Algarve  Bike Tour Reviews

  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (1/5) Amanda Jennings 6 months ago

    Serious amounts of traffic

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This ride has you in a lot of heavy traffic and even on the motorway at some places. The ride takes you through heavily touristed areas and then areas with nothing. This country very much highlighted the haves and the have nots in the country. I did not like the ride, it wasn't worth all of the traffic that we had to deal with.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 1/5 Value
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 1/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
  • (3/5) NoPensionWillTravel December 8, 2018

    Sunny Cycling in a Very Popular Spot

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Photo 1 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 2 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 3 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 4 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 5 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • Photo 6 (photo by NoPensionWillTravel)
    • 2/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 2/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) Jeffrey Yarne 6 months ago

    Do your research

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    Note: we have ridden the flatter and paved bike trails of the Danube and Bruge to Amsterdam. If those rides are rated 1, this ride should be more than 1.5 primarily due to the amount of loose gravel paths coupled with deep ruts from cars. Also is you are close to 5’1” even the extra small bikes with narrow tires might be tough to handle. The area is warm in late Sept 2023. And if you are expecting smaller towns we found the stopping places generally large catering to many tourists which is the primary industry. There are some wonderful places to eat. All hotels had air conditioning although some were noisy others were nice and set back from the crowds. The Portugal people are very nice and the local tour company is as accommodating within reason although if you break a chain in the midst of no where it is a challenge. It would be good to bring at minimum a master link and chain river tool for a roadside repair.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
  • (3/5) Ann English 5 months ago

    Prefer not to be riding on hwys and in big cities

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The friendly people in Portugal, the delicious and nutritious food, and most of the hotels were wonderful! The e-bikes were fine and when needed I quickly got a replacement. However, the bikes should be fitted to each person as well as the replacement bike. That was not done so the inappropriate fit gave me much shoulder and back pain. The route had way too many hwy and larger cities round abouts for us. We prefer small towns and rural/ocean scenery.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    We have been on 4 bike tours
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (3/5) John Matthew Schley 1 month ago

    Both really great and just OK

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The weather in February was perfection. We saw many beautiful sights. Each days biking was varied. We stayed in very large hotels/spas. They were objectively good hotels. We hated them. Really felt separated from environment. Felt I could have been anywhere. Restaurants we visited along the way were all excellent. My wife had a problem with her bike. The team handled it wonderfully. Every person who we interacted with on their team were gracious and helpful. While there are many examples of natural beauty in the Algarve , the amount of development, both miles of very expensive holiday homes, and strips of pizza joints and t-shirt stores made the trip not completely what we hoped for.

    What was the date of your tour?
    February 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    6
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    No
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 1/5 Hotels or boat
    • 3/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Shifty September 27, 2016

    Good trip

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) PeteN September 30, 2016

    Algarve Coastal Route

    · 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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Nature Preserve along Algarve (photo by PeteN)
    • Photo 2 (photo by PeteN)
    • Tavira (photo by PeteN)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Delane October 6, 2017

    Beautiful Scenery !!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 3/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Chuck1 December 18, 2017

    Great adventure !!!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 3/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Bamboo March 30, 2019

    Great trip along the Algarve

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Made it! (photo by Bamboo)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 3/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 4/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Karen Burnham August 3, 2022

    Self Guided Algarve Tour

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Bike and GPS instructions with Agnus (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Fun boardwalks to cycle on (photo by Karen Burnham)
    •  (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Half way across the Algarve (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • Negotiating a town square (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • The FINISH LINE!!! (photo by Karen Burnham)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Neil Gordon August 4, 2022

    A mixture of old and new

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    •  (photo by Neil Gordon)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 2/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill March 15, 2023

    Authentic Beautiful Portugal

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This trip is an amazing challenge by bicycle, from flat country roads to busy tourist towns to the climbing and winding hills and valleys that lead to sweeping views of the sea in Sagres and Cape St. Vincent. My husband and I are long-time cyclists and did a self-guided tour of the Algarve Coast. We found this ride to be challenging and rewarding. Our local representative was super helpful in lending tips and advice. The hotels were A-plus. The luggage transfer was flawless. The GPS device provided by the tour company was a great addition and helped us navigate throughout the trip. Written directions were harder to follow as not all roads are marked with bike route information. You must trust mainly the GPS and fill in with Google maps. The only reason I’m not giving this a 5-star rating is that our bikes were in need of some love. They were good hybrid bikes that could handle rough roads and smooth pavement. We biked on some cloudy, rainy days and it would have been nice to have the Dynamo lights working for safety. We also had some trouble with our chains slipping off the gears, and the suspension being really tight. You want suspension for some of the rougher roads. Otherwise, this was such an amazing trip by bicycle. If you love adventure, check this out.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Early March 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    •  (photo by Bernice Thill)
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Bernice Thill March 16, 2023

    Authentic Beautiful Portugal

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    This trip is an amazing challenge by bicycle, from flat country roads to busy tourist towns to the climbing and winding hills and valleys that lead to sweeping views of the sea in Sagres and Cape St. Vincent. My husband and I are long-time cyclists and did a self-guided tour of the Algarve Coast. We found this ride to be challenging and rewarding. Our local representative was super helpful in lending tips and advice. The hotels were A-plus. The luggage transfer was flawless. The GPS device provided by the tour company was a great addition and helped us navigate throughout the trip. Written directions were harder to follow as not all roads are marked with bike route information. You must trust mainly the GPS and fill in with Google maps. The only reason I’m not giving this a 5-star rating is that our bikes were in need of some love. They were good hybrid bikes that could handle rough roads and smooth pavement. We biked on some cloudy, rainy days and it would have been nice to have the Dynamo lights working for safety. We also had some trouble with our chains slipping off the gears, and the suspension being really tight. You want suspension for some of the rougher roads. Otherwise, this was such an amazing trip by bicycle. If you love adventure, check this out.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Early March 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 4/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (4/5) Paul Crisafulli 6 months ago

    Beautiful beaches, caves and countryside!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    The perfect way to see all that Portugal offers! Great people, great food and beautiful sights. Tour guide company provided best hotels, great towns to explore and great service.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Betty Ngan 6 months ago

    An adventure

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    We have previously done the wonderful Danube tour and a guided boat bike tour in the Netherlands. We rode e-assisted bikes with the exception of 2 riders in our group.

    The Algarve bike tour was very different, and should be rated a 2 or 3 because this trail system is not as well developed. We found it challenging even with e-assist bikes. The tour has paved, gravel and dirt roads and even a boardwalk with gates. The segments of the trail were sometimes hard to locate on the gps and sometimes the maps did not agree with the gps. On the first day we followed the blue line on the map and rode over rough gravel roads until we encountered Angus, our coordinator, who informed us that that this was not the main route. But it wasn’t marked as an alternative route on the map.

    We loved the food that we found along the way. A lunch at a seaside restaurant between Tavira and Olhao was the highlight of the tour. We enjoyed the old Portugal that remains, but much of the area west of Faro has been developed for tourism, so there are large resort areas for golf and boaters. We loved the very sweet Hotel Belavista da Luz in Praia da Luz.

    We would recommend this self guided tour for younger more adventurous folks who can navigate and who don’t mind riding in rough loose gravel roads and highways with some rather harrowing highway crossings. The highways in the western part of the coast were not as busy, and we found drivers were generally respectful in the roundabouts. As our mileage increased we grew stronger over the 6 day ride, and we were proud to have made it to the 6 day when a broken chain stopped our progress.

    What was the date of your tour?
    September 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Much harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • Day 5 (photo by Betty Ngan)
    • Marina and cobblestone path (photo by Betty Ngan)
    • Fabulous food (photo by Betty Ngan)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 2/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 3/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Angela Henderson 5 months ago

    Portugal is SPECTACULAR

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    Portugal is beautiful, the people even more so! We will definitely be back!

    The bike tour needs some work. The GPS system is too small, half the size of my cell phone, and the written instructions not detailed enough, or accurate to what is happening on the ground around you. Because there are no consistent street signs, or bike tour signs through the entire route, the written directions that go along with the GPS are critical to guiding you on this tour. The number of u-turns, poorly written directions, etc., made what should have been a straightforward three hour bike ride into a 5 to 7 hour bike ride, not allowing us time to really enjoy the areas we rode through.

    The company also didn’t fit us to the bikes and one of our friends suffered with some pretty serious neck and shoulder pain as a result.
    I think the company is good, I just think they need to do some refining of their program.

    What was the date of your tour?
    October, 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    •  (photo by Angela Henderson)
    • 3/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 2/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 1/5 Ease of navigation
    • 1/5 Tour documents
    • 2/5 Local tour company services
    • 1/5 Route selection
  • Best of the Algarve
    (4/5) Timothy Libassi November 9, 2022

    Beautiful road biking through the Algarve countryside

    · Best of the Algarve by Road Bike

    Beautiful tour through the countryside of the Algarve. The routes provided kept you on quite almost car free roads for the most part and where it couldn’t you are still on well maintained secondary roads with a good shoulder to ride on. The weather was great, not too hot during the day and no rain while we were riding. The carbon fiber road bikes were high quality, well-tuned and setup for us on the first day. The hotels were good to great, we stayed an extra night in Sagres, which was not only a great way to break up the trip but also the nicest hotel on the tour. The Garmin provided worked fine, we had one glitch where it sent us to the wrong hotel, but since we had also downloaded the tours to our phone, we worked it out quickly. Communication was great with biketours.com and even better with the local tour company who kept track of my bag which the airline had lost and had it to me just in time for the first day of riding. Overall a fun trip, I would go back to Portugal in a heartbeat.

    What was the date of your tour?
    october 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • 5/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 4/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Chris Downey 6 months ago

    Tour of the Algarve

    · Best of the Algarve by Road Bike

    Great routes through the Algarve for road biking. The hotel were great except for the final hotel in Albufeira where we were given two single beds and each had a plastic mattress protector! A change I would recommend is incorporating Lagos in the bike tour and as an end destination to allow for spending an afternoon in that City to explore the coast after a morning of biking.

    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
  • Algarve Coastal Route
    (5/5) Shiftin July 15, 2017

    Beautiful Algarve!

    · Algarve Coastal Route

    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
    Countries included in this tour?
    Portugal
    • We loved our shirts! A gift along with water bottles! (photo by Shiftin)
    • Beautiful town of Faro! (photo by Shiftin)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection