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• What are PortugalBike Tours like?
  PortugalBike Tours are designed to take people (couples and singles) to visit the best places in Portugal while riding a bicycle.  
  
• Describe a normal day on a guided PortugalBike ride.
  In the morning, after breakfast, you will follow your Guide (Guided Tours only) to discover the region and visit wonderful places, some of which you can only see or access by bicycle. See the specific information about the ride you wish to participate; read the highlights and you will start getting a taste of the beautiful country you will see on your Tour. Around lunch time we meet the backup car and have a nourishing picnic to regain our strength. After relaxing a little bit we move on and usually between 4:00pm and 5:00pm we get to our hotel, and you can relax a bit before dinner.
• What is the average age on a PortugalBike Tour?
  It depends on the kind of tour. On mountain bike tours, people are usually 25-45 years old. On hybrid bike tours, people are usually 45-70 years old. On road bike tours, people are usually 45-75 years old.
• I would like to participate in a PortugalBike Tour but I don’t know if I will be able to accompany the group.
  If you are concerned about being able to keep up with the group of riders on your tour, be aware that the purpose of PortugalBike Tours is to have fun and enjoy nature and the wild and still intact environment, to visit interesting and historical places, to get to know different people and to spend unforgettable holidays in a sunny, warm and welcoming country without stress. We de-emphasize being in a hurry to get to our destinations.
• I do not know if I am prepared to join a PortugalBike Tour; I do not know the country and I do not know the difficulty level. How can I assess the situation?
  PortugalBike Tours are not designed for training. Our aim is that you experience unforgettable holidays with your bicycle. We organize tours, not races. Each PortugalBike Tour is classified with a certain difficulty level from 1 to 5. Level 1 is the easiest and level 5 is the most difficult. The difficulty level of each tour is the result of the sum of the difficulty level of all the days of the tour. That difficulty level is determined by the quantity and difficulty of the climbs, as well as the technical difficulty that is necessary to overcome the unevenness of the ground on a trail. PortugalBike Tours are designed to satisfy most participants so we avoid the limit levels of the scale, i.e. levels 1 and 5.
• Riding during one week may be too much for me. How can I know if I am able to cope with the entire program?
  If a PortugalBike tour day includes many kilometers to ride, the difficulty is low. When the terrain is difficult, you ride less kilometers each day. Tours are designed so that a very difficult day is not followed by another very difficult day. In the middle of the week there is usually a day when you do not ride; this allows your body to rest without the bicycle and you can enjoy other activities (shopping, sightseeing, going to the beach, etc.). We always have a long sunny day to ride our bicycles without stress and at our own pace; we are not competing or training. Our purpose is to help you enjoy our country while riding a bicycle.
• What is the minimum number of participants on a PortugalBike Tour?
  The minimum number of participants for a PortugalBike Tour is 2 people and the maximum number is 16, both on Guided and Self-Guided Tours. (Larger groups, please contact us!) We suggest you book your tour as early as possible, in order to guarantee your reservation. People come from many different countries for PortugalBike Tours and they are united in their intentions: to enjoy the bicycling, to enjoy beautiful views and experience wonderful sensations within a wild environment and also to have unique and unforgettable holidays in a sunny and warm country! It is also possible to organize a Tour exclusively for your group, but you have to gather a minimum group of 6 people for a Guided Tour or 8 people for a Self-Guided Tour.
• What about meals? Where will we eat?
  A continental breakfast will always be served in the Hotel / Bed & Breakfast unitl we are staying. For lunch, we serve a picnic at an attractive location on your tour route and, when possible, we provide local products of the region we are visiting (Guided Tours only). For dinner, we go to traditional restaurants where you can try different dishes of our rich cuisine including our famous wines and desserts (Guided Tours only).
• What kind of accommodations can I expect?
  PortugalBike accommodations are always in 4* Hotels, and at Bed & Breakfast units; the latter are cozy and charming cottages or Manor Houses converted into small hotels. Some of the Hotels are new and some others are historic buildings. PortugalBike always provides accommodations that are the best offered in the region. We prefer beautiful and comfortable places, showing some of our traditional architecture and heritage, where you can rest and enjoy the landscape. Many of these places have a swimming pool, where you can relax at the end of the day. Breakfast is included in the rate.
• Do I have to carry my own luggage?
  No, our backup vehicle will transfer your luggage from one place to the other. At the end of the day your luggage will be waiting for you at the Hotel/Turismo Rural where you will spend the night.
• What bicycle will I be using? Can I use my own bicycle?
  Yes you can. However, we recommend that you save yourself the trouble of bringing your own bicycle. You can rent one from us. Our front page provides pictures of the bikes we have for the kind of tour you wish to book (click on the bicycle icon). Our customers are usually very happy with the good quality of our bikes. We have different sizes. We also have special seats that are much more comfortable for women. Depending on the type of the Tour (Road, Hybrid or Mountain Bike tour) you will be provided the adequate bicycle for that kind of Tour. You can also opt for SPD automatic Shimano pedals, normal platform pedals or pedals with cages. Our Road Bikes have a small rear bag behind the saddle and another small triangle bag on the frame. Our Hybrid Bikes have a front bag on the handlebar (2.5 litres). Our Mountain Bikes are provided with a backpack (15 or 20 litres) that you carry on your back.
• How do you rate the difficulty levels of each ride?
  Each ride is classified according to its difficulty level, from 1 to 5; level 1 is the easiest and level 5 is the most difficult. There are 3 important aspects that help us to determine the difficulty level of a Tour:
  
  1. The length of the tour - it can have more or less km (mi);
  2. The tour can be technical or not; it may require more or less ability to handle our bikes;
  3. The slope of the region, and the consequent number of climbs within the course.
  
  We take these three aspects into consideration when we define the difficulty level of a tour. We typically ride less km/day (mi/day) when it is a difficult tour and when it is an easy tour, we ride more km/day (mi/day). Please note that the purpose of PortugalBike Tours is not to train, but only to enjoy our bicycle, nature and environment.
• I have noticed that in some tours we only ride 25 or 30km (15 or 20mi) per day. Isn't that a very short ride?
  Please remember that we are talking about MTB (mountain bike) rides and single-tracks, and not road-cycling tours. As a rule, a 25km (15mi) MTB ride corresponds to 3 times the same distance on a road-cycling tour (i.e. 75km/47mi). Sometimes we ride less kilometers because the course is more difficult and demands more technical skills. Other times we ride more kilometers because the course is much easier and rolling. On Road Bike Tours you will ride much more km per day. We want you to enjoy the ride and have wonderful holidays.
• How do I meet PortugalBike when I get to Portugal?
  When you arrive in Portugal, we will meet you at the airport and we will take you to your hotel. Usually there is a welcoming dinner on that day (Guided Tours only) so participants on the tour can get to know one another and we talk a little bit about what will happen on the tour.
• I have two boys aged 14 and 9. Can they participate in one of your Tours?
  Our Bicycle Tours are not designed for children, because they usually cannot ride several days in a row. However, if a child is used to riding a bicycle, you may consider a level 3 ride adequate for a 14 or 15 year old child.
• If the weather conditions are not favourable or if it rains, is the tour cancelled or postponed?
  PortugalBike Tours are scheduled and we never change dates, even when the weather conditions are not the best, as long as safety and health of participants are not endangered.
• If we stop to swim during our bicycling for the day, how does that work? Do I carry my bathing suit or does PortugalBike carry it for me? Do I need to bring my own beach towel, or does PortugalBike provide it for me?
  If you are on a Guided Tour, PortugalBike will carry your bathing suit and your beach towel in the van. PortugalBike will provide you a beach towel, but you can bring your own, if you prefer. The van will park near the beach and you can easily get your things. If you are on a Self-Guided Tour, you will be on your own. So you will have to carry whatever you may need.
• Do I need to worry about securing my bike against theft or vandalism, or does PortugalBike take care of that?
  If you are on a Guided Tour, the bikes are never left alone. There is always one team member looking after them. But if you are on a Self-Guided, you will be provided with a lock and you can never leave your bike unattended without the lock.
• What is the payment procedure? When can I pay and how?
  The easiest way is for you to pay using your credit card. The payment procedure is divided into 3 steps: 1 - When you fill in the Booking Form on our website you will be asked to pay for a Deposit - Euro 300/person - to complete your Booking. You can use your credit card via PayPal or via MoneyBookers, or you can pay by Bank Transfer to our bank account within five business days (please contact us). 2 - About 45 days before the date of the tour, you will be asked to do your final payment. According to Portuguese law our company had to establish a partnership with a travel agency (CITUR) to deal with the accommodations for our tours. Therefore, your final payment will be divided to us (BTTour-PortugalBike) and CITUR. We will ask you to pay us the remaining amount for the bike tour and bike rental and CITUR will ask you to pay for the accommodations.
• When will I find out what the specific itinerary for my tour will be, including the places where we will be staying, and contact numbers in case of emergency?
  If you are interested to know the contacts and places beforehand, please tell us and we will send you the list.
• I wish to participate on a Road Bike Tour with some friends but I am not used to ride a Road Bicycle. May I use a Hybrid Bicycle instead of a Road Bicycle for that tour?
  Yes, you can use a Hybrid Bicycle on a road bike tour. Please tell us in advance so that we can prepare your Hybrid Bicycle for your road bike tour.
• I wish to participate on a Hybrid Bike Tour with some friends but I am not used to ride a Hybrid Bicycle. May I use a Mountain Bicycle instead of a Hybrid Bicycle for that tour?
  Yes, you can use a Mountain Bicycle on a hybrid bike tour. Please tell us in advance so that we can prepare your Mountain Bicycle for your hybrid bike tour.

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