As every year, interesting destinations are researched, cycle routes explored and hotels tested to create our brand new tailor-made cycle tours. At the very beginning, you need a good idea for a new route or destination. At Eurobike, we have countless ideas every year. Many more than we could possibly implement. Because for every new tour, three important pieces of the puzzle must come together so that an idea can turn into a cycle tour that meets our high standards: breathtaking scenery, cultural highlights and culinary delights. Preferably all within each daily stage. Not every region is suitable for cycle tourism - no matter how beautiful it is. In particular, the road conditions of the daily stages are enormously important to us. Portugal has excited us not only as a country, but also as an up-and-coming cycling destination, so we set about the extensive research and work so that we could offer you high-quality, exciting new cycle tours here.
Before we start working through our new Portugal cycle tours on site, we complete extensive research in the office in Obertrum. We think about the itinerary, intensively study maps, travel guides and Google Maps, roughly plan the route, prepare for the local topographical conditions with the help of an online planning tool and contact hotels. A decisive factor is whether suitable hotels are available for our guests in the potential stage towns. On the one hand, these should meet our high standards and on the other hand, they should be suitable for cycling holidaymakers. It is also important that the stages are manageable for our guests in terms of length and topography and that there is still enough time for relaxation, enjoyment and sightseeing along the route.
Once all this has been done in advance at the desk, it's time for an initial on-site inspection. Only then do we decide whether the idea and planning can really be turned into a new cycle tour. In the case of Portugal, it was finally decided: the tours are feasible and can be offered by us in 2023!
Now we are finally on site to work out the details of the cycle tour. To do this, we meet with hotel partners, look at the accommodation and check whether the bikes can be parked safely. We also check whether the ferries we want to use on our tour from Lisbon to Sagres run regularly. This is important for the itinerary.
Finally, we personally ride every single kilometre of the cycle tours. This complete check is extremely important before the start of the season. On site, we document in detail every route description, every variant and all interesting tips and sights. Finally, we compile all the details of the tour in our comprehensive route book and in the Eurobike On-Tour app.
