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Our trip begins in Lisbon, founded on seven hills overlooking the estuary of the River Tagus, the city became the capital of Portugal after its conquest from the Moors in 1147.
As Portugal built a global empire from the 15th century onwards, Lisbon became the hub of international trade and the heart of this maritime Golden Age of discovery, reflected in the monumental architecture. A devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami almost totally destroyed the capital in 1755 and therefore Lisbon appears as a carefully planned 18th century city.
Today we leave the capital behind and strike south on our journey. After breakfast there will be some time to ensure all are happy with our bikes and to make any minor adjustments.
We then begin the first cycling section of the holiday from Lisbon south and ride directly from the hotel through downtown Lisbon and onto Belem district, derived from the Portuguese word for Bethlehem, where we cross the Tagus by ferry. Our route starts with some traffic in the Trafaria area then takes us along the Coast Caparica until reaching Albufeira Lake.
From here we take taxis a short distance to our hotel in Sesimbra. Once a small fishing village, Sesimbra is now a pleasant beach town with great seafood restaurants and an old Moorish fort overlooking the sands (48km cycling)
Today we leave the capital behind and strike south on our journey. After breakfast there will be some time to ensure all are happy with our bikes and to make any minor adjustments. We then begin the first cycling section of the holiday from Lisbon south and ride directly from the hotel through downtown Lisbon and onto Belem district, derived from the Portuguese word for Bethlehem, where we cross the Tagus by ferry. Our route starts with some traffic in the Trafaria area then takes us along the Coast Caparica, sometimes parallel to the sea and other times inland, passing Albufeira Lake until we reach the lighthouse on Cape Espichel where the ride ends. From here we take taxis a short distance to our hotel in Sesimbra. Once a small fishing village, Sesimbra is now a pleasant beach town with great seafood restaurants and an old Moorish fort overlooking the sands. Around 20% of the route today is on an unpaved sandy surface, 80% paved. Please note that depending on conditions it may be necessary to walk the bikes over a 2km stretch of sand on today’s route.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 59 kilometres (total 550 metres accumulated ascent and 430 metres descent).
Today we ride to Setubal passing the rolling hills of the Serra da Arrabida. The stunning coastal scenery is somewhat greener than the south and contrasts the deep blue Atlantic with the greens of the pine-forested hills.
Along the way we pass little bays and beaches and will make time for a quick swim. Finally we reach our hotel in the thriving port town of Setubal where you can take a walk through the pedestrianised old town and even up to the hilltop fortress for panoramic views (35km cycling)
We start the day with a bus ride (1.5hrs) south into the region of Alentejo (literally the land ‘beyond’ the River Tagus). The second cycling section of the holiday starts in the little coastal town of Sines from where we head south to Vila Nova de Milfontes. Shortly after starting we enter the protected lands of the Vicentine Coast Natural Park – Europe’s largest coastal natural park. The remainder of the trip is within this huge park as we cycle south until Sagres, mostly on inland routes but always returning occasionally to the stunning coastline of rugged cliffs and miles of unspoilt beaches constantly pounded by the Atlantic Ocean (27km cycling)
Today is our longest ride as we continue south on another ride past wild coastlines and white-washed fishing villages. The final part of our ride is in the Algarve region, whose name dates back to Moorish time mean simply ‘the west’ in Arabic.
We see the ‘untouched’ Algarve on the Atlantic Coast, far removed from the golf courses and beach resorts further east. Today’s cycle ride ends in in the charming historical village of Aljezur. We recommend a stroll around its compact and well-preserved old quarter and, time permitting; you can choose to visit the ruins of the medieval castle with great views over the surrounding area (66km cycling)
Our final ride passes some of the greatest wild beaches on the west coast. There is one steady and gentle uphill at the beginning of the ride, then another couple later in the day. Our final destination is Cape Sao Vicente near the historically important port town of Sagres. It was here that Prince Henry the Navigator founded his navigation school during the ‘Age of the Discoveries’ and the Fortaleza de Sagres castle, rebuilt in the 18th century. After celebrating the end of our ride we will drive for around 1.5hrs on to our hotel in Faro (54km cycling).
The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Faro.
There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Faro at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you’ll need to depart from Faro Airport (FAO), which is a 15-30 minute drive away.
