Itinerary

Porto to Coimbra – Culture Heritage, nature and fishing villages

7 days / 6 nights | Self guided bike tours 

The bike tour Porto to Coimbra is an incredible ride between two medieval cities filled with History secrets. Start your tour where Portugal has its own name born, Porto, classified as Unesco World Heritage Property. Learn about Port Wine, the beverage and the associated culinary dimension of its own. Taste, smell, meet and bask in the sun as you cycle gently along some of the most beautiful beaches of Europe. Experience Aveiro, the Venice of Portugal, its canals and salt pans. Cross vast pinewoods planted to supply the Portuguese discoveries. Enjoy the lively Figueira da Foz, a great holiday spot.
End the trip on a high note, in the World Heritage city of Coimbra with its impressive university and romantic streets where a king changed the history for his lover. Lying halfway between Lisbon and Porto, venerable Coimbra nestles on the banks of the River Mondego in dignified glory. Famed for its university - the oldest in the country - and a fantastic collection of handsome churches, serene monasteries, and lively cultural institutions, Coimbra is also a busy commercial hub with its many shops, boutiques, and appetizing choice of cafés and restaurants.

Highlights

• Two World Heritage cities
• Cycle a leisurely track along the seacoast with additional visits to attractions
• Accommodation at lively towns by the sea, some facing the beach
• Enjoy golden beaches and the sea, countryside and forests, lagoons, all in a single trip
• Ride through the protected Natural Park of the São Jacinto dunes
• Cycle past fishing villages frozen in time and observe the ancient art of fishing
• Experience Aveiro, the Portuguese Venice and its saltpans and Moliceiros boats
• Traditional salt pans by the sea
• Daily Atlantic catches of unbeatable fish and shellfish
• Porto, famous for Port wine, voted Best European City Destination in 2012, 2014 and 2017
• Towns rich in roman, baroque and neoclassical architecture
• Coimbra and its University, one of the oldest in the country
• Transfer from the airport to the first accommodation and from the last accommodation to the airport, included
• Possibility of choosing between two distances in multiple cycling stages

Itinerary

Day 1: Porto – UNESCO World Heritage city, world-famous for Port Wine

You will be met upon arrival at Porto airport and taken to your hotel in the centre of Porto from where you can explore the city. Pick up your bicycles and ride down to the riverside, into the medieval quarter of the Ribeira. Porto is a World Heritage city, a historic jewel with more than 150 listed monuments. Cycle leisurely along the riverbank, past the famous Eiffel bridge and across to the Port Wine lodges that rise uphill from the southern bank of the River Douro. That evening, we suggest you to enjoy dinner in one of the many fine restaurants for which Porto is famous.

Day 2: Porto to Furadouro – Unique landscapes facing the sea, surrounded by pine forests (Cycling 42 km / 26 miles)

Leave the hustle and bustle of the city for the peace and quiet of the Atlantic coast. Ride through the many small towns that nestle along the coast and, from time to time in and out woods of pines. The day ends in Furadouro, a hospitable town renowned for its excellent fish. Enjoy your meal! Elevation gain of the tour: 213 m

Day 3: Furadouro to Aveiro – Art Nouveau and colorful Moliceiro boats at the Portuguese “Venice” (Cycling 39 km / 24 miles)

This stage would not be complete without a visit to Costa Nova, a small town with its picturesque town centre of multi-coloured striped houses. If you have time, take a trip on a Moliceiro, the brightly-coloured hand painted wooden boats used for gathering seaweed, along the canals for which Aveiro is named Portuguese Venice. Ashore, tickle your taste buds and join a workshop to make a typical Aveiro pastry. Do not fail to visit the salt pans and enjoy the wonderfully soothing properties of sea salt as you soak your feet in small tubs. Your bike tour for today is a pleasant 49 kms ride through the Protected Natural Reserve of the São Jacinto dunes. Elevation gain of the tour: 119 m

Day 4: Aveiro to Mira – Traditional Portuguese artisan fishing and Blue Flag awarded beach(Cycling 35 km / 22 miles)

Your ride today is a great mixture of beach, pine woods and riverside paths. Mira, where you will sleep tonight, perhaps to dream, is a small fishing village, where the main activity stills the craft fishing with colourful boats once pulled by oxen. You will certainly be inspired by the beautiful multi-coloured striped houses and the friendly locals. Observe the golden effect of the sunshine on the sand, the sea, the vegetation and the brightness of the contrasting colors of the landscape. Be sure to visit the fantastic fishing village of Praia de Mira and discover the typical colorful wooden houses they call "palheiros". Indulge yourself with the fantastic gastronomic specialties made with fresh fish that you can find here. Stroll pass the beautiful lagoon of Mira and enjoy its natural landscape. Elevation gain of the tour: 94 m

Day 5:  Mira to Figueira da Foz – A unique blend between the cosmopolitanism inherited from the Belle Époque and extensive beaches of soft white sand (Cycling 58 km / 36 miles)

Today you leave the enchanting city of Mira in the direction of Figueira da Foz along the the Portuguese silver coast. Enjoy nature with a beautiful ride through green fields. You’ll be riding between long
beaches and a big pine forest that makes you feel in the wilderness. The ride takes place in a cycleway that follows a road called Estrada Atlântica (Atlantic Road).
Surrounded by preserved dunes, the picturesque and tranquil village of Praia da Tocha has a huge golden sand beach that extends to the north. Also known for its amazing golden sandy beach, Figueira da Foz is the ideal destination to rest and maybe to dream. Elevation gain of the tour: 360 m

Day 6: Figueira da Foz to Coimbra (Cycling 43 km / 27 miles)

Today’s trail takes you along rice fields and a lush countryside. Enjoy the change from riding through the towns to the cyclepath along the Mondego river. As you arrive in Coimbra, you are greeted by a modern riverfront park with terrace bars and restaurants, a spiffy pedestrian bridge across the river and large shopping malls. The beautiful historical centre of this university city cascades down the hillside to the east bank of the Mondego, a multicoloured collage of centuries-old buildings. During the academic year, especially on summer evenings, the streets of Coimbra, the second oldest university in Europe after Bologna, echo with the haunting beauty of the student love ballads and the sound of their mandolins, the distinctive Coimbra fado. Elevation gain of the tour: 132 m

Day 7: Coimbra to Porto airport

Transfer to Porto airport (Portugal) from where you will departure.
End of the tour

Please note: All cycling distances stated above are approximate only.