This wonderful week of cycling along Portugal's Atlantic Coast is ideal for anyone who appreciates sea breeze, sunshine and the camaraderie of pleasurable pedalling within a peloton. Following a sensational seaside route southwards from Porto to Lisbon unveils fishing villages, sand dunes and pine forest trails one scenic section at a time. Average daily distances of approx. 45kms on tarmac roads and flat terrain encourage social cycling rather than huff and puff as well as plenty of opportunities to pause for a dip or Portuguese pastry. Seaside towns and villages also offer a glimpse at the Atlantic Coasts laid back lifestyles with the sand dunes of Sao Jacinto Natural Reserve and a night in Obidos offering a couple of firm favourites. From river estuaries, coastal marshes and bird-filled lagoons to sweeping sandy beaches and surfer cafes at sundown, this cycling holiday in Portugal allows the Atlantic Coast to roll in as you roll by. Salty, sunshine cycling at its best. Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modeled on independent travel - but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and help with the language. It's easy to tick off the big sights independently - but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. For those with limited time, a small group tour will save valuable time in planning, and on holiday. We cater for both vegetarians and vegans. Few holidays have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a cycling trip. It is a quiet, low impact activity requiring comparatively little resources to support. We try to operate on a leave no trace basis, which involves being vigilant with proper disposal of waste and being sure to leave any flora, fauna and historical sites undamaged. Most rides will be point to point which means transport is barely needed during the week thus reducing even further carbon footprints. Water is a really important issue with trips such as this and whilst we must stay hydrated, it is also vital that we have a system for providing clean water without causing lots of waste with plastic bottles. Wherever possible we provide safe alternative sources of water to buying single use plastic bottles. This may be through large water containers, or encourage our passengers to filter, sterilise or purify water. We encourage all our passengers to come prepared with a reusable water bottle for this purpose. This is a small group tour, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes. It all starts at home where we work towards reducing our carbon footprint in our offices through energy conservation measures, recycling policies and the promotion of cycling and walking as a means for our staff to commute. Our head office has become a plastic-free zone with the use of plastic bottles being banned in our head office and we distributed reusable water bottles and tote bags to every staff member. We also support a large number of community and environmental projects in different parts of the world and try to give something back to the places we visit. During the trip, we will visit several cultural and heritage sites such as the picturesque town of São Pedro de Moel and Nazaré, one of the most famous fishing town in Portugal, providing clients with the opportunity to experience the culture of Portugal. This cycling tour actively encourages guests to chat with local people, visit local cafes and bars, purchase local produce, gifts and crafts and discover what life is really like in this part of Portugal. On this trip we spend the week in a variety of hotels along the Portuguese Atlantic coast. Most of the hotels are locally owned and employ local staff. The group eats dinners and some lunches in independents restaurants and cafes in each town visited thus providing income to a variety of small local communities. When picnics are organised, the food is purchased at small shops and supermarkets. The majority of local cafes and restaurants are family run businesses and uses ingredients which are all sourced locally.
Hotel
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