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Uncategorized / January 1, 1970

Operator Profile: An adventure of a lifetime with Portugal Nature Trails

BikeToursDirect now offers 6 guided and self-guided bike tours in Portugal with operator partner Portugal Nature Trails. Atlantic West Coast and Sintra (Guided: May 11; Aug 17, 2014; Self-guided: Daily: Year round)     Madrid-Lisbon, the Challenging Mountain Tour (Guided: Jun 13, 2014; Self-guided: Daily: May-Oct 2014) Mountain Bike Madrid to Lisbon (Portugal half) (Guided: Jun 21, 2014; Self guided: Daily: May-Oct 2014) Mountain Bike Madrid to Lisbon (Spain half) (Guided: Jun 13, 2014; Self-guided: Daily: May-Oct 2014) Portugal's Wild Coast (7 days) (Guided: Mar 17; Oct 25, 2014; Self-guided: Daily: Year round) Portugal's Wild Coast (9 days) (Guided: Mar 29; Oct 10, 2014; Self-guided: Daily: Year round) Whit Altizer, a staffer in BTD’s Asia satellite office, recently spoke with Portugal Nature Trails' operator António Gavinho to find out more about what has made PNT a Certificate of Excellence holder from Trip Advisor. Following is an interview Whit conducted with António over e-mail. António shared what makes PNT a quality company and why you should book a bike trip to Portugal this year. [caption id="attachment_1611" align="alignright" width="216"] Antonio Gavinho left his job as an engineer to pursue his passion for cycling.[/caption] Tell us about where you are located? We are located in Lisbon/Sintra region. It is a great place for a hiking tour. A fantastic coast of wide bays of golden sand rugged cliffs, the Westernmost point of Europe - Cape Roca and Unique cultural and historical sights makes this a great place to visit! I can say that we are very lucky to live in a great place like this! How many people are on staff? Who guides your trips? We are 5 persons, two at the office with marketing and reservations and 3 designing, organizing and running tours! Then we have 5 more guides that occasionally work with us. We always try to have the person who knows and designed the tour running the tour with the clients to increase the client's experience.  How did you choose the tours that you offer? What do you look for when creating your tours?  We are always looking for the perfect ride. We want to show the most beautiful places of Portugal, but especially and with our knowledge and expertise, we want to show the parts of Portugal off the beaten track! This is the biggest difference from other tours and companies! Then we look to every details to give our clients the best experience ever – accommodations chosen by their genuine character, service and charm. Good and well-maintained bikes. The best and the most genuine places to eat. Every detail tested by our experienced team!

What tour that you offer is the most popular? Why? On bike is Portugal Wild Coast (or 9 days). This is as an incredible hybrid cycling route along one of the most beautiful sections of Portugal’s long coastline. From the outskirts of Lisbon to the tip of Europe, you’ll discover and admire the natural beauty. We promise small fishing villages and abandoned fortresses from the time when this coast was ravaged by pirates. The trip finishes at the most south-westerly point in Europe, Cape Saint Vincent, which adds a dramatic and historical full stop to this wonderful trip. This route can also be done on a touring bike or, using more difficult trails including some single-track, on a MTB. What tour do you offer do you consider to be a hidden secret? We use our years of experience and insider knowledge to help you explore and discover our best hidden treasures. We introduce you to places normally off limits to the individual traveller! Our Atlantic West Coast tour is close to Lisbon and passes by beautiful scenery that people usually don’t see as they travel mostly by car. Cycle on scenic small roads mixing coast and farming areas passing by typical fisherman villages and the most well-preserved medieval village in Portugal, Óbidos. Discover Sintra - UNESCO World Heritage, a land of castles and palaces and the western-most point in Europe"Roca" Cape! Describe some of the accommodations you stay in. What are the most interesting places to stay? The charming guest houses – and we have a lot of the same on our tours! We always try to get the most charming and imaginative hotels on our tours. Places with a special character and well incorporated into their surroundings with a unique personality and good service. 

What is the food like? What are some of your favorite dishes you have had on your tours? Portuguese food is one of the most pleasant surprises for tourists. With a vast coastline, seafood plays a major part in our cuisine and the quality of our seafood and freshly caught grilled fish is beyond compare. Why not try one of the mainstays of our cuisine? Dried and salted cod from the Atlantic? And to round off your meal, don’t miss one of our delicious desserts, made according to the ancient recipes of monks and nuns. A great variety of very good cheeses and our wines are of exceptional quality too. Our Port and Madeira wines are already world famous, whilst our table wines are one of the best-kept secrets. Who is an ideal client for your trips? Everyone can be our client. We have tours with various grades and interests. And if we don’t have what a client is looking for we are always ready and happy to tailor-make a tour. On a tailor made tour everything is designed to meet clients' demands: the sky is the limit, we know basically every single road, mountain, beach, city and village in the country, and we are so passionate about our country that it is our mission to provide the adventure of a lifetime.

What did you do before Portugal Nature Trails? Did you ever dream of you would start your own bike tour company? I’m a Chemical Engineer that worked in management for almost 20 years. With management training skills and experience in companies leadership for over 20, it was 10 years ago that I started this company. This is really my great passion – cycling and hiking and that culminated in the Company “Caminhos da Natureza” founded in 2004 whose development has filled in an incoming brand Portugal Nature Trails. Why do you think Portugal is best seen by bike? Portugal is a warm, welcoming location that provides travelers a little taste of everything. Offering a perfect blend of climate, culture and landscape, visitors here get the unique opportunity to experience outdoor adventure, rich traditions and serene relaxation all in one fascinating place. One of the very best ways to experience Portugal’s unique charm is to cycle there. Portugal is well-known for its food and wine. When travelling by bicycle, using back roads at low speeds you will stumble upon some hidden secrets, the small village restaurants where the food is made from fresh, local ingredients and cooked in the old traditional ways. In Portugal you can also cycle all year round – spring and autumn are the best, but you can even cycle during summer in the mountains or in some fresher coastal areas. November, December, and January are our rainy months, but we still get plenty of visitors because the temperature is so moderate compared to many other countries in Europe – in these month’s we run our tours in the Algarve, where you can almost enjoy an African climate!

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