Touring Routes

There are so many options in Portugal – it depends on if you want coast, hills, small towns, castles… or a combination.

The routes below are just some ideas to get you started. Questions on these routes or alternatives are welcome – please use our Advice Form.

You can also help expand the resources on this site by sharing details about your own routes. Use the Leave A Reply box below or email pedalportugal@gmail.com.

Some of the ideas below also link up or overlap to some degree. More routes will be added to the list so do come back and check from time to time! You may also want to check out the Day Rides pages for additional options, ideas, detours etc.

Route suggestions

The lines on the map below give an indication of the different routes – please follow the links to the individual pages for details:

Alentejo Circuit: A tour around some of the prettiest towns in southern Portugal.

Alentejo to Algarve: A direct inland route down through the Alentejo to just north of Faro.

Central Bypass: An option if you want to avoid Lisbon – taking you across Portugal from Evora in the Alentejo to Peniche on the Beira coast.

Portugal Explorer: Taking in some of the magnificent castles dotted along Portugal’s wild and wonderful border country – divided into two sections (Alentejo and Beiras).

S2N Algarve to Lisbon: The first half of a south-north route through Portugal that my wife and I rode by tandem in early 2005. Divided into four stages. (See Lisbon to Galicia below for part two.)

S2N Lisbon to Galicia: The second half of the north-south journey detailed above. Also divided into four stages.

Sea to Salamanca: Another route taking you across Portugal, this time from the Atlantic coast south of Aveiro and across the border to Spain.

Alternative ideas

Pedal Portugal’s guidebooks include Cycling The Algarve, which includes a six-day touring route, plus a couple of two-day rides and 10 day rides.

Crazy Guy On A Bike is a wonderful information source through its an collection of online journals from individual’s cycle trips the world over.

It’s a great site because you can search by location… or just browse and read about other people’s adventures. (And look at their pictures). For the Crazy Guy entries on Portugal, click here.

Ramble Out Yonder includes a series of five posts on a month-long trip through Northern Portugal from 2012 – starting here – with a route map, notes on accommodation and descriptions of the ride, plus some great photographs.