Client Comments
Motorcycle Holiday in Central Portugal

I was very pleased with the motorcycle holiday and all I got for the price.

I thought the region with its varied sights and terrain was perfect for a motorcycle holiday.

The off road rides were "right up my street" and I enjoyed every minute of them, rain or shine.

Bikes were excellent and a very major reason why I chose this holiday.

Meals were also faultless and superb.

Views from the villa and during the whole trip were excellent.

We chose our own start times.

Ride lengths were great for me. Long enough to let you know you'd been out riding for the day but not so long as to spoil it with an overly tired last leg home.

Comfort and hospitality was outstanding and I could not have asked for better.

I had a really great time here in your villa and on the bikes - your friendliness and hospitality were a huge part of my enjoyment - many thanks indeed.

The views from the villa over the lake were exceptional and the views around the region were stunning.

I had a fantastic time and I love Portugal - thank you.

The food was fantastic … Full board was great.

Karl Green and John O'Rourke - April 2006

"Not quite ready for the Long Way Round?
We tried the shortened version.

Dear RIDE Magazine

I thought that your readers might be interested to hear about a fantastic, adrenalin-filled day out we experienced with Thrustforth Motorcycle Holidays in Central Portugal (www.motorcycle-holiday.com).

Tired of life in the UK, my family and I have decided to make the break and move to Portugal; lock, stock & barrel. Andy Brown, a close friend and fellow road bike nut offered his services to help me move my “stuff” from the UK to the new home on the Portuguese Silver Coast.

Having recently seen the DVD, “Long Way Round” with Ewan MacGregor & Charlie Boorman it inspired me to start planning a long touring trip…… Very quickly reality struck, so instead decided to search on the web for interesting sites about off-road BMW’s, touring etc. I came upon a site run by a guy called Geoff Philips of Arganil, Central Portugal. Geoff & his partner, Linda Bosworth run a holiday villa (www.portugal-villa-holiday.com) which can be rented in its own right, but they also organise off-road, guided motorcycle touring holidays, combined with full board accommodation in the luxury villa.

I e-mailed Geoff & Lin to see if it was possible for us to visit them and sample what they have to offer, just for a day. Geoff said that he was prepared to take us out for a day’s off-road tour.

We started out bright and early from our new home on the coast, a couple of hours later we arrived at Geoff’s villa some miles east of Coimbra, up in the mountains. It took some finding, but fortunately we were given excellent instructions by Lin; we were also armed with a Garmin portable satellite navigation unit; this took us to their door step, just by entering grid coordinates! The location of the villa is stunning, evidently Geoff built it himself; it has a wonderful bird’s eye view of a lake, totally awesome!

Upon our arrival at the drive to the villa we were met by Geoff, also sitting there were two immaculately presented, and matching BMW F650 GS Dakar motorcycles. After introductions we went inside the villa to discus the day ahead and get ourselves kitted up. Geoff, aswell as being extremely enthusiastic about anything to do with bikes, he is also very particular about the preparations for a trip. He furnished us with full body armour and motocross boots (again, all the equipment was immaculate). We then went through the formalities of licences, passports, the signing of a disclaimer regarding the bikes.

Geoff always led the way with the XT. We followed, taking it in turns to be No. 2; being No. 3 you could have a chuckle at the troubles of the guy ahead, and then end up in the same predicament yourself! In the vicinity of Geoff’s villa there are countless off-road trails of varying severity; he started us off on the easy routes, separated by intermediate road sections with long sweeping bends, occasional extremely tight ones. This showed what a great and versatile bike the F650 GS is; it had me questioning myself, is a road bike really necessary?

Before lunch we followed a long trail up into the stunning scenery of the mountains. This is not the baron and dry Portugal we all hear about, here it is green!

All extremely exhilarating, but it showed our lack of fitness! At one point Geoff stopped and said to me “We’ll stop in about an hour for lunch”. By this time Andy and I were about fit to drop! Anyway, we kept going and ended up in a superb scenic location by a river and waterfall. Geoff suggested we go for a dip in the river but we decided the mountain water might be a touch nippy and thought we’d best wait till the end of the day instead and try Geoff’s pool.

Lunch was crusty Portuguese rolls with ham, cheese and salad. It all went down extremely well!

We then headed back out to the trails. By the late afternoon our confidence on the Beemers seemed to be coming on leaps and bounds. Finally Geoff took us though a section of woods for some “fun”. All went very well until we came upon what looked to be a steep and tricky downhill section. Amazingly we got down in one piece and bikes unscathed.

A short while later we arrived back at the villa, quite exhausted but chuffed that we’d made it. After peeling off the armour, boots etc. Geoff opened the fridge and brought out a couple of beers, it tasted great and didn’t even touch the sides! Finally we put on our trunks and took a dip in the pool, fantastic!

I would have no hesitation to recommend Geoff Philips and his Adventure Motorcycle holidays to anyone with some experience with bikes; to a road biker such as myself it presents a whole new aspect, which has probably got me hooked to try more “off-road stuff”. Chatting to Geoff, he is very flexible in providing a trip for anyone; evidently they are only two hours from Porto and three from Lisbon. Geoff can even collect from the airport if required.

I hope to return soon and next time to try some of the smaller, agile bikes that Geoff has to offer. The day’s trip wasn’t quite the Long Way Round, but it was close enough for now!

Laurie Poole
Foz do Arelho, Portugal

Good bike tours on well prepared motorcycles.

Geoff did a great job of finding routes to suit our preferences and abilities.

We enjoyed and learned a lot.

The villa was fine, comfy, roomy with great scenery. We couldn't ask for more.

Thanks Geoff and Lin you fed us well and kept us entertained.

See you both again.

Also had a bonus trip to Estoril to see the Moto GP.

Some great rides to do around here if you're on a bike. Went to the Manteigas - good roads and scenery. The visit to Caramulo is well worth it.

Matt and Amy Mason
Aberdeen, Scotland
September 2007

Yesterday we enjoyed a motorbike ride into the mountains with Geoff and Lin.

We rode to Arganil then turned off onto the mountain roads - the scenery was beautiful and the air smelt of pine and eucalyptus.

Geoff and Lin ahead of us travelled at a steady pace enabling my husband Colin and myself to take in all the excellent views. We rode through small hillside villages, with the odd dog asleep in the autumn sun. There was very little other traffic on the road.

We stopped for lunch near the top of the mountain and ate a delicious meal of braised wild boar, cabbage and roast potatoes at a restaurant in a small town called Fajao.

We recommenced our homeward journey - stopping off at Sarnadela for a drink in the local cafe, before arriving back at the villa.

The bike trip was such a good way of seeing the real Portugal - Geoff and Lin were excellent company and I would recommend it to anyone - even inexperienced pillion passengers like myself!

Jane and Colin Basil
Essex, UK
October 2007

This part of Portugal is a motorcycling playground, both on and off road. The immediate area provides direct access to good motorcycling roads and tracks. There is a public motocross circuit a short ride away. All the roads were a real pleasure to ride, with sweeping bends, good surfaces and few cars. The off road capability of the bikes opens up access to the extensive network of woodland and mountain tracks. Geoff knows these well and can lead you unhesitatingly all over the attractive countryside.

Our motorcycles were in excellent condition and well maintained. We returned from a ride an hour before departure and by the time we left they had been washed and were once again gleaming in the sunshine. Well fitting body armour and boots were provided, some items brand new.

Winter weather was perfectly good enough for motorcycling, i.e. much better than the UK, but bring your winter kit for the roads, especially if you want to visit the highest mountain. One of the Dakars is equipped with heated grips. When the sun shines it is pleasantly warm in the daytime but mostly we kept our coats zipped up when stopped. You keep much warmer when off-roading, probably something to do with your adrenalin level. As may be expected, the finest weather was on the arrival and departure days!

We were delighted with the opportunity to experience off road riding for the first time, and in such a unique location. The quality of the bikes and tracks were impressive and will not disappoint more experienced riders. In common with much of Europe, Portugal is very biker friendly. In all the miles we rode in Portugal we only experienced courtesy from others - so different from the UK motorcycling experience.

We had a most memorable time; Linda and Geoff were perfect hosts, who went out of their way to ensure we had a lovely holiday and tailored our tour to our specific capabilities and preferences.

12th – 21st February 2008 David & Sylvia Smith Mayford, Woking, Surrey. UK