Cycling the Algarve's Rota Vicentina

Activity Level

Moderate

Activity

Cycling

Overview

Cycle in the most beautiful and well-preserved coast of Europe.

From the Alentejo region to Cabo de Sao Vicente which marks the most south-westerly point of Europe, follow the ‘Rota Vicentina Historical Way’ by longing rugged coastline with amazing views over cliffs and large sandy beaches. Stop and relax in quaint peaceful fishing villages to taste the rich local cuisine that serves the best the sea has.

This ride leads you through a natural reserve and the ‘Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina Natural Park’. Longing the ocean, you can fully enjoy the landscape and appreciate the surprises nature has to offer, such as wild flowers, bird watching. Admire breath-taking view and relax on one of the unspoilt beach or inlet.

End your trip in the Algarve region, along beautiful coastlines enjoying a mix of golden sandy beaches and rugged cliff tops, and pass through pretty villages, some of which seem unaffected by the outside world.

Key Information

Trip Code: C07RV
Ways to Travel: Self-Guided Holidays
Countries: Portugal

What's Included

All Breakfasts
Headwater Navigation App
Mountain bike
Luggage transfers between hotels

6 days of Cycling

Day 2: 62 km / 38.5 miles
Day 3: 55 km / 34.2 miles
Day 4: 63 km / 39.1 miles
Day 5: 37 km / 23 miles
Day 6: 48 km / 29.8 miles
Day 7: 35 km / 21.7 miles

Highlights

Follow the cycling path Rota Vicentina from Setubal to the Cape Sao Vicente
Cycle the most beautiful and well-preserved coast of Europe (Natural Park)
Wonderful peaceful beaches, quaint fishermen's villages and delicious regional cuisine and seafood

Itinerary

First Destination: Setubal
Next Destination: Vila do Bispo

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:None

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Setubal
Next Destination: Vila do Bispo

Transfer from Lisbon airport to your hotel.

Located on the Sado river bank, explore Setubal and wander in the town centre to the convent and the fort where you can enjoy fantastic views over the city and the river.

Meals included:Breakfast

Start with a ferry crossing through the Sado Estuary Natural Reserve. Enjoy bird watching during this short journey. This reserve is a protected area for many species such as storks. The most friendly local inhabitants and symbol of the Nature Reserve are the dolphins. It’s rare to find them in Europe, freely swimming in their natural habitat, but here is an important colony.

Then, cycle through rice fields and along beaches. Right by Santo Andre Lagoon, and part of a Nature Reserve, the Costa de Santo Andre Beach is a long stretch of sand with the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the calm waters of the lagoon on the other. Surrounded by golden dunes, this beach with its challenging waters is very popular among surfers.

Meals included:Breakfast

Ride through quaint villages until Sao Torpes Beach very popular for surfing. Continue your ride on the coastline before reaching Porto Covo, a picturesque fishermen’s village which is a mix of whitewashed cottages, cobbled streets and pretty squares perched on the low cliff tops of the Alentejo coast. In the village, all roads lead to the little fishing harbour which clings to the side of a deep natural inlet.

Then arrive in Vila Nova de Milfontes located on the Mira river banks and offers large beaches on the coastline and is surrounded by unspoilt rural countryside.

Meals included:Breakfast

Follow the ‘Rota Vicentina Historical Way’ punctuated with many highlights such as Almograve, a quaint village. Almograve Beach with red cliffs and dunes is one of the most beautiful beaches along this rocky coastline and is part of the Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina Natural Park.

Continue to Sardao Cape a natural and unspoilt site offering stunning views; Then, ride to Zambujeira do Mar, a quaint fishing village. This place offers an excellent view over the beach, and is a small and very peaceful village. The beautiful beaches are one of the main attractions as its natural environment is one of the best preserved of this region.

Meals included:Breakfast

Today you have a choice of routes; both routes take you first to Aljezur, with its Moorish castle; from there the shorter route takes you directly to your hotel, allowing plenty of time to visit the nearby beach; the longer route takes you on a coastal loop past several beaches on a variety of tranquil gravel tracks.

Meals included:Breakfast

Cycle towards the village of Carrapateira and enjoy breath-taking views over the cliffs that will mesmerize your memory; take a break at Bordeira and Amado beaches before heading for a seafood lunch in Carrapteira. Head inland along sandy tracks to arrive in Vila do Bispo, a peaceful village full of narrow streets and whitewashed houses.

Ride to Cordoama beach overlooked by cliffs. Surrounded by foaming Atlantic waves, Cabo de Sao Vicente marks the most south-westerly point of Europe. The path to the edge of the continent should prove to be one of the highlights of your week! You are spoilt with amazing coastal scenery on this wild and unpopulated route that follows sandy paths and gorse-strewn meadows to the very edge of the Iberian Peninsula. At the Cape there is a lighthouse, museum and small bar, offering wonderful photo opportunities.

Meals included:Breakfast

Transfer from your hotel to Faro airport.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Skip the hassle: We’ll handle your trip from start to finish, with competitive flight prices, deposit-only payments, and full ATOL protection available.

Call us on 0203 733 5948

Your Group, Your Adventure

Want to choose your travel companions? Gather your family and friends and let us create a Private Adventure just for you.

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Accommodation

Cycling the Algarve's Rota Vicentina

Your accommodation reflects the best of Portuguese hospitality, you will stay in a mix of 2 star, 3-star and 4 star hotels offering amazing views of the Mira river bay, the Atlantic and Furnas Beach, officially one of Portugal’s Seven Wonders.

All prices are based on 2 persons sharing, so if there is an odd number of people travelling in your party or you are travelling alone, there will be a compulsory supplement for a single room for the tour duration.
For a solo traveller there is an additional charge to cover transfer costs.

Essential Information

Classification: Self-Guided
No. of days Cycling: 6
Terrain: Mostly gently undulating with a couple of short but steepish descents/climbs on most days. Rides are on coastal routes and tracks following the Rota Vicentina.

Vehicle Support: This is a self-guided trip for those who prefer to cycle independently, but with our assistance to take out the stress of the logistics and planning. We arrange your accommodations, provide you with GPS route directions so that you can cycle at your own pace.

As this is a self-guided holiday there is no group and no leader. There may be others on the same departure date as you, but you will not be organised together. The route notes contain a 24-hour emergency assistance telephone number should you need it and in emergencies.

Standard transfers
For flight inclusive bookings transfers are included from Faro airport. Transfers are available at a supplement for land only bookings.

Alternative transfers
If you require alternative transfers (because you will be arriving at a different time to our standard flights), then we can usually arrange these for you (there may be an additional charge).

Full joining instructions including local emergency numbers will be sent to you as part of our Final Joining Instructions. If you do not receive these at least a week before departure, or require them earlier please contact our office or your travel agent.

Portugal

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter Portugal. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.

Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/portugal
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/portugal
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/portugal/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Portugal.html

Taste the delicious regional cuisine, seafood, fresh fish and the appetising dishes. In the Alentejo, a meal starts with a variety of appetizers. Cured ham, or Presunto de Barrancos, are local delicacies, and goat and sheep cheeses usually accompany thin slices of cured ham. Olives, whether black or green, harvested from olive groves throughout the Alentejo are a staple.

Other Alentejo specialties include roasted peppers, bread stews and octopus salad flavoured with onion and peppers seasoned in olive oil. On the fish side, there is rich fish stew, fresh crab, grilled fish and octopus.

Good quality meat is also on the menu, beef and pork are of a high quality and lamb in season is superb. Vegetables are plentiful and with big harvests of almonds and oranges, fruits are in good supply alongside another local vegetable, the sweet potato.

The Algarve’s other surprise is the quality of cheese; from mild to strong using cow, goat or sheep milk there is a great range of cheeses for all tastes, Queijo de Cabra do Algarve, is a particular favourite.

Coastal areas of Portugal can be known to be quite windy.However, the climate here is long, warm summers and mild winters, with most rain falling in the winter months, but possible in all other months. Seasons are marked, with pleasant temperatures in the spring, in the summer and in the autumn. Heat waves can push up temperatures between mid June and September.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.