Algarve Coast Star

*Circular rides

With our three circular cycle rides from your hotel in central Tavira, you can choose to be on two wheels during every full day of your stay, or combine cycle days with rest days or mini-excursions where you pedal down to enjoy a boat trip or even a river crossing to Spain perhaps. Each circular route covers distances between 14 and 37 miles ( 24 to 60 kms), following a carefully planned itinerary generally with short-cuts and options, so you can enjoy the best of the Algarve scenery, coast, countryside and attractions on offer at a pace which suits you.

Head east, towards the Spanish border to discover the castles, saltpans, windmills and flamingo-favoured wetlands around Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António. This part of the Atlantic coast and the area along the Rio Guardiana rank amongst the Algarve’s most ancient lands, a region marked by Phoenician, Roman, Greek and Carthaginian settlers. Stop off to enjoy the views at the little whitewashed town of Cacela Velha. Pedal along the dune coast to Manta Rota Beach or, around Monte Gordo, cycle through the Algarve’s largest maritime pine forest – the Mata Nacional da Dunas Litorais de Vila Real de Santo António – towards the border. Climb the castle at Castro Marim for impressive views across the saltpans all the way to the mighty Guardiana river bridge. There’s a ferry at Vila Real de Santo António for excursions into Spain, but then with good train connections to your base in Tavira, you may decide to save that for a different day.

Head out and about, around the Tavira hinterland to explore orchard-lined valleys with delightful streams and traditional Algarve villages. Discover the context of this historic town, once the Algarve’s main trading port, which is just a couple of miles from its island beaches and Rio Formosa Natural Park, yet so close to the Algarve hills. Enjoy a day touring in the saddle and culminating in views of Tavira and its location which will really be ones to remember. A valuable insight into an area marked by Arab rule and European ambition – maybe just the thing to set you up for a Turkish bath in the hotel’s health club on your return?

Head north, inland to explore the Algarve hills with their cork oaks and the ‘Capital of Cork’ itself – São Brás de Alportel.  Like much of southern Portugal, São Brás de Alportel found itself under Arab rule before the 13th century, but in the 1600s it became the summer residence of the Bishops of the Algarve who stayed until the establishment of the Republic in 1910. Visit the domed ‘episcopal fountain’ – the remains of the Bishop’s Palace – and the impressive three-naved main church (Ingreja Matriz de São Brás de Alportel); the Algarve rural life and costume museum in the 19th century mansion of a local industrialist who made a rich living out of cork, and the intriguing, cobbled ‘Calçadinha’, an outstandingly original stretch of Roman road.