Cycling in The Real Algarve

Name: Cycling in The Real Algarve
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 5 (1 reviews)

1 reviews

Activity Level

Moderate

Activity

Cycling

Overview

Discover a land that time forgot as you explore the unspoilt wild coastlines, pretty white villages and deserted cycling routes of the Algarve.

The western Algarve, a land away from the touristy towns of the central coast, is an area of stunning cliff tops, quiet fishermen’s villages and lush green interior. It’s also a birdwatcher’s paradise and whilst autumn and spring bring in the huge migrations, winter sees numerous endemic bird species. Winter is more akin to springtime, meaning you can enjoy the warm temperatures and beautiful beaches of the Algarve from October right through to May.

Our six night holiday takes you along quiet roads and sun-kissed cycle tracks. You’ll cycle 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. Country lanes take you into the lush green interior passing large reservoirs, alpine-like meadows and rich holm oak forests. Visit the historic maritime towns of Sagres and Lagos; Henry the Navigator lived here, and built his own fortress at Sagres, near to where you’ll find Cabo de Sao Vicente, Europe’s south-western cape, with its iconic lighthouse and fascinating museum.

Key Information

Trip Code: C06AV
Ways to Travel: Self-Guided Holidays
Countries: Portugal

What's Included

All accommodation
All continental breakfasts and 3 evening meals
Headwater navigation app
Luggage transfers between hotels

3 days of Cycling

Terrain:

Mostly gently undulating with a couple of short but steepish descents/climbs. Routes mainly follow a mix of coastal paths, tracks, woodland trails and country roads.

Day 2: 38 km / 23.6 miles
Day 4: 52 km / 32.3 miles
Day 6: 30 km / 18.6 miles

Highlights

Visit Cabo de Sao Vicente, Europe's most south-westerly point known as the 'Sacred Promontory'
Bird-spotter's paradise; endemic and migratory species from Europe and North Africa
Superb variety of hotels, all with pools and great regional cuisine
Peaceful cycle routes; contrasting coast and the lush green interior
Sagres and Lagos - beautiful coastal towns with a rich maritime history

Itinerary

First Destination: Sagres
Next Destination: Sagres

Meals included:Dinner

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Sagres
Next Destination: Sagres

Arrive at the wonderful coastal town of Sagres in time for dinner at the hotel. (Staying at Hotel Memmo Baleeira, Half Board)

Meals included:Dinner

From Sagres head inland, mostly following the Ecovia, a national cycle trail. Pass shepherds tending their flocks before meeting the coast again in time for lunch. The villages of Salema, Burgau and Luz have great sandy beaches and offer rustic restaurants with al fresco dining; grilled fresh fish with zesty lemon is a favourite dish. You end the day at Lagos and your wonderfully atmospheric 4-star hotel. (Staying at Rio Marina, Breakfast)

Meals included:Breakfast

Lagos is encircled by C14 walls – the stone work and architecture you’ll find hidden within these is a delight. Ornate churches date from the C13, and tangled cobbled lanes lead to new discoveries around every corner. Visit the new marina and the lively fish market (held daily), and join the locals for coffee in one of the many bars. Popular coastal walks lead to Ponte da Piedade lighthouse and from Porto de Mos to Luz, both offering outstanding sea views. (Staying at Rio Marina, Breakfast)

Meals included:Breakfast

You have a choice of routes today, with both taking you along the promenade at Lagos, before heading inland to Odiaxere where you can choose a shorter option that has fewer climbs and takes you through lovely villages on winding roads, giving you a real insight into local life. The longer route takes you past the beautiful Bravura reservoir and pretty alpine-like hamlets and meadows, meeting the coast in picturesque Carrapateira. Then it’s on to Pedralva, a village where each house has been restored to create individual hotel rooms. (Staying at Aldeia da Pedralva, Half Board)

Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

Aldeia da Pedralva is a wonderful rural retreat and you could easily spend the day relaxing in the village. If you fancy doing more you can follow one of our routes taking you out along the cliff tops with great views of the coast, or return to Carrapateira to visit the Land and Sea Museum and have a leisurely lunch. (Staying at Aldeia da Pedralva, Half Board)

Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

There’s two options today but both routes are fairly short allowing you time to visit the lighthouse at Cabo de Sao Vicente and Sagres Fortress, built by Henry the Navigator. The longer route is on off-road tracks passing holm oak forests. Both routes give great views of the Serra de Monchique passing through Vila do Bispo, a nice lunch stop with its beautiful 17th century church. From Vila do Bispo head out across the Vicente peninsula to Cabo de Sao Vicente and the southwestern tip of Europe before following the coast road back to Sagres. (Staying at Hotel Memmo Baleeira, Breakfast Only)

Meals included:Breakfast

The tour ends after breakfast in Sagres.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Accommodation

Hotels

We have hand-picked three wonderful hotels all with their own charm. These include a modern 4-star design hotel perched on a cliff in Sagres and a hotel in Pedralva, where the village houses have been rustically renovated to create individual rooms. All hotels have pools with Sagres boasting a covered one for the winter months.

Essential Information

EXCELLENT CHOICE FOR
Food lovers, wine lovers, flora & fauna, bird spotting opportunities, art & history, swimming opportunities, couples, coastal routes

Classification: Self-Guided
Average daily distance on move on days: 40km (25miles).
No. of days Cycling: 3
Terrain: Mostly gently undulating with a couple of short but steepish descents/climbs. Routes mainly follow a mix of coastal paths, tracks,woodland trails and country roads.

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 a map and route notes so that you can cycle at your own pace.

It is important that you are happy reading maps and following route notes, we make these as accurate as possible and they are regularly checked.

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 at 11:50 Oct & Apr-May, 16:05 Nov-Mar, and back to Faro airport at 09:30 Oct & Apr-May, 13:30 Nov-Mar. 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).

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

All continental breakfasts and 5 evening meals.

The local speciality from the sea is the Barnacle Perceve, this is not taken from the bottom of boats but the bottom of submerged local cliffs, it is harvested by hand using a dangerous and traditional method, which involves one of the two collectors dangling by a rope from the top of the cliffs! They are a bit of a delicacy not too dissimilar to mussels. Away from the sea the dried hams, salamis and chouriço are as good as anything that Spain or Italy can produce. The strange sounding bread sausage Alheira is very good, invented by the Portuguese Jews during the Inquisition to avoid persecution, bread and non-pork products are used. 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.

Reviews

Add new review

Alan and Sheila Rugman

Added October 2018

A great cycling holiday

This was our first cycling holiday with Headwater and hopefully not the last. Everything about it was excellent: the route, the hotels, the bikes, the other riders and the Headwater reps, Tony and Ludmilla. We particularly appreciated the 'rest day' in Lagos after the first day's ride, to allow for...