Portugal End to End

Riding in Portugal is a pure joy, it is the antithesis of the hustle and bustle of normal life. The first thing you may notice when riding out there is the utter peace and quiet, you can’t even hear a plane or a car sometimes. The roads are generally good surface (apart from the ubiquitous cobbles you see in almost all town centres) and the traffic is minimal. Riding in this peaceful country is also like stepping into a time machine in parts, as you will find yourself riding through villages where they still use horse and cart to get around; who knows what they’ll think when a group of lycra-clad joyriders speed through their backyard! From the boulder-strewn hillsides, hilltop castles and deep-ridged valleys of the north; to the majestic sweep of the steep-sided, vineyard packed Douro river; to the beautifully restored “Pousada’s” and stately “Marble Towns”, to the tranquil rivers and pleasant farmland of the Alentejo region; all culminating in a dramatic finish at the sea! We truly hope you have a fantastic time exploring this wonderful country and come away with some great memories.

This fantastic tour is designed to be a little less rigorous than some of our more demanding end to end trips. This is still a hilly trip in parts, especially in the first four or five days and should be prepared for with adequate training, but the gradients are much more manageable ranging from around 2% to 5% typically and only ranging up to around 6% – 10% in a few short sections. The mileages are also less than on many of our end to end tours which allows more time for relaxation in the afternoon/evening. There are a few long ascents early on in the tour but these are typically on the shorter end of the percentage scale and they tend to use switchbacks to lessen the blow so we are confident that most of our Peak Tours customers will find this trip eminently achievable.