CC-BY-SA-4.0 - Beach in Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Bengt Nyman' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Mathieu Marquer' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-4.0 - Salema beach in Algarve, Portugal. CC:Bengt Nyman' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Church of Nossa Senhora da Luz, Praia da Luz, Algarve, Portugal. CC:jarp32' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Praia da Rocha, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Steven Fruitsmaak' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Grilled large sardines are a Portuguese favorite! CC:Yusuke Kawasaki' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-4.0 - Beach near Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Philippe Salgarolo' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Olhão, Algarve, Portugal. Espen Nordenhaug@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Francesinha is an original Portuguese sandwich! CC:Filipe Fortes' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Olhão, Algarve, Portugal. Jocelyn Erskine-Kellie@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Mediterranean Chameleon in Algarve, Portugal. CC:Luis nunes alberto' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Ceramic & Pottery Shop in Algarve, Portugal. CC:Kolforn' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-2.0 - Carvoeiro, Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. Jose A.@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Traditional Portuguese dish of shredded bacalhau, migas & rapini! CC:silvar.net' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-4.0 - Olhão, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Laurel Lodged' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Marzipan - a popular Portuguese sweets! Aurelien Guichard@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Praia da Rocha, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Hugo Cadavez' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-2.0 - Carvoeiro, Lagoa, Algarve, Portugal. Bert Kaufmann@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve, Portugal. CC:sky_hlv' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-4.0 - Salema, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Joseolgon' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Almond blossoms in Algarve, Portugal. Yolanda@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-3.0 - Sheep in Algarve, Portugal. CC:Lacobrigo' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-4.0 - The famous Taylor's port wines in Portugal! CC:Wiki_portwine' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Gorgeous flowers in Portugal. Andreas Manessinger@Flickr' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Praia da Luz, Algarve, Portugal. CC:manjerix' data-type='image'>

CC-BY-SA-2.0 - Vila Real de Santo António, Algarve, Portugal. CC:Bert Kaufmann' data-type='image'>

Traveler photos

Route Map

Maps are for information purposes only and reflect typical routes between overnight locations. They may not reflect your actual route.

• ★★★★★ Angela Henderson 2 months ago

  Portugal is SPECTACULAR

  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

  • BikeTours.com staff reply from bozena_kusovac November 9, 2023

    Hello Angela, thank you for sharing your experience in Portugal! We're glad to hear you enjoyed the beauty and warmth of the country.

    We appreciate your valuable feedback regarding the bike tour challenges and will certainly use it to refine and improve our program. Your insights into the challenges with the GPS system, written instructions, and bike fitting are invaluable. We take your comments to heart and will be working diligently to refine our program in time to come. We hope to welcome you back for a smoother and more enjoyable experience in the future.

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Ann English 2 months ago

  Prefer not to be riding on hwys and in big cities

  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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Betty Ngan 3 months ago

  An adventure

  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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Jeffrey Yarne 3 months ago

  Do your research

  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.

• ★★★★★ Amanda Jennings 3 months ago

  Serious amounts of traffic

  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

  • BikeTours.com staff reply from Biketours Tour Advisor October 18, 2023

    Thank you, Amanda, for your honest feedback! Although we strive to provide the most safe and least-trafficked roads, in can be a challenge in certain countries and inevitably we have to link paths on roads with more traffic. We hope you were able to bring home some good memories of your trip. If you ever want to consider another one - we'd be happy to point you in the direction of tours with better bicycle infrastructure.

  • 1/5 Value
  • 1/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 5/5 Hotels or boat
  • 1/5 Scenery
  • 2/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
• ★★★★★ Carol Stack 4 months ago

  Fabulous Easy Biking Trip

  We were very impressed with the arrangements made for our self guided bike trip across the Algarve. All the staff we met were incredibly helpful (shout out to Angus and Curt), the e bikes were terrific, the route fun and interesting -- it was just a delight. One hotel (Jupiter Algarve) was too much of a party hotel for us -- but we survived the late night music. The route had originally been configured west to east and we rode east to west so there a couple instances in which we were riding the wrong direction on one way streets. We had a wonderful time and so enjoyed seeing Portugal up close and personal.

  What was the date of your tour?

  August 2023

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, 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
  • 3/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Paul Crisafulli 4 months ago

  Beautiful beaches, caves and countryside!

  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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Lowell Snow 7 months ago

  Perfect Antidote to Winter

  Warm, clear days. Manageable daily miles all along the coast. Excellent food. Good bikes and great support. Can’t ask for much more than that

• ★★★★★ John Koester 7 months ago

  Great trip on the Algarve coast!

  This was a very enjoyable trip on the Algarve coast. The route was easy to follow on the GPS and the bikes worked flawlessly. But the accommodations were the real stars. Each place we stayed was superb. We had a great time and highly recommend this trip on the southern coast of Portugal.

  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, Families with teens

  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
  • 5/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Donna Barron 8 months ago

  Great Way to Experience the Algarve

  We had a wonderful adventure riding along the Algarve. We loved that we rode on different surfaces and saw a lot of variety. The GPS was a little slow at time with directions.
• ★★★★★ Allan Ruus 8 months ago

  May Algarve Family Trip

  This cycling trip was a wonderful way to see the Algarve, much better than driving to hotels/vrbo and walking around to see the sites. The coastal nature parks with all the birds are impressive. The hotels were great locations, clean, breakfasts excellent, staff friendly and helpful. GPS worked perfectly and Biketours replaced one of the bikes within 3 hours of when a couple spokes broke.

• ★★★★★ Michelle Dagenhart 8 months ago

  Top notch amazing trip, and affordable!

  The self-guided Algarve coastal trip was amazing in every way! Varied landscapes and terrain, beautiful coastal, farmland, marshland, and city views. GPS worked great and was mandatory given all the turns. Hotels were fantastic, usually ocean views, 4 stars, and amazing breakfasts.

  What was the date of your tour?

  April 2023

  How many tours have you completed?

  1

  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

  • 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
  • 5/5 Route selection
  • 5/5 Guides (if applicable)
• ★★★★★ Bernice Thill 10 months ago

  Authentic Beautiful Portugal

  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

  • 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)
• ★★★★★ Bernice Thill 10 months ago

  Authentic Beautiful Portugal

  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

  • 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)
• ★★★★★ Mark Stow November 26, 2022

  Good biking, excellent service

  This was our seventh cycling trip and our third self guided one. Based on our experience we would rate the cycle tour company quite highly. We were provided with good bikes which were appropriate for the terrain and the appropriate maintenance equipment which came in handy as we did have a flat tire on day 5. The gps provided came loaded with the day by day routes and was invaluable in finding the out of the way paths that we occasionally found ourselves on. The hotels were very nice with most having balconies and ocean views and all provided an excellent breakfast to start the day. The van pick up and drop offs were on time and we enjoyed the local knowledge that Angus shared along the way. The scenery was spectacular from the salt marshes and dunes in the East to the cliffs and ocean vistas in the West.

  What was the date of your tour?

  November 2022

  How many tours have you completed?

  7

  Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?

  As expected

  Who is this tour suitable for?

  First-time bike tourists, Solo travelers, Families with teens

  Do you recommend this tour?

  Yes

  • 5/5 Value
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Emily Jaskot October 23, 2022

  Simply Incredible!

  The bike trip was a perfect way to experience the Algarve region of Portugal. The bikes, ride routes, and hotels were fantastic. With rides between 20 and 35 miles per day, we arrived at each town with plenty of time to explore each wonderful town.

• ★★★★★ Cheryl Jaskot September 15, 2022

  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

  • 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
  • 5/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ Neil Gordon August 4, 2022

  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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Karen Burnham August 3, 2022

  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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ Wendy Walton August 2, 2022

  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

  • 5/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 4/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 4/5 Hotels or boat
  • 5/5 Scenery
  • 4/5 Ease of navigation
  • 5/5 Tour documents
  • 5/5 Local tour company services
  • 4/5 Route selection
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 4/5 Value
  • 4/5 Included meals
  • 5/5 Bikes + equipment
  • 3/5 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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!

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 5/5 Value
  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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
• ★★★★★ 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

  • 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