Aveiro – Lagoons & the ‘Silver Coast’

HIGHLIGHTS: Flamingoes, fish (to eat) and vinho verde. In Oporto the upstairs room giving on to the chapel where the 49 decorative panels are in the former Dominican convent - I think you need to say these panels are in a separate upstairs room.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Porto city add-on with our cycling holiday Aveiro – Lagoons and the ‘Silver Coast’

Magnificent Atlantic coastline & lagoons. The city, beach & river views rounding the corner from the Atlantic coast & along the Douro were spectacular and provided a wonderful finale to our week's cycling. Our small travel kettle, cups and preferred teabags worthwhile. Make sure that you have lots of time at railway stations.

HIGHLIGHTS: Cycling along back routes, cycling along the boardwalks, cycling along the lagoon edges.

This trip was fantastic!  We were all very impressed with how well organized the trip was and how much of Portugal we experienced on our bike tour. Inntravel tailored our trip to our desires, building extra nights in certain places and making knowledgeable suggestions for side trips along the way. Even though we are not massive cyclists, we found the tour very enjoyable and a fabulous way to see "true" Portugal. The selected bike routes were well thought out and easy to follow (we used the GPX maps, with the written notes as a back-up and for the suggestions of where to eat or what to see). Each day brought us a new adventure and scenery to explore. We loved that we could determine the pace of our day routes; meandering sometimes, stopping when we wanted for a beverage or to wander the area, or powering through the cool pine forests at other times. The accommodations were great and well appreciated after a day of cycling. Everything went seamlessly! We will definitely recommend this trip and Inntravel to our friends and family!

Delightful gentle cycle rides on a flat landscape. As there is a prevailing wind from North West and it is a fairly exposed area we think cycling North to South would have been a gentler option. The wind, however, only made us suffer on the fourth (longest) day of the 5. The hotels were excellent and the staff exceptionally helpful and friendly and the suggested restaurants almost always offered fine regional food at good value. Would definitely recommend other cyclists stopping off in possibly unlikely looking  cafes and cake shops for an expresso coffee and a pastel de nata or even a light lunch. We were never disappointed doing so.

A lovely journey, with easy cycling except for headwinds (unfortunately our holiday started the week that all of Europe had poor weather). Our favourites were the lagoons between Salrue & Furadouro and the last day, cycling along the coast to Porto.

Highlights were seeing the daily catch being brought in on the beach at Praia de Mira and the many storks nesting near the station at Salreu.

Flat, leisurely, relaxed cycling mostly on excellent cycle paths and tracks, through a lovely variety of woodland, marsh, coastal lagoons, along the coast and through beach resorts. The roar of the pounding surf was an almost constant accompaniment - which unfortunately meant it was too dangerous to swim.

A really easy cycling holiday on flat terrain, never far from the sea or coastal lagoons. Plenty of bird watching to do, good restaurants and lovely boutique hotels. The early October weather was good for cycling, 20-24C most days. There was a constant onshore breeze which added a little extra work to the cycling some days.

This is the first cycling holiday we have been on and it is many years since we have been on a bicycle at all! However, this area of Portugal is very flat and the cycling was made easy by the excellent bicycles we had. The area can be windy but it changes direction so some days were easier than others. The scenery is more interesting than beautiful although the Atlantic coast is wild and impressive. We had two memorable meals during our trip, one at the Bronze beach cafe in Cosa Nova which is right on the beach and a great place to watch the sun go down. The other at Rebaldaria in Aviero which has very friendly staff, a cosy atmosphere and a more creative menu than other places we came across. Would recommend stopping off at the Vista Alegre museum and the Maritime Museum on the way to Aviero both of which are very professional and interesting. We had a late flight back to the UK so had time on our last day to revisit Aviero to explore the town a bit more but if you cannot do this it is worth considering an extra night here. We also added 3 extra nights in Porto as there is so much to see here.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Porto and the Douro Valley holiday. We had a fantastic river view from our room in the Hotel Pestana Vintage Porto and loved everything about Porto. The Douro valley is beautiful and our time in Chanceleiros was incredibly relaxing.

Being met on the platform at Aveiro by the excellent Jorge got our Aveiro, Lagoons & the Silver Coast holiday off to the perfect start. We found the restaurant recommendations very helpful. We would add Porta 36 in Aveiro and Amadeu in Furadouro. The route really is almost completely flat and we saw lots of birds including wild Flamingos. The network of cycle paths is amazing and Portuguese drivers are respectful of cyclists. The first hotel, Macarico Beach Hotel, was disappointing, particularly coming straight from Chanceleiros, but the rest were good. Before paying for a sea view another time we will ask what is between the hotel and the beach, in our case it was a late night bar and busy road at the first hotel.  

We were very impressed when Inntravel contacted us to arrange alternative travel arrangements when there was a rail strike. We really enjoyed our first holiday with Inntravel and are already looking through the website to plan our next one.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our Porto and Douro Valley city break / walk with our Aveiro - Lagoons and Silver Coast cycle.

As keen nature lovers we found the whole area very interesting. The route and towns were well chosen, providing a variety of different experiences which ranged from glorious wetlands to interesting towns. Aveiro was a real delight. This is a lovely area that we would never have visited and which is best experienced by bicycle.

We had a great holiday that lived up to all expectation.  We elected to vary the routes a bit and stayed an extra day in Porto, which is worth considering. 

Good hotels, easy cycling and lovely weather for the week starting 18th September.

We had planned an extra night at the end but none was available. It retrospect an extra night in Aveiro would have been a good idea rather than in Furadoura, which is rather limited in scope.

This was my second Inntravel trip -- I think Inntravel is wonderful and I look forward to using them again. This trip was lovely for someone looking for a relatively easy experience as opposed to an adventure. There was one day when the riding was tough because of the headwinds (Aveiro to Furadouro), but it was worth it and my favorite ride. A few tips: 1) bring a swimming cap if you want to use the pools at the hotels; they're mandatory and cost 4 Euro at the hotel; 2) be prepared for cold, foggy mornings if you go in September; 3) spend an extra day in Aveiro if you have the time, the city is lovely and Hotel Moliceiro was the best.

Around Furadouro trip travelling along boardwalk through the reed beds and lagoons, brilliant opportunity for birdwatching.

This was our first visit to Portugal and it was a wonderful way to see some of the country, combining a city break with cycling. The hotels and restaurant recommendations were superb. Our personal highlights were Aveiro Museum, visit to Graham’s port lodge and the cycle run from Furadouro to Capela do Senhor da Padra along the boardwalks. We liked it so much we cycled most of the way back!

Cycling in Aveiro, Portugal was perfect for us. Temperature was just right, cycling was mostly leisurely so plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, plenty of stops available at beaches and places of interest if you so wish. There were often beautiful sunsets too. Hotels were well located, comfortable and with good food. 

Wonderful food in this part of Portugal, your restaurant recommendations were excellent.  A delightful ride along the silver coast - so aptly named. It was also fantastic having brand new bikes. Another very successful and enjoyable holiday with Inntravel. Thank you.  

Effortless holiday. The itinerary and directions provided by INNTRAVEL were excellent. No chance of getting lost.  The route provided for real variety - lagoons, wildlife parks, and alongside beaches. The cycle ways were first class and safe. It was inevitable that some sections of cycling on roads without cycling paths was necessary but this was not the norm. Most of the way, the cycling was on cycle paths but you need to be aware of pedestrians in the more busy areas. In this area, Portugal knows how to provide for cyclists.  

The hotels were very clean and we enjoyed sea view rooms on those located on the coast. When we ate out, we did so at the recommended restaurants but in Furadouro we ate at the hotel on both nights as we could not find any restaurant open in the evening. This was not an issue as the food at the hotel was very good.   

Great trip, flat along the coast, with a variety of different landscapes and birds/wildlife.

Good food and friendly people. We had one flat tyre and a passer by helped us so we were back on our way quickly. 

I was also impressed that Inntravel contacted us and changed arrangements when a rail strike was threatened.

Riding through pine and eucalyptus and the lovely aroma. The varied scenery through the week, the sea and the lagoons was endlessly interesting.

Highlights: cycling past the lagoons and seeing the bird life; the safe cycle tracks, the flat terrain; the excellent beaches. 

A fantastic part of Portugal, lovely scenery, a pleasure to cycle across this region. Highly recommend. Thank you Inntravel. 

The birdlife on the section between Salreu and Furadouro was wonderful. Also, the topiary in a small garden in Gafanha do Carmo, en route from Costa Nova to Aveiro, has to be seen to be believed - fantastic!

A wonderful mixture of cycling through woods, around lagoons and beside long pristine beaches. Take a packed lunch and choose your ideal lunch spot.

We had a great holiday, but it would have been much better with change of direction. We are fit, but as graded as 1, it would have been challenging for people hoping to go on a gentle cycle.

This is a lovely region to explore; some of the cycling on designated tracks is really enjoyable and the small towns and the coast are beautiful and interesting.  However, although this is described as level 1, easy cycling, the prevailing winds can make it very hard going on some exposed and featureless stretches along the rías.  There are also a few very busy road stretches which are not ideal for the less confident cyclist.

It was our first visit to Portugal and we thought it was lovely.

So much greener than southern Spain and a milder climate which was perfect for us.

The landscapes and habitats we visited were really interesting and the birdwatching along the canals and lagoons was great.

Despite the untimely end to our cycle tour we think that we would be very interested in visiting the area again to complete the route.

Highlights: the view over the ocean with huge waves and watching the sun go down; delicous affordable seafood; excellent bikes and clearly marked and well-maintained cycle paths; and Neptune's Restaurant for lunch in Granja - so perfect for lunch. The ticket machines at the station require a bit of work. We got it wrong. Overall an excellent cycling holiday by the coast with lovely places and almost all flat - but beware of a head wind. Lovely, friendly people especially Jorge, our taxi driver. Excellent bird watching in the marshes.