In the south of Portugal, the Algarve region enjoys a privileged mixture of Atlantic and Mediterranean climate. A veritable prow of Europe, its history and culture are steeped in Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Arab, African, South American and even Asian influences.
Cycling lends itself particularly well to an exhaustive exploration of the Algarve, which has a variety of different facets, coastlines and hills. This sporty, itinerant holiday allows you to discover the region's rich natural and cultural diversity: The valley of the Guadiana, the majestic river that separates the Algarve from Andalusia, Portugal from Spain. Then the Sotavento coastline, protected by the Ria Formosa Natural Park, with its barrier islands, lagoons, sandbanks and salt flats. The Barrocal with its fortified towns and villages, surrounded by orchards of orange, olive, carob and almond trees; the granite massif of Monchique and the Serra de Espinhaço de Cão are the hilly stages, covered with forests of cork oak, arbutus and eucalyptus.
After that, it's on to the Vicentine coast, with its breathtaking scenery of cliffs and dunes, as far as Cape Saint-Vincent, the southwesternmost point on the European continent. The tour ends by following the Barlavento coastline, with its ochre coves of crystal-clear water and small white villages clinging to the cliffs. Well-deserved breaks and over-night stops in the most emblematic towns and villages allow you to savour the culture, hospitality and cuisine of the Algarve in Faro, Alcoutim, Vila Real, Cacela Velha, Tavira, Olhao, Paderne, Silves, Monchique, Aljezur, Carrapateira, Sagres, Salema or Lagos...
This tour is certainly the most complete discovery of the Algarve in our catalogue, a tour recommended by electric bike or gravel bike for the sportier sort.
Arrival in Faro, optional airport meet & greet and transfer to your accommodation in the centre of Faro. Depending on your arrival time, you will have the opportunity to explore the old town, the pedestrian shopping streets or the quays of the marina.
Meals included: none
Night: Faro
+33 (0)4 86 65 00 20
contact@intura-travel.com
Pick up your bikes and transfer (1h) to the Guadiana valley, the natural border between the Algarve and Andalusia. Separated only by a few metres of river, the white villages of Alcoutim in Portugal and Sanlucar in Spain face each other and their history is marked by trade and smuggling. From Alcoutim or Vila Real de Santo Antonio, you can cross the Guadiana by ferry or ferryboat for a tapas lunch in Andalusia! Small roads and tracks run alongside the majestic river or through the hills of the Guadiana valley as far as Castro Marim, a village surrounded by 2 imposing castles that bear witness to the strategic importance of the area. A cycle path then crosses the Sapal and the salt marshes to reach Vila Real de Santo Antonio, an 18th-century town built in the aftermath of the great earthquake of 1755. On the way to the beaches, a quay leads to the south-eastern tip of Portugal.
From Vila Real de Santo Antonio, you first follow the Guadiana estuary, then the superb pine-fringed beaches of Portugal's south-eastern tip. The side roads lead to the superb rocky spur of Cacela Velha, which dominates the sandbanks and peninsula of Manta Rota. The lagoon and barrier islands of the Ria Formosa Natural Park start here and stretch all the way to Faro, forming a unique ecosystem that lives to the rhythm of the tides and protects numerous marine and bird species. You'll follow the ecovia, a signposted cycle path along the Algarve coast, to Tavira, one of the Algarve's most beautiful towns, well worth a stop and a visit. The paths follow the coast through orchards, salt marshes and white villages to Olhão, the famous fishing port of the Sotavento, the leeward Algarve to the east of Faro.
Transfer with the bikes to Paderne, a white inland village clinging to its hill and dominated by a fortress that illustrates all the phases of the region's history: Celts, Romans and Arabs prospered here for several centuries before the formation of modern Portugal in the 13th century. Small roads lead through the barrocal region, with its orchards of orange, olive, carob and almond trees, to the former medieval capital of the Moorish era, Silves, famous for its red sandstone fortress overlooking the Arade valley. A small road then leads along the Oudelouca valley to the small spa town of Monchique, nestling in a green valley in the foothills of the Monchique granite massif. You can also enjoy the treatments at the Spa.
The Monchique massif is the water tower of the western Algarve, overlooking the nearby ocean and covered in cork oak, chestnut, arbutus and eucalyptus forests, which benefit from a more humid microclimate. A small road leads around the Picota and Foia peaks, leading over small passes that offer spectacular panoramic views of the entire Barlavento coastline, the western Algarve and the ridge lines which stretch inland towards the immense Alentejo. A long descent leads to the west coast, the famous Vicentine Coast, known for its protected wild areas on land and sea. Today's stopover is the small village of Aljezur, famous for its sweet potato-based cuisine which you can savour in the medieval streets leading up to the small fortress of Moorish origin.
The day begins at the small market in Aljezur, where you can find a wide variety of local fruit and vegetables, as well as fish stalls that can be quite impressive. Dried almonds and figs or carob cakes are perfect snacks for your bike rides. Beautiful shady roads cross the Vicentine Coast Natural Park to reach the coast at Carrapateira, a village famous for its surf spots. A track skirts Bordeira beach, then cliffs jagged by ocean waves offer spectacular views of this wild, unspoilt coastline all the way to the mythical Cape Saint Vincent. You ride along the promontorium sacrum of the Romans, the south-western tip of the European continent.
A cycling tour of the fortress of Sagres is highly recommended to start the day (€3/person to be paid locally). Once inside the ramparts, a cycle path runs along the edge of the tip of Sagres, offering a unique view of Cape St Vincent. A monumental compass rose, and a small museum shed light on the incredible epic of the Great Maritime Discoveries initiated by the Portuguese in the Algarve in the early fifteenth century. Small roads and cycle paths then follow the coast of Barlavento, the western part of the southern coast, in a more Mediterranean atmosphere. At the turn of a valley or behind a scrubland, the omnipresence of the Ocean. The white beaches and villages of Salema, Burgau and Luz are perfect for a break on a terrace or a swim before reaching the Ponta da Piedade, a veritable natural monument with its chasms, caves and arches carved into the ochre limestone. Lagos is the last stop on this Algarvio tour, where you can explore its shady squares, cobbled pedestrian lanes, numerous churches and monuments that bear witness to the prosperity of this port, which launched the very first caravels to the world's seas.
Transfer to Faro airport (3h30 before flight). End of the trip