Happy recipient on their first tandem flight above Sesimbra bay — the perfect gift experience, Atlantic in the background
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Programme Guide
Paragliding Gift Voucher Portugal — What You Need to Know Before You Buy
7 min read
Behrooz Jafarzadeh
June 2026
Every year someone messages me with the same question: "I want to buy my partner / mum / best friend a paragliding experience — how does it work?" A paragliding flight is not a thing you wrap. It is a morning above the Atlantic coast that the person will still be talking about two years later — the moment of lift-off, the view back over the headlands of Sesimbra, the quiet once the wing is flying and there is nothing but air underneath you. Here is everything you need before you buy: what the voucher covers, who it suits, what to watch out for, and how to sort it with me directly.
What a Fly with Behrooz Gift Voucher Covers
There are two types of voucher. Which one you buy depends entirely on where the person is with flying.
The tandem flight voucher is what most people buy. The recipient flies with me — they sit in the harness in front, I control the wing from behind, and we fly together. They do not need experience, fitness, or any special preparation. Three things: show up, run a few steps on takeoff, enjoy the view. The package includes:
A full pre-flight briefing (typically 15–20 minutes) covering what to expect, how to stand and run on launch, and landing technique
The flight itself — typically 30 to 60 minutes of airtime depending on conditions and the programme booked
All equipment — harness, helmet, and wing — provided by Behrooz
A landing on the beach or landing field, with Behrooz present throughout
What the voucher does not cover: travel to Sesimbra, accommodation, or food. Some people make it a half-day trip. Others come down for the weekend — Sesimbra has a good beach, a fishing harbour, and decent seafood, so it is easy to build a day around.
The EP course voucher is for someone who wants to learn to fly, not just experience it. The full elementary pilot course runs 10 to 14 consecutive days — ground handling, solo soaring flights, the lot. It is a substantial commitment and a substantial gift. It only makes sense if the person has already said, clearly, that they want to learn the sport. If you are not certain of that, buy the tandem voucher instead — plenty of EP students started with a tandem flight, decided they wanted more, and came back to do the course.
Who Is It Ideal For?
The tandem suits a wider range of people than most gift-givers expect. The common thread is someone curious, someone who says yes to things. More specifically:
A partner who has said they want to try it — the classic gift for someone who has been "meaning to" for years but has never organised it themselves. The voucher removes the friction of booking and gives the occasion a shape.
An adventurous parent, sibling, or close friend — particularly effective for someone who values experiences over objects and has accumulated enough things already.
A milestone birthday — 30th, 40th, 50th, or 60th. A paragliding flight above the Atlantic coast is a memorable way to mark a decade. The scale of the experience tends to match the occasion.
The partner of a pilot — many experienced paragliders want to share the sensation with someone close to them who has never flown. A tandem with Behrooz is the obvious bridge.
Someone who has been "meaning to" for years — sometimes the most valuable thing a gift can do is give someone permission to finally do the thing they have been delaying. The voucher handles the organisation; they just have to show up.
Check These Things Before You Buy
Three situations where it is worth a quick message to me first:
Severe height phobia — mild nerves are normal and almost always disappear on launch. But if someone has a genuine, diagnosed phobia rather than ordinary nerves, it is worth a conversation. I can help you work out whether a tandem is a good idea or not.
Weight over 130 kg — that is the practical ceiling for safe tandem flight on standard equipment. If the person is close to or above that, message me before buying. Sometimes there are options; sometimes there are not.
Serious cardiovascular or spinal problems — paragliding is gentle compared to most adventure sports, but launch and landing do involve some physical load. Anyone with a recent heart event or significant back injury should get a doctor's opinion first.
Everyone else — including people who are nervous, unfit, or convinced they are "too old" — is almost certainly fine. I've flown passengers in their 70s and passengers who were terrified on launch and laughing within a minute of being airborne.
The Difference Between a Tandem Voucher and a Course Voucher
The choice between these two is almost always straightforward once you consider the recipient's situation honestly.
A tandem voucher requires a total time commitment of roughly two to three hours — travel to the site, pre-flight briefing, the flight, and the return. It requires no prior experience, no fitness preparation, and no scheduling of multiple days. It is the right choice for the vast majority of gift situations: anyone who is curious about paragliding but has not yet decided to learn it, anyone flying as a one-off experience, and anyone who has never been in the air before.
A course voucher is a 10–14 day commitment over consecutive days, requiring the recipient to block out real time from work and other obligations. It is also a statement about their intention — this is a gift for someone who has already said they want to learn to paraglide, not just try it. It is a generous and well-considered gift in the right context. In the wrong context — for someone who is curious but not committed, or who does not have the time flexibility — it can create pressure rather than pleasure.
If you are unsure which fits your person, the tandem voucher is the default. Many EP course students started with a tandem flight, discovered they wanted more, and came back to learn. The tandem can be the beginning of that sequence rather than the end of it.
The Best Thing to Tell Them
When you give the voucher, let the recipient know: it is a tandem flight with a certified paragliding instructor. They sit in front; Behrooz controls the wing. They do not need any flying experience or special fitness. The pilot handles everything — they just need to run a few steps on takeoff and enjoy the flight. They should wear comfortable clothes and sturdy closed shoes, bring sunglasses, and avoid big meals immediately beforehand. If they are nervous, that is completely normal — the nervousness almost always disappears within the first 30 seconds of flight.
How to Arrange a Voucher with Behrooz
The process is intentionally simple. There is no online booking system to navigate, no automated form to fill in, and no impersonal checkout. You contact Behrooz directly via WhatsApp, describe what you are looking for, and he will arrange everything from there.
When you message, it helps to include:
Whether you want a tandem flight voucher or an EP course voucher
Whether you have a specific date in mind or prefer an open-dated voucher the recipient can book at their own convenience
Any relevant information about the recipient — their approximate weight if you are close to the limit, any health considerations worth mentioning
How you would like to receive the voucher — a digital version sent by message is the simplest option
Payment can be arranged directly with Behrooz. Vouchers are typically issued promptly after payment is confirmed, so there is no need to plan far in advance — though booking earlier in the season gives more flexibility for choosing the ideal flying day.
Practical Details
A few specifics worth knowing before you finalise the purchase:
Validity: Vouchers are typically valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. This gives the recipient a full year to find a date that works, travel to Portugal if needed, and pick good conditions.
Booking the flight: Once the recipient has the voucher, they contact Behrooz directly to schedule the actual flight date. The date is subject to weather — paragliding requires suitable conditions, and occasionally a date needs to be rescheduled. This is normal and expected.
What to wear: Comfortable, layered clothing. The temperature at altitude is cooler than on the ground, so a light jacket is advisable even in summer. Sturdy closed shoes — not sandals or flip-flops.
Age: Minimum age is typically 14, though younger participants can sometimes be accommodated depending on weight and maturity — check with Behrooz first. There is no upper age limit.
Weight: The practical maximum for tandem flight is around 100 kg. Below this, the vast majority of adults are fine on standard equipment.
When to Give It
A paragliding voucher fits occasions that call for something genuinely memorable rather than something practical. The contexts that work best:
Milestone birthdays — 30, 40, 50, 60. The scale of the experience has a natural correspondence with marking a significant year.
Christmas — giving the experience in December means the recipient has the spring and summer ahead to use it, which builds anticipation rather than pressure.
Anniversary — particularly if travel to Portugal is already part of the plan, or if the person is a seasoned traveller who has run out of things they want to be given.
Graduation — for a young person entering a new phase of life, an experience that involves genuine courage and a genuinely extraordinary view is more memorable than anything on a wish list.
Just because — the category that is often undersold. A thoughtful mid-year gift for someone you know would never book this for themselves can land better than any occasion-tied present.
Will They Actually Use It?
This is the quiet anxiety behind almost every experience voucher — the fear that it will sit in a drawer and expire unused. Paragliding vouchers have a higher redemption rate than most experience gifts, partly because the experience is specific and vivid enough to stay in the mind, and partly because the 12-month window creates genuine urgency without panic. But there are things you can do to increase the likelihood of it being used:
Book the date at the same time as giving the voucher — if you can coordinate with Behrooz to hold a provisional date, and present the voucher with a date already in the calendar, the probability of it happening increases dramatically. Converting "I should book this" into "I am flying on the 14th of June" is the difference between intention and action.
Offer to come along — watching someone you know fly for the first time from the landing field is genuinely enjoyable. Framing the gift as a shared day out — you come to watch, they fly — removes the social friction of going alone to an unfamiliar activity.
Pick the right season — vouchers given in autumn or winter for use the following spring or summer have a natural runway. May through September is the ideal flying season at Sesimbra: consistent conditions, warm temperatures, long days.
The experience outlasts any object you could have bought instead. A good coat is forgotten in two years. A morning above the Atlantic coast — the view, the silence, the moment when the wing catches the wind and lifts everything — is something people carry for much longer than that. And Sesimbra, with its fishing harbour, its old Moorish castle on the hill, its long beach and the smell of grilled fish in the evening — it is the kind of place that turns a gift voucher into a proper day out, and a proper day out into something worth keeping.
Buy a Voucher — or Ask a Question First
Message Behrooz directly to arrange a gift voucher, check what's available, or ask about suitability for the person you have in mind.
