There’s something special about swapping the Nordic winter for sunshine, a motorcycle and the endless twisties of the Algarve. Here, the asphalt winds through flowering valleys, past cork oaks and orange groves. We follow mountain roads and ridgelines with fantastic views of the Atlantic and Portugal’s southern coast.
While motorcycles in the Nordics are still tucked away for winter, the Algarve is green and sunny. Some days, it’s warm enough that we’re happy to seek out the shade of a cork oak when it’s time for a break. For those of us from the Nordics, it feels like arriving in the middle of summer.
South Coast is our motorcycle tour in the Algarve for those who love winding asphalt roads. It’s a chance to rediscover your riding feel, pick up valuable tips from our instructors and get plenty of kilometres under your belt – before it’s time to bring your own motorcycle out for the season back home.
We’ve been exploring the roads of the Algarve for almost two decades. Over the years, we’ve found countless favourites, discovered new ones and continued searching for those little roads and perfect combinations that make a truly great day of riding. That experience is what South Coast is built on – and what shapes the roads we choose today.
We ride the latest BMW R 1300 GS models and split into CHILL and PULSE groups based on experience, pace and preference. This means you can ride in the way that suits you best – and easily switch groups during the day if you wish.
The tour is also perfect for bringing a passenger. The combination of fantastic asphalt roads, comfortable accommodation by the sea and the Algarve itself makes South Coast just as much a wonderful holiday together as a truly great motorcycle experience.
Thousands of curves. Sunshine, sea and the pure joy of riding. And almost two decades spent exploring the Algarve’s asphalt roads and discovering the real gems along the way.
Welcome to our Algarve.
Photos on this page: Ann Cathrin Erga, Johan Ahlberg, Joachim Cruus, Niclas Elneus, John Brown, David Johansson
Sunshine, great food, cosy villages and spectacular views are all an important part of the experience. But above all, we’re here to ride motorcycles!
The Algarve gives us fantastic conditions for exactly that. There’s everything from wider, sweeping roads with a wonderful flow to small, winding mountain roads where the curves seem to go on forever. We ride through flowering valleys, past cork oaks and orange groves. We climb along mountainsides and across rolling hills – always searching for the roads that are the most fun to ride.
We ride 100% asphalt, with the focus firmly on the joy of riding. Some sections are intense and demand concentration, while others allow us to relax a little more and enjoy the rhythm, the scenery and the motorcycle. We take you on our absolute favourites – the roads we choose ourselves when we have a day off and a motorcycle in the Algarve.
After almost two decades of riding in the Algarve, we’ve had the chance to explore an enormous network of roads. We’ve found many favourites over the years – but we’ve also learned that there’s almost always something new to discover. Or an old favourite that has suddenly been resurfaced with fresh, silky-smooth asphalt.
Ahead of 2027, we’ll once again spend several weeks in the Algarve riding, evaluating and refining our routes. We’ll be searching for new roads, even better combinations and those little hidden gems that can turn a really good day of riding into an even better one.
With several tour guides, we’re able to ride in smaller groups. This gives you the freedom to ride in a way that suits your experience and preferences. For 2027, we’re making that choice even clearer with CHILL and PULSE – two different ways to experience the same Algarve.
CHILL is for those who prefer a slightly more relaxed pace, with plenty of time to enjoy both the riding and everything around it. We still ride the most spectacular roads and the best twisties, but cover slightly fewer kilometres and take a little more time for coffee, the views and life along the way.
PULSE is for those who want a little more riding in their day. We ride at a slightly more active pace, take somewhat shorter breaks and cover a few extra kilometres along the way.
The groups meet up for both coffee breaks and lunch, so if you feel like switching between CHILL and PULSE during the day, that’s absolutely fine. Simply choose whichever feels right at the time.
Throughout the tour, we stay at White Shell Beach Villas, a modern and comfortable resort within walking distance of the beautiful beaches of Praia de Nossa Senhora da Rocha and Praia Nova. After a long day on the bike, it’s the perfect place to unwind – take a dip in the pool, relax at the spa or sit down together and look back on the day’s riding.
You share a villa or apartment with another participant, but always have your own bedroom and private bathroom. The accommodation is of a high standard, and the apartments are fully equipped with a kitchen, air conditioning, fast WiFi and a washing machine.
The resort has indoor and outdoor pools, a spa with jacuzzi and a gym. Several restaurants are within walking distance, and the Algarve coast is right on your doorstep.
We have breakfast at White Shell before setting off for the day. For lunch, we stop at some of our favourite places along the way – often small local restaurants in the villages we pass through. And, of course, there’s always time for a Portuguese coffee or two during the day.
In the evenings, we always have a plan for a group dinner for those who would like to join. Dinners are not included in the tour price, giving you complete flexibility – join the group, choose one of the nearby restaurants or simply do your own thing.
South Coast is a tour that’s particularly well suited to sharing with a partner. If your partner would like to join you as a passenger on the riding days, that works perfectly – but White Shell and the surrounding area also make it easy to skip the motorcycle for a day.
Beaches, a spa, hiking trails and restaurants are all close by, with plenty of opportunities for independent excursions and activities.
And if you’d like to stay a few extra days before or after the tour, there’s plenty more to discover in the area – from boat tours along the Algarve’s dramatic coastline and caves to golf, vineyards, cycling and fantastic hiking along the Atlantic.
For 2027, we’re continuing to develop South Coast and our motorcycle tour in the Algarve. After almost two decades of riding here, we know an enormous network of asphalt roads – but we’re still searching for new favourites. This winter, we’ll be back again, spending several weeks in the Algarve riding, evaluating and refining our routes.
Old favourites will remain, mixed with new discoveries, freshly resurfaced roads and even better combinations. The goal is the same as always – to make every riding day as enjoyable and varied as possible, with plenty of great curves along the way.
The daily programme below therefore describes the character and some of the highlights of each riding day, rather than completely fixed routes. The exact roads may vary depending on the group, conditions and whether you choose CHILL or PULSE.
Click on each day for more information and photos.
Welcome to the Algarve! During the day, you’ll check in at White Shell Beach Villas and have time to settle in, unpack and perhaps take a walk down to the beach.
In the afternoon, we get together, get to know each other and go through the plan for the tour. We get familiar with the motorcycles and make sure the seat, suspension and other settings are adjusted to suit you as well as possible.
In the evening, we have dinner together and get ready for the first riding day.
Finally, it’s time to ride! After breakfast, we get on the motorcycles and head out onto the roads of the Algarve. The first kilometres give us a chance to get back into the rhythm, find our feel again and get to know the BMW R 1300 GS.
Then the hunt for curves begins. We leave the larger coastal roads behind and head onto smaller roads through flowering valleys, past cork oaks and through small Portuguese villages. As the day progresses, the roads become increasingly twisty, while our instructors share tips on vision, line choice and braking technique.
With the first riding day behind us, we’re warmed up – and now the curves really begin. We head deeper into the Algarve countryside, where the traffic thins out, the landscape becomes hillier and the curves become more frequent.
Small, winding mountain roads mix with faster, sweeping sections through flowering valleys, cork oaks and orange groves. We pass through small villages, stop for coffee along the way and continue onto new roads where the next curve is rarely far away.
This is a day all about the joy of riding, rhythm and flow. And when we find those really special combinations, it sometimes feels as though the next curve begins before the last one has even ended.
After two riding days, the feel and rhythm are firmly in place – and we still have some of our favourites left. On our final day on the motorcycles, we simply want to finish South Coast in the best possible way.
We head out onto some of the most enjoyable combinations of roads we’ve found in the Algarve. Sweeping asphalt with a wonderful flow mixes with smaller, winding mountain roads, big changes in elevation and long sections where the curves just keep coming.
Exactly which roads we choose depends on our latest discoveries, the group and whether you ride CHILL or PULSE. But the goal remains the same: to finish the tour with the kind of riding day you wish would never end.
Time flies when you’re having fun. After breakfast, it’s time to say goodbye to the Algarve – for now.
If you have a later flight, there’s time for one last walk along the beach, a few hours in the sun or a relaxed morning at White Shell before heading to the airport.
Hopefully, you’ll head home with plenty of new memories, your riding feel well and truly back – and a few thousand curves under your belt, ready for the motorcycle season back home.
Flights, airport transfers, dinners and personal riding gear.
Photos by Johan Ahlberg at fastbikes.se and Ride Nordic tour guides Ann Cathrin Erga, Henrik Hofling & David Johansson.
Show gallery
| Incl. BMW R 1300 GS | 29 900 SEK(Approximately EUR) |
|---|---|
| Incl. BMW R 1300 GS Adventure | 29 900 SEK(Approximately EUR) |