Road bicycle touring in Portugal and Southern Spain

alidaschleyer

Hi,

My husband and I are planning a road bicycle tour from Lisbon to Valencia in June/July. We looked through the archives and found some useful information, but some of the links were broken.

We are trying to hit the Algarve Coast, Seville, possibly Gibraltar, Cordoba, Granada and up the cost to Valencia. We are pretty experienced cyclists, having done a few several 1000 km tours in various parts of the world. We will not be camping but going from inn to inn.

Any help with routes, info about accommodations, useful books, Websites, etc. is appreciated.

Thanks!

Alida

Keep cycling! :idea:

Ryedaleman

Will be warm in june/july, and a good chance of a levante, the strong hot wind blowing in your face, could you start from Spain and track back to Portugal with the wind behind you?

hisoka

This is strange as I am doing almost the opposite from Malaga through Sevilla to Madrid and over to Lisbon.
But mine is in May actually, and I will be camping. I would offer advice, but this is my first biggie in the area so wouldn't really be able to say much until I get back.
Well other then the obvious GOOD LUCK and have an amazing time.

laughingboy

I haven't done much cycling in Spain, but I do know little bit about the region. Firstly, the cool prevailing wind comes from the West ('el poniente'), and the opposite wind (the 'hot' wind, as a previous poster has commented) is called the 'Levante' (coming from the East). The Levante is most likely in June and July.

In my opinion, Seville is magnificent, and Gibraltar is not very attractive. There is a mountainous region North West of Gibraltar (Sierra de Grazalema) that is quite stunning, offering some of the best scenery in Andalucia, and the white villages in this area (Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Gaucin etc) are wonderful sights.

You might also want to check http://www.viasverdes.com/GreenWays when planning your route, to supplement the on-road options. For example, there is a 36km trail on a disused railway line from Puerto Serrano to Olvera, just north of Grazalema that provides a real dilemma (flatter, car-free route (see photos, here), or, say, take the mountain road just a few miles south of here from Arcos to Grazalema [A373]).

I hope that helps.