laurab8737

We are planning a cycling trip to Portugal in Sept. Has anyone done cycling there and can provide advice as to northern or southern region for best cycling?
Thank you!

eleanorw

we're just back from cycling in the Alentejo and had a great time. The roads are good, rolling hills, very little traffic, unbelievably welcoming people. We used an organized group, bike riders, that we liked alot but it sounds like you want to go on your own. The other area that's supposed to be spectacular for cycling, but hillier, is northern Portugal into Galicia.

laurab8737

Thank you Eleanor! Was the name of the group you went with "bike riders"? How many days/what kind of mileage per day?
Laura

tico

I've done a few self guided cycling trips in the Pinho area. This is in the center of the Port Wine growing region. Absolutly stunning! But you'll need the legs to conquer those mountains.
I also had a great trip riding on a bike path from Cascais to Guincho Beach with ocean views the whole way(outside Lisbon proper). Riding to Sintra and all the sites there was nice too, but having a bike limited my access to most inside tours.
Are you planning a self guided trip?
What time of year?

eleanorw

The company is bike riders, we also went with them to Umbria and think they're great. The portugal trip was 25-40 miles/day, with a sag van if you want it, 6 days/5 nights. If you're looking for a guided tour I can definitely recommend them, but there are a variety of companies with different price points/accomodations/riding intensity etc. I've done a lot of research so let me know if there's more info you want.

zelphiacat

think hills, cobblestones, and crazy drivers...

laurab8737

Eleanor,
I've been offline for a while but I'm back to planning my portugal bike trip. Have you heard of a company called A2Z adventures based in Portugal. They have a 6 day self-guided tour of the Douro valley for $1900 pp. Can you offer any opinion on the company or the price? We are definitely looking for a self-guided tour, 5-6 days in length.
Thanks so much!
Laura

travelgirl2

We used www.eurobike.at for a self-guided cycling trip in Austria. They transported the luggage from hotel to hotel and provided maps, but other than that we cycled on our own. We thought it was great.

Here is the website. It looks like they have a couple of options in Portugal.

http://www.eurobike.at/en/eb/suche/suche.asp

travelgirl2

Select region = Portugal.

eleanorw

Hi Laura,
I don't know that group. I looked briefly at the website, don't see the 6 day self guided, they had an 8 day self guided but the price was euros. If it's really 6 days for $1900/pp the price seems about right. My only hesitation would be that the company's only been doing this for a couple of years. I would call bike riders and ask them if they could put together a self-guided trip for you, I know business is down in Europe this year. The other company I was impressed with for Portugal was Easy Riders Tours. They don't have self-guided on their website but doesn't hurt to ask. That said, If the hotels they arrange look nice and you could talk to previous participants to make sure the cue sheets you get are accurate and clear and that price is in dollars, not euros, it will probably be a fabulous trip.

Mariebicycle

I had the amazing experience to cycle in Algarve, last summer, along the coast and was amazing!
This year I want to go to Alentejo and cycle there!
Any routes that you can reccomend?

Thanks!

bilboburgler

Well the Ecovia along the coast is interesting as most of it is still hidden or un mapped despite it being open for 10 years now. Alentejo is a load hillier and you have to really want to get up there, you might prefer to follow the coast north which will tend to be cooler and less hilly.

http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Algarve_Guide.php

might help