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Welcome to Pedal Portugal
Portugal is a wonderful country to visit – gorgeous scenery, friendly people, quiet roads, rich culture and history, some superb wine and some tasty food. Much of it is also relatively unexplored by cycle tourists.
And whether you’re the independent sort or looking for guided bike tours, this is the site for free advice and information on anything to do with bicycling in Portugal.
Pedal Portugal is here to give fellow riders detailed information on roads, routes and all kinds of other useful cycling-related stuff. With the exception of our guided tours and route planning service (see below), all resources on this site are free. 
If you’re new to cycling in Portugal, take a look at our Top 10 Tips first and then browse the following sections:
Guided Tours has dates and details of our cycling holidays for small groups, plus information on my Route Planning Service for those who prefer being independent but want some expert advice
Routes & Resources is where you’ll find all the free stuff, with everything from campsite listings and addresses of bike shops across Portugal to suggestions for short rides and route plans for long-distance touring (see map below)
News & Information contains a little information about us, my blog, information on my cycling guidebooks and details of updates to the site
Tour dates
Due to various other personal commitments, we will not be running any more tours in 2024. We may resume operations in 2025 but do not currently have any specific plans.
To find out what previous riders thought of our tours, please go to our Reviews page.
Ever evolving…
The free information on this site is a one-man project – and still evolving. Feedback and advice from other cyclists is always extremely welcome. So, if you have any tips or other information you’re willing to share then please do.
I hope you find Pedal Portugal useful. If in doubt, just go. Portugal is one of my favourite countries and well worth a visit. The people, wine and food are great and there’s some spectacular landscapes.
Happy cycling! All the best, Huw
Pedal Portugal 
Huw, good day.
I keep getting random emails from web designers, thinking that I am “pedalPortugal”. I reply to some of them saying I have nothing to do with pedal Portugal and “will they please unsubscribe me” as it were. Does not seem to work. Any suggestions?
I think I must have emailed you when you first began many years ago, and something must’ve got stuck in the mechanics!?
Hi Nick. Sorry to hear you are getting spammed. Honest answer is that I have no idea why web designers are targeting you!
I’m not aware that your email address is listed anywhere on the site and I can’t see how/why you’d be getting these messages.
I also get a lot of unsolicited emails offering to improve Google rankings, redesign the site etc etc. However, I use a Gmail account and that seems to be very good at sending 90% of them straight into the spam folder.
I can have a search to see if I have any old emails or comments from you and simply delete them all.
Hello Huw,
Planning on touring Portugal self supported soon. Have your book The Alentejo Circuit. Downloaded route into RWgps. Can this download be moved to Komoot? Not very good at this. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks Louis Berube, Canada
Hi Louis. Sorry but I’m not a tech expert! Not used Komoot myself. You can export files from RWGPS in lots of different formats though. I’m sure one of them will work with Komoot.
Thanks Huw!
Sent from Mailhttps://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986 for Windows
Hi Huw,
I apologize in advance because I know this is a question you’ve gotten many times before. I’m planning a bicycle tour beginning and ending in Faro. We would cycle the border with Spain as far north as Marvao. Then we would cycle through Evora on our way to the Atlantic coast and eventually to Sagres. Then we would cycle along the coast back to Faro.
Of course my question concerns “when to go”. Our friends who desperately want to join us can only go from May 27th to June 13th. I was hoping for earlier but…they can’t do it. Would that be much too hot? Last summer we cycled our western states where the temperature routinely got up into the 90’s Fahrenheit.
You may not remember this but in 2016 my wife and I ran into you and one of your tours in Alter do Choa at the Hotel Convento!
Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hi Ray
Alter do Chao in 2016? That was our very first Border Castles tour!
Anyway, in answer to your question. Yes, it will be hot. Very difficult to predict with any certainty but afternoon highs well into the 90sF would not be unusual.
You may be lucky and have slightly cooler weather, it may touch 100F by mid June (hopefully not but there’s a chance)…
I would aim to do as much riding as possible in the mornings!
Hi Huw,
Are there any Cycling clubs near Aljezur for Lagos / Monchique rides or nearby? I’m here for August and September. I will explore your tours for next year as I am spending more time in Portugal and will be relocating from Singapore. Thanks, Paul
Hi Paul. Sorry but I don’t have any local contacts myself. I suggest searching online forums or contacting bike shops in those areas.
Hi Huw, as planned, we came up fully laden from Faro to Louie, then took a very pleasant route across to Barranco Velho and followed the N2 up to Almodôvar. The gradients were not too bad and we had a good day getting through the hills given the late start out of the airport.
We’ve followed much of your Spanish border route and aim to get to Almeida tomorrow night, when we have to decide on a good route up to Leon in Spain. We’ve looked at the route up from Vila Nova to Braganza, but the roads look like they could be busy. Is Miranda do Douro a better option or do you have any other suggestions, as there are plenty of opportunities to get over the border and continue up on the Spanish side but we are happy to stay in Portugal for longer if it works.
Hi John
Will have a look at the map tomorrow and refresh my memory. I rode some parts around Mogadouro, Miranda and Braganca a few years. Beautiful scenery but a couple of big river valleys. Be in touch again tomorrow.
Hello again – hope the ride to Almeida went well.
If you go over to Spain, then Salamanca is definitely worth a visit but from what I remember, there’s not a lot else out there and it’s all quite open and exposed – and not that interesting!
From Almeida, I would go north on N221 and down to Douro valley (not to VN Foz Coa) and on towards Mogadouro (lovely town). There are a few places you can detour off but I don’t think the 221 is very busy – haven’t ridden all of this but it doesn’t go anywhere major. You’ll have a couple of days of tough riding but the scenery will be great.
From Mogadouro there’s an old road that parallels the main IC5 (although there’s not much traffic on that). You can cross into Spain at Miranda but there are some beautiful quiet roads if you just keep on north in Portugal.
If you go as far as Braganca, the N103-7 north into Spain is a lovely ride. Bit of a climb but you’ll be used to that by now!
Love to hear how you get on – always looking for pictures and reports for my blog!
We just got home after cycling the Algarve with Pedal Portugal.
I can’t possibly explain how smoothly everything ran, and how much fun we had, thanks to Huw and Carolyn…we were a large group, and they handled the numbers with ease.
The food, the wine, the scenery, the exposure to Portuguese culture…it was absolutely fabulous.
They had an ability to get us through the day smoothly, without ever giving us the feeling we were being rushed.
They worked so hard every day, making sure that our experience was the best it could be (from finding shade for me at the lunch spots, pointing out the good gelato places in town, to walking us around the cliffs after our ride)
Im definitely coming back!
Thank again Huw and Carolyn
Sandy
BORDER CASTLES GUIDED TOUR – OCT 2018
Just returned from the Border Castles ride with Huw and Carolyn. They are lovely people, and work hard to keep the trip running smoothly, while simultaneously appearing to have a great time themselves! Loved the accommodations, food, wine and beautiful small medieval towns.
For those looking to book a tour, this couple is awesome!! We have done two of the tours, taken others with us on our second trip, referred still others to this site and are in the process of booking a third. Best things about it: (1) fantastic hosts; (2) great routes; (3) ability to go at your own pace; (4) affordable (I am an Accountant so I do not take that comment likely); and (5) did I say fantastic hosts (?). Any questions?
And I didn’t even pay him to write this – or know he was going to. Thanks David!
Hi there….My husband and I are arriving in Lisbon Sept 13, 2018 and will be touring the country thru December 5th on our tandem bike…..we are in need of storing the 2 suitcases our bike comes in…which takes up about one square meter of room…do you have any ideas?…anyone you know with a garage or basement or other safe place to store these? your help would be greatly appreciated!! thanks for your time! terri&greg
Hi Terri
Have been away so only just picked up your message. You could try left luggage at Lisbon Aiport – http://www.lisbon-airport.com/baggage.html
Don’t know if there is any limit on size – you would have to contact them. Otherwise, find a friendly AirBnB host where you can stay beginning and end of your trip. No harm in asking!
Alternatively, try the Warmshowers network for advice – https://www.warmshowers.org/
You might find someone in Lisbon who can either help or give you the local lowdown. Let me know how you get on!
Cheers, Huw
Hi Hew. So we got back from 3 months of Portugal in Dec. We toured for 6 weeks and then rented a van and pretty much circumnavigated the country with day rides and hikes. Your new Heartland Tour looks very intriguing, i know your booked for spring of 2020 but ?????????
Hi Greg
Glad you enjoyed Portugal – it’s a great place to explore. I think the Heartland tour probably has the greatest variety of landscapes of our tours yet. I’ll let you know if anyone drops out of the spring 2020 trips. Otherwise – if you haven’t already covered the ground – there are still places on the other trips!
It would be great to have a house band along for the ride. Fellow tandem riders also always very welcome – particularly the “non-serious” cyclist type!
All the best, Huw
Well, that sounds fun! let us know if you get an opening. It would be an honor.
Hello Huw,
My fiance and I are back from Portugal after an amazing trip.
We would like to thank you very much for all the information that you share on your site as well as the suggestions that you sent in answer to our questions.
We would not have been able to build a proper itinerary without you.
You are a great ambassador for Portugal,
Michelle & Thierry
Happy to share the pleasure of riding in Portugal and exploring one of my favourite countries.
I just finished a 5 day tour of the Portugal Coast that used the route planning service of Pedal Portugal. Outstanding ride routes and stunning views, each one special in some way. I used my own bike, and I crunched the rear derailleur on a curb. Pedal Portugal directed me to a shop, just off my route, and the fix was done in 20 minutes. Thank you Huw Thomas! My special thanks to Dave Wright, my friend, who set this up.
I’m extremely pleased to discover this great site.
I wanted to thank you for ones time just for this fantastic read!!
I definitely loved every bit of it and I have you book marked
to look at new stuff on your web site.
Thanks – very glad it’s useful!
We just finished the “Borders and Castles” tour with Huw and Carolyn and had a fantastic time! Everything was perfectly planned with great routes, delicious food and drink, awesome castles and sights everywhere! I would highly recommend this group and biking in Portugal to anyone.