The Ancient Medieval Villages Self-Guided

Road Bike | Self-Guided | Historic

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This bicycle tour in Portugal starts in Marvão, a small medieval town on the top of the hill, surrounded by walls and with a majestic castle that defended this small town from the Spanish people many times. There you can admire a spectacular view and then cycling down along a medieval narrow road with ancient stone walls.

The overall difficulty level of this tour is 3, Intermediate (more precisely, level 3.4 between 1~5). It is recommended for “bikers” and “cyclists”. It is supposed that you are in good shape.

You will climb to a little chapel on the top of a hill where there is an amazing view over a beautiful medieval town and its rows of whitewashed houses. You will ride along narrow roads, either sided by cork trees or stone walls and now you will get to a beautiful town in Alentejo located in the cool mountains of the Natural Park of São Mamede, among dense olive groves and chestnut trees. The town is full of monuments, fountains and ancient houses. You will see medieval monuments, dozens of churches, enchanting alleys and some of the best Gothic porticos while you are biking in Portugal.

Then you will cycle to a typical border town with its castle, again surrounded by walls. It also has a star-shaped fort, several churches, a monumental Aqueduct, a unique pillory dating back to the 16th century and many interesting details.

The bicycle tour continues to the capital of marble, where even the sidewalks are made of marble. You will visit a town which is one of the most traditional wine regions in Portugal.

This PortugalBike Tour in Portugal ends in Évora, a wonderful walled town with many Roman vestiges, medieval churches and buildings, fountains, the aqueduct, charming streets, etc. Évora is a city classified as World Heritage by UNESCO.

From

Euro 1480

Self-Guided

Tour

6

Days

Level 3 (3.4)

Intermediate

Distance

245km/152mi
61km/38mi day

Hotels

Signature, Monument and Historic

Trails

100% asphalt

Start | End

Marvão | Évora

Dates

Start-End

Availability

Booking

Price

Per Person

January, 2025

Available

Euro 1480

February, 2025

Available

Euro 1480

March, 2025

Available

Euro 1670

April, 2025

Available

Euro 1720

May, 2025

Available

Euro 1770

01 to 14 June, 2025

Available

Euro 1810

15 to 30 June, 2025

Available

Euro 1760

01 to 19 July, 2025

Available

Euro 1760

01 to 13 September, 2025

Available

Euro 1760

14 to 30 September, 2025

Available

Euro 1810

01 to 18 October, 2025

Available

Euro 1770

19 to 31 October, 2025

Available

Euro 1720

01 to 09 November, 2025

Available

Euro 1570

Available: You can sign up any date for a self-guided bike tour, but you must wait for our confirmation.

Confirmed: This date is already Confirmed and you can also sign up.

Complete: The bicycle tour is already full.

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RESERVE THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME

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(Your booking will be confirmed when our specialist contacts you.)

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Minimum number of people: 2

Location: Alentejo

Price per person:

Single room supplement:

WHAT’S INCLUDED

6 days / 5 nights / 4 days cycling

Support Level

Initial briefing providing all the necessary details
A GPS device on your handlebar with all bike traks preloaded
Our comfortable transfer vehicle van with air conditioning
All transportation from airport pick-up to drop-off
All baggage transportation by taxi
Documentation booklet about PortugalBike Tour
Personal Accident Insurance and Liability Insurance

Accommodations

One 5* Historic Design Boutique Hotel
One 4* Historic Hotel (12th century former Convent)
One 4* Historic Hotel (17th century former Convent)
One 3* charming Hotel within a fortress
One 18th century Manor House

Meals

5 Breakfasts

Gear

Carbon frame and superior quality road bicycles with hydraulic disc brakes and 20 speeds, tailored to your height and specifications
Portugal Bike cycling jersey to keep
Portugal Bike water bottles to keep
BBB helmets

Activities

Visit to Pottery Workshop

Please note:

Prices are based on a double bedroom occupancy (hotels may be different depending on availability) | Self-Guided version: We require a minimum of 2 people to confirm a Self-Guided departure | Groups: Discount for Groups of 4 or more people | E-bike rental: + Euro 280 | If you wish a different date, ask us for prices and availability | On Self-Guided tours we can offer you any date, depending on our availability. If the tour starts and ends in different months/fortnight the price will be adjusted accordingly, depending on how many days in each month/fortnight. The price on festivity dates will be adjusted accordingly.

DAY BY DAY

cycling and biking in Portugal bike tours

Day

1

Arrival

Welcome at Lisbon airport. 3-hour drive to Marvão. Briefing about the tour. Lodging in a cozy 3* Hotel within a fortress in Marvão, the highest medieval village of Portugal. Lodging in Hotel Dom Manuel.

Day

2

The beautiful village of Marvão and its castle

49km (30mi), 830m total climbing (2720ft), level 3 (3.1).
After breakfast you ride down from the medieval village of Marvão on the top and you ride into the Natural Park of São Mamede Hills. Here Nature and History embrace each other. It seems time has stopped! …Everything is quiet. Lodging in a classic Manor House (Bed & Breakfast) that was built in the 17th century. Lodging in Casa Amarela TH National Monument.

Day

3

The Natural Park landscape of S. Mamede Hills

76km (47mi), 1030m total climbing (3380ft), level 4 (3.9).
After breakfast you leave this medieval town and its castle, its churches and the Jewish quarters and you ride on into the Natural Park. The day ends in a beautiful border town with its castle, walls and an aqueduct built in the 16th century. Lodging in a 4* Hotel that was built conserving the old architectonic structures of the convent. Lodging in Hotel Santa Luzia.

Day

4

The capital of marble and the vineyards

72km (45mi), 1210m total climbing (3970ft), level 4 (4.1).
After breakfast we ride towards the capital of marble in Portugal. This is a quiet small town where even the sidewalks are made of marble. There is marble everywhere. We ride towards another beautiful and quiet town, land of marble and wine. Lodging in an impressive Convent built in 1182 by monks, recently converted in a 4* hotel, with its impressive private collection of eighteenth century Portuguese tile work. Lodging in Hotel Convento de São Paulo.

Day

5

Towards Évora

48km (30mi), 510m total climbing (1670ft), level 3 (2.6).
After breakfast we ride towards Évora, a city classified as World Heritage by UNESCO. Wander around in this beautiful and historic city where we can find evidences of 2000 years of History (the Temple of Diana). Lodging in a 5* Hotel with swimming-pool located in the historic center of Évora. Lodging in Hotel M’Ar de Ar Aqueduto.

Day

6

Departure

After breakfast you leave to Lisbon airport (2-hour drive).

Total distance 245km (152mi) | Average 61km/day (38mi/day) | 100% asphalt

SEE CLIMBING PROFILE

ACCOMMODATIONS

Accommodations for this tour include Signature Hotels (the best charming Hotel of the region, usually stylish 4-star hotels or 5-star properties), as well as Monument and Historic Hotels (gorgeous Castles, Palaces, Monasteries and Convents once inhabited by the clergy or the Queens and Kings and now converted into exquisite lodgings)

the ancient medieval villages portugal bike tours hotel room 2

My husband and I completed a self-guided version of the Medieval Villages Tour in late September ’15, and decidedly it was one of the best travel experiences we have had together to date. (…) The scenery was breathtaking; our GPS navigated us through lovely country roads and villages, and to some amazing lookout points. At the end of each day, we would arrive at our hotel (very unique and nice accommodations) and have the late afternoon and evening to explore a new village and sample the delicious Alentejan cuisine and wine. Jose and Cristina are excellent hosts and made sure that all the details were covered off perfectly, from arranging transportation and bag drop off, providing high quality well maintained bikes, and being extremely friendly and helpful overall. Jose and Cristina take all measures to ensure that each guest has a great experience. My husband and I had so much fun that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Portugal Bike to anyone – you will definitely not be disappointed.

Michelle McCune, 33 – Toronto ON, Canada

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our self guided bike ride with Portugal Bike. We have taken over a dozen self guided tours in Europe. Portugal Bike was the best so far. Their extra attention to detail makes the difference. We highly recommend Portugal Bike’s Ancient Medieval Villages route. Beautiful tour with very few cars.

David Pinkernell, 57 – Washougal WA, United States

These guys are good, really good!! Cristina and Jose created a wonderful week. A great route, with enough challenge, good hotels, good food, and of course, being in Alentejo some of the best wines in Europe. Let alone fantastic scenery. Our group has been cycling one week a year for the last 20 years, and this is a highly, picky bunch of successful people, used to the best; that there were no grumbles, and just a continuous repetition of ‘wow,’ shows how well it went. We have cycled in the USA, and in most countries in Western Europe, and we all agreed this was one of the best bike tours we have ever had.

Adam Singer, 63 – St Albans, United Kingdom

The Ancient Medieval Villages and Towards the Algarve

We did these two tours back to back in an October 2013. They were both interesting and well planned. I preferred the Villages tour, largely because of the interesting and varied accomodation. We have been on about ten tours of every kind over the years. The Portugal Bike tours are as good as are available. We had first rate bikes, excellent documentation, an easy to follow GPS and a back-up telephone in case of an emergency. The routes are well chosen. We thought we got to know Portugal. I recommend this operator.

Jim – Canada

See detailed reviews

TOUR GEAR

On this tour you can ride with one of these bicycles

CUBE Attain GTC SLT Disc Carbon

GERMAN DESIGNED AND ENGINEERED

With the culmination of carbon frame technology, this bike is all the proof you need that comfort and high performance aren’t mutually exclusive. With a brand new Fulcrum Racing 66 disc wheelset and a complete complement of new Shimano’s superb Ultegra components – with technology borrowed from the range-topping Dura Ace – this is a no-compromise speed machine that’ll flatter any rider’s best efforts.

SCOTT SPORTSTER

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

Sporster 20 Solution emphasizes comfort and convenience for touring and transportation. Equipped with a lockout fork and Syncros components, the Sportster is set up perfectly for your excursions with a more vertical and comfortable position. On this Road Bike tour you will ride with thinner tires (700×28).

Electric bicycle for Portugal Bike tours

CUBE NUROAD C:62 RACE 400X

GO ANYWHERE-ADVENTURE WITH THIS E-GRAVEL BIKE

Now you don’t have any excuse for not participating on a Portugal Bike Tour! 🙂 Don’t be afraid of not being able to keep up with the group. Now you can ride an e-bike without feeling too exhausted! The higher your cadence (not the speed), the more electric assistance you have. If you reduce your cadence the Bosch Smart System gives you less electric assistance to save the battery. With this eGravel Bike, with its elegant carbon frame and full carbon fork, you are ready to ride a very light and comfortable eGravel bike to explore all the ways of Portugal.