Cycling in Portugal: From the Mountains to the Sea

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Headwater are always reliable and honest. The travel descriptions in the brochure are accurate, and we have never been disappointed, after around 6-8 vacations with the company (can't remember how many exactly - we have lost count). They do the local research so that we don't have to!

Mr Fowler, 5 Oct 2024

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Consistency in the quality of the holidays we have taken. Well organised, good hotels, well thought out itineraries

Mrs Hill, 5 Oct 2024

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We had a really lovely holiday. The scenery was beautiful and very varied, as is suggested by the title of the trip. All the hotels served us very well, although some of the rooms given were better than others. However, we felt that the description of the routes and terrain could have been more accurate. The cobbled roads were mentioned, but there were a lot and some of them were very uncomfortable to ride. There were also some tricky gravel slopes which would not be fun in the rain. I notice that reviews from a previous year describe a coastal path being impassable because of an extensive area of deep sand on the track - this was still a feature this year but the GPS had not been updated - we had to work out our own detour. Despite all this we found the cycling challenging in parts but great fun.

Susan Lucas, 8 Jun 2024

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Very enjoyable, low fuss way to travel.

Amanda Shoobridge, 25 May 2024

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Extremely well organised holiday, thoroughly planned and ideal level of detail. Great support structure and well timed updates for the trip with a superb app that contains all the details required.

Kate and her colleagues were always available to answer any questions we had and the local guides couldn't have been more helpful.

Really well maintained bikes and equipment and well planned routes through stunning locations with really good hotels at the end of each day.

Would absolutely recommend Headwater to others planning an activity holiday!

John Hawley, 20 Apr 2024

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Overall we enjoyed our holiday but my wife especially suffered on the uncomfortable bike.

Pre-travel booking etc was very efficient. Navigation app is excellent though a power bank for your phone is essential to last the day. Hotels were adequate to good but breakfasts were overall a bit disappointing in both choice and quality.

Francis Mcgonigal, 16 Sep 2023

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This is a self guided cycling trip in Northern Portugal. Bikes are provided and are good quality, although mountain bike tyres would have been a better offer as some of the off road routes are quite rocky. The hotels were of a good standard, The six days offered varied cycling largely off road. The first three days offered some lovely riverside routes; the coastal sections were less attractive and on the final day involved close up acquaintance with an oil refinery. Headwater offer a dedicated App for navigation which I chose not to use, as it would have drained my phone battery. Those with a Garmin will find that a better option.

REVELL, 3 Jun 2023

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Great overall experience. The bike rides were a good length but left plenty of time for other things and the countryside was beautiful. The terrain was a bit unpredictable with occasional steep and dangerous sections due to loose stones mud and sand. It was the first time we had use of a GPS for cycling and it was a bit unclear at first. Clearer written instructions would have been helpful on the first day out of Moncão. On the final day it was disconcerting to have to push our bikes through sand dunes that have overwhelmed the boardwalk.

AUSTIN, 20 May 2023

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An excellent way to visit the less touristy areas of Northern Portugal, cycling through countryside and coastal regions. our party of 4 had a mixture of E-bikes and normal bikes, and this worked out well. The GPS system was excellent, once we had all learned how to use it, but would ask Headwater to ensure that the agent provides a mobile phone mount for every cyclist, rather than one per couple. The circular route on the 3rd day, where we stayed in the same hotel for 2 nights, was a totally different terrain, and much too difficult for our aging party! However, the day spent in Ponte de Lima was very enjoyable. We added extra nights in Porto and Lisbon, extending the holiday to a wonderful 10 day break.

MCMANUS, 6 May 2023

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Fantastic route with forest, rivers and sea, with historic villages.

Could have done with a complete support pack, tubes, brake pads as heavy rain caused punctures and brakes to wear quickly. The support team were great but would be useful to have back up kit at hotel. Great trip.

Ms Southgate, 10 Sep 2022

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Excellent adventure and great way to get to know Portugal.

Ms Fefer, 9 Apr 2022

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Generally the terrain was very rough and in places difficult without a mountain bike . Had it been raining we would have had to give up. We were initially given mountain bikes but we are too old to manage these and there were no panniers, which are promised in your literature. We chose to change our bikes to step through hybrid bikes without being informed that we needed mountain bikes to manage the ride.. A bit more guidance on local places to eat and interesting points on the way and how to get to them would have been good. The sat nav directions were excellent for route finding. The hotels were adequate , especially in the time of Covid and we felt safe. But they were not outstanding and rather lacked character overall.







Mrs HAMILTON, 5 Sep 2020

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Good varied cycling both inland and by the coast. Lovely countryside, good wine and food

Mrs Hoare, 5 Sep 2020

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This area of Portugal is beautiful. We had Ebikes (mountain) which was great as they were needed due to the terrain in some places. The cycle routes varied from cycle paths, brilliant, cobbles roads, okay, and forest/ river tracks, not the easiest but manageable as long as you didn’t want to see the scenery. The hotel in Monção is slightly out of the town and no food was available in the hotel. Plus no air conditioning and the beds were very hard. The bikes were fine but the panniers provided were very small so unless you wanted to carry a backpack there was little room for water and valuables. Mostly the directions were great, only minor detours! One bridge we had to cross was closed which the agent had not informed us of. Warning about crossing the bridge at Viana do Castelo would be good. The pedestrian foot path is too narrow for bikes. On whole the holiday was good as the food in the region is excellent. We enjoyed the wine and beer but the first 2 wine tastings were not great.

Mrs Campbell, 5 Sep 2020

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Very enjoyable mix of holiday with cycling over varied terrain and geography and good amount and quality of relaxation in most interesting cities towns and villages.

Mrs Adamson, 10 Sep 2019

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The general route of this holiday is very beautiful but, as has been said before, there are extensive cobbled roads and unmade sections which are uncomfortable for cycling and dodgy when wet. A significant part of the route follows the Camino de Santiago so we met lots of walkers going in the opposite direction on often narrow tracks.



Mrs Wallis, 15 Jun 2019