Portugal, Atlantic Coast
With over 920 kilometers of coastline, Portugal's coast has everything, from tiny bays to vast stretches of open sands and sheltered dunes to rocky coves, shallow lagoons to possibly the worlds largest surf at Nazaré. This route follows EuroVelo 1 (EV1) along the coast into Spain and connects with a ride in Galicia.
EV1 is not well developed in Portugal and is not optimally aligned. Signs are non-existent, we only saw two in Portugal. The Portuguese also love cobblestoned roads making for some very rough riding in places. A mountain bike with road tires might be the best choice of equipment for this ride because of the rough cycleway conditions.
Riding north just outside Lisbon
Although the EV1 route is rough in rural areas the ride in and out of urban areas is very good. Dedicated bike paths are present in Lisbon and Porto and many of the smaller cities, they just are not linked up with a route that can be easily followed by bike. Some route finding and a good mapping app for your phone or tablet are needed.
Long distance riding in Portugal is well worth doing, just don't expect to get anywhere quickly or easily. The food is great, the coastal areas are spectacular with excellent surfing beaches and hotels and guest-houses are very nice. The train system will help to skip over areas that seem to be too difficult.
Guides, Maps and Other Information
EuroVelo 1 Coastal route in Portugal for EV1.
Visit Portugal Official Tourist Site has some ride descriptions for Portugal including EuroVelo 1
See the Maps and Guides page for more mapping information.
There are many cycling apps with maps available for phone/ android. Here are a couple of the better off line apps.
Can be used to follow this route (and other routes) Click here for a KML file that can be loaded into the app. This version of EV1 has been edited between Lisbon and the border with Spain. Some routing has been improved to be faster and safer than the route published on the EV1 site.
Place the file in the maps.me bookmarks folder (MapsWithMe/bookmarks on your phone or tablet) or alternately, email/text it to your device and open the file with maps.me. Total Commander works great for managing and opening files.
Guru Maps can show map types other than OpenStreetMap, in particular it will display OpenCycleMap. KML files can be imported by "opening" the file with Guru. Place the file in a folder or email/text it to your device, press and hold and open with the app. The route will appear in "collections." A user manual is available.
What the ride is like
In October, we rode from Lisbon to Spain skipping over the section between Nazaré and Aveiro. We expected to cover more kilometers each day, but the route finding was slow and if you follow EV1, impassable in places. The edited EV1 route provided here avoids some of the problems of the official EV1 route. The cycleway may best be accomplished on a bike with wider tires. Signs for the EV1 route do not exist, at least between Lisbon and Spain.
This is the EV1 route at Forte de Santa Susana. The EV route follows the trail in the photo over a cliff and onto a beach leading me to believe the route has not actually been ridden by someone on a bicycle.
- Travel Tips
Use Portugal train system to skip over areas that seem too difficult or use the trains to get to some the wonderful historic cities in western Portugal. A short train ride will take you back to the coast to continue your ride.
- Ride Quality
Much of the route is on small paved rural roads and bike paths but a significant portion of the ride is on gravel or cobblestone roads. In the areas where the cycleway has been developed, the riding is wonderful and car free in many places but be ready for some difficult areas that will take time to navigate. Detours may be necessary to avoid obstacles such as rivers, freeways and steep terrain.
Typical gravel road in a rural area, one of many such roads along the route.
- Elevation Change
Portugal is a mountainous country so expect significant elevation change in places. As one travels along the coast you will cross river valleys and then return to the hills and then soon cross another river valley. There are wonderful long sections of flat riding near the beaches and excellent beach towns with accommodations. In a few areas the cycleways follows riverside bike paths.
The bike path north of Cascais. A more mountainous area is coming soon as we ride north.
- Best Season
Portugal can be a very hot country. We did this ride in mid October and still had temperatures of more than 80F (27C). The hottest parts of Portugal can reach 110F (45C) in the summer but temperatures are not this high along the coast. There is very little rain from April to mid October.
Sections of the cycleway follow board walks along the beach. This route parallels one of the Camino de Santiago routes.
- Options
Porto is a good choice to start the ride. You can ride north or south from here and use the train system to get to other areas. Porto is one of Portugal's cities not to be missed, has excellent transportation options and a highly rated airport.