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Aveiro – Portugal’s ‘Little Venice’

Lagoons & beaches of north-west Portugal
 
Enjoy traffic-free cycling close to the Costa de Prata, through a splendid natural habitat with abundant birdlife. Explore its fascinating maritime culture as you cycle self-guided, with luggage transported, by day, and relax in stylish, 4-star hotels by night.
Aveiro – Portugal’s ‘Little Venice’. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
Aveiro – Portugal’s ‘Little Venice’. 4 nights
+44 (0)1653 617001 Call now
 

Holiday information

 

A short cycling break in Aveiro

It’s hard to avoid being seduced by Aveiro. Not for nothing is it known as ‘Portugal’s Little Venice’ – its streets of painted Art Nouveau houses are intersected by canals and waterways plied by vibrantly coloured boats with high, curved prows – and it sits on a large, languid lagoon that is a haven for a wide variety of birds (‘Aveiro’ is derived from the Roman aviarium, meaning ‘place of birds’).
The Costa da Prata (Silver Coast), with its vast expanses of sand, is equally seductive. Its name has nothing to do with the precious metal, and everything to do with the way the sun shimmers on the Atlantic, making it look silver rather than blue.

Our easy-going break explores Aveiro, its lagoon and sections of the coast, featuring stylish, high-quality hotels and ample time to relax by the water.
 

Book with confidence

We are accepting bookings for our holidays to Portugal. Our flexible booking arrangements, commitment to safety and financial protection mean that you can book with confidence.

What we’re doing so you can book and travel with confidence >
Check the destination entry requirements >
 
Gallery
 

Itinerary

The key to Inntravel holidays is flexibility. You can start on the day of your choice, and are free to add extra nights.

We have not provided elevation profiles for any of the routes on this holiday because it is largely on the flat.
  • The average maximum daytime temperatures and monthly rainfall relate to the nearest weather station and are intended as a guide only.
    Average temperatures and rainfall
      Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    °C 14 15 17 19 20 22 23 23 23 21 17 14
    mm 142 127 81 93 77 40 12 16 53 114 138 134
  • Arrival in Aveiro
    Night 1: at Hotel Moliceiro (the first of two nights here).
    As your first night's accommodation is on the day of travel, Day 1 is your first day of cycling.

    Depending on the time of your arrival, you could perhaps take a boat ride on one of Aveiro's high-prowed moliceiros  before dinner. Suckling pig is worth seeking out among the many good restaurants here, as is the deliciously delicate egg-yolk-and-wafer confection, Ovos Moles de Aveiro.
  • Circular route from Aveiro: 43km
    Our suggested cycle ride starts by heading southwards to Ílhavó, with the chance to call in at Vista Alegre, whose stunning surroundings are as beautiful as its celebrated porcelain. It is also worth pausing at the Maritime Museum, where you can learn about the hardships endured aboard long-line cod-fishing boats. You then head west to meet a finger of Aveiro’s lagoon before continuing to the delightful town of Costa Nova, where you can admire the former fishermen’s houses – a riot of candy-striped red, blue and yellow – and relax by the beach before heading back inland to Aveiro.
    Cycle to Costa Nova
  • Aveiro to Furadouro: 40km
    The day begins with a short train ride (pay locally) to Salreu, from where you pedal along quiet roads, cycle ways and dirt tracks to reach the lagoon once more. Here you loop languidly along its edge, as an Arcadian tableau unfolds before you, dotted with flamingos, egrets and the occasional patient fisherman. Your destination is Praia do Furadouro, where you can admire the expansive golden-sand beach before checking into the Furadouro Boutique Hotel for your last two nights.
    Picturesque routes skirt the region's lagoons
  • Circular route from Furadouro: 47km; shorter option: 35km
    Your last cycle ride takes you north along the ‘Silver Coast’ and is a real highlight – offering fabulous sea views and the chance to visit Porto, picturesque capital of the Port-wine trade. Take your time to explore the iconic Port houses, perhaps even venturing inside one for a tour and tasting, before catching the train back to Furadouro. Be sure to stop off at the iconic, ocean-facing Capela do Senhor da Pedra (Chapel of the Lord of Stones) along the way – the chapel's long history of worship makes it an ideal spot to reflect on the subtle charms of this quietly evocative corner of Portugal.
    Follow dedicated cycling paths along the coast
 

Accommodation

You stay in two delightful hotels, one on a canal, the other by the sea.
 

Extend your stay

 
Prices & travel options
All prices are in £ sterling (GBP). If you'd like to see what they equate to in your currency, use the converter. For general information on pricing, see the 'your holiday price explained' page.
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  • 4 nights: 01 April 2021 - 31 July 2021, 01 September 2021 - 31 October 2021, 01 April 2022 - 31 July 2022 & 01 September 2022 - 31 October 2022

    Start any day | End by latest date(s) shown above

    Starting Price Single room
    1 - 30 Apr 2021 £690 £235
    1 - 31 May 2021 £720 £260
    1 Jun - 27 Jul 2021 £760 £295
    1 Sep - 14 Oct 2021 £760 £295
    15 - 27 Oct 2021 £720 £260
    1 - 30 Apr 2022 £725 £250
    1 - 31 May 2022 £760 £275
    1 Jun - 27 Jul 2022 £795 £310
    1 Sep - 14 Oct 2022 £795 £310
    15 - 27 Oct 2022 £760 £275
    3rd & 4th person discount -£120 to -£125
    Single traveller supplement £120 to £125

    Includes accommodation, meals, bike hire, luggage transfers and any other services integral to the holiday as described, plus cycling notes and maps, but no travel from the UK, nor any connecting travel from the airport unless stated below.

    Included travel: return travel from Porto (see 'connecting travel' for more details)

    Electric bikes available: add £95 per person in 2021 or £100 per person in 2022

    Book your flights through us and we'll find the best route and times to suit you. Please contact us to find out more about our flight booking service. We can also book connecting travel - see below.

  • Room upgrades (£ per person per night)

    Furadouro Boutique Hotel Beach & Spa, Furadouro
    Deluxe with ocean view: 01 Apr - 31 Jul 2021 £12
    Deluxe with ocean view: 01 Sep - 31 Oct 2021 £12
    Deluxe with ocean view: 01 Apr - 31 Jul 2022 £14
    Deluxe with ocean view: 01 Sep - 31 Oct 2022 £14

    Extra nights (£ per person per night) in a double or single room

    Prices include an extra day’s hire of a standard bike. If you are upgrading to an e-bike, add a further £40pp per day.
    Hotel Moliceiro, Aveiro (B&B) Double room Single room
    01 Apr - 31 May 2021 £80 £124
    01 Jun - 31 Jul 2021 £90 £142
    01 Sep - 15 Oct 2021 £90 £142
    16 Oct - 31 Oct 2021 £80 £124
    01 Apr - 31 May 2022 £84 £132
    01 Jun - 31 Jul 2022 £95 £150
    01 Sep - 15 Oct 2022 £95 £150
    16 Oct - 31 Oct 2022 £84 £132
    Furadouro Boutique Hotel Beach & Spa, Furadouro (B&B) Double room Single room
    01 Apr - 04 Apr 2021 £110 £192
    05 Apr - 14 Jun 2021 £94 £158
    15 Jun - 31 Jul 2021 £110 £192
    01 Sep - 15 Sep 2021 £110 £192
    16 Sep - 31 Oct 2021 £94 £158
    01 Apr - 12 Apr 2022 £100 £168
    13 Apr - 18 Apr 2022 £116 £204
    19 Apr - 14 Jun 2022 £100 £168
    15 Jun - 31 Jul 2022 £116 £204
    01 Sep - 15 Sep 2022 £116 £204
    16 Sep - 31 Oct 2022 £100 £168
  • RECOMMENDED AIRPORT(S):
    Porto
    As an alternative to flying, we can arrange rail travel from London

    Travelling from the UK

    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Porto or Lisbon. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    Travelling from outside the UK
    We have many years' experience catering for customers who live outside the UK, and will be happy to make tailored arrangements to fit with your plans.

    You have two options:

    1) Book your own flights to London, from where we can book flights and onward connecting travel to your hotel.

    2) Book your own flights direct to an airport appropriate to your chosen holiday. You can either make your own way from the airport to the hotel, or we'll be happy to book onward connecting travel for you. Please consult with us before booking your flights, so that we can advise you on the suitability of your proposed route and timings.
    Outward route Airline
    Aberdeen - Porto (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Aberdeen - Porto (via Paris CDG) Air France,  KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Birmingham - Porto Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Bristol - Porto easyJet 
    Outward route Airline
    Edinburgh - Porto Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Liverpool - Porto Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Gatwick - Porto British Airways,  easyJet,  TAP Air Portugal 
    Outward route Airline
    Heathrow - Porto British Airways,  TAP Air Portugal 
    Heathrow - Porto (via Lisbon) TAP Air Portugal 
    Outward route Airline
    Luton - Porto easyJet,  Wizz Air 
    Outward route Airline
    Stansted - Porto Ryanair 
    Outward route Airline
    Manchester - Porto easyJet,  Ryanair 
    Manchester - Porto (via Brussels) Brussels Airlines 
    Manchester - Porto (via Frankfurt) Lufthansa 
    Manchester - Porto (via Lisbon) TAP Air Portugal 
    Outward route Airline
    Newcastle - Porto (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Newcastle - Porto (via Brussels) Brussels Airlines 
    Newcastle - Porto (via Paris CDG) KLM 
    Outward route Airline
    Norwich - Porto (via Amsterdam Schiphol) KLM 
    Travelling from outside the UK

    If you are flying from outside Europe,  we recommend flying via Porto or Lisbon. To discuss onward connecting travel to the start of your holiday, please contact us.

    This list of flight options should be used as a guide only, and you should check each airline’s website for current routes, frequency and schedules. Not all flights operate daily, and may not run for the entire season. You should also heed the latest flight arrival time and earliest flight departure time stated in the connecting travel section, as it may not be possible to arrange connecting travel outside these times. Please do not book your flights until we have confirmed your accommodation to you. Alternatively, our expert reservations team will be happy to offer advice and to make flight bookings for you for any of the options listed above except those operated by Ryanair. We charge £35 per person for our flight booking service (£60 for India and Nepal). Your flights are then covered by our package-booking conditions, which give you greater protection in the event of delay or cancellation, as well as providing ATOL cover.

  • Prices below are based on 2 people travelling together. If you are travelling solo or as a party of 3 or more and our arrangements include a taxi, please contact us for prices; additional passengers often pay less.

    Unless otherwise stated, connecting travel by rail or bus tends to be from the city centre station, rather than from its airport, and connections between the two should be paid for locally.

    Connecting travel options - flying via Porto

    Outward route Price per person Latest flight
    arrival time
    rail Porto Campanha to Aveiro (0h30) included 1800
    direct taxi Porto airport to hotel (1h) £60 in 2021; £64 in 2022 flexible
    Homeward route Price per person Earliest flight
    departure time
    direct taxi hotel to Porto airport (0h45) included flexible
What is included
  • 4 nights
  • 1 dinner
    4 breakfasts
  • luggage transported
  • high-quality bicycle
  • route notes and maps
  • GPS navigation
  • rail travel from Porto to Aveiro
  • taxi from last hotel to Porto airport
 
Reviews

If you've experienced this holiday first hand, why not write a review?

We are keen for as many customers as possible to review their holiday. To make it easier to do so, we include a specific review section on our post-holiday questionnaire, and this is what we publish here, unedited. Read our full review policy >

All 4 reviews
  • anon
    13 April 2019

    Aveiro was pleasant for a short break but don't go in April. It rained persistently for two days with howling winds - not good for cycling. We had one good day which was delightful. Highlights would be cycling along the coast from Furadouro and enjoying the scenery, really fresh fish in the restaurants and fabulous cake!

    Inntravel
    response

    It is unfortunate that this April was both wetter and windier than usual on the Atlantic coast of Portugal.

  • Ms G O'Mahony
    Southam
    02 April 2019

    The food was delicious, especially at Bronze in Costa Nova. The route was mainly cobbled or bumpy paths so was a bit wearing on the bottom.

  • Gill
    20 September 2018

    Pace yourself! We set off far too fast on day one and didn't stop nearly enough. Subsequent days we stopped more and just enjoyed the view. Cycling through pine forests with glimpses of sea was absolutely heavenly. You really get immersed in your surroundings on a bike - it will be a long time before I forget the wonderful smell of pine and rosemary. Routes were carefully chosen and easy to follow - the cycle paths in Portugal are so good. Cobbled roads tested our padding but were an experience! We thought the choice of hotels was inspired; each one very different but all excellent. Eating out, Biscoito was definitely a highlight, as was Jimao. Oh and did we say we loved the tram ride in Porto?

    INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers added a stay in Porto after their short cycling break Aveiro – Portugal’s ‘Little Venice’

  • Happy Holiday Maker
    11 September 2018

    Corsica was the highlight. We enjoyed everything that we did. We will definitely contact you for future holidays. We thought the holidays were really good value for the price.

    INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Contrasts of Corsica walking holiday with the short break cycling trip Aveiro - Portugal's 'Little Venice', and the short break Porto & The Douro Valley
 

FAQs

If you have any questions relating to this or any other Inntravel holiday, our friendly travel experts will be happy to help. You might also find our General FAQs section helpful.
  • If your holiday plans go awry because of Coronavirus, rest assured that we’ll do right by you. Since the start of the pandemic, our flexible booking policy and prompt issuing of refunds to customers who prefer not to defer their holiday have earned us high praise in the national press.
  • We sincerely hope that your holiday experience will be as enjoyable as it would have been before the pandemic – cycling holidays are ideal in these times of social distancing, and we’re not operating holidays if the key highlights can no longer be delivered – but, naturally, there will be some changes to ensure your and other people’s safety, not least taking tests before and after your holiday for many destinations.
    Your holiday experience: what to expect >
    Safety measures being taken by hoteliers & others >
    Entry requirements for non-UK destinations & for re-entering the UK >
  • Our chosen bike rental shop will provide you with a bike with 21 gears; a waterproof map case on handlebars; pannier/saddlebag; pump; puncture repair kit; and a lock.
  • While we would always recommend that you take your own well-fitting helmet, they can be hired locally for a small fee. Please let us know at the time of booking if you would like to hire a helmet.
  • Yes, we will provide GPX tracks for this holiday prior to departure so that you can follow your route on your smartphone or dedicated GPS device if you wish. (We also provide maps and our tried-and-tested route notes, which remain the principal means of navigation).
  • We’ll send you route notes and maps 2-3 weeks before your holiday. The route notes not only contain directions to get from hotel to hotel, but also include practical information about places of interest and eateries along each route, plus cultural information about the area. On mornings when you are moving between hotels, you leave your luggage in reception as you leave, and it will be transferred ahead to your next accommodation so that all you need to take with you are a camera, sun cream, drinks, food and waterproofs.
  • Bike insurance is not included in the price of our cycling holidays, and unfortunately we can't supply such insurance. Some general travel insurance policies can or do provide cover for rented bikes, so it's worth seeing if your policy is one of these. The most important thing is to ensure that you take good care of your bike (you are responsible for damage to or loss of it while it is hired to you), always being careful to lock it up, ideally to an immovable object, and removing all easy-to-steal accessories whenever you leave it unattended.
  • We can book a wide range of routes from the UK with a variety of airlines (but not, currently, with Ryanair). As well as being more convenient for you to book all elements of your holiday together, it also means that we’ll accept liability for your travel arrangements, so if things go wrong, such as the airline going bust, we’ll make suitable alternative arrangements for you. For Europe, there’s a £35 booking fee per person (£15 for children aged 2-11). For India and Nepal, the booking fee is £60 per person. More information on flights >
  • We can’t book flights that originate outside the UK, but if you wanted to book your own flights to London (or elsewhere in the UK), we can make all onward travel arrangements (including flights) from there. Alternatively, if you are booking your own flights to an airport in continental Europe that’s appropriate for your holiday, we can book onward rail travel and/or taxis. More information about how we can tailor holidays for customers outside the UK >
  • Since our holidays are self-guided, we recommend calling us for a chat about your plans before making a booking, especially if it’s the first time you’ve booked with us.
    The price panel shows the supplement for a single room and also the single traveller charge (this covers (luggage) transfers and other costs which are usually shared between two people).
  • Once you’ve decided on your exact itinerary (our travel experts will be happy to offer advice), you need to provide us with your party’s details, either by phone or via our booking form. At this point we also ask you to pay a deposit so that we can secure a room for you immediately on confirming availability with the hotel(s). If it turns out that we can’t secure the accommodation for the holiday you’ve requested, or offer an acceptable alternative, we’ll refund your deposit promptly and in full. After booking your accommodation and other key elements, we'll then book your travel (or you can do so if you’re making your own arrangements) and send you a Booking Confirmation and Invoice.

    More information about the booking process >
    Information about accommodation, general practicalities and more >
    Booking conditions >
  • Yes, it’s something we insist on, even for holidays in the UK. The vast majority of holidays go smoothly, but when things go wrong, it can be expensive to put them right. Buying a new pair of walking boots after your suitcase is stolen mightn’t seem so bad, but the bill for being airlifted down from a mountain with a broken leg or flown home while still recovering from an illness or accident can cost tens of thousands of pounds.

    You don’t have to take out our recommended travel insurance policy (if you live outside the UK you’ll definitely need to make your own arrangements, as the policy is only for UK residents), but you do need to make sure that you’re covered for medical emergencies – including falling ill with Covid-19 while on holiday – and repatriation. We also recommend that you are covered for other eventualities, such as cancellation and loss of luggage and passports.

    We'll ask you for the details of your policy (insurer, policy number and medical emergency phone number) so that we can help out if the worst happens while you are on holiday. It's up to you, though, to check that your policy covers the activities you'll be doing on holiday and that it is adequate for your own individual needs; we don't check alternative policies.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure you are in possession of the correct travel documents, with the correct validity. If you’re a UK citizen, you need a full British passport to travel to Portugal, Madeira and the Azores, but not a visa. If you are a citizen of another country, you’ll need to check requirements with the national embassy or your own consulate.

    Current information regarding vaccinations and travel health advice for UK citizens can be found through the Travel Health Pro website. You must make sure you have adequate insurance cover for illness, accidents and repatriation (see the insurance question). You should also apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) if your EHIC has expired (if you have a still-valid EHIC, you can use this until it expires).
  • The official language is Portuguese. The currency is the Euro. Portuguese time is the same as GMT/UTC. It uses Daylight Saving Time, so in summer is on the same time as BST.
  • For information on the practicalities of travel now that the UK is no longer part of the European Union, visit www.gov.uk/visit-eu-switzerland-norway-iceland-liechtenstein.

    At Inntravel we work in close partnership with our hoteliers, taxi drivers and other local suppliers to provide our self-guided holidays directly to you. We are entirely confident that you will continue to receive the usual warm welcome from them, regardless of what is happening in the European political sphere.
  • The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) provides up-to-date, country-by-country travel advice, as well as information on security, local laws, passports and visas for UK citizens.
    If you live outside the UK, see our essential travel information page for a list of relevant websites.
Last fetch time is : 7/30/2021 1:12:07 AM