Norte de Portugal e Minho Bike tour
Pedale pela Vila mais antiga de Portugal ao longo do rio e do mar
A ciclovia do Rio Minho foi classificada como a quarta melhor na Europa em 2009. Esta apresenta todas as incríveis paisagens portuguesas e proporciona também uma vista deslumbrante da beira-mar. Pedalar através de aldeias consideradas Património Mundial, vai conceder-lhe tudo o que pretende deste passeio.
O Rio Minho é a desculpa perfeita para relaxar no norte do país. Explore os trilhos e as aldeias portuguesas ao longo deste rio fronteiriço, e os seus principais destaques. O Rio Minho percorre 300 km até chegar a Caminha, servindo de fronteira entre Portugal e Espanha e situando-se entre Melgaço e o Atlântico.
O sabor dos mundialmente aclamados vinhos e da gastronomia portuguesa são a cereja no topo do bolo, numa região de fantásticas paisagens e património cultural, histórico e arquitectónico tão ricos. Delicie-se com o delicioso pão de milho, as salsichas, o bacalhau, a lampreia, a truta e o sável, confeccionados das mais variadas formas tradicionais. Para aqueles que apreciam boa carne, não podem perder o famoso "sarrabulho" e os rojões de carne de porco. Tudo isto certamente enriquecerá a sua viagem e dar-lhe-á o desejo de voltar e descobrir mais em Portugal!
Descrição do Percurso:
- Percurso Plano. Algumas pequenas subidas no começo do primeiro dia e no último dia, à entrada da cidade do Porto.
- 40 % de ciclovias e passadiços e 15 % de caminhos suaves em terra batida. Algumas ruas em paralelo e 10 % de estradas pavimentadas com pouco tráfego.
Itinerário:
Dia 1 – Melgaço
Dia 2 – Melgaço - Valença ( 43 km )
Dia 3 – Valença – Viana do Castelo ( 55 km)
Dia 4 – Viana do Castelo – Ponte de Lima ( 25 km)
Dia 5 - Ponte de Lima – Esposende ( 55 km)
Dia 6 – Esposende – Porto (60km)
Dia 7 - Partida
Opção reduzida:
Km estimados: 152 km e 1894 metros de subidas acumulado
Dia 1: Melgaço
Dia 2: Melgaço – Valença (43 km)
Dia 3: Valença – Caminha (30 km)
Dia 4: Caminha – Viana do Castelo (25 Km)
Dia 5: Viana do Castelo – Ponte de Lima (26 Km)
Dia 6: Ponte de Lima – Ponte da Barca ( 18 Km; etota extra até Arcos de Valdevez 28 km)
Dia 7: Partida
Farm: Reguengos de Melgaço
Esta deslumbrante viagem de bicicleta inicia-se lado a lado com o Rio Minho, em Melgaço. Pedale ao longo do Rio Minho, sempre com a vizinha Espanha do outro lado. Famosa pelas suas belas paisagens, história, gastronomia e também pela produção do conhecido e apreciado vinho de Casta Verde "Alvarinho", esta cidade organiza todos os anos a "Festa do Alvarinho e do Fumeiro", um grande evento nacional, também internacionalmente conhecido, que dá a provar o gosto da gastronomia local (como o “Alvarinho”) e muitos outros produtos artesanais típicos desta zona. Avançando até Monção, onde os vales são propícios à prática de agricultura e viticultura, encontram-se vários achados arqueológicos que testemunham um passado cheio de vestígios da passagem de diferentes povos através destas terras. Entrará em seguida na cidade de Valença, uma cidade histórica situada mesmo na fronteira com Espanha, separada pelo belo Rio Minho e cercada por muralhas no topo de uma colina. Com origens muito antigas, a presença de comunidades humanas neste território pressupõe-se que date desde a pré-história. Hotel 4 *: Pousada de Valença Hotel
Deixando Valença para trás e continuando pelo rio Minho, o destino de hoje é Viana do Castelo, uma das mais belas cidades costeiras do norte de Portugal. Viana teve uma enorme importância para Portugal na Época dos Descobrimentos e, mais tarde, com a pesca do bacalhau. Esta cidade tem uma enorme tradição e ligação com o mar, com os pescadores mostrando-o hoje em dia orgulhosamente, principalmente durante a grande festa de “Nossa Senhora da Agonia”. Vila Praia de Âncora é uma bela cidade de passagem hoje. Um lugar dominado por paisagens encantadoras, cheio de vinhas e hortas deslumbrantes. Desde praias fluviais e atlânticas, às maravilhosas margens do rio Âncora, à gastronomia regional, às magníficas vistas do Monte do Calvário e ao património construído, esta aldeia certamente o surpreenderá. Hotel 4 *: Melo Alvim Hotel
Continuando a sua jornada, hoje o caminho volta para o interior de Portugal, com o rio Lima a acompanhar. O destino é agora Ponte de Lima, uma cidade reconhecida como Património Mundial e como o último Norte de Portugal em toda a sua rusticidade e beleza. Esta terra cheia de história, está localizada na antiga estrada militar Braga-Tui. Com carta desde 1125 é a mais antiga aldeia portuguesa. A sua ponte sobre o rio Lima, construída pelos romanos no século I, sempre foi um lugar de passagem para os peregrinos que iam a Santiago. O culto à terra e à tradição são os pilares básicos do desenvolvimento, inscritos nas mais profundas raízes milenares, e traça o perfil marcadamente rural desta cidade. Ponte de Lima é o berço do Turismo Habitacional, da variedade "Loureiro", que distingue o "Vinho Verde" e o Arroz de "Sarrabulho", apreciado nos lugares mais distantes do mundo. Hotel 4 *: In Lima Hotel
Atravessando desta vez a margem sul do rio Lima e, posteriormente, em direcção a sul pela costa Atlântica, o destino de hoje será Esposende, cidade costeira localizada no Norte do país. Aprecie todas as magníficas paisagens à beira-mar, assim como as várias "rivieras Portuguesas". O município de Esposende está repleto de pontos de interesse como é o caso do rio Neiva, das florestas de pinho de Ofir e das diversas vistas para a cidade de Esposende. Este é certamente uma das mais belas regiões do norte de Portugal. Hotel 3 *: Suave Mar Hotel
Prosseguindo pelo Atlântico, as praias, as vistas para o oceano e as vilas piscatórias serão uma visão comum. Locais como a Póvoa de Varzim abrir-lhe-ão as portas a testemunhar antigas tradições ligadas à pesca e onde poderá saborear esta famosa gastronomia. Em Vila do Conde irá perceber a razão, pela qual estas cidades costeiras foram tão importantes durante o período áureo dos Descobrimentos Portugueses. Hotel 4 *: Porto Trindade Hotel
*Temporada:
- LS - Low season: Nov 01 a Mar 25
- RS - Regular season: Mar 26 a 25 Jun e Set 26 a31 Oct
- HS - High Season: Set 01 a 25 Set
- SS - Summer Season: Jun 26 a August 30
Observações:
- Preços baseados para 2 pessoas que partilham o mesmo quarto standard
- Quartos vista mar (quando disponiveis) ou quartos premium, preços sob consulta
- Quartos vista mas (quando disponiveis) ou quartos premium, preços sob consulta
- Preços podem sofrer alterações devido a alta temporada, feriados ou fins de semana
- Bebidas não incluídas ao almoço ou jantar quando incluídas no package
- Se em quarto triplo com os pais Crianças até 10 anos - desconto de 35%. Crianças dos 11 aos 14 anos - 20% de desconto. Crianças dos 15 aos 17 anos - 15% de desconto.
Extras
- Bicicleta Eléctrica: 240€
- Suplemento para quarto individual: LS: 390€, RS: 420€, HS: 450€, SS.480€
- Viajante único: 200 €
- Noites extra: sob consulta
- Preço para Grupo privado: sob consulta
Gallery
What People Are Saying
GL Oi, Malasya,We loved all the towns along the route, which was really scenic and offered different experiences. The food and wine were as good as everyone said it was. The team in Top Bike were marvelous, helpful and friendly.
Geoff Fogarty, Fairlight, Australia,I organised a group of 6 late 50’s/ early 60 year olds who are all very occasional recreational riders to do this ride. Fold n Visit modified their North of Portugal self-guided itinerary for us by starting in Castro Laboreiro so that we could experiences the beautiful mountains in the north, but without the pain of big climbs.
Sergio provided an excellent service -
The bikes were new or near new....two in the group opted for e-bikes. The power boost was rarely used as the ride is easy...mostly on cycle paths, many sealed or on boardwalks. The power option however did provide “peace of mind” for those that had it. Between 6 of us, we had a couple of flat tyres and a chain jumped off...all easily rectified.
The accommodation was excellent......generally 3 or 4 star.
The route planning and GPS helped us to easily stay on track.
Sergio was a pleasure to deal with....everything that was promised was delivered and at a very reasonable price.
May was a great month to be there...Spring flowers and fresh growth on deciduous trees, generally cool (rarely more than 20 degC), but not too cold. A fresh following breeze as we headed down the coast and not too busy.
Manoel de Carvalho, Brasil,We did the North of Portugal trip )from Melgaço to Porto) on November 2021.
It was great and I recomend.Hotels were very good ..and the food FANTASTIC.
Scott S, Australia,Great tour, excellent organisation and communication by Sergio and his crew. Accommodation was good - a couple of the hotels were exceptional! Would have no hesitation in recommending Top Bike.
Darren Spooner, Australia,We did a lot of research into riding in Portugal and after looking at a lot of companies went with Top Bike Tours and selected the North of Portugal and Minho ride.
The reason we went with Top Bike is the personal service we received from Sergio when looking to book. We are in Australia and even with the net, dealing with someone across the other side of the planet has challenges but Sergio worked through everything with us, made changes to hotels we wanted, provided good local advice etc and made the whole booking thing easy.
We looked at other ride companies but Top Bike are Porto locals and know the North of Portugal very well.
When we arrived in Porto, Sergio's team picked us up, briefed us on the bikes, equipment, GPS, trip route, everything. They then took us for a walking tour of Porto which was unexpected and gave us some very good local tips e.g. riding along the Atlantic, train trip up the Douro, local site, cafes etc.
After lunch in Porto the transfer to the north from Porto was easy, they booked us into our first nights hotel, Hotel Rural Reguengo de Melgaço, gave us some local tips and then let us be.
We then had the best 6 days of riding. Well planned ride, great paths, great local tips for coffee, lunch, sites on the way, dinner. Checked in on us from time to time to make sure everything was going okay, but mainly left us be to enjoy ourselves and make our own way.
Pick up for return to Porto was without fuss and we were returned to Porto from Ponte de Barca with more local tips and advice for staying in and around Porto.
Overall. we had the most enjoyable time.
That had a lot to do with what Sergio and his team had put together.
A well planned itinerary.
A well planned riding route which took us through little villages and off the beaten track. Good equipment, the bikes were near new, well serviced and ran well.
GPS, a Ride with GPS app, hard copy back up maps and daily itinerary.
Very good hotels, who were very welcoming and had great local breakfasts.
Efficient and easy bag transfer.
Overall, great support.
If I had any tips it would be to check out the hotels on tour on line well before you book. Some of them are well out of town, which is fine if you want that, but if you want a post ride drink or dinner, we found it nice to know how far we'd be walking distance to town. Having said that, we were not sure about the first nights accommodation at Hotel Rural Reguengo de Melgaço near the village of Melgaco. The hotel was quite out of the way and a long way from the village of Melgaco. Turns out it was absolutely terrific. After arriving at the hotel we rode up to Melgaco in the afternoon for a drink, and then rode back to the farm/hotel as it got dark. We then walked to a small village nearby and found a local restaurant, Adega do Sossego. The locals looked a bit surprised to see us, but the hospitality, service and food was terrific. In the morning we discovered we were the only couple in the hotel, but the lady running the hotel was there to greet us with a great breakfast. She couldn't speak any English and us no Portuguese, but she wanted to show us about the farm which was beautiful and had it's own chapel. Turns out the place had previously been the home of the local Baron from some time ago. A great start to the ride and obviously good advice from Sergio and Top Bike Tours.
Special mention to the locals. Very welcoming friendly people and so patient with our poor language skills. Lovely people.
Highly recommend this company on the basis of our experience.
Darren, USA,We did a lot of research into riding in Portugal and after looking at a lot of companies went with Top Bike Tours and selected the North of Portugal and Minho ride.
The reason we went with Top Bike is the personal service we received from Sergio when looking to book. We are in Australia and even with the net, dealing with someone across the other side of the planet has challenges but Sergio worked through everything with us, made changes to hotels we wanted, provided good local advice etc and made the whole booking thing easy.
We looked at other ride companies but Top Bike are Porto locals and know the North of Portugal very well.
When we arrived in Porto, Sergio's team picked us up, briefed us on the bikes, equipment, GPS, trip route, everything. They then took us for a walking tour of Porto which was unexpected and gave us some very good local tips e.g. riding along the Atlantic, train trip up the Douro, local site, cafes etc.
After lunch in Porto the transfer to the north from Porto was easy, they booked us into our first nights hotel, Hotel Rural Reguengo de Melgaço, gave us some local tips and then let us be.
We then had the best 6 days of riding. Well planned ride, great paths, great local tips for coffee, lunch, sites on the way, dinner. Checked in on us from time to time to make sure everything was going okay, but mainly left us be to enjoy ourselves and make our own way.
Pick up for return to Porto was without fuss and we were returned to Porto from Ponte de Barca with more local tips and advice for staying in and around Porto.
Overall. we had the most enjoyable time.
That had a lot to do with what Sergio and his team had put together.
A well planned itinerary.
A well planned riding route which took us through little villages and off the beaten track. Good equipment, the bikes were near new, well serviced and ran well.
GPS, a Ride with GPS app, hard copy back up maps and daily itinerary.
Very good hotels, who were very welcoming and had great local breakfasts.
Efficient and easy bag transfer.
Overall, great support.
If I had any tips it would be to check out the hotels on tour on line well before you book. Some of them are well out of town, which is fine if you want that, but if you want a post ride drink or dinner, we found it nice to know how far we'd be walking distance to town. Having said that, we were not sure about the first nights accommodation at Hotel Rural Reguengo de Melgaço near the village of Melgaco. The hotel was quite out of the way and a long way from the village of Melgaco. Turns out it was absolutely terrific. After arriving at the hotel we rode up to Melgaco in the afternoon for a drink, and then rode back to the farm/hotel as it got dark. We then walked to a small village nearby and found a local restaurant, Adega do Sossego. The locals looked a bit surprised to see us, but the hospitality, service and food was terrific. In the morning we discovered we were the only couple in the hotel, but the lady running the hotel was there to greet us with a great breakfast. She couldn't speak any English and us no Portuguese, but she wanted to show us about the farm which was beautiful and had it's own chapel. Turns out the place had previously been the home of the local Baron from some time ago. A great start to the ride and obviously good advice from Sergio and Top Bike Tours.
Special mention to the locals. Very welcoming friendly people and so patient with our poor language skills. Lovely people.
Highly recommend this company on the basis of our experience.
Graham Murnane, United kingdom,We went on the Minho and North Portugal self guided tour. We had an e-bike and a hybrid bike, both very well maintained. The Too Bike staff were excellent and friendly. Guidance came from a bike GPS unit provided by Top Bike, which worked a treat and gave easy-to-follow navigation. However we had paper copies as back up. We were taken by van with the bikes from Porto to Melgaço. From there we cycled back to Porto over five great days of riding.
The scenery was superb, the route was varied, including surfaced cycleways, cobbled lanes, woodland tracks, and a few short sections of shared road. Most of the route was traffic free.
The hotels were excellent, each one with its own character. Our luggage was always there on our arrival, and there was always somewhere safe to store the bikes. We found lots of fascinating places to stop and look at en route.
All in all, thoroughly recommended.
Ashley, USA,For our honeymoon, my new husband and I did the 7 day Northern Portugal Bike Tour. It was absolutely incredible, probably one of the best/most memorable trips we've done in all our travels.
Sergio met with us the morning we arrived in Porto and shared with us an outline of our 7 days, with just the right amount of details. We knew the directions, distances, and topography for each day of our ride, plus a brief description of the route, and suggested places along the way to explore, have a bite to eat, and experience the treasures of Portugal. The terrain was flat and comfortable riding through such a variety of bike paths, trails, cobblestone paved neighborhoods, vineyards, corn field, and wooden boardwalks.
The outline gave us plenty of flexibility to choose our "adventure for day" and opened our eyes to a much more intimate and local feeling experience of the country and Portugese culture.
Some of our highlights included....Discovering our first night’s stay off the Camino de Santiago Portugal in the historic castle town, Valenca, on the border of Spain.
The bike ride through the farmers’ fields and along the Lima River, taking in the sunset at the Cathedral in Viana do Castelo.
Riding along the coast, taking in the seaside landscape and passing through many small, traditional fishing villages.
This was an unforgettable experience! It was perfect for the two of us that like the flexibility and autonomy of traveling on our own, yet it provided just the right amount of directions and accommoda
Karen, South Africa,We loved our tour of Northern Portugal. Great route, good bikes and excellent guides. Thanks to Sergio, Tiago and Pedro!