Cycling in The Real Algarve

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Great holiday. The balance of cycling and non-cycling days was perfect, and the routes and distances were just right for us on non-e-bikes. We went in April and the scenery was stunning. Excellent.

Philip Preston, 9 Apr 2024

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Already mentioned by the previous answers other than the route on day one, whilst generally very good could do with being looked at carefully for safety purposes. There is a stretch of gravelled cycle route detour which would have been dangerous to ride all the way on e bikes . On the last day there is the option of making a detour to one of the bays before the ride to C ape St Vincent - I don't have the route in front of me - the bay was something like 'Taheira,,,there is a fork in the detour toad - it is a left fork, we guesed correctly. It would be useful to add this to the route instructions

Timothy Stocker, 24 Feb 2024

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We were so glad we opted for e-bikes. The cycling varies in enjoyment; some days were enjoyable, others only in parts. There are plenty of uphill sections, some sections involving slopes with loose stones, quite a bit of dust - and plenty of fairly stiff breezes. Ensuring the security of e-bikes at hotels involved effort in some cases though - two of the three do not have appropriate facilities readily available yet.

Overall there were some parts of this trip that were wonderful - sublime views, great food, lots of things to do - and others that were harder to find total enjoyment in.

HOLWAY, 16 May 2023

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We enjoyed this holiday in the southern Algarve on our first visit to Portugal & our 10th cycle trip with Headwater.

Very glad indeed that we opted (also a first) for E-bikes. Despite being moderately fit there were some long uphills, occasional stretches of busy roads, in a headwind or on dusty tracks which we would have found challenging. Excellent quality bikes but hotels in Lagos & Pedralva not yet set up for suitable overnight storage.

The recommended routes were generally quiet & took in some nice inland scenery & lovely sections of coast. Cabo San Vicente diversion was spectacular but also spectacularly busy: buses, buskers & bratwurst stalls!

Memmo Baleira at Sagres was delightful; we’d recommend two nights there at the beginning to really make the most of this lovely hotel, the helpful staff & the facilities. The food at the renovated village in Pedralva was a bit disappointing. They pride themselves on local sourcing but breakfast was almost entirely packaged & plastic.

The Portuguese people were the highlight for us. Hospitable, helpful, courteous & very welcoming to visitors throughout our journey.



WARMAN, 16 May 2023

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Overall a reasonable itinerary though it does involve a lot of cycling on unmade tracks. The hotels were of contrasting styles the staff were pleasant, friendly and helpful and the meals good.



BROWNSCOMBE, 16 May 2023

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Very smooth reliable service.

HANUS, 13 May 2023

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The hotels both accommodation wise and food were excellent. All three were very different in their own way. The breakfast and the service at the Hotel Memmo Baleeira in Sagres was fantastic. The cycling was tough going in places, off road and some long climbs. We had an issue with the e bikes at handover in that they were nothing like the ones we had been promised but the local agent managed to source suitable bikes at short notice. The scenery and coastline were stunning.

BARNES, 9 May 2023

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Excellent activity holiday 9

Mr Wilkinson, 28 Mar 2023

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Great cycling experience in Algarve. We have been able to discover the coast and the countryside. Lovely hotels and great food.

Mrs Smith, 9 Mar 2023

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This was a lovely holiday with interesting, quiet cycling routes through fabulous coastal scenery. Our only slight disappointment was the hotel in Lagos. While the food was good and the room itself comfortable, in the winter sunshine, it was very dark in our room. This may be great in the summer but a hotel more like the one in Sagres, which has lots of natural light and lovely views, would me much better in the winter. Also my husband had an electric bike. While that was great, we were a bit concerned that the battery might run out on some of the longer routes. It didn’t but got very low. This might be a problem for someone who relies heavily on the battery. So perhaps just something to highlight to future clients who decide to use electric bikes.

Mrs Akers, 22 Nov 2022

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This was a nice tour with lovely scenery and good opportunities for exploring the local area especially on the rest days. The first day is a tough one with a lot of hills and it was hotter than we expected for October. But we enjoyed our day off in Lagos with a boat trip and strolling through the old town. The route options from Lagos to Pedralva give a choice of hilly or less hilly , both were enjoyed by members of our group although the hilly option made for tired legs at the end of the day. Pedralva was a fun place to stay with a nice restaurant and friendly staff. The optional off road cliff top tour was a super ride with great scenery and we spent time on one of the beaches swimming and watching the surfers. The ride back to Sarges was less strenuous and we had plenty of time to see Cabo de Sao Vincente ( most south westerly point in Europe) although it was disappointing that the lighthouse was all in scaffolding with no visits possible. Overall a very good trip.

Mrs Anderson, 11 Oct 2022

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THE ALGAVE IS A BEAUTIFUL AREA OF PORTUGAL TO VISIT AND THE ITINERY WAS PERFECT AND ACCOMODATION WAS LOVELY. SOME OF THE HILLS WERE QUITE CHALLENGING BUT WORTH IT FOR THE VIEWS AND THE BEACHES WERE STUNNING. BIKES AND GPS MAPS WE WERE GIVEN WERE GREAT.

Mrs Perkins, 24 Sep 2022

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Enjoyed trip. Tough enough cycling for a non cyclist as I am. Fine for my husband. First day especially tough. Lagos 2 night stay was a waste. Too tired after 1,St day to cycle and did not enjoy the experience of town of Lagos. Much too commercial and touristy. Be warned too the staff in hotel in Lagos try to ' upsell' drinks. 27 euro for a g and t. 27 euro for a bottle of very poor wine ....totally opposite of what was asked for.

On the contrary the staff in village were very knowledgeable about their products and we drank delicious wine.

Mrs Kilpatrick, 12 Jun 2022

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A very well organised self guided cycle holiday. Great hotels & excellent cycle routes. The Headwater navigation app excellent. Alex the point of contact always available.

Mr Hanna, 30 Apr 2022

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Cycle routes were good and easy to follow, one bike needed new rear brake pads after first day, this should have been identified before bike was issued. Repair was promptly addressed. Also had a puncture on first day , front tyre had very little tread in the centre, so puncture could have been avoided. All accommodation was very good and food excellent with great advice from restaurant staff.

Mr WEEKS, 26 Apr 2022

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This is a fantastic cycle route - every day interesting. Super scenery, lovely cycling, lots of places to visit, people everywhere wonderful. We enjoyed it SO much. Highly recommend.

Ms Turner, 12 Nov 2021

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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.

Mrs SMITH, 18 Oct 2021

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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.

Mr BRADISH, 14 Oct 2021

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

Mrs Quick, 12 Apr 2019

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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.

Mr Rose, 17 Mar 2019

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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

Ms Campbell, 17 Feb 2019

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The holidays and accommodation are very good

Mr Cronin, 23 Dec 2018

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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!

Mr Murray, 23 Nov 2018

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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.

Mr Rugman, 16 Oct 2018

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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.

Mrs Stevens, 17 May 2018

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

Mrs Payne, 3 May 2018

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An excellent introduction to a cycling holiday abroad. Everything was made simple and the bikes provided were superb. Easy to follow notes and fantastic accommodation at the end of each day. Would definitely recommend to others.

Mrs Smith, 27 Mar 2018

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The routes were excellent; a mix of terrain and stunning scenery. We enjoyed the off-road sections particularly the optional coast and river valley route on our free day at Pedralva. We went in January and whilst the roads were very quiet it did mean that many cafes and restaurants were closed and the hotels were quiet. The weather is changeable at this time of year. We had one day of wind and steady rain but we went prepared for variable weather so this didn't spoil an enjoyable day cycling. We would like to do this route again in the Spring when the flora is in bloom and the birds are migrating.

Mr Nichols, 8 Jan 2018

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Thoroughly enjoyable relaxing holiday . Ideal for taking away the winter blues. Comfortable, well organised stress free booking travelling holiday. Thanks

Mrs Chowienczyk, 3 Jan 2018

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An excellent cycling holiday which brings you the delights of the western Algarve coast and hills behind Lagos. Fantastic scenery, super hotels with the delights of local food. The sardines in Salema were wonderful. Pedralva is a real find. All well delivered by the Headwater team.

Mr Wahl, 20 Oct 2017

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from the time we landed we were looked after until we got back to the airport.all went very well.welldone headwater

Mr Nicol, 10 Oct 2017

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'Wonderful holiday! Delightful (and very) varied accommodation, excellent food and terrific sights and smells in some wonderful countryside. But this can be a physically demanding cycle tour, so do ensure you are prepared to cycle - or push - your bike up some stiff hills.



Thanks to all at Headwater and, in particular, to Ludmilla.'



Mr Merryweather, 28 Apr 2017

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Quite simply the best holiday we have had in several years. Great food, great scenery, helpful staff, activity and brilliant weather. Just what we needed. Thank you

Mr Burrell, 4 Apr 2017

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A challenging cycle experience in variable weather, with far reaching views at the end of Europe.

Ms Bernard, 17 Mar 2017

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The toughest Headwater cycling holiday I have been on, due to the preponderance of off road some of which was quite rough and steep, plus the fact that for two and a half days of the three days cycling there was a strong cold headwind, therefore I think the grading should be changed.

Mr Turner, 17 Mar 2017

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I was fortunate to have absolutely perfect weather and low wind levels for my cycling trip to southern portugal.. a very enjoyable experience and would definitely do a repeat.

Mr Corlett, 23 Dec 2016

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Cycling is a great way to experience a country

Mr Morgan, 14 Oct 2016

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quite challenging cycling on day one for the over70s - entirely our choice made enjoyable by rescue and advice from Tony and Ludmilla - absolute gems throughout - electric bikes would be a good option on this holiday - easy enough to avoid the offroad stuff if that is a worry with them - overall an excellent holiday with spectacular beaches and coastal views

Mr Warren, 5 Oct 2016

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Excellent hotels, and food .

Extremely well organised .

Reps very helpful.

Cycling tough !

Mrs Harraway, 4 Oct 2016

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First visit to the Algarve and first cycling holiday. Hard work for a couple of days but the rewards matched the effort. Lovely locations and hotels had top quality staff. Our two reps were lovely and incredibly helpful. We have used Headwater only a few times over 20 or so years, but every time the holiday has been special. That is why we have always looked them up when considering a trip overseas.

Mr Daniel, 25 May 2016

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Extremely well organised , with excellent local representative (Tony) who provided additional information and support without hesitation. Also provided local maps and timetables for my time in Faro which allowed me to enjoy that day, he also informed me about the industrial action at the airport which allowed me to make appropriate arrangements.

Mr Milward, 13 May 2016

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It was excellent from start to finish. Our reps Tony & Ludmila Lewis made our holiday experience special with their friendliness, humour and knowledge. Please pass on our thanks.I am hoping to book a walking holiday with Headwater next year with my friend please send me a brochure

Mrs Gibson, 15 Apr 2016

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This was a lovely holiday.The wild flowers were magnificent and the scents of orange blossom and fresh herbs will long remain with us.We enjoyed the variety of different tracks and the headland loop at Amado beach was stunning.The bikes were excellent with especially low gears for those hills,and the tour notes were pretty good. The welcome at all three hotels was genuinely warm and the accommodation very comfortable, except at Pedralva,where the bed felt like a marble slab, and gave us a restless 2 nights. The food and wine was fresh, wholesome and very well prepared.We thoroughly enjoyed this break and came back feeling refreshed and invigorated. We will definitely consider Headwater when choosing our next holiday.

Mrs Roper, 3 Apr 2016

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A very nice holiday. The cycling was generally very good. It is a little hilly so is certainly a grade 2. There was a little bit more off road than we expected and one part of this was a particularly bad track which was slow going. Everything else was fine. The accommodation was good.

Dr Davies, 24 Mar 2016

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Fun. We enjoyed our visit to Portugal.

Ms Bronger, 12 Mar 2016

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Excellent cycling on wonderful bikes. Tony and Ludmilla were fantastically helpful and we were especially grateful that Tony picked us up from not the usual collection point. The notes were perfect and we were very lucky with the weather. The suggestions for rest days were also very good. Hotels all fine, especially Memmo. Pedralva rooms could do with better heating and much better lighting but the bar and restaurant areas were very good . Food at Pedralva was excellent. Would definitely recommend the holiday and commend highly Tony and Ludmilla who definitely had a 'nothing is too much trouble' attitude and who clearly enjoy their roles. Thank you very much.

Mrs Maclehose, 11 Mar 2015

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Seamless from start to finish with excellent opportunities to explore and relax in equal measure.

Mr Tweed, 28 Feb 2015

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An absolutely fantastic holiday - you see things on a bike that you wouldn't normally see - birds, flora and fauna and of course local villages with delightful local Portuguese people

Mr Shrubsole, 25 Oct 2014

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Surprisingly quiet routes, wonderful scenery and sunshine, excellent food. Pacing suited us with a day's cycling followed by hiking on our rest days. Pedralva was a highlight in all respects from accommodation and surroundings to food.

Ms MacEachern, 15 Mar 2014

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Excellent Holiday and very knowledgeable and helpful Representative.

Mrs Stratford, 3 Mar 2014

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Cycling through fantastic scenery in mimosa eucalyptus pine scented warm air within a day of leaving flood & storm ravaged UK - wonderful. Tony & Ludmilla are great hosts. Their warm welcome quickly overcame the effects of a long laborious day long journey via Lisbon - Faro & taxi halves the travel time at little if any overall extra cost. The 2 hotels we stayed in are 2 of the best we've had in 20yrs of Headwater holidays. However Pedralva - it no doubt has it's charms but is basically self catering units more suited to summer use. Compared to our 2 previous stops the welcome here was 'grumpy' & our room was cold gloomy & oppressive - more like a cell with 2 v small windows looking straight out at other houses across narrow streets at eye level so no privacy in the bedroom or sitting area without closing little shutters making it even gloomier. The shower room was unheated & there was no hair dryer. A Youth Hostel style kitchen dominated our sitting area - a dirty hot plate, a dustpan & brush in full view as also a slop bucket (ugh) & the upmarket 'coffee making facilities' were of no practical use as no pods - a simple kettle would be much better & more welcoming. The swimming pool is outdoors & was not available so no 'relaxing by the pool' & given the cold location of Pedralva I doubt would be for many of the Headwater months. I was unable to access wifi on my iPad at the designated spot in Reception - I did on the 2nd night with some perseverance find a tiny area in the Bar where I could get a signal. Ah - the Bar! & it's tender & the food he serves in the evenings are the outstanding highlight of Pedralva - make the most of it - the breakfasts are fairly meagre. We felt Pedralva fell short on many of the facilities promised in the Headwater description.

Mrs Pogson, 15 Feb 2014

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A great place for a cycling holiday. The routes were good and varied.

Mr Rudd, 15 Feb 2014

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We were pleasantly surprised by the professional way everything was handled by office staff. The reps who were new to the area were so helpful and were even working on new tracks as alternatives the night before we would use them. It was a lovely relaxing holiday with just the right amount of activity,also the pleasant weather for time of the year helped.

Mr Edwards, 23 Nov 2013

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Lovely holiday. Headwater made all it very easy. Leisurely cycling - nice mixture of exercise and relaxation. Excellent food and accommodation.

Mis Polkey, 9 Nov 2013

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Excellent organisation and welcome / support from local Headwater reps. Interesting terrain and wildlife.

Mr Beaven, 1 Nov 2013