7 days in february & marchThis tour goes on the Algarve coast in southern Portugal. We ride day tours of 150-250 km manly on exciting gravel roads/offroad but also some amazing asphalt roads. We dare say that this area of Portugal offers some of the world’s best roads on both gravel and asphalt! We pass orange groves, cork oaks, deep valleys and high peaks overlooking the Atlantic. You are always guided by our tour guides on motorbikes and our support vehicle is always nearby. When our tours are arranged, the daytime temperature is usually between 15-25 degrees Celsius. The days usually offer sunshine from clear blue skies. Our routes are basically easy to ride and suit everyone, but we have unlimited advanced options for those who want a real challenge! You do not need any previous gravel experience to join this tour as rider training at our training area in Portugal in included in the tour! The whole tour we stay at the newly built White Shell Beach Villas within walking distance to the fantastic beaches of Praia de Nossa Senhora da Rocha & Praia Nova as well as a number of restaurants.
Photo on this page: Ann Cathrin Erga, David Johansson |  |
If you know where to look, the Algarve coast offers everything you could want in form of dirt roads! From easy-to-ride, sweeping “cozy roads” to really tough challenges in the form of overgrown valleys, river crossings, mountain ridges and completely crazy up- and downs hills!
After more than 10 years, 50 tours, 800 participants and thousands of test riding hours, we dare to say that we know the roads of the Algarve coast better than most. This, in combination with the fact that we start from the same hotel every day, gives us a unique opportunity to adapt the tour to you as a participant!
You do not need to be a gravel rider to join this tour as offroad rider training is offered on site. During the rides, we divide into groups according to experience and wishes. We basically ride the same routes but with almost unlimited options and extra challenges for those who wish. The groups meet several times each day and you then have the opportunity to change groups. The ride is led by a BMW Motorrad certified tour guide
During the entire tour we stay at the newly built White Shell Beach Villas within walking distance to the fantastic beaches of Praia de Nossa Senhora da Rocha & Praia Nova.
White Shell is top class in both food and accommodation. You share a villa/apartment with one other participant but have your own bedroom and own toilet/bathroom. The villas/apartments have all facilities such as kitchen, TV, AC, free (and fast!) WiFi, washing machine, dishwasher, water boiler, coffee machine, etc.
SPA facility, with jacuzzi, indoor & outdoor pool and gym are available at the Resort. Nearby there are also plenty of different activities such as boat trips to the Algarve’s cool caves, horse riding, golf, bike hire, shopping, bars, wineries and fantastic walks along the Atlantic coast.
The second riding day (the first day we mainly ride asphalt) we offer you a full-day gravel/offroad course at our training area. We focus on getting to know the motorcycles, braking and cornering exercises. Then we practice the upcoming challenges, like river crossings and up- and down hills. The rider training is led by a BMW Motorrad-certified instructor. During the entire tour, you will then receive continuous feedback from our instructors.
During more difficult passages of this tour, we always work as a team, help each other and get through together. We dare to promise that you will be a better and safer rider after a tour with us! Or as many participants put it; “This was actually a whole week of rider training!”
If you arrive early on this day, we recommend exploring the beautiful beaches just below the resort. You will also find supermarkets and several restaurants within walking distance. In the evening we have a joint dinner and go over the week’s plans.
We gather in the morning and start with a presentation of ourselves and the motorcycles. We then head northeast and up into the Algarve Mountains . The first stretch offers a bit more relaxed riding so you get to know the motorcycle and the Portuguese roads. Once we get up into the mountains, the nice curves start and apart from a few km of easy gravel in the morning, it’s active asphalt riding this day. After lunch, we head for Moncique and Fóia (902 m above sea level) and pass beautiful cork oak plantations with a view of the Atlantic on the way down.
Today we offer you a full day of rider training at our training area, approx. 20 km from the resort. Here we have large open spaces, hills of all sizes, river crossings and much more. During the morning we go through e.g. riding position, picking up the bike, braking technique and cornering. During the afternoon, the focus is primarily on how we safely ride up- and downhills and river crossings. A long and challenging day, but the technique you learn will be of great use in the days to come!
We split into groups depending on experience and mix exercises with riding.
The tour goes north and passes Silves before we hit the gravel. In the morning we ride through several Eucalyptus plantation, which gave the name to this tour. Be sure to get plenty of cornering practice during the day, but also be sure to stay on your side of the road – sooner or later there’s going to be a pick-up from the other direction! We have morning coffee at the Barragem de Odelouca, one of the Algarve’s many dams. After lunch at an old mill with a 360-degree view, it’s slightly faster dirt roads, and a rolling passage of the picturesque village of Sao Marcos da Serra on the schedule. We also have a couple of exciting advanced options for those looking for an additional challenge this day.
The more exciting parts of this tour start just north of our practice area. We start by riding through the Aquas Belas valley on technical and exciting roads. After a few km of asphalt, we ride slightly faster dirt roads in a few more valleys to the north. When we turn back south, we have a fantastic view of Monchique and when we approach our training area again we have plenty of up- and downhils and several advanced options for those who wish.
Once back in Silves, we roll down towards the coast and, after a longer lunch stop at our favorite restaurant in Carvoeiro, pass some of the Algarve’s most famous beaches. On this day, the plan is to be back at the Resort a little earlier as we have a joint evening activity planned.
One of the most varied days during the tour. Starts with a few km through smaller villages and orange groves and then turns into properly curvy asphalt. After the first coffee break, it’s gravel and we start with a couple of hundred turns around Rio Arade. We continue the adventure on exciting and varied up- and downhills heading north. After lunch we have a blissful mix of lush valleys with several river crossings, maybe some mud, and airy ridges with fantastic views. Of course, there are several advanced options to choose this day as well for those who wish.
Time flies when you’re having fun and the adventure is over for this time. If you don´t leave to early you have the opportunity to enjoy the resort’s facilities and hopefully some sun and clear blue skies before it’s time to catch the flight back home. Luckily, there are more tours to ride with us, so hopefully it won’t be too long until we see each other again!
On our support vehicle, we have tools, extra fuel, compressor, spare parts, tires & complete spare wheels so we can quickly get back on track after, for example, a puncture. We also have coffee, water, Swedish “fika” and lunch with us and that we set up in a nice place during the breaks. In our support vehicle we also have first aid equipment, defibrillator (AED) & satellite phone. The tour guide motorcycles also have tools and first aid kits and all our tour guides are medically trained.
Flights, transfer, 4 dinners, riding gear.
Here you get answers of the most frequently asked questions about our Portugal tours. You will also find some facts and statistics that we collected since our first tours in 2012. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to contact us!
You must hold a motorcycle driver’s license for heavy motorcycle (A) and be able to safely ride your motorcycle on asphalt, apart from this you don´t need any experience! Each season we have several participants who have just taken their motorbike driver´s license and who has never been riding on gravel or offroad before the tour. A full day offroad rider training is included in the tour and throughout the week you will get constant feedback from our tourguides. We also have the opportunity to spit into two or three groups according to previous riding experience. We also adjust the length of the tours and have the possibility to take shortcuts if you run out of energy during the days.
Statistics:
Absolutely! Because we split into several groups, we have the opportunity to adapt to all different experiences. The area we ride in offers everything from easy smooth gravel roads to serious offroad stages and hills so steep that even our most experienced tourguides almost lose their breath. Tougher challenges than what we offer during our ADVANCED ++ tours should not be undertaken with a big adventure motorcycle. We never had a participants who did not think that the challenges was enough, even for experience motocross and endure riders.
Statistics:
Most of our participants join our tours on their own, so you will not feel alone! After a week you have a whole bunch of new friends and some of them you will definitely keep in touch with!
Statistics:
About 70% of our participants are from Sweden & Norway, the others from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, UK, USA, Netherlands, Dubai, Kuwait, Germany, India, Greece, South Africa, Australia etc.
Of course you should! In fact, about half of our participants are returning customers. Our tourguides will be extremely happy if there are returning customers since there has to be new roads and challenges found for them! We have participants who have been with us in Portugal both three and four times, there is no better start of the season, and you also meet new travel buddies every time.
Day 1 and Day 7 are arrival/departure days. You can arrive early or late, thats up to you.
No problems! Every year we have several participants who bring their partners. The first riding day (asphalt day) he/she can ride with you as a passenger, the rest is the week, however, passengers are not recommended. But the Algarve coast and the White Shell Beach Villas where we stay are an absolutely excellent place to “just be”.
SPA facility, with jacuzzi, indoor & outdoor pool and gym are available at the Resort. Nearby there are also plenty of different activities such as boat trips to the Algarve’s cool caves, horse riding, golf, bike hire, shopping, bars, wineries and fantastic promenades and picturesque villages along the Atlantic coast.
The price for upgrading to your own apartment and bringing a partner is stated in the booking.
| Incl. BMW R 1300 GS | 39 900 SEK |
|---|
The price includes accommodation in a shared apartment with a private bedroom and private toilet/bathroom Saturday-Saturday (6 nights), 6 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 10 coffee breaks, 2 dinners, tour guides & all guided tours, rider training, rental of BMW R 1300 GS for 5 days, spare motorcycles, fuel, comprehensive insurance for motorcycle, support vehicle and driver, T-shirt.