FAQs

The earlier the better. To guarantee availability, you must submit a short online reservation form first and pay a 400€ deposit. Full tour payment is due 65 days prior to the tour date. So don’t wait, reserve your tour now!

We accept the following forms of payment:

• Credit card (all major credit cards via VivaWallet). Any fees associated with VivaWallet card payments are deducted from the amount Terracotta receives.
• PayPal – payments@terracottajourneys.com
• Bank wire transfer. For details see Terms & Policies.

• All lodgings in nice approved four star hotels where they exist and in smaller towns, charming boutique hotels or rural tourism establishments such as wine estates with accommodation. All lodgings have clean, comfortable rooms with their own bathrooms. Based on double occupancy (check each trip for details).
• Most dinners (check each trip for details).
• Wine (or beer) with all group dinners and picnics.
• One or more picnic lunches (check each trip for details).
• Van support with water, snacks and fruits between meals.
• On bike trips: full use of new high-quality, reliable Trek 7.4 FX aluminium frame hybrid bikes with GPS units and bike assistance.
• Great service, expertise and fun from experienced multilingual guides, with training in first-aid.
• Additional guidance from local guides or experts on some tours (check trip details).
• Return transfer to Day 1 meeting point at the end of the trip.
• Insurance coverage required by tour operators under Portuguese law to cover for local treatment, hospitalization and transportation in case of accident, illness or death occurring during the trip.
• Depending on the tour, entry fees to museums or shows, workshops (e.g. cheese making, wine tasting), complementary transportation (e.g. train or boat ride or other charter).
• Comprehensive travel information and planning package, with trip preparation information.
• Shared on-line photo album of your trip.
• All tips at restaurants and hotels.
• Baggage transfer and handling
• Please note that AIRFARE is NOT included.

We ask that you do not purchase airline tickets until your trip has been confirmed as a guaranteed departure. Each trip requires a minimum number of four participants. Should any guests cancel prior to departure we will still run the trip if it had been guaranteed. We advise all of our guests to purchase travel insurance. See our How to Get Ready for My Trip for more info on flights.

Yes, to protect your investment we do recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance and travel medical insurance. If you have to cancel or cut short your trip because of illness, injury or death (to you or to a family member), trip cancellation insurance will cover most of your payments for both air and land costs. If you sustain an injury or other health issue during your trip, additional travel medical insurance will ensure you can cover the costs of medical treatment abroad and repatriation.

We understand that once you commit to a trip it is also not easy to change vacation dates and flights etc. We guarantee departure of a tour once four people have signed up and paid the deposit. If another guest cancels and there are less than four participants, we continue to guarantee the departure.

Generally, we keep tour dates open for reservations up until 30 days prior to departure. If we do not have sign-ups by 30 days prior then we cancel that date. We reserve the right to not accept your reservation. If it is 45 days or even 60 days before departure and we get two sign-ups, we may refuse your booking or ask you if you can travel on an alternative date if we do not think more people will join. Otherwise we leave the date available because we often get group signups of four or six people together. If it is 90 days prior to departure, we have plenty of time to promote the tour and hopefully recruit more participants.

Terracotta Journeys doesn’t give any refunds for unused hotel rooms, meals, sightseeing trips or other activities included in the trip price. The trip price is quoted as a package; credits are not given for services not used.

We suggest contacting your preferred airlines directly or searching online for airline tickets. See our Transport page.

We can give you suggestions about hotels to book, however we suggest contacting the hotel either directly, or via Booking.com.

Yes. We use VivaWallet’s high security payments system on our site. It has PCI DSS Level 1 compliance status, which meets payment security standards and protects customer data. As a fully compliant PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider and a principal member and licensed acquirer of Visa and MasterCard, Viva Wallet adheres to the cards operating regulations. VivaWallet is also subject to yearly audits by a third-party PCI Qualified Security Assessor, Visa, MasterCard, and the banks they partner with. It also uses Dynamic CVV Technology which has become a key weapon against fraudulent transactions.
The payments cloud infrastructure has DDOS protection, load balancing, and DR configurations for availability; HTTPS & Point-to-point Encryption, use of certified Hardware Security Modules, strict key management controls, and near real-time threat detection for confidentiality and Transaction fingerprinting, database backups, access control, and code review process for integrity. It also has biometric security capabilities.
For more information about Terracotta Journeys online payment security here, please visit: https://www.vivawallet.com/security-and-technology
We do not give away or sell any personal information about you to anyone. And, the financial information necessary to close the deal, goes directly from you to the card company. Please see our Privacy Policy for details.

1. Because we’ll give you the vacation of a lifetime!! Our trips are designed for people who want to savor a country up close, on foot or from the saddle of a bike.
2. We are a local operator with over 14 years of experience developing and operating tours – including 11 years for REI Adventures when we ran their best-selling tour in 2017 and 2019 – and we have close to 3000 satisfied customers (see our testimonials on each trip page).
3. Our perfectly planned itineraries combine just the right amount of daily activity with culture highlights, varied landscapes and delicious meals with regional wines.
4. We have an excellent team of local trip leaders who we are very close to and have worked with for years. They are highly knowledgeable about the regions we travel in, caring, professional, Red Cross certified and most of all, interesting people who are fun to be with. Four of our trip leaders are REI Adventures Top-Guide Award winners.
5. We treat you like visiting friends and give you a travel experience that you could never have on your own or with a large international company. REI Adventures had it right when they worked only with specialized local companies.
6. As bi-cultural owner-managers of Terracotta Journeys Eva and Pedro continue to lead tours themselves and understand their customers’ needs. Pedro studied at college in the U.S. and Eva is an American who studied anthropology and has lived in Portugal for almost 30 years.

In addition to earning the Clean&Safe seal from the Portugal Tourism board we also follow a long list of safety guidelines developed by experts to ensure tour participants safety.

All emails go directly to the owner/managers Eva Graburn and Pedro Martins, who will answer all of your questions and/or take care of any special requests. Each tour has a manager who is also available via email to answer your very specific questions if needed. The tour managers developed and lead the tours so they know every detail about daily activities and logistics.
E-mail: info@terracottajourneys.com
Whatsapp or iMessage us at: +351 919 701 842
Toll-free from U.S.A. or Canada: to be announced soon (EST 8am – 5pm)
Zoom: email us or WhatsApp us to schedule a chat (EST 8am – 5pm)

We are based just outside of Lisbon, Portugal in a well-known seaside town called Cascais but owner-manager Eva still has close ties with her hometown of Berkeley, California.

Generally guests begin their day with breakfast in the hotel on their own around 8 am and join the group at 9 am for the day’s activities. Then, we either start the activity from the hotel or we’ll have a short van transfer to the trailhead or the bike path. You’ll hike or bike for most of the morning, of course with stops to have a coffee or snack, take pictures and visit a point of interest. Then around 1 pm, depending on the day, the group either has lunch together in a local café or restaurant, or the guides serve a picnic of local cheese, bread and fresh veggie salads, in a picturesque spot such as in shady forest or at a viewpoint. After lunch, activities continue but there is always the option of taking a break and riding in the van until we return to the hotel. Before dinner at 7:30-8:30pm (earlier in Portugal, later in Spain) guests have some free time to freshen up, nap or stroll the local area before meeting the guides for a short brief about the following day’s activities. We generally walk to a local restaurant to enjoy a group dinner with wine. Most tours also include one or two nights where you have dinner on your own and time to explore.

During the trip, your luggage and gear will be transferred for you while you bicycle or walk. We provide cyclists with a handlebar bag to store personal items you need for the day and a trusty bike lock. Hikers only need to carry a small day pack or fanny pack to carry water, valuables and any extra clothing. You only have to bring your luggage down to the hotel lobby every morning. So, you enjoy the tour with no extra weight.

We guarantee to run tours with a minimum of four guests. Most trips have 4-8 guests, though we have operated many trips sold out with 15 guests. Depending on the itinerary and time of year we may run a tour even if there are only two or three sign ups. However, in this case we must charge a “small group supplement” of 300€ / guest. If at 90 days prior to departure there are still fewer than four sign ups, we will either cancel the tour and give you a full refund, or we may agree to run the tour. In that case, you can decide what you want to do, pay the supplement or transfer to another departure or cancel your trip for a full refund.

For tours with 2 guests, there is 1 trip leader. For tours with up to 7 guests, there are 2 trip leaders; for groups with 8-14 guests, there are 3 trip leaders. On hiking tours, whenever feasible there is one trip leader at the head of the group and one sweeper to accommodate different walking paces.
On bike tours there is one trip leader driving the support van and the other riding a bicycle like yours, checking regularly on how everyone is doing. Both multilingual leaders can give you any type of assistance, including mechanical, and are familiar with the tour region.
Occasionally, a local expert will give you further information on local art history, culture, cuisine or wine.

A couple weeks prior to your tour we send you a final bulletin with important information about the trip including names of the trip leaders and a small bio about them. Many of our trip leaders have won awards of excellence and all are highly experienced, professional, knowledgeable and caring people. You will not be disappointed! Should you have any other questions, please let us know and we will try to answer them.
The fact that our trip leaders are native to the country they are touring in, gives you two distinct advantages: first, it makes your trip more economical since Terracotta Journeys doesn’t have to fly in leaders and equipment. Second, because our trip leaders are familiar with both the native culture as that of North America and Europe, they enable you to interact with the local population for a richer, more authentic travel experience.

Our guests come mostly from North America but we have also had guests from a variety of other countries including Australia, New Zealand, Britain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and China. What our guests have in common is a love of the outdoors and the desire to travel a little more slowly through a country. They are also keen on expanding their knowledge about the country’s culture, history and economy etc. Each guest’s particular interests and personalities are what make every tour unique, memorable and in the end more interesting for everyone.

While we select all of our routes for their safety, we actively plan and rehearse for all possible unforeseen incidents. Our trip leaders are prepared for and have experience dealing with medical emergencies and other unexpected events. They are also in close contact with our office 24/7 should additional assistance be needed. The trip leaders are all Red Cross certified and carry first aid kits to treat minor scrapes and bruises. Should a guest require further treatment, they are taken to the nearest clinic or hospital for treatment. Our tour prices include insurance coverage for all guests against accidents, illness and death, including local hospitalization and treatment. However, we encourage our guests to supplement this coverage with their own insurance coverage in the unlikely case of accident or illness. We are officially licensed (tour operator licence: 44/08) to operate biking and walking tours in Portugal and Spain, ensuring your security, safety and satisfaction.
If inclement weather, road construction or any other unforeseen event does not allow the group to continue with daily activities, the trip leaders will find alternatives for guests.
Finally, the office will also assist guests if they need help with insurance issues, booking private transfers, re-booking hotels or flights and tracking lost baggage or items left in hotels.

Our guests’ ages range from their 20s to over 8o (!) but the majority of them are aged 45-60.
Some trips can accommodate children aged 14+ who are accompanied and supervised by a legal guardian at all times and who can handle the physical and emotional requirements of the trip. On private tours we may accept children under age 14 on a family trip.

We usually get a couple of solo travelers in each group, more often women than men.

Solo travelers have two options:

Singles* who are willing to share a room can request to be paired with another same gender solo traveler if available. If no roommate is available, there is a forced single supplement equal to 50% of the single supplement. See trip page for amount.

Singles who want their own private room pay a single supplement since our prices are based on double-occupancy. See trip page for amount.

Please note, in Europe, occasionally single rooms are smaller than double rooms.

*This applies to solo travelers with proof of COVID vaccination.

If you want to organize a private trip with family, friends or a club or organization, we recommend you plan as far in advance to ensure hotel availability on the date you want and so that your friends and family can plan their vacations all at the same time. It’s a good idea to plan 1 year in advance. Contact us and we’ll help you get started!

Our trips generally offer approximately 4 hours of hiking or cycling per day and, depending on the trip, an optional extra for those you want to do more. Please see our Activity Levels page for details and how to prepare.

You do not need to be a triathlete and in top shape for our tours. But you will enjoy them much more if you are in decent shape. Although our “guilt free” support van accompanies all tours (and our trip leaders really do enjoy company), the trips are designed to be taken from the bicycle seat or on a walking trail. Most guests can ride or walk 4 to 5 hours, but this may include stops and snacks. See your Activity Levels section for more.

Most of our trips attract people who are in relatively good shape, without being athletes. Our standard activities are suitable for most guests with varying levels of fitness. We offer different mileage options on certain days or an extra loop for those who want longer periods of physical activity. This makes it easy for couples or friends with different fitness levels to hike or ride with similarly fit travellers and then meet up with the group for the evening. We strive to make our active days adequate for all guests.
Of course our “guilt free” support van is available to pick up guests at specific points along the trail, and on most of the route on the bike tours, if you feel you need to rest or have some refreshment and fruit. This way you can cycle or hike for as long as you’re having fun, but not beyond your natural limits. With two guides it is also natural that the guests spread out over the trail, but they are always within visual range. On the bike tours, guests have an easy to follow GPS and often ride at their own pace or in small groups.

Yes. On walking / hiking trips, whenever feasible there is a trip leader at the front end of the group and another sweeper at the end. The trip leaders also periodically stop along the trail to talk about vistas, geology, flora and fauna allowing guests to rejoin the group if they get spread out. On cycling trips, each guest receives a user friendly GPS monitor programmed with the route or has uploaded a map to their own device beforehand. That way guests can ride at their own pace without getting lost. If you get tired or want to skip an uphill, you can always hop on the support van, available to accompany the riders. You are free to maintain your own pace, so people riding at a similar speed usually form small groups.

Our tour prices include bicycles perfectly designed for terrains in Spain and Portugal: new high-quality, reliable Trek 7.4 FX aluminium frame hybrid bikes. This lets you avoid the hassle and costs of bringing a bicycle on the airplane, risking damages, delays and baggage losses. However, we understand if you are in love with your own bicycle and prefer to bring it on vacation. In this case, please let us know upon your reservation. Please note however that our prices remain the same. You are encouraged to bring your own pedal clips, since they are a very personal piece of equipment, and we will mount them before the trip starts. If you prefer the more traditional pedals, we will have them for you. For safety reasons, a helmet is always required. Most people prefer to bring their own. If you need one, you can purchase or borrow one from us for the bike tour. If you want to leave your helmet at the end of the bike trip, we will donate it to a local non-profit organization.

We aim to find the most beautiful, unspoiled and satisfying back roads possible in any given region which at the same time enable you to learn about the country’s history and culture. Thanks to our trip managers’ attention to detail, we have researched miles of trails and backroads to select the best routes for each and every tour. We literally try out all possible alternatives: for bike tours we choose routes with the least amount of traffic and hazards and the gentlest climb ratio. For hiking / walking tours we select the trails with the best views, points of interest and trail conditions. Having said that, please be aware that while not as hilly as Tuscany, there are still a few hills in Portugal and Spain.

After a full day of activity, we know that our guests demand and deserve the most comfortable accommodations. With this in mind, our policy is to choose nice four star hotels where they exist and in smaller towns, charming boutique hotels or rural tourism establishments such as wine estates with accommodation. All lodgings have clean, comfortable rooms with their own bathrooms. Most hotels have wifi in the rooms, with the exception a very small number of hotels which only have wifi in the public areas.
If you are organizing a custom tour for a group, let us know if you prefer a specific type of accommodations or want to save money on accommodations and we will gladly take this into consideration. Contact us to arrange the best trip for your budget.

Since Eva is a bit of a foodie and gourmet home cook, she makes sure that our picnics are tip top and that we find the very best restaurants and wineries in any given area, not just the fanciest places. Although we all need to eat a good meal after our active day, we strive to introduce you to the best of the local cuisines. One of the richest aspects of Spain and Portugal is the diversity of foods and wines available from region to region. Our tours include most dinners with wine (please check your trip details). Reserve now and let us turn you into lovers of Spanish and Portuguese food and wine!

Yes, we can accommodate vegetarians and vegans on all of our tours. Meals are usually based on sautéed fresh vegetables accompanied with beans, rice or potatoes, salad and fresh fruit.

First of all our trip leaders, being local, can teach you a lot about the lifestyle and culture of places we visit. As we hike and bike through towns and villages we try to stop and chat people along the way: a fisherman on the cliffs, a vendor at the local farmer’s market, or a waiter or restaurant owner at one of our meals. You may get to visit a local Lusitano horse farm, a cork farm, or see how local crafts (ceramics, tiles) and foods (olive oil, wine, cheese) are produced and simply chat with the locals in the supermarket or village square. And every evening you will have the opportunity to savor variations of the local cuisine at dinner. Contact us so we can find the trip that best matches your interests.

It remains one of Europe’s best kept secrets and we know you will love it. Few travellers think of visiting Portugal before considering the UK, France or Spain. However, we have found that those who do come are always pleasantly surprised and eager to return. There are many reasons why Portugal is great for hiking and biking.
It is geographically diverse and varied for a small country.
It is very safe (in the top 10 of the Global Peace Index, along with mostly Nordic countries, but with a better climate!)
The Portuguese people are friendly to foreigners and eager to receive tourists.
It has a very long rich history with Phoenician, Celtic, Roman, Jewish, Moorish and Christian settlements (among others!)
It has excellent historical accommodations.
It has delicious food based on fresh local ingredients and wonderful wines that are not often found outside Portugal due to limited production.
Most of the country is still off the beaten track which is something very positive when you want a relaxing active vacation.

Because this amazing country is vast and varied. If you’ve visited the city of Santiago de Compostela in the lush northwest you’ll be amazed by how different a sleepy town in the arid plains of Andalusia. The country has a deservedly attractive reputation because of its rich culture and history, gastronomic traditions and wines and its vibrant social lifestyle. Strolling through the center of a Spanish town on a balmy evening is entertaining in and of itself with families chatting in cafés over drinks and children kicking soccer balls and riding their mini tricycles around. Street performances and live concerts or shows are so commonplace, one hardly needs to organize any additional formal activities. Your eyes will delight in the Spanish architecture with its Roman and Moorish influences and the vast natural landscapes and the Spanish people will inspire you. Cycling and walking are also now an integral part of its culture. You can visit many times and there will always be new experiences awaiting you.