Lisbon to Algarve Ride

A delightful mix of road and offroad tracks for our 6 day route south from Lisbon. It was the perfect way to experience the rural and coastal beauty of SW Portugal in May. Our guide João briefed us each evening for the next days ride outlining coffee and lunch stops, the route and profile. Alex provided excellent support with the van to transport bags and provide cycle maintenance when required. João and Alex are local experts in the region and happy to share their experience and knowledge on all local matters, history, flora and fauna. Hotels and restaurants were of high standard throughout. I opted for an e-bike which reduced any worries about holding up the group. Highly recommend.

My cycling trip along the Atlantic Coast from Lisbon to Sagres between 18-25 May 2025 was an unforgettable adventure. The detailed itinerary notes provided ahead of the trip were easily accessible online, making pre-planning very easy. The accommodation was generally of good quality, offering comfort and hot showers after long days of riding. We dined at outstanding local restaurants that served high-quality food with extensive menu choices, including regional wines. The bikes provided were robust and well-suited for the varied terrain. The organisational and logistical support from Alexandre Conceição (A2Z) was proactive and efficient (nothing was too much trouble), and João Colaço proved to be an exceptional Ride Leader. My only less than positive observation would be the assessment of the ride's grading. This is graded as an Activity Level 3, however, given the significant amount of off-road cycling, including stretches on sand, consideration should be give to recategorise this ride to an Activity Level 4. The trip documentation should also highlight that approximately 65-70% of the route involves off-road cycling, as some riders were unprepared /inexperienced with the technical aspects associated with off-road elements.

Really fantastic food on this trip. Excellent lunches organised by the tour company - almost too much food but it was all delicious especially the Octopus. Loved the cafe stops for coffee and cake with the many Portuguese pastry options. Scenery along the coast was stunning but this is a relatively small proportion of the cycling. Most of the cycling is on inland off-road gravel tracks with some on quiet roads. I did enjoy the cycling and for me riding more off road was great fun. Hotels were generally of a good standard - the setubal school was exceptional. Hotel vila park bathroom a bit run down. The Aldeia da Pedralva was very rustic (some folk will like this and some may not). Bikes of really good quality and well suited to the terrain. If the option was available I'd have given this trip 4.5 stars.

A great overall experience. Fantastic scenery, most cycling on quiet roads , off the beaten track. Really got to have an authentic experience. Exceptional hotel choices.. charming and sometimes quirky. Ricardo (guide) and Vitor (driver) were incredible… very supportive and couldn’t do enough to help. All restaurant choices were excellent. The cycling was straight forward… and there is a significant amount of off road cycling which I hadn’t done before but found to be very enjoyable and it has inspired me to do more.

We did the Porto to Lisbon trip a few years ago and loved the country, Atlantic coast scenery and food, so felt we should complete the route. So pleased we did. It was quite different with an enjoyably more challenging route, a fair amount off road, on some sandy and gravel tracks which we enjoyed. Good weather, decent hotels and great food. In a small group with good company, and good organisation by our guide, it all amounted to a very enjoyable trip.