Portugal Motorcycle Tour

Six nights based at Ericeira on the Portuguese coast, guided, four days of enduro riding from a villa with a pool and ocean views.

Portugal has become the last off-road paradise in Europe for a straightforward reason: riding the trails there is legal and accepted, and the locals wave rather than complain.

One villa for the whole week is the format, with the days built around riding out and coming back. Long sandy coastlines, dense overgrown forest, rocky outcrops, narrow passes and forest streams make up the terrain, with plateaus and Atlantic breezes at the top of the harder climbs. The rest days between riding days are left to the group: Lisbon or Sintra for sightseeing, surfing or the beach at Ericeira, which is a protected surf reserve and one of the best breaks in Europe, or simply the pool. The food and wine are a real part of it, as is the pace of life, which is the reason a week here feels longer than a week elsewhere.

Six nights in a private villa with a pool and ocean views, five days of Honda CRF300L rental, four days of enduro riding with an operator guide and an experienced local with mechanical support are all included. Dates are custom and arranged for private groups rather than scheduled, which suits a trip of this shape: a villa and a fleet of bikes work best with a group that already knows each other. Late spring and autumn are the best of the weather for riding, since the Portuguese interior in high summer is hot work in full gear. Seven days with three rest days built in is the gentlest thing the operator runs, and the cheapest.