Porto to Lisbon Atlantic Ride

Follow scenic forest and ocean-side paths as you cycle the Atlantic coast of Portugal

Blessed with sun-kissed beaches, colourful fishing villages, and scenic routes, the Atlantic coast of Portugal offers fantastic cycling holiday opportunities. This tour starts in Porto, a Unesco World Heritage city, and the itinerary follows relatively easy flat or undulating cycling trails through a variety of landscapes and along the stunning coastline, with stops in different villages and towns for a full immersion in the relaxed Portuguese way of life. Highlights include a scenic ride through the dunes of the São Jacinto Natural Reserve and an overnight stay in the picture-perfect fortified village of Óbidos. After a week of cycling along some of the best coastline in Portugal, a full day is dedicated to visiting Lisbon, one of the most charming capital cities in the world.

Did you know you can travel by train to this trip? Find out more here

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• Read more about our other initiatives here.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for re-usable bottles.
• Reusable plates and cutlery are used on picnics.
• We rewild 100 square metres per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• Our local partner supports the initiatives of "Montis", the Association for Nature Management and Conservation. The goal of this association is to bring biodiversity value to the areas it manages.
• Cycling trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and the locals, as it is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: we do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: please bring a re-usable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Visa

Portugal

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Portugal. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/portugal
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/portugal
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/portugal/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Portugal.html

Vaccination

Portugal

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus and rabies. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Eating and Drinking

All breakfasts and one wine tasting included.

A typical hotel breakfast consists of toast/bread with jam, or honey, cheese and ham, served with coffee, tea, milk, orange juice, fruit, cake and yoghurt. Eggs are usually available and there are frequently other cooked options; the breakfasts on this trip are always plentiful and perfect to set us up for a day of cycling.

Portuguese people are very proud of their cuisine, and the deliciously fresh seafood is a real highlight. You will find fresh fish on most menus, usually sardines, sea bream, hake, sea bass and sole, cooked in a variety of ways.

Bacalhau (cured codfish) is a national dish although it can vary depending on the region – there are up to 365 recipes to cook it. Caldo verde (green soup) is made with potatoes, olive oil and salt, sometimes with garlic and onion, and is typical in the northern region of Portugal.

For meat lovers, the barrosã meat (steak) is often served grilled and roasted just to its naturally delicious flavour. Francesinha is an iconic dish originating from Porto and involves layers of different meats (usually beef, ham, grilled pork, linguiça [smoke-cured pork sausage] and sausage), between two slices of bread, covered by melted cheese and immersed in a spicy beer and tomato sauce, often topped with a fried egg and surrounded by chips. It is not for the faint-hearted.

To drink you will find plenty of the local Sagres and Superbock beer. Vinho verde is available from the supermarket and directly from the producers. It is a young, medium-strength white wine with an almost carbonated quality. Port needs no introduction and a glass (or two) of the fortified wine will generally follow a hearty Portuguese meal.

There are an incredible amount of different desserts available and if you have a sweet tooth it will be possible to try a different one each day! Local favourites include bolo de bolacha (cookie cake), leite creme (cream eggs and sugar), pao de lo (sponge cake made with lots of eggs), arroz doce (a traditional rice pudding) and of course, pastel de nata, which you will find at most cafes on your route.

Weather

Porto and Lisbon have a temperate maritime climate with a strong Mediterranean influence. The climate here is long, warm summers and mild winters, with most rain falling in the winter months, but possible in all other months. Seasons are marked, with pleasant temperatures in the spring, in the summer, and in the autumn. Heatwaves can push up temperatures between mid-June and September.

Coastal areas of Portugal can be known to be quite windy, but we are fortunate that this tends to be from north to south; which gives us an extra push while cycling.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is classified as Road; average daily distance is 34mi (55km); number of days cycling is five. We use mainly cycle paths and quiet roads where possible. Occasionally we will cross or ride along some busier roads. The first three rides are shorter, mainly flat and easy and on Day 4 the ride is longer and ends with a moderately challenging hill. The ride on Day 6 has the most ascent as the terrain changes, but the pace will be slow, and with plenty of coffee and cake stops.

A support vehicle (with limited seats) will follow the group for approximately 25 percent of the cycling (at points known to be more challenging). For the rest of the time, the support driver will undertake other tasks to ensure the group’s comfort and safety, for example, delivering luggage to the next hotel prior to the group’s arrival.

The trip will require a good level of fitness as some of the rides are on undulating roads with occasional steep ascents for up to 2.5mi/4km. The maximum ascent is 1,640ft/500m on Day 6 (the final cycling day). We strongly encourage you to request an electric bike prior to departure (available for a supplement) if you have limited cycling experience. This would improve your experience and ensure the trip is led at a comfortable pace for everyone in the group.

Activity Level 2 (Leisurely/Moderate). Please see our Activity Level Guidelines for more information on classification and grading. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip please do not hesitate to call us.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.