Portugal by E-bike: Porto to Lisbon on the Atlantic Coast

Arrive in Porto

Porto Airport to your hotel in central Porto

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Porto
• Environ 30 min de route

Après-midi

The afternoon is yours: walk down through the steep lanes of the Ribeira, the riverside quarter listed by UNESCO with the historic centre in 1996, cross the lower deck of the Dom Luís I bridge to the port lodges of Vila Nova de Gaia, or sit by the water and watch the boats.

Soir

In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide and our cycle guide meet the group at the hotel. We fit the e-bikes to each rider, set the saddles, go through the brakes, gears and power modes, and take a short spin on a quiet street so nobody starts tomorrow on an unfamiliar bike; if your flight lands later, we fit your bike after dinner or before breakfast. Then we walk to a welcome dinner of northern Portuguese cooking and talk through the week's route, day by day.

Compris

• Pick-up at Porto Airport (OPO)
• E-bike fitting and a short practice ride with your guides
• Welcome briefing and welcome dinner

Down the coast to the Aveiro lagoon

Porto to Espinho by bike, van past Torreira, then São Jacinto, the ferry and Aveiro

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Aveiro
• Environ 48 min de route

Matin

We leave after breakfast while the riverfront is quiet, walking the bikes over the Dom Luís I bridge and riding west along the Gaia bank of the Douro to Afurada and the river mouth. The Gaia coast is then a long run of boardwalks and cycle paths above the beaches, flat and close to the sea, to Espinho, about 25 km.

Après-midi

The van carries everyone and the bikes past the busier stretch to Torreira, on the sand spit between the ocean and the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, for a sit-down lunch of grilled fish, then on down the spit to the edge of the São Jacinto Dunes Nature Reserve. We ride the last 8 km or so through the pines to São Jacinto, where a small ferry crosses the mouth of the lagoon in about 15 minutes. From Forte da Barra a lagoon-side path brings us about 10 km into Aveiro by mid-afternoon, and we taste ovos moles, the town's egg-and-sugar sweet, by the canals.

Compris

• Guided ride from Porto along the Douro and the Gaia coast boardwalks to Espinho
• Sit-down lunch in Torreira
• Guided ride through the pines of the São Jacinto spit
• Ferry from São Jacinto across the mouth of the lagoon
• Ride along the lagoon into Aveiro and an ovos moles tasting on arrival

Activités en option

• A moliceiro boat ride on Aveiro's canals

Costa Nova's stripes, then Coimbra's library

Aveiro to Costa Nova and Praia de Mira by bike, then van to Coimbra

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Coimbra
• Environ 48 min de route

Matin

An easy morning on the bikes. We ride out of Aveiro past the salt pans to Costa Nova, where the old fishermen's storehouses, the palheiros, are painted in bright vertical stripes along the lagoon front. The route then follows the coast road south between dunes and pine forest, past Vagueira, to Praia de Mira, a beach village where the fishing boats are still hauled up the sand. It is about 35 km and nearly flat.

Après-midi

After a sit-down lunch the van takes us inland, under an hour, to Coimbra on the Mondego River, Portugal's capital in the 12th and 13th centuries and home to one of Europe's oldest universities. The university's hilltop buildings were listed by UNESCO in 2013. In the late afternoon we walk up to the Paço das Escolas courtyard and visit the Joanina Library on a timed ticket: an early 18th-century baroque hall of gilded and lacquered shelves, where a colony of small bats still helps protect the books from insects.

Compris

• Guided ride from Aveiro to Costa Nova and Praia de Mira
• Sit-down lunch at Praia de Mira
• The University of Coimbra: the Paço das Escolas and the Joanina Library on a timed ticket

Activités en option

• A Coimbra fado performance in the evening

Through the pine coast to Nazaré

Coimbra to Figueira da Foz and Leirosa by van, ride to Praia da Vieira, then van to Nazaré

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Nazaré
• Environ 1.5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal of fish at Vieira, and the van takes us the last half hour to Nazaré.

Soir

We check in by mid-afternoon; the rest of the day is free for the promenade and sunset over the bay.

Compris

• Coffee stop at Cabedelo beach, Figueira da Foz
• Guided ride from Leirosa through the coastal pine forest via Pedrógão and the Ervedeira lagoon to Praia da Vieira
• Sit-down lunch at Praia da Vieira

Nazaré's cliff, then the lagoon road to Óbidos

Nazaré to Sítio, then São Martinho do Porto and Foz do Arelho to Óbidos by bike

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Óbidos

Après-midi

The road carries on through farmland and small hills to Foz do Arelho, where the Óbidos lagoon meets the sea, and lunch is sit-down by the lagoon. The last stretch runs inland along the lagoon and up to Óbidos, whose medieval walls ring the whole town. In the late afternoon your guide walks the lanes with you, and the ginjinha tasting comes in a small chocolate cup.

Compris

• The Nazaré funicular to Sítio, the sanctuary and the lighthouse fort above Praia do Norte
• Guided ride via São Martinho do Porto and Foz do Arelho to Óbidos
• Sit-down lunch at Foz do Arelho
• Guided walk in Óbidos with a ginjinha tasting

The surf coast to Ericeira

Óbidos to Santa Cruz by van, then by bike along the coast to Ericeira

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Ericeira
• Environ 36 min de route

Matin

A slow morning in Óbidos while the lanes are quiet, before the day visitors arrive. Then the van takes us about 40 minutes south-west to Santa Cruz, a beach town on the cliffs, and we ride the coast south. This is the most varied riding of the week: farm roads among vineyards and vegetable fields, short climbs onto the headlands and fast runs down to small beaches and river mouths at Porto Novo, Assenta and Foz do Lizandro. The e-bikes take the sting out of the hills.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down stop on the way. We roll into Ericeira by mid-afternoon, a white and blue fishing town on a cliff above its harbour, and since 2011 a World Surfing Reserve for the run of reef and point breaks along this coast. The afternoon is free: watch the surfers at Ribeira d'Ilhas, walk the old town, or swim at the town beach below the cliffs.

Compris

• Guided ride from Santa Cruz along the coast to Ericeira
• Sit-down lunch on the way

Activités en option

• A surf lesson in Ericeira
• The Mafra National Palace, about 15 minutes inland

Pena Palace, Cabo da Roca and the ride into Lisbon

Ericeira to Sintra and Cabo da Roca by van, then by bike past Guincho and Cascais to Lisbon

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Lisbon
• Environ 48 min de route

Après-midi

After an early sit-down lunch the van drops us at Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point of mainland Europe, and we ride down to the wide beach at Guincho and along the cycle path into Cascais. From Cascais the seafront promenade, short road stretches and the riverside path along the Tagus carry us past Belém into central Lisbon, about 45 km in all, arriving at the hotel around 5:30 pm.

Soir

Tonight we celebrate the ride with a farewell dinner in the old town.

Compris

• Pena Palace and park at the first entry, with the Sintra shuttle
• Sit-down lunch in Sintra
• Guided ride from Cabo da Roca past Guincho and Cascais into Lisbon
• Farewell dinner in Lisbon

Lisbon and home

Central Lisbon to Lisbon Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 18 min de route

Matin

The bikes go back to the supplier this morning and the day is yours.

Après-midi

For those with afternoon flights your guide leads an optional early walk from the Baixa, the grid of streets rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, up through the stairs and lanes of Alfama to a viewpoint over the river, before the cruise passengers and day trippers fill them. Then there is time for a custard tart and a last coffee before the transfer. Lisbon Airport (LIS) is only about 8 km from the centre, around 20 minutes by van, and we take everyone there in time for their flight. Book a flight leaving after about 1 pm to join the walk, or a morning flight if you prefer: we time your transfer either way. Many guests stay on: the Lisbon city stay with Sintra and Arrábida follows this trip well.

Compris

• Optional morning walk from the Baixa through Alfama with your guide, for those with afternoon flights
• Drop-off at Lisbon Airport (LIS)