Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cluding kayaking, sailing, rafting and canoeing. Rivers popular for boating include the
Guadiana, Mondego, Zêzere, Paiva, Minho and Tâmega.
Companies that rent boats and/or operate boat trips can be found in Lagos, Mértola,
Barragem do Alqueva, Tomar, Coimbra, Ponte de Lima, Rio Caldo and Amarante, just to
name a few.
Cycling
Portugal has many exhilarating opportunities for
mountain biking
(
bicicleta todo ter-
reno;
BTT). Monchique (
Click here
)
and Tavira in the Algarve, Sintra (
Click here
)
and
Setúbal (
Click here
)
in central Portugal and Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês (
Click
Bicycle trails
are also growing in popularity. Rio Lima in the north has a handful of short greenways (ranging from 8km
to 13.3km) that are popular with cyclists, walkers and runners. Another rail-to-trails initiative, the 49km
Ecopista do
Dão
between Viseu and Santa Comba Dão in the Beiras, opened in 2011. There are even places to rent bikes near the
start in Santa Comba Dão. Down south, the ambitious
Ecovia do Litoral
is a 214km cycling route across the Algarve
that will eventually connect Cabo de Sao Vicente at Portugal's southwestern tip to Vila Real de Santo António on the
Spanish border. Meanwhile, bike paths have become fixtures of the urban landscape around Lisbon and in northern cit-
ies like Porto, Coimbra and Guarda; popular bike trails have also cropped up in coastal venues such as the
Estremadura's Pinhal de Leiria and the Lisbon coast between Cascais and Praia do Guincho.
GREAT OUTDOOR ADVENTURES FOR FAMILIES
»
Mountain bike through the outback to see the Palaeolithic petroglyphs at
Parque Arqueológico do Vale do
Côa
(
Click here
).
»
Kayak with your kids down the
Rio Mondego
(
Click here
) from Penacova to Coimbra.
»
Learn to surf with the whole family at
Hooked Surf School
(
Click here
)
in Costa da Caparica.
»
Take the invigoratingly bouncy
boat ride
(
Click here
) from Peniche to Berlenga Grande, then stay overnight in
a 17th-century fort converted into a
hostel
(
Click here
).
»
Look for
dolphins
(
Click here
) - and learn about them from an onboard marine biologist - as you ply the At-
lantic waters off the Algarve coast.
»
Walk through a landscape of dramatic mountains and stone shepherds' huts as you climb the glacial Zêzere Val-
ley, then cool off with icy water from a natural spring in
Parque Natural Serra da Estrela
(
Click here
).
»
Scan the horizon for pirates from the 17th-century
fort
(
Click here
), play king of the castle at the Moorish
castelo
, or build sandcastles of your own on the beach at Sesimbra.
»
Take the narrow-gauge train to the lovely, wild beaches along
Costa da Caparica
(
Click here
).
»
See dinosaur footprints - yes,
real
dinosaur footprints! - at
Cabo Espichel
(
Click here
)
or
Monumento Natur-
al das Pegadas dos Dinossáurios
(
Click here
).
