Hello all! My husband and I are planning a two-week trip to Portugal this summer and would like to spend between 4-6 days biking around the Alentejo.
My question for you: do you have advice about routes in this area? Bike-friendly hotels or other accommodations? Any suggestions for good resources for biking in Portugal? Any other advice?
Thanks in advance!
For some inspiration to design an itinerary, just borrow this trip from a cycling organisation.
http://www.cycletours.com/bedbike/portugal_marble-wine-new_184.php
Many people would find the interior of Alentejo rather trying for cycling in the summer, because it is horribly hot. I went there in early June one year and they were having some weather more typical of mid-summer at the time, and it wasn't much fun while that was happening. Also, the rolling fields of the interior, beautifully covered in flowers in the early spring, are baked brown by the summer. But if you keep to the Atlantic coast the weather is much more pleasant there as the sea keeps you cool, and there are some interesting and pretty towns down the Atlantic coast.
If you don't mind experiencing those 40C days when the hot air rises up off the road like a hairdryer, then overall I find Alto Alentejo more interesting: there are more hills and more in the way of interesting places - though most of the interesting places are along the eastern and southern edges of the province. Marvao is a must, though it becomes overrun with tourists in the summer. Also the interior of Baixo Alentejo has long distances between places to stay and you would be embarrassed if you arrived somewhere and couldn't find anything. I would try to combine a tour of Alto Alentejo with Beira Baixa, though you will inevitably have to transit Castelo Branco which is unfortunately none too interesting a place.
It is a bit of an issue getting in and out of Lisbon with a bike to Alto Alentejo. The roads around Lisbon aren't much fun. Intercidade trains and long distance buses won't take you and the regional trains take you only depending upon what carriages they are running, which can mean that in practice it is difficult or unreliable. The suburban trains around Lisbon will take you no problem, but they don't go very far - we found it more useful to take a ferry across the Tagus as it took us to a more useful location. But it is a long ride from there to Evora, the obvious destination, and there aren't really good options other than straight up the old main road - though in a pinch you can stay overnight in Montemor-o-Novo. We were fortunate to do that ride on a Sunday and we set off really early to beat the heat and the traffic.
Thank you so much, iviehoff, for your awesomely detailed response.
We have heard how hot it will be. The problem is that our dates aren't flexible and we've heard that, as you say, the Alta Alentejo is just really beautiful. We are still considering switching to the coast, but thinking about braving the heat (and building in siesta spots).
We weren't expecting to bike from Lisbon and were actually planning to take a train pretty far out into the Eastern Alentejo. Is this possible, or are bikes on these trains not permitted?
If any others have suggestions for towns (or accommodations) that are a "must see" (or "must stay"), please send them on! Or, for that matter, places to avoid would also be helpful!
Thanks!
Is this possible, or are bikes on these trains not permitted?
I've just had a quick look on the cp.pt site, which has an English translation, and suddenly CP are being a lot more reasonable about bicycles on the Intercidade trains than in the past (it used to be nao). They now say:
Bikes can be taken on the Alfa Pendular and Intercidades trains so long as they have the wheels removed and are packed as luggage that is no larger than the individual luggage space per passenger in the luggage racks or under the seats.
(Alfa Pendular are special fast trains that run Faro-Lisbon-Porto)
So you could take an Intercidade train to Evora or Castelo Branco - or somewhere in that general area - from Lisbon, if you can pack your bike as above.
Their network diagram also shows the possibility of a Regional train from Lisbon to Castelo Branco where, depending upon the specific rolling stock, you may just be able to wheel it into a luggage wagon. But these tend to be very thin on the ground, as well as being very slow.
Unfortunately definitive statements on wheel-on bicycle service on Regional trains in Portugal is only available from local sources in the railway itself.