Cycle Portugal - Lisbon To Algarve

Our trip begins in Lisbon, founded on seven hills overlooking the estuary of the River Tagus, the city became the capital of Portugal after its conquest from the Moors in 1147. As Portugal built a global empire from the 15th century onwards, Lisbon became the hub of international trade and the heart of this maritime Golden Age of discovery, reflected in the monumental architecture. A devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami almost totally destroyed the capital in 1755 and therefore Lisbon appears as a carefully planned 18th century city. The Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 7.00pm for the welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Lisbon Airport (LIS), which is a 30 minute drive from the hotel. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up.

After breakfast the Tour Leader will lead an orientation walk of Lisbon to help gain your bearings and introduce the city for the day ahead. The rest of the day is left free for you to discover more of Lisbon, perhaps even riding an old-fashioned tram to see the contrasting and characterful neighbourhoods. There is plenty to see and do in Lisbon itself but for those interested this afternoon there is the option of taking a train ride (40 mins) from Lisbon's Rossio Station to hill-top Sintra - the 'Garden of Lisbon' - where royalty and the aristocracy built elegant palaces, estates and gardens, each trying to outdo the other. In the evening you have the option to attend a fado performance - the melancholic melodies of the people of Lisbon or Lisboetas. No cycling today.

Today we leave the capital behind and strike south on our journey. After breakfast there will be some time to ensure all are happy with our bikes and to make any minor adjustments. We then begin the first cycling section of the holiday from Lisbon south and ride directly from the hotel through downtown Lisbon and onto Belem district, derived from the Portuguese word for Bethlehem, where we cross the Tagus by ferry. Our route starts with some traffic in the Trafaria area then takes us along the Coast Caparica, sometimes parallel to the sea and other times inland, passing Albufeira Lake to reach Lagoa Albufeira beach where the ride ends. From here we take taxis a short distance to our hotel in Sesimbra. Once a small fishing village, Sesimbra is now a pleasant beach town with great seafood restaurants and an old Moorish fort overlooking the sands. Around 10% of the route today is on an unpaved sandy surface, 90% paved. Please note that depending on conditions it may be necessary to walk the bikes over a 2km stretch of sand on today's route. Our total cycling distance today is approximately 48 kilometres (total 550 metres accumulated ascent and 430 metres descent).