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Algarve Bike Tour Self-Guided: Looking to escape the cold parts of the year and get away to paradise? Pure Adventures Tours has put together the best of the southern coast of Portugal with its “Sunny Coast Cycling Tour.” We make sure that you take only the safest routes through southern Portugal, avoiding most of the high-traffic areas so your riding experience is the best! On this 8-day, self-guided cycling tour we make you feel like a local, taking you to all the best places to ride, eat, and drink along the coast. This close to the ocean, you can sample local seafood delicacies in small fishing villages at the end of each adventure-filled cycling day. During your daily rides, you will not only get to see the beautiful coast but also the great array of rare flora and fauna in the region. See where pirates landed on the coast and spend days cycling through Cape Sao Vicente, which is a major bird migration area. Schedule in advance to ensure that you can take your winter cycling vacation in the beautiful, sunny Algarve!
Fly in and out of Lisbon; transfer to Odeceixe and from Lagos are both included.
Not Included:
Included Deluxe Hotels:
About: This tour includes “Standard” category rooms in 4-star hotels and superior quality guest houses. All lodging has a private bathroom and a variety of other amenities. Upgraded rooms may be available for a supplement, subject to availability.
Local Expert: Antonio is our on-site expert. He lives in Lisbon and has been all over the country! Antonio will meet you for orientation on arrival day as well as provide emergency support throughout your trip. Our local guides and experts are available by phone to assist during your trip with any kind of emergency and if due to weather or other reason you need to arrange a transfer.
Need to Know:
Welcome to sunny Portugal! Today, arrive to Lisbon and make your way to your centrally-located hotel on your own. Today is left free so that you have some time to adjust to the time change and explore Lisbon. Lisbon is a city of great historical significance, as it was once a Roman city. There is much to see and discover!
Meals: on own
Overnight: Lisbon
This morning is free to relax and enjoy Lisbon. At 1:00 PM, we will transfer you to your first hotel in Odexeixe, which is a very nice guest house located near the beach. (3 hrs drive). We will then deliver your tour bikes and go over the tour with a short orientation of this scenic coastal bike ride. Take your time after orientation to explore the town and enjoy dinner on your own. If you would like to arrive a day prior to help with jet lag, we can recommend and book extra nights in Lisbon.
Overnight: Odeceixe
Start the day by going to one of the most beautiful places on the coast – Odeceixe Beach! Leave the seaside and cycle to the Monchique Hills, the highest mountain in Algarve. Its green hills full of colorful wildflowers, chestnut trees, eucalyptus and cork oaks, will delight your senses as you ride by. Visit a typical white village, Marmelete, which means “Sea and Milk.” Then continue on a very pleasant road and down to the small whitewashed village of Aljezur, where you will stay the night. Be sure to try some black Iberian pig this evening, as it is one of the region’s specialties.
Meals: breakfast
Distance: 61 km / 38 mi, +980m, mostly paved routes with some off pavement sections
Highlights: Odeceixe Beach, Monchique Hills, Marmelete
Overnight: Arrifana
After breakfast and at your leisure, start the day with a ride to a beautiful beach at Amoreira! Then follow a valley where ships once sailed back to the village of Aljezur. Continue up the narrow streets, passing by typical houses and you will reach the medieval castle of Aljezur! Follow the winding road that sweeps down from the cliff tops to the sea, where you will find a stunning beachside village at Monte Clérigo. Return to Aljezur.
Meals: breakfast
Distance: 46 km / 29 mi, +580 m
Highlights: Amoreira, Aljezur castle, Monte Clérigo
Overnight: Arrifana
Your ride starts out with some nice forest roads and then takes you back to the coast and the lovely village of Carrapateira, which has landmarks of a lovely old church and fort. Continue along the beaches, enjoying beautiful views from the cliff tops. Your ride then continues along quiet roads and back into forests, bringing you to the very old village Pedralva, considered to be a hidden marvel of Algarve. Recently restored, Pedralva is vibrant and full of life. Today’s ride is on 100% paved routes and is a slightly more challenging day. There are off road options.
Meals: breakfast
Distance: 45 km / 28 mi, +420 m
Highlights: Carrapateira, Pedralva
Overnight: Pedralva
Today you will once again, cycle along the sparkling sea and then your route takes you slightly inland, up a few steep hills as you leave the coast. Continue south with the coast just in the distance toward the southwestern tip of the Algarve and the the most southwestern point in Continental Europe, the Cape Sao Vicente. Tonight you will sleep in a new four star hotel overlooking the sea, surrounded by stunning deserted beaches.
Have extra time? Many customers tell us they wished they’d had an extra night here!
Meals: breakfast
Distance: 40 km / 25 mi, +350 m, paved & dirt roads
Highlights: coastal riding, hills, Cape Sao Vincente
Overnight: Sagres
Today is your last cycling day! You will enjoy a beautiful scenic ride by the sea, passing by some typical old fishing villages, before entering the more populated part of the Algarve. Pass by Salema, an old fishing village nested in a secluded bay, surrounded by dramatic sun-baked yellow cliffs. Burgau is another beautiful village over the sea where we can still see the fishermen fixing their fishing nets. Beautiful beaches at Ponta da Piedade, where you see fantastic landscapes of cliffs, caves and rocks, all with an amazing mixture of colours, will make this an unforgettable journey for all of the senses!
Meals: breakfast
Distance: 49 km / 30 mi, +800m, mostly paved routes
Highlights: fishing villages
Overnight: Lagos
Sadly, your dream cycling tour in Portugal must come to an end; today is your departure day. After breakfast this morning, we will meet you at 10:00 AM (or earlier) and provide a return transfer to Lisbon, or we can take you to the nearby airport in Faro (1 hour.) Travel time to Lisbon is 3 hours. Please let us know in advance if you would like to book additional nights in the area, or if you would like to add on another Pure Adventures tour!
Meals: breakfast
Dates: Plan your trip at a time that best fits your schedule! Pure Adventures tours have flexible start dates.
2025 Tour Rates by Season: (based on double occupancy)
Superior Four-Star Hotels & Guest Houses:
Choice of Bike Rental:
New! Travel Insurance is now required to participate in this tour. You can book through our preferred vendors or your own. Proof of coverage will be required.
Make it Custom: Do you like this tour but want to make some small changes? Tell us your wishes & we will quote it!
The entire trip was just wonderful from start to finish. Neither of us had done a cycling trip like this before so we didn’t know what to expect. While some of the trails were challenging in terms of the inclines and roughness of the trails themselves (we took the offroad trail options on all but the last day), none were beyond our abilities and we both enjoyed the accomplishment of getting past them. All of the logistics, from the bikes to the hotels to the transfers from town to town, etc. either met or exceeded our expectations, which allowed us to focus on enjoying the rides and scenery. Many thanks to Pure Adventures for that!
There were so many highlights and tons of memories. For me, just seeing the small towns and parts of the country I wouldn’t have otherwise ever seen was an overarching highlight. At one point we came upon a herder and his goats. That was just after standing directly under a windmill and watching it whirl away above us. On the last day, I remember coming over a hill riding into Salema and seeing the ocean spread out before us – just magical. We’ll definitely consisder Pure Adventures again.
We had a great time. It was a wonderful trip. We were VERY glad we made the switch to E-bikes! We have been raving about it to everyone ever since we have come back. We liked being there in spring because it meant that we got to see a lot of the wildflowers in bloom. We especially liked the poppies and the heather that were blooming everywhere on the roads to the beaches. Riding through the farmland was even beautiful. All of the beaches were spectacular, especially the southern ones en route to Sagres and Lagos but the coast en route from Arrifana to Pedralva was also beautiful. We liked the scenery coming into Aljazur and especially liked the accommodations in Arrifana and in Sagres. It was my wife’s birthday the day we were in Pedralva and I love that the staff at the restaurant made her a cake complete with candle. It was very kind of them and we will always remember it. As you can probably tell, we liked so many things that we are having trouble picking highlights!
In terms of other feedback, it would be great if it were possible to spend an extra day in Sagres. We found that we really enjoyed our day biking, but the day was full and so we often arrived with no time to explore the town itself. The hotel in Sagres is also wonderful. Overall, the directions and routing were great. The GPS app worked very well and we felt very secure.
Thanks for all of your help with this trip and for your patience with all of my questions and changes. I am sure we will travel with Pure Adventures again as a result.
We had an amazing time! We were worried that the weather might be turning this late in the fall, but it was perfect. We lost an important bag with ID/wallet while cycling and the family that owned the inn that night drove us back the next day to search again, but no luck. They then took us to the police station to report it missing – they were SO nice!! To make a long story short, someone DID find it and turn it in, all intact, and the fire department called us to let us know (such a relief!) and we were able to pick it up while driving back to Lisbon. I don’t know if the people of Portugal are particularly warm and lovely, or we were just lucky, but it made for an exciting and wonderful trip. That aside, as always, the hotels were superb and the bikes were outstanding – we LOVED it!
Our trip was fabulous! The self guided bike tour couldn’t have gone smoother. From the choice of routes to the quaint villages the service was excellent. We can’t wait to do another country.
Our trip was absolutely amazing! It was the ultimate honeymoon- the perfect amount of action and adventure with the balance of relaxing on beaches and eating great food. We earned all of our food and drinks by biking it all off 🙂
We were impressed with all of the accommodations! And the hosts were incredibly friendly. Portuguese people in general are just so lovely.
I think our favorite on the bike trip was probably Arrifana, so it was clutch to stay an extra day there doing the loop (well planned!). I would have wanted another day in Sagres too if we could have squeezed it in. We both loved the variation of the rides- through all sorts of villages, sometimes right on the coast, and other times through just rural or farmy areas seeing all sides of Portugal. I thought the rides were the right amount of challenge to get a good work out and feel accomplished each day, but still have time and energy to do things in the afternoon at each stop. We really got it all and couldn’t be happier.
Thanks for everything it was perfectly what we were looking for!