Q: What airport do I book to fly into? A: Algarve: Faro, Portugal. Pyrenees: Toulouse, France. Exmoor: Bristol, UK. See flights page.
Q: What time should I arrive? A: Early or late afternoon is normally best but we will confirm this with you after the booking process.
Q: Will someone be there to pick me up? A: Yes. An Embrace representative will be at the airport/train station to take you to the villa.
Q: Can you transport my bike box? A: Yes. Please let us know beforehand if you plan to bring a bike box or other large pieces of luggage.
Q: Can I drive the hire vehicles? A: Yes if you are part of a group booking and are nominated to drive. No, as part of a general holiday.
Q: Can I hire my own vehicle? A: Yes. You will be given this option in the booking process as part of the optional extras.
Q: Is transport provided during the training holiday? A: Yes. Embrace provides all training transport during your holiday.

Q: What is the weeks training schedule? A: This depends on the type of training holiday. Normally Embrace runs 1 - 3 optional sessions a day.
Q: Will there be an event, time trial or fun relay? A: We like to offer an optional fun event during the week to learn pacing or transtitions.
Q: What is the ability of the groups? A: Normally very mixed. We clearly mark out courses so we cater for all abilities from novice to advanced.
Q: Do you cater for novices or first timers? A: Yes. We sit with each guest at the start of the week and plan out the weeks training based on ability.
Q: Do you cater for advanced athletes? A: We have a lot of advanced athletes attend our holidays and we structure the week to push all limits.
Q: Do I have to do every session? A: No. Every session is optional and in some cases we recommend not attending them all.
Q: Is there hydration on the training sessions? A: We set up hydration points along the longer sessions and carry water in backpacks for guests.
Q: Is there vehicle support on the longer rides? A: On longer rides there will be a pilot vehicle carrying fuel, tools and tyre spares.
Q: Can I cross-train? A: Yes. There is anyways options to cross-train during the week. We have a villa folder full of options for this.
Q: What if I get injured? A: We will do our best to get you back in action with local sports professionals. If not we will find you fun things to do :)
Q: What if the weather is horrible? A: We aim to train in most conditions but may alter a session indoors or cancel it if conditions a really bad.

Q: What sports clothing do I need to bring? A: Warm and wet weather gear despite the season. 2 pairs of trainers in case one pair gets wet. Enough kit for at least 3 days. There is always a washing machine so you won't need a weeks work of stuff.
Q: What do the sports facilities require me to have? A: For swimming you will need; a swim outfit (Speedos or lycra shorts for males, and one piece for females), goggles, flip flops and a your own towel. At the gym; towel, sports shoes and an optional drink bottle.
Q: Do I need my own nutrition? A: We have general sports and recovery drinks, energy bars and gels for sale at the villa.
Q: Can I bring other sporting equipment? A: Yes, if it is confirmed with us first it should be fine.

Q: Where is the villa located? A: All our villa are placed in close access to most facilities and town centers normally 5mins drive/10min walk away.
Q: Does the villa have a washing machine and dryer? A: Yes. Most guests wished they brought less clothing items!
Q: Are there towels? A: Yes. There is a maid service that changes them mid-week.
Q: Is there an ipod doc? A: We have an ipod jack that we have for guests to use.
Q: What toiletries do I need? A: All the basic toiletries you would normally take on holiday. Also a good idea to bring chaffing creams and band-aids.
Q: What are the room setups? A: If booking as an individual we ask that guest share twin rooms with the same gender in order to keep your costs low. If booking as a couple you will have your own room. Most rooms have an en-suite and are very comfortable and spacious.
Q: Can I have my own room? A: If the villa is not at capacity you may request an upgrade to have your own room for a fee.
Q: What is the villa etiquette? A: We ask that you treat the villa as your own home by cleaning up after yourself and helping out at time-to-time.
Q: What features does the villa have? A: Our villas are all very large and as well as a private pool, contain some features such as: table tennis, pool, football table, pool volley ball, wii, tv and dvd player etc etc. If you don't like relaxing in the sun then there is never a dull moment!
Q: What power adaptor do I need? A: The Algarve and Pyrenees use european adaptors while Exmoor uses the UK connection.
Q: Is the villa safe? A: We have never experienced any problems in the past. We always ensure the villa is locked up and guests are looked after however we do recommend you have travel insurance.
Q: Is the villa tap water drinkable? A: The water is safe and drinkable and is prefferred by some guests. We do however provide bottled water as well.

Q: What food do I get for breakfast and lunch? A: You are asked to help yourself to the food provided. See catering for what we provide.
Q: What is the weekly dinner menu? A: See a sample dinner menu on our catering page.
Q: Do you cater for vegetarians? A: Yes. Please inform us this at the time of booking as we provide vegatarian options.
Q: Do I have to attend the dinners out? A: The group normally enjoys the nights out but they are of course optional.
Q: What if I don’t like the food? A: Tough! Haha, no we are happy to discuss other food options with you.
Q: Can I buy my own food? A: Yes. We normally go to the supermarket each day so we are happy to take guests along with us.
Q: Is drinks and alcohol included? A: We provide guests with a generous quantites. Please see catering for more info.

Q: Can I hire a wetsuit from Embrace? A: Yes. See wetsuit hire.
Q: Can I hire a bike from Embrace? A: Yes. See bike hire.
Q: If I wanted to hire other sporting equipment can I do so? A: Each villa has a folder that contains a number of hire options/sports excursions.

Q: How do I go about doing a group booking? A: Get in contact with us with your groups requirements; booking form. Also see our groups page.
Q: What are the costs for groups to book with Embrace? A: Pricing is very competitive but it does denpend on the size and requirements of your group. We will come back to you with a couple of great options to consider.
Q: Can I bring my non-training partner over? A: Yes. We have a lot of guests bring partners and we arrange activities to keep them entertained.
Q: Do you allow kids to come? A: On group bookings providing the guardian(s) take full responsibility we do allow this.

Q: What is the bond payment to secure my booking? A: To secure your place we require a £100 deposit. See our T&C's for more details
Q: When does the balanced have to be paid? A: Guests will be invoiced for the full amount 6 weeks prior to departure date.
Q: Are there any additional costs involved in my holiday? A: The two evenings out cost about 15euros each. Other than that just any shopping you would like to do, any sweets and the odd coffee here and there.
Q: What is the currency and what are the exchange rates? A: The currency in Portugal and France is the Euro. The UK is the British Pound. See online exchange rate calculators for the current exchange.
Q: Can I get cash out over there? A: There are a number of cash machines in all locations. These machines except all major cards.
Q: Can I exchange money? A: Yes. There are money exchange facilities at each airport and in the local towns.
Q: What are the prices like over there? A: Portugal & France is relatively cheap when purchasing gifts, food and drink. UK a little more expensive but as we are not based near the big cities, it is fine. You will find you will not need to spend a lot when you are on an Embrace holiday.

Q: What languages are spoken? A: Portuguese in Portugal. French in France. English in the UK. All locations are tourist hives so the locals speak good English and are easy to communicate with.
Q: Do I need to learn them? A: It is a good idea to learn the basics before coming to Portugal and France as effort is always appreciated by the locals.
Q: Any cultural things I need to look out for? A: Nothing out of the normal comes to mind. I am sure you will learn quickly if there is!

Q: What do we do between training sessions? A: Relax and recover! Well... some guests choose to lay by the pool in the sun while others with itchy feet spend their free time exploring the local areas or squeezing in another training session. Most prefer a mix of the two.
Q: Can I go off and do my own thing? A: Yes. You have free time each day to go off and do whatever you would like.
Q: What games are at the villa? A: Athletes tend to love playing games! We have loads of games at the villas to keep you entertained.
Q: Do you take us on excursions or take us to see the local sights? A: We normally head off on 2-3 optional local excursions during the week.

Q: Will I get a chance to do any shopping? A: Yes. Town centres are normally 10-20min walk or we sometime do drop off's some days.
Q: How do I get to the town centres? A: Walk, bus, bike or run!
Q: Are there good local cafes in our area? A: There are so many great cafe's it is hard not to stop for a coffee (esp when they are only 60cents each!).
Q: Can I post letters or postcards? A: Postcards are easy to find, but post boxes are not. We will point you in the right direction.