Day rides

This section includes a variety of one-off rides and short tours (two-three days) in different parts of Portugal.

The Pedal Portugal day rides are split into five regions – listed north to south (see below). Click on each region for lists of rides in that area. 

Individual ride pages each include an overview, a summary of distance & difficulty, and notes on local facilities (shops, cafes, accommodation etc.). Plus a detailed description and links to maps for each ride.

As well as the regional sections, there’s also a separate page giving details of dedicated cycle paths – Ecopistas & Ciclovias.

However, it’s worth noting that although there are plenty of bike path projects on the drawing board in Portugal, very few medium or long-distance routes actually exist.

Maps and descriptions of the EuroVelo 1 Atlantic route should also be treated with caution. Much of the route is not signposted or well maintained. Personally, from what I’ve seen of it, it doesn’t even take cyclists on a particularly interesting or bike-friendly route. My guess is it was designed in committee, by bureaucrats, rather than having touring cyclists involved.

The Pedal Portugal rides on the sections below are all road routes. However, there is also a growing number of mountain bike centres in Portugal, locations offering a number of marked trails of different grades.

For a map and more information, see the Cyclin’ Portugal site. The home page is in English but all the other pages are (currently) in Portuguese. There are a few road routes but most are off-road.

The regions

Northern Portugal: From Viana do Castelo to Braganca in the north and to Porto and the Duoro Valley in the south.

The Beiras: Including the Beira Alta (High) and Baixo (Low), this area covers the coast between Porto and Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, the mountains of the Serra da Estrela and the border region around Guarda.

Lisbon & Central: Including the provinces of Estremadura and Ribatejo. This area also covers the coast between Setubal (to the south of Lisbon) and Figueira da Foz.

The Alentejo: Portugal’s largest region, covering a large area to the south and east of Lisbon. Main towns of interest include Beja, Evora and Portalegre. For the Wikipedia entry, click here. For the Lonely Planet write-up, click here.

The Algarve: The far south of Portugal, stretching from the Spanish border to the Atlantic. Avoid the bigger tourist areas and there’s some beautiful rides to be had. An excellent winter cycling destination.

Feedback

If you try out any of our rides please let us know what you think. Or if you know a good ride then please send us the details so we can share it with other riders.