Portugal Motorcycle Tour: Coast & Douro Valley

Your Portugal motorcycle tour begins in Porto, where you collect your rental bike and meet the group and guide. After a short briefing the route sets off north, following the Douro River along the first winding country roads of the journey ahead.

This stage leads via mountain roads into the Gerês National Park, Portugal's oldest nature reserve. Wild landscapes, clear mountain streams and long switchbacks mark this first full riding day, before the route continues toward the Douro Valley.

The Douro Valley stage takes you through the world's oldest officially designated wine region. A visit to a quinta includes a wine tasting with views across terraced hillsides above the river, rounding out a day of scenic riding along the Douro.

The Serra da Estrela stage brings you through Portugal's highest mountain range on the mainland, past centuries-old castles and historic villages in the wild eastern interior, away from well-worn tourist routes and full of character.

The Alentejo stage crosses this wide, tranquil region known for good food, mild wines and olive oil, as well as Roman monuments scattered across the landscape. Long open roads offer a relaxed change of pace after the mountain stages.

The Algarve stage arrives at the country's famous southern coast, where cliff-top roads wind above well-known beaches and dramatic rock formations. Viewpoints over the Atlantic make this one of the most rewarding riding stages of the tour.

Lisbon, Portugal's capital, serves as a connecting point between south and the central west coast. A stop in the historic city is worth your time for the old town before the route continues north along the coast.

From Lisbon you reach Cascais with its elegant Atlantic promenade and the cliffs at Boca do Inferno, a relaxed coastal stage before the route continues to nearby Sintra with its colourful palaces and gardens.

This stage takes you through the wooded hills of Sintra with its colourful palaces and gardens, before the route heads north along the central west coast of Portugal toward the next overnight stop.

The medieval walled town of Óbidos is a stop on the way north along the central west coast — narrow cobblestone lanes and whitewashed houses provide a short, worthwhile pause before the route continues.

Nazaré is a traditional fishing town with dramatic clifftop views over the Atlantic. The lighthouse above the bay offers a popular viewpoint before the route continues north along the coast toward Aveiro.

Aveiro is known for its colourful canal boats and lagoon landscape and makes for a pleasant final stop before the last stage leads back to Porto to complete the circular route through Portugal.

The Portugal motorcycle tour ends where it began, in Porto. The rental bike is returned and a farewell dinner with the group brings the circular route through Portugal's most varied regions to a close.