Cycling in The Real Algarve

Fabulous cycling amongst Spring meadows. Fabulous flowers, rugged coastline and interesting villages.

We loved cycling this part of Portugal. At this time of year wild flowers were everywhere, enhancing our coastal and country rides The 2 headwater reps were really helpful and considerate in ensuring that we 2 technophobe senior citizens were able to fully enjoy the benefits of the Ride with GPS system. ( We had been provided with paper route guidance as back up but thanks to the reps this was not really needed) The rides were slightly challenging for us but we loved the coastal views and villages as well as the countryside – staying in the reclaimed village at Pedralva was a great experience, including the local bread stew We have enjoyed several Headwater cycling holidays in the past and we feel the standard has just continued to improve.

This was our first Headwater cycling holiday and it was excellent in every way: choice of routes, route guidance (especially Ride with GPS), type and quality of bikes, location and quality of hotels, and transfers to/from the airport and luggage between hotels. Special mention of the local reps, Tony and Ludmilla, who were always friendly, helpful and efficient, with the right amount of advice at the right time. We are both over 70 but had no difficulty with this grade 2 holiday in the ‘real’ Algarve. We were lucky with the weather in mid October: 20C and sunny during the day but heavy rain at night. Waterproofs essential at that time of year. All in all, a memorable holiday.

Having a "winter’ cycling holiday is a great idea, and going through the Algarve during off peak season was a wonderful way to see the region. We really enjoyed going off the beaten track, through lanes and villages, and staying in interesting places like Pedralva (but a note of warning – its colder there than anywhere else in the trip so bring warm clothes!). The bikes were excellent! In spite of the sometimes quite rough terrain there was not a single puncture nor any issues! As usual, the trip was well organised, the accommodation and food very good, as we now expect from Headwater. The Ride with GPS is also brilliant and makes navigating a loss less stressful. Thank you for yet another great holiday!

The holidays and accommodation are very good

Wonderful area to cycle in – varied terrain and scenery. Made harder by winds but did anticipate this. Very relaxing few days. Was great to know we had support from Tony and Ludmilla if needed. A lovely way to discover this area of Portugal

Excellent service from Headwater throughout, representatives Tony and Ludmilla most helpful and ensure that everything is organised and correct for a great experience and a holiday with no worries. Ideal hotels, lovely countryside and coast with options for routes to suit the individual, and with the GPS app you can’t go wrong. Highly recommend.

Lovely way to visit the real Portugal and experience the incredible friendliness of the local people.

Helen Hodson at Headwater was very helpful. The bike handover in Sagres was very poor with no arrangements having been made (we just happened to be in our room
when he arrived), no panniers provided, phone holder for one of us only. Trip notes said a mobile would be provided for duration holiday but this did not exist. Similarly on returning bikes no arrangements made.
Trip notes mention
cafes but not that they were closed on Sundays, opening times would be very helpful, particularly cycling to Petralva.
GPS worked well. Busy road section on route to Petralva and better if this could be avoided.
Accommodation and food good on the whole.
Luggage transfer worked well.
Overall we enjoyed the holiday.

Well organised tour with efficient moving of luggage and good standard of accommodation. Wonderful scenery particularly around the coastal areas on the west side of the peninsula. The wind and steep hills on the first day in particular made it pretty tiring. Bikes were really good particularly on off road stretches. The luggage rack and Paniers did make the bikes quite heavy on the hilly areas. The app was excellent for guiding and very quickly indicated if you took a wrong turning. It is good to study the description as the app doesn’t always tell you where the optional stops are. We rode right past one of our planned lunch stops without realising.
Overall a really lovely and varied tour of the south west corner of the Algarve.

Fabulous cycling amongst Spring meadows. Fabulous flowers, rugged coastline and interesting villages.