7 nights | 25 miles/day
Self guided from EUR € 1010
Tap above to jump to different sections of this tour
-
Algarve Coastal Route
7 night self guided bike tour in Portugal
Experience Portugal's "Ecovia do Litoral," a cycle route linking Vila Real de Santo Antonio on the Spanish border with Cabo de Saifo Vicente (Sagres) in the west. The Algarve is often called Europe's sunniest spot and offers year-round cycling for travelers seeking a warm Mediterranean breeze.
The 146-mile/235km route combines trails in nature preserves with stretches on low-traffic roads and car-free paths. You'll wind along the coastline between fishing villages with Moorish architecture, cobbled lanes, and Roman ruins. Beaches, lagoons, and inlets offer the perfect spot for rest breaks and a snack.
This program affords a relaxed pace and plenty of time off the bike to experience stunning coastal vistas or linger over a traditional Portuguese lunch along the way.
Note: You may start this tour on any date, year-round (minimum of 2 participants). Prices shown are for May-Oct, 2022. If you wish to book a tour starting in Jan-Apr or Nov-Dec, please inquire for prices.
Highlights
- Vila Real de Santo Antonio
- Tavira, a charming old fishing town that has been around since Roman times
- Olhao, an old fishing town, known for its Moorish style architecture
- Traditional Algarvian village of Boliqueime
- Quaint fishing village of Salema
- Cabo de Sao Vicente
Learn More
Learn more about self-guided tours.
-
![Cathedral in Faro, Portugal. Kobu Agency, Unsplash]()
![Biking the Algarve Coastal Route Bike Tour]()
![Boliqueime, Faro District, Portugal. Ryan Searle, Unsplash]()
![Algarve, Portugal. Ioana Mohanu, Unsplash]()
![Vila Real De Santo Antonio, Portugal. Addrian Macias, Unsplash]()
![Algarve, Portugal. Maxzed, Unsplash]()
![Port wine tasting in Portugal! Maksymka Harlytskyi, Unsplash]()
![Algarve, Portugal. Shrey Kanabar, Unsplash]()
![Fresh seafood in Portugal. Alex Teixeira, Unsplash]()
![Portuguese Figs. Katie Luka, Unsplash]()
![Tavira, Portugal. Tanguy Sauvin, Unsplash]()
![Praia Da Rocha, Portugal. Duarte Grilo, Unsplash]()
![Faro, Porgual. Kobu Agency, Unsplash]()
![The famous Portuguese custard! Didmiam, Unsplash]()
Traveler photos
-
-
Daily program
Note: You may start this tour on any date, year-round (minimum of 2 participants). Prices shown are for May-Oct, 2022. If you wish to book a tour starting in Jan-Apr or Nov-Dec, please inquire for prices.
Day 1: Arrival at Vila Real de Santo António
Your tour operator will transfer you from Faro airport to Vila Real de Santo António.
Overnight in Vila Real de Santo António.Day 2: Vila Real de Santo António – Tavira (19 miles/31 km)
After breakfast, you will receive your bike and briefing for the tour. Following a well marked route, with supplied maps, you will cycle west towards Tavira, a charming old fishing town that has been around since Roman times, your destination for this day’s cycling.
Overnight in Tavira.Day 3: Tavira – Olhao (19 miles/31 km)
Today's ride continues west towards Olhao and passes through unspoilt coastal countryside and quaint fishing villages. Your destination in Olhao is a charming little hotel set right in the heart of the old fishing town, renowned for its moorish style architecture. It's the perfect place to sample local specialities at local prices!
Overnight in Olhao.Day 4: Olhao – Vilamoura (25 miles/40 km)
Your third day on the Algarve Coastal Cycle Route takes you through the regional centre of Faro and onwards past the prestigious golf resorts and the seafront at Quarteira, to your overnight stay in Vilamoura, with its marina full of luxury yachts and a good selection of cafes, bars and restaurants.
Overnight in Vilamoura.Day 5: Vilamoura – Praia da Rocha (35 miles/55 km)
Another interesting day’s cycling through the popular resort of Albufeira and inland through the traditional old town of Lagoa, then on to Portimão and Praia da Rocha. Here you will stay in a charming hotel next to the old fort on the sea front.
Overnight in Praia da Rocha.Day 6: Praia da Rocha – Praia da Luz (24 miles/39 km)
Today you cycle through the fishing village of Alvor, towards bustling Lagos, a likely stop-over for lunch and a little exploration. Continuing on through the well known coastal resort of Praia da Luz. There are lots of cafes and shops along the promenade and often market stalls and artists displaying their work, so it's worth getting here in time to explore.
Overnightin Praia da Luz.Day 7: Praia da Luz – Cabo de São Vicente (24 miles/39 km)
Your final day of the cycling tour takes you through some dramatic and interesting scenery and on to the southern most point of Europe, Cabo de São Vicente. The nearby town of Sagres with its ancient fort and sights of historical interest, provide plenty of opportunities to explore. The tour operator will collect you and return you to a quaint hotel, set in a quiet square in the heart of the old market town of Loulé. Loulé is an explorer’s haven, with its narrow cobbled streets leading off the central Avenida, tiny shops and hidden away bars and restaurants. So there are plenty of opportunities to buy last minute souvenirs and to sample local delights before your flight home tomorrow.
Overnight in Loule.Day 8: Departure
Departure day. If transfer is needed to the airport, the tour operator will arrange this.Surface and terrain
This tour is on a mixture of dirt tracks and mostly traffic-calmed roads. It features relaxed cycling with occasional hills and distances of up to 35 miles per day.
Approximately 65% quiet roads, 30% dirt tracks, and 5% main roads with shoulder.
Hotels
These are sample hotels and may vary based on availability.
Your hotels will be located within easy reach of a choice of places to eat and explore.
Vila Real de Santo António – Apolo Hotel
www.apolo-hotel.comTavira –Residencial Mares
www.residencialmares.comOlhão – Pension Bicuar
www.pensionbicuar.comBoliqueime – Hotel São Sebastião
www.hotelboliqueime.comPraia da Rocha – Hotel Vila Lido
Interested in visiting other areas before or after your tour? Visit our hotels page to learn more about lodging options.
How to get there
Tour start and end
Nearest airport: Faro, Portugal
Nearest train station: Loulé, PortugalThe tour operator will arrange pick-up from airport in Faro. They can also do pick-ups from the Loulé train station, located a convenient 1 km from the bike fitting shop.
Tips on getting to and from your tour
-
Dates
Daily: year-round, 2022 (minimum 2 persons)
Off season: May 01, 2022 - May 31, 2022, Oct 01, 2022 - Oct 31, 2022
Low season: Jun 01, 2022 - Jun 30, 2022
Shoulder season: Jul 01, 2022 - Jul 31, 2022, Sep 01, 2022 - Sep 30, 2022
High season: Aug 01, 2022 - Aug 31, 2022
Prices
Tour package
Per person, double occupancy* € 1010 Low season surcharge € 175 Shoulder season surcharge € 250 High season surcharge € 345 Luggage transfer, per group (for groups with no support vehicle) € 210 *Single rooms are available for a surcharge. The surcharge is dependent on your travel dates, please contact us prior to booking for more details.
Bike Rentals
Electrically assisted bike € 105 Included services
- 7 nights accommodation in hotels and holiday apartments
- Breakfasts
- Detailed maps and route suggestions
- Route assistance where necessary
- Airport transfers
- Welcome briefing
- Hybrid touring bikes, Trek Navigator
Note: To customize your desired level of support on this self-guided tour, you may book additional support services including luggage transfers, a guide, support van, and/or GPS system.
Tour guide and/or support vehicle can be available upon request and for an additional charge.
Bike rentals
Bikes available and included in the tour package (must be reserved at time of booking) include:
- Hybrid touring bike, Trek Navigator
Bikes available to rent (must be reserved at time of booking):
- Electrically assisted bike*
*More about electrically-assisted bikes >
More about the hybrid tour bikes:
These solid, reliable touring bikes come with shimano twist shift gears, sprung seat post and comfy seat and front suspension, comfortable upright riding position. These bikes come with gel filled tubes and typically have a very good puncture record. There will probably also be some Giant hybrid tourers, probably the Giant Sedona model, featuring 24-speed click shift Shimano gears, front suspension, and comfy upright riding position.The hybrid bikes come equipped with:
- Rear luggage racks (can be supplied with one or two pannier bags as required)
- Garmin unit with GPX tracks of the route
Pedals
The bikes will have flat pedals. If you want to bring your own pedals, please bring your own shoes and also the necessary equipment to change the pedals.Helmets
Helmets are available. However, we recommend that you bring your own helmet for safety and hygiene purposes.
-
Route Map
Maps are for information purposes only and reflect typical routes between overnight locations. They may not reflect your actual route.
-
Reviews
-
★★★★★ Cheryl Jaskot 1 day ago
Coastal Dream
WE were a group of six with our group ages from 67-43. The local bike company was very communicative and accommodating. We all rode traditional bikes and trained on fairly flat surfaces. The course was fairly flat the first three days along gravel roads and boardwalks. The longest day was 35 miles and a lot of hills. The last two days were also hilly and along gravel roads. We had to walk some of the hills. The accommodations were great and food was easily accessible. Lots of amazing seafood was everywhere. There were also plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. We had a great time and would highly recommend this tour.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 5
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Neil Gordon 1 month ago
A mixture of old and new
A very nice mixture of quaint fishing villages and modern tourist towns. The cycling is mostly a mixture of unpaved trails and back roads, but there is some heavily traveled roads to navigate. Hotels are all 4 and 5 star. Bikes are heavy, buy designed for terrain. Excellent support.
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Karen Burnham 1 month ago
Self Guided Algarve Tour
The connections at the beginning and end of the trip with the bike company went very smoothly and the bikes and GPS were of great quality. Our favorite towns were Vila Real and Tavira, and the paths the first 3 days were delightful. Day 4 was grueling with all busy road traffic. We wish this day could have been avoided via rerouting. All the hotels were fantastic, and the breakfasts were wonderful. We would have liked to spend 2 nights in Lagos so we would have had time to explore. Reaching the lighthouse at the end of the week was such a feeling of accomplishment! Portugal is a great place to visit, so be sure to spend more time after the bike ride to explore.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- Two
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Wendy Walton 1 month ago
Portugal by Bike
Our bike trip along the Algarve coast was just what we hoped it would be. Our self guided trip had just the right amount of contact with staff, our pick ups/ drop offs were seamless, there was more interaction at the start of the trip than we have had with others tours which familiarized us with the gos navigation system and got our bikes just right. There was a nice mix of accommodations and it was easy to add extra days to customize our trip.
- What was the date of your tour?
- April 2022
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ MEMALgarve January 16, 2020
Really Great Holiday Trip on Wheels
We had a wonderful 4 day/5 night trip along the Algarve. The GPS was superb, the route was very well thought out, the food amazing and the Algarve everything we had hoped it would be- thank you.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 12/30/19-1/4/20
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Bamboo March 30, 2019
Great trip along the Algarve
We loved visiting the Algarve towns and beaches by bike and it was exciting to discover our next guesthouse with our luggage at the door.
Next time, we would have used mountain bikes instead of crossovers, which were heavy and not as smooth on the trails and cobblestones.
The maps were clear and we were able to self-guide without any problem.
Loved the feeling of biking from the spanish border to the westerly tip.- What was the date of your tour?
- March 16th
- How many tours have you completed?
- First tour
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ NoPensionWillTravel December 8, 2018
Sunny Cycling in a Very Popular Spot
The tour operator provided very responsive and friendly service throughout this trip. The hotels were excellent, being mostly four-star (although we're usually happy with two or three.) We particularly liked the staff at the Hotel Apolo in Vila Real de Santo António. As the description says, this is one of the few places you can cycle warm, sunny weather in Europe in late November! We would caution prospective riders to do their research, though. If, like we, you imagine the Algarve as quaint and quiet - as it may have been in the past - you may be surprised at how built up it has become. We were rarely out of sight of high-rise hotels or flashy marinas. The "fishing villages with Moorish architecture, cobbled lanes, Roman ruins, beaches, lagoons, and inlets" all exist - but there's a lot of development in between, and growing. And this also means traffic and more challenging cycling. When we see a "2" rating, we usually expect we could invite capable non-cyclists, but in this case, the preponderance of busy, sometimes narrow roads, and complex traffic circles made us glad we didn't have newbies with us. So, do your homework - but if you know what to expect, this is a well-run operation with nice bikes and a super GPS route-finder.
- What was the date of your tour?
- November 12, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7 or 8 (plus club-organized in NA)
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
-
★★★★★ Chuck1 December 18, 2017
Great adventure !!!
This was a wonderful trip.
Other than 2 issues I thought this was a well planned trip, great hotels / flawless luggage connections / good route aided by supplied GPS.
The 2 issues were :
The bicycles were not very good. Shifting was erratic as they obviously hadn’t been tuned prior to our trip.
The other issue was the promosed transfer to the airport at the end of the trip did not happen, we waited almost an hour in the hotel lobby only to hear through the consierge that the ride to the airport was not happening forcing us to catch a cab and rushing to make our flight connection.- What was the date of your tour?
- Oct 1st thru 7th
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat easier
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
BikeTours.com staff reply from Brittany December 19, 2017
Chuck, thanks so much for your thoughtful review. We're glad to hear that you had a great time but sorry that you had some troubles. I'll follow up with you via email to make things right. Thanks again!
-
★★★★★ Delane October 6, 2017
Beautiful Scenery !!
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 24, 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ DebbieFL September 18, 2017
Debbie & Phyllis' Excellent Adventure
This was our 7th trip with Biketours.com, and one of our favorite routes, by far. The route was spectacular, and unlike a few of our previous trips - the towns were we spent the night each offered a delightful mix of sightseeing & dining options to take advantage of. And we can't say enough about Fred and the rest of the group at Algarve Bike Holidays. From the materials they provided ahead of time to the extra TCL by helping us with a flat on Sunday afternoon, so we didn't lose time on Monday waiting for the local bike shop to open - they went above and beyond. The hotels were particularly nice - some of the best breakfast buffets we've experienced so far. This was the first time we took a trip that was guided via GPS - and it is definitely the way to go!
- What was the date of your tour?
- 9/2 - 9/8 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 7
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- As expected
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Shiftin July 15, 2017
Beautiful Algarve!
Cycling in Portugal was an amazing adventure! The scenery was exceptional, the routes were mostly flat, some hills at the end of the week, food along the coast (grilled fresh fish, fruit and vegetables) was all part of a very special week. Fred, part owner in Algarve Bike Holidays, could not have been more friendly and supportive. We were provided with a Garmin that had the routes already downloaded. We were a little challenged with this when construction blocked our route. Regardless, we always made it to our end location which included large resort hotels as well as quaint bed and breakfast inns. We went in July which turned out to be exceptionally hot so be sure to carry lots of water and start your trek early in the morning.
- What was the date of your tour?
- July 2017
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10-15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ PeteN September 30, 2016
Algarve Coastal Route
Very enjoyable scenic route. Great seafood, excellent weather (September). Good logistics. Challenging in parts however, due to traffic on roads and more hills than expected. We were glad to have ebikes. Tires supplied were not up to the trails and we suffered several punctures. I recommend checking equipment carefully before setting out.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September 12, 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- This was the third
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
★★★★★ Shifty September 27, 2016
Good trip
The scenery, transportation and accommodation were top notch. Several of the bicycles were difficult to shift, no water bottle holders and poor tread (five punctures). The GPS supplied did not always follow the route. The comment about most road riding is on traffic calmed roads is not correct. If any of your group has trouble riding in traffic you may want to look elsewhere. Having said all that I would repeat the trip after addressing the comments above.
- What was the date of your tour?
- September
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
-
