Porto Coastal Cycling

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Nicola Handcock, 19/09/2023

A lovely well-paced and leisurely cycling holiday - with no hills! Porto was the highlight - a fabulous city. Make sure when cycling up the Douro river to the coast that you visit the architect tea room and the swimming pools in the rocks - we managed to miss them! Some lovely hotels in beach locations. The Headwater app made the cycling very easy.

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Howard Reece-smith, 05/09/2023

The route from Furodouro to Aveiro was very dull, enlivened only by the ferry. All other routes were very enjoyable, so was the one poor cycling day. We found it best to avoid the tramways in Porto, fely safer and easier on the road. The final cycle route at Praai de Mira was too short. There were plenty of cycle tracks and quiet roads to extend the route so I would suggest that you offer a choice of routes ,we found it very easy to cycle 30 kms on the tracks.

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John Wealthall, 05/09/2023

Overall saw a lot of Portugal that would not normally be seen. Porto was a very interesting and lively place. Cycle paths etc excellent and the fact that the traffic slows down or stops for cyclists is both surprising and very peasant....
The train back from Aveiro to Porto worked well. However, I think more explanation is needed on how you get a ticket on the Metro to the airport. You need to get a numbered ticket first, then got to the ticket office and get a train ticket. Not easy when everything is in Portuguese. Also at the station in Aveiro it would have been good to know that you had to descend the steps to the ticket office and once purchased you had to verify the ticket at a machine on the platform. Little things that may help others in the future.

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Michael Freer, 22/08/2023

Although not inexpensive, the holidays are excellent, good hotels, routes and restaurants

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Peter Caldwell, 25/07/2023

Excellent itinerary - excellent hotels with wonderful food. Excellent bikes. Good travel arrangements organised by Headwatwer office staff

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Dr May, 06/09/2022

Underwhelming scenery and very average hotels. Headwater navigation app useful but massive drain on phone battery. Would be good if clients were advised to have back up battery. Will not be going to this part of Portugal again, nor will be be recommending this trip to others. The Headwater brochure description of the coastal cycling trip was completely inaccurate - has anyone at Headwater been on this trip. Cycling through industrial sites and run down seaside / touristy towns is not something we were expecting.

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Mrs Roderick, 06/09/2022

We had a fun week with our friends

despite the rather dull cycling!

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Mrs Britten, 30/08/2022

Very disappointed with this holiday. Not cycling on coastal routes as expected and stated in brochure and cycling some distances on main roads. Some poor hotels. Enjoyed Porto and Aveiro which are lovely cities. Some uninspiring cycle routes. Despite stating 4 star hotels, 2 of them very poor. Very expensive for what it was.

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Mr Hutchinson, 09/08/2022

Expected to be cycling around small fishing villages and cycle trails, was not expecting to be around built up and overcrowded seaside resorts.

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Ms Emerton, 02/08/2022

Great trip. Loved Porto and glad we added two extra days to explore the city. Excellent choice of small friendly hotels in good locations. Enjoyed visiting a part of Portugal that is less travelled by British tourists. All felt very Portuguese. Interesting cycle along the coast, mostly on good cycle paths, passing through sand-dunes, pine forests and lakes. Some stretches arid and scrubby but it didn't take away from our overall enjoyment of the trip. Fantastic seafood and fish - not to mention Portuguese wines - throughout the trip. The cycle ride was mostly flat although the wind was (apparently unusually) blowing South to North for the whole trip so we were cycling against it. Great for the whole family. Perfect cycling weather as the sea mist didn't burn off until early afternoon so it was warm but cloudy. The sun came through just in time to hit the beach. Fabulous long beaches, partic at Praia de Miro, with great waves.

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Mr Alpine, 07/06/2022

Travel arrangements with KLM were good - breakfasts in hotels very good - route Porto to Praia de Mira made for easy riding and wonderful and varied scenery and some fun coffee and lunch stops. Fewer places of interest to stop and visit than in France, although birdlife worth seeing.

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Mr Herne, 07/06/2022

Lovely holiday, we will travel with you again. It seemed expensive, but it probably wasn't for what it was, given the high quality of the bikes and especially of the hotels . which we loved but don't normally treat ourselves to!

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Mr Cullen, 07/06/2022

Excellent first cycling holiday. Mixed experience with meal vouchers. Great group. Itinerary beautiful in some places.

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Mrs Newman, 24/05/2022

This is our second cycling holiday with Headwater (Austria 2019) and accommodation and helpfulness of local agents was first rate. An issue with bike set up was swiftly resolved with an alternative style being delivered within two hours. Rating of cycling difficulty was accurate.

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Mr WATSON, 26/08/2020

Impressed by ability of office and ground agents to put programme together within the very short timescale

Mr Tayler, 01/10/2019

We enjoyed our holiday. The logistics worked very well, the hotels exceeded our expectations, and the meals, especially those in the outside restaurants you chose, were outstanding. One possible,very minor, improvement, would be to reduce the volume, or simplify the content of information sent to us before departure. Many thanks to all involved.

Headwater response:
Dear Mr.Tayler
Thank you for posting such a lovely review. Your comment regarding the pre departure information is currently being reviewed. Whilst we want to ensure that our customers have all the information required for their holiday we are actively looking at alternative solutions to reduce our carbon footprint. For example; Holidays with Ride with GPS may not require printed route notes and a geographical map.
We do hope that we will be able to welcome you on another Headwater Holiday in the not too distant future.
Kind regards
Customer Services

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Mr Hill, 17/09/2019

The cycle rating is very accurate, the bikes and equipment provided were excellent. We particularity enjoyed Porto, although unfortunately there was a lot of sea mist in the mornings at the time we were there affecting the views. In comparison to the three other Headwater cycling holidays we have enjoyed, this route was not as scenic or picturesque. The evening meals at local restaurants included in the holiday were all excellent. We arrived at Praia de Mira 'out of season' and struggled to find somewhere open for a lunchtime meal. The Portuguese people we met were all very helpful and friendly.

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Mrs Wickstead, 10/09/2019

A very good trip. and we will return for more.

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Mrs Reid, 20/08/2019

We really enjoyed our holiday in Portugal. Porto is a lovely city. The cycle routes were good, lots of variety and no hills ! The cycle through the lagoons was wonderful. Some of route dictions were not clear and we got a bit lost most days but we could use our iPhones to find ourselves. We thought the written directions were sometimes out of date and did not take into account new road layouts. We sometimes found we could not exactyidentify where we were on the map as there were not enough landmarks mentioned. The hotel locations were all superb and well chosen. All the breakfasts were first class. All the people we met were very friendly and helpful. We would recommend this holiday to anyone who enjoys cycling along flat land near the sea.

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Mrs Wheeler, 06/08/2019

We had a fabulous time. This was the first time we have done a multi centred activity holiday and we will definitely do another.

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Mr Snodgrass, 11/06/2019

An excellent combination of easy cycling and excellent sight seeing.Good accommodation and excellent food. Headwater customised a standard trip to meeting our timings and wish to amend the final destination.The local agent added a number of helpful suggestions which enhanced our enjoyment. At all times we felt support was on hand ---but we never had to call on it.

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Miss Hamer, 28/05/2019

The organisation of all elements of this holiday was excellent and especially from headquarters who realised I had omitted to arrange the air travel; the guide at the start of the hoiday was clear about what to expect and very clear in giving information re- the GPS, but I am glad I also had paper back up since it is impossible to realise that the batteries are fully charged.

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Ms Smithson, 09/04/2019

Stunning beaches, great hotels, generous, helpful people, the unseen Portugal

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Mrs Compton, 23/10/2018

A well-organised holiday with generally good 4-star accommodation (one specific difficulty was dealt with promptly and efficiently) . The grading system was very accurate for first-time cyclists. Equipment provided, the local support and the initial briefing were also excellent.

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Mrs Hardy, 02/10/2018

The Porto cycling trip was a brilliant holiday for the 4 of us - easy cycling through interesting countryside alongside the coast, great food and good accommodation. We were really lucky with the weather - blue skies all the way although the evenings were a little chilly and it was pretty windy at Costa Nova. As a bonus we saw flamingos and storks along the way! The only disappointment was building work going on next door to our last hotel which made sitting on the balcony a less than relaxing experience. But Headwater responded promptly to our concerns and we were treated to a couple of free bottles of wine to help make up for it, which was appreciated.

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Mr Reid, 22/09/2018

Very enjoyable , good accommodation except for the hotel Porto Christal. This was a last minute change to the original tour. The location was not ideal and the food was terrible. There were a few hiccups starting with the meet and greet at the airport, which did not happen until we made several phone calls to the emergency contact but all problems were dealt with very courteously and all members of staff were extremely caring and helpful.

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Mrs Mckay, 21/08/2018

Excellent holiday. Easy cycling. Lovely scenery.Garmin makes a huge difference and avoids regular stops to review maps. Very good standard of hotels. Food in general excellent especially Restaurant in furadura. Furadoura and Praia de Miras bit busy and touristy but can easily escape on bikes. Aveiro is atmospheric with lots of good restaurants and cafes. All in all, great holiday

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Mrs Wheeler, 14/08/2018

Faultless.

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Mr Taylor, 24/07/2018

perfect cycling holiday for newcomers/occasional cyclists

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Mr Woods, 26/06/2018

All agency staff were terrific giving good tips for eating out and places to visit. The trips were well organised and the bikes were fine. Everything promised was delivered. It was nice to meet other people on the same trip and a good balance between your privacy and some interaction.

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Mrs Anderson, 29/05/2018

A good description of a one wheel cycle holiday for those not normally cycling. Lovely hotels. There could have been more 'human' contact from a rep. We received one phone call asking if we were ok but saw no-one from the Introduction until pick up time at the end. Had a good time though.

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Mrs Haley, 15/05/2018

Very easy enjoyable cycling with no pressures. Lovely ocean views.

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Mrs Devenish, 12/05/2018

This was our third self guided cycling holiday with Headwater and the easiest to navigate using GPS. The bikes have 24 gears and are very well maintained with good support if required from local agents. The hotels are all fabulous with amazing food, we lost count of the number of Portuguese custard tarts we ate! The itinerary was well designed with a great start in Porto (Port tasting arranged) and a break mid week if desired in very scenic Aveiro. The cycle paths are amazing, very well maintained and mostly far away from roads and the route around the numerous lagoons and pine forests were uplifting. We would definitely recommend this trip, the cycling is easy giving time to admire the surrounding scenery with the Atlantic Ocean waves in the background.

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Mrs Delahunt, 14/10/2017

Pretty good.

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Mr Bates, 23/09/2017

This was our first cycling holiday and we will certainly travel with Headwater again. The GPS and route notes worked well together.

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Dr Leiper, 23/09/2017

This was an excellent holiday, easy cycling and great hotels. Local rep were very good.

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Ms Allen, 23/09/2017

Thoroughly enjoyed our trip.Especially the wildlife and scenery along the way.We also appreciated the food-the lovely fresh fish.We always felt welcomed by the hoteliers and local people.

We were very pleased to meet up with fellow Headwater travellers too.

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Ms Freeth, 02/09/2017

An excellent way for parents to holiday with teenagers: the right balance of activity, being together and opportunities for a feeling of solitude.

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Mrs Sims, 19/08/2017

We thoroughly enjoyed our Porto Coastal cycling holiday and thought the organisation and planning was excellent throughout. The hotel accommodation was very good and the varied itinerary enabled us to explore both the interesting towns and delightful countryside of the region.

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Mr Hurles, 06/06/2017

Terrific fun, with easy cycling in variety of scenery on generally good surfaces, although some were challenging. Nice people everywhere and two great towns in Porto and Aveiro. Mainly excellent food. Incidentally, you missed out our hotel in Aveiro from your survey above, which was by far the best all-round quality on the tour.

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Mr Black, 20/05/2017

very enjoyable. standard of hotels excellent. scenery beautiful. We learned a lot about undiscovered parts of Portugal.

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Mrs Rudd, 09/04/2017

A lovely part of Portugal to visit and a great holiday.

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Mr Nicol, 08/04/2017

weather--service--hotels--people--could not ask for any better..this last ride we had gps on the bikes.but sometimes lost signal

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Mr Mitchell, 28/08/2016

We enjoyed our holiday, hotels and food were good, people very friendly and helpful, not a particularly scenic route but pretty good for non-cyclist as very flat.

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Mrs Jones, 27/08/2016

Cycling was mainly along flat cycle ways and quiet roads although some of the cycle track surfaces were a little bumpy. The hotels were a very good standard, meals, whether taken within or outside the hotels, were very good, especially the fresh fish dishes. Porto was well worth seeing and an interesting city. A bus trip to Costa Nova from Aveiro is worth doing to see the pretty painted houses. The cycle along the estuary and nature reserve was very enjoyable watching out for flamingoes and other seabirds and we were lucky to be doing this at low to half tide when the wading birds and lots of local fisherman, digging for cockles and clams, can be seen. On the beach at Praia de Mira we were lucky enough to see the local fishermen hauling in their nets full of sardines. The final cycle from Praia de Mira along the water canals was a lovely cycle too.

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Mrs Clark, 31/07/2016

Wonderful way to see a country on a bike, real sense of achievement when you arrive at a new destination by bike. A fair amount of exercise - not too strenuous, but much better than sitting on a sunbed all week.

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Mrs Hoskins, 31/07/2016

An unforgettable experience travelling in rural Portugal, getting to see sights other holidays don't offer, off the beaten track, just the right amount of effort for cycling. Excellent choice of hotels, although not the best views! Very good help from rep and good support offered. Nice to know the baggage was taken care of although we arrived before it at one location and it was 5.30pm before they arrived! We could cycle the route at our own pace and felt secure in the knowledge that we were being taken care of and knew where we were going with very good instructions and maps.

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Mrs Malone, 17/07/2016

We cycled 5 out of 7 days. Joanna met us on arrival and got us on track. The trails were very easy to manage - the GPS was a superb tool. The scenery was magnificent, and we really saw the hidden Portugal. The cycle lanes were completely segregated from the roads and this made for a relaxed and peaceful experience. Each evening we arrived at our hotel to a warm welcome and our luggage in our room. The standard of all the hotels was extremely high and they were all in beautiful locations. The printed maps and route descriptions were also helpful, and the level of difficulty ultimate ascribed to the cycle was accurate.

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Mrs Garth, 03/07/2016

Thoroughly enjoyed my holiday on my first visit to Portugal. Excellent service from local reps. Great hotels. Ebikes fun. Delicious food, wine and port. Loved the routes.

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Mr Mathias, 03/07/2016

Good .Poor room in the hotel Carrie Porto small room small window looking across a narrow ally straight into a derelict building.This room should not be let in this state.

Headwater response:
Dear Mr Mathias,
Thank you for taking the time to complete your post-holiday questionnaire. We were pleased to see you had a good holiday, although, we were sorry to read of your disappointment with the standard of room you were allocated at Carris Porto Ribeira. Since receiving your feedback, we have asked the hotelier to ensure they do not allocate this room to future Headwater customers. Whilst we realise this does not affect your holiday, we do hope it goes some way to show we take our customers feedback seriously. We would like to thank you for your continued loyalty and look forward to welcoming you on another of our holidays in the future.
Kind regards,
Headwater Customer Service team

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Mrs Whiteley, 26/06/2016

Very well organised holiday - excellent helpful Portuguese reps looked after us well throughout. GPS was a very successful means of not getting lost en route. Hotels all good, although 2 out of 4 gave us rooms looking at blank walls. Some time is spent riding on roads, though we used footpaths where available, and there are dedicated cycle paths for the majority of the route. Some interesting coastal scenery. Riding through the lagoon wasn't as spectacular as we'd hoped as much of the the cycle path was rocky and potholed and you had to concentrate on the path surface immediately ahead to avoid falling, rather than enjoying the scenery and wildlife. All in all though, a very enjoyable holiday.

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Mrs Dillnutt, 12/06/2016

The cycle tracks in Portugal were good and holiday would suit people new to cycling holidays

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Mrs Griffiths, 15/05/2016

Excellent cycling along the Atlantic coast, lovely hotels, interesting area to explore. The Furadouro Hotel was outstanding - welcome, food, swimming pool, rooms all superb.

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Mrs Cronin, 15/05/2016

A very well organised holiday giving us the chance to visit places we would not have otherwise seen.

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Mr Kilby, 08/05/2016

We enjoyed our cycling holiday but the weather was terrible which marred our experience. We also thought some of the cycling was a bit monotonous, going through residential areas, particularly at the beginning and would have preferred not to have had to get the train, although it proved invaluable in the end due to weather. The lagoon part was generally nice however towards the end, the path had completely disintegrated and the little bridge had been washed away. It certainly needed two people to carry the bikes down and across. We informed the guide at the end of the holiday. I dont think this holiday would be suitable for families in summertime as the roads get very busy and there were more roads than we had expectred. We thought the route tracking on the garmin was an excellent idea and the best part of following the route. Totally reliable. The hotels were all good though not all were properly equipped to accept bikes, namely the one in Porto and the Hotel Moliciero.

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Dr Goldberg, 24/04/2016

This was an excellent holiday. The cycling was along very flat routes down the beautiful Atlantic Coast and around the pretty lagoons. Porto and Aveiro were great places to have days off. The hotels were good or very good. We ate some delicious fish and everyone was very friendly and welcoming.

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Mr Spiller, 10/04/2016

The pleasure of Headwater is that they do everything to make ensure your experience is exceptional - so it is!