastructure is very good and whenever we approached a small town, car drivers always gave way to cyclists - quite a treat after riding in the UK where many drivers treat cyclists as a nuisance. Some of the pathways were unmade - in other words, rocky and bumpy and the cobbles in town were a nightmare, although, in fairness, we only encountered them a few short times. We rode through nature reserves on boardwalks and through forests, some regenerating after recent forest fires. There were lagoons, rivers, lakes and a short ferry crossing. We spotted flamingos and storks nesting on telegraph poles and plenty of wildflowers and butterflies. But the beaches with dramatic waves were the high spot for me and it was glorious riding along for miles with the Atlantic in sight. All the hotels were extremely comfortable with varying degrees of facilities like kettles and refrigeration in the rooms. We ate out every night and enjoyed a variety of meals, not to mention wine. Unsurprisingly, Port is quite a feature and we went to a tasting in the first evening which was included as part of the trip. We had two picnic lunches provided by Joao which were really sumptuous and it was hard getting back on the bikes after over indulging. (It wasn’t mandatory, but the food was so good…)
Just home from a hugely enjoyable self-guided walking holiday in Madeira and my wife and I had a fantastic time. The walks each day were stunning and all so different. It was great to have several different route options most days and the detailed route notes and GPX files made it difficult to take a wrong turn. Thank you for organising a Terrific week!! 5 Stars