Bike Tour Reviews  Best Of The Algarve By Road Bike


Best of the Algarve by Road Bike

COUNTRY: Portugal

7 nights
4.8/5 (12)
Rider Level: Active
Rider Level: Active

4.8/5 (12)
7 nights

Self guided from EUR € 1000

Self-guided:
Daily: Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2024 (minimum 2 persons)

Description:
This romantic road bike tour is your one-stop-shop for discovering the alluring beauty of the Algarve. Designed as a self-guided riding experience covering 60-70 km each day, you'll take advantage of a fantastic network of quiet tarmac roads stretching…

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  • Best of the Algarve
    (5/5) Mark Eisenberg 2 months ago

    Fabulous bike trip

    This was our 4th self-guided European bike trip and was our favorite. We’ve never used e bikes before but we’re glad we did as there were lots of hills and 80 kilometer days. We were mostly on back roads with gorgeous vistas of hills, orange orchards, white villages and the sea. There was some traffic but we never felt unsafe. The hotels were nice and the food and wine was fabulous. My wife and I would highly recommend it.

    What was the date of your tour?
    February, 2024
    How many tours have you completed?
    8
    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
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    •  (photo by Mark Eisenberg)
    • BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac February 14, 2024

      Hi Mark! Thank you for sharing your wonderful experience! We're thrilled to hear that your 4th European bike trip was your favorite yet. It's fantastic that the e-bikes made tackling those hills and long distances more enjoyable. The scenic back roads, stunning vistas, and delicious food and wine sound like the perfect recipe for an unforgettable adventure. Those photos look amazing! We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to welcome you back for another amazing journey soon!

    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Chris Downey 6 months ago

    Tour of the Algarve

    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.

  • (5/5) Timothy Thornberry 10 months ago

    Outstanding! Portugal is amazing!

    Entire experience was great! 6 days of riding in Algarve! Routes were great! Hotels very nice! Portuguese people were gracious hosts! Wonderful experience! Can't wait to do it again! (Recommend a rest day in the middle. traveling and biking is hard on you!)

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 3/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Peggy Lister 11 months ago

    Algarve self guided bike tour

    Great experience! The accommodations and the daily breakfasts were all top notch!

  • (5/5) Karla Frank 11 months ago

    Perfect Portugal Cycling

    We can’t say enough about how wonderful this trip was! It was perfect in every way. Our holidays always include cycling so this was the perfect way for us to see the Algarve region of Portugal. Algarve Bike Tours was top notch in every way. They arranged everything for the trip including hotels, cycling routes, bike rentals, and luggage transfers. Everything went off without a hitch. The hotels were all different styles, and included a fantastic breakfast to fuel our ride for the day. The cycling routes were just the right amount of distance and climb to challenge us but not exhaust us. The bicycles were in good condition and met all our needs. We brought our own pedals, clips, shoes, saddles and helmets. Also, we never had one flat! Our luggage was always at the hotel when we arrived and the hotels were happy to accommodate us if we arrived a little before check in time.
    We can’t say enough about the Algarve region! The roads were nice, the people friendly, the scenery beautiful, the food and coffee plentiful and delicious! Motorists were very considerate of bicycles, even in the busier city areas.
    We have done many cycling holidays and this rates at the top, if not the top of all our trips!

    What was the date of your tour?
    May 2023
    How many tours have you completed?
    This is our first with biketours.com. We have done over 20 bike holidays.
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    •  (photo by Karla Frank)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Jamie PRORACKI January 7, 2023

    First bike trip experience

    Great first trip of this type. Also first time to mainland Europe. This was a great way to experience the land and meet and interact with so many people. The food was amazing and most of the accommodations were top notch.

    What was the date of your tour?
    December 2022
    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (4/5) Timothy Libassi November 9, 2022

    Beautiful road biking through the Algarve countryside

    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
    • 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
  • (5/5) Timr November 23, 2019

    Castles, Orange Groves and Sea

    Delightful tour through this beautiful and fascinating part of Portugal. Bikes provided were quality, carbon frame road bikes. Accommodations were good to very good. Navigation was clear—the Garmin provided worked just fine. The countryside was lovely. Recommend especially in September to November when temperatures are better.

    What was the date of your tour?
    November 2019
    How many tours have you completed?
    11
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 5/5 Value
    • 4/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 5/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Tuck October 27, 2019

    Great trip!

    Six of us did an unguided trip using the bike shop's GPS on our Garmin 520 and Iphone "Ride with GPS" app. We would have been miserably lost without it! The route took us thru the back roads of southern Portugal with beautiful orchards of oranges, pomegranates, lemons, vineyards as well as to the southern most tip of Europe and north along the Atlantic ocean coast. We stopped at little cafes for lunch and cappuccino's and stayed in lovely towns at 3 and 4 star hotels. It was simply a fantastic trip. The bike shop provided new carbon fiber road bikes, set us up with the proper adjustments, installed our pedals and left us with plenty of extra parts, tools and tubes to do any repairs. We had one flat tire. They were available anytime and only a phone call away. Addee and BikeTours.com were very helpful on getting us prepped on what to take and made the arrangements for us to be picked up and dropped off at the end of our tour. A few things to note:
    * This is a #3 out of 4 difficulty rated bike tour so come prepared and properly trained.
    * We went the 2nd week of Oct. with perfect weather, 72°F (22°C) for a high and down to 62°F (16°C) at the start of the day. One ½ hour of rain the entire 6 days but it would be very hot during the summer months.
    * There were a lot of hills and a total elevation gain of around 13,000' (over 4000 meters) so be prepared.
    * Download the GPS coordinates and routes to your Garmin or Iphone before leaving home as the internet connections are dicey at best.
    * There is 6 days in a row of riding with no breaks in between so the last day or two can be a bit tiring.
    * Do take a mirror for your helmet or to clamp onto your bike as well as a small bike bag (or day pack) to install on the bike for your cash, passport (needed to check into your hotel), energy bars, sun screen, etc... as there is only one under the saddle small bag that is filled with tools, extra tube, etc...
    * The bike shop provided us with a complimentary water bottle but take a 2nd bottle as the bikes had 2 bottle cages on them and you will be glad you have them.

    What was the date of your tour?
    Oct. 10-17, 2019
    How many tours have you completed?
    one
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Solo travelers
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • Photo 1 (photo by Tuck)
    • Photo 2 (photo by Tuck)
    • Photo 3 (photo by Tuck)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 3/5 Ease of navigation
    • 4/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Cara November 20, 2018

    Beautiful way to see this country!

    We booked the self-guided tour, and loved it! Bikes, maps, GPS, panniers, and lots of tips were all provided! The routes were beautiful, the hotels were great, and I would go back to Portugal in a heartbeat!

    What was the date of your tour?
    10/8/18-10/15/18
    How many tours have you completed?
    this was the first
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat easier
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    First-time bike tourists, Families with teens
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 4/5 Value
    • 3/5 Included meals
    • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 5/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 4/5 Route selection
  • (5/5) Algarve July 9, 2017

    Algarve Road Trip

    Cycling through the Algarve was outstanding. What a perfect place to tour by bike. The people are kind and the scenery is outstanding. The challenge of riding made the trip better than I expected. Every day was different scenery and terrain. The accommodations were fabulous. I wish we had planned to stay longer. Thank you BikeTours.com for making this so memorable and easy to take the trip!

    What was the date of your tour?
    June 25 to July 2
    How many tours have you completed?
    2
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    Somewhat harder
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • 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
    • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
  • (5/5) Marcus k October 3, 2015

    Fantastic trip through Algarve

    We took the 10 day version in 2014. Absolutely loved it. Paul took great care of us. All equipment was excellent. Hotels were good. Best of all Paul was able to accommodate some changes along the way.

    How many tours have you completed?
    1
    Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
    As expected
    Who is this tour suitable for?
    Families with teens, Solo travelers, First-time bike tourists
    Do you recommend this tour?
    Yes
    • Photo 1 (photo by Marcus k)
    • Photo 2 (photo by Marcus k)
    • 5/5 Value
    • 5/5 Included meals
    • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
    • 4/5 Hotels or boat
    • 5/5 Scenery
    • 4/5 Ease of navigation
    • 3/5 Tour documents
    • 5/5 Local tour company services
    • 5/5 Route selection