Algarve à la carte: Albufeira & Fóia, 6 Days

It begins with your arrival at Faro airport. A transfer takes you to Albufeira and the four-star Regency Salgados, your base for the coming five nights. At the get-together you meet the group and the two German- and English-speaking guides, and in the evening a shared dinner is on the programme.

The first riding day heads inland. Easy to moderate tracks and quiet side roads lead through cork oak forests, small villages and landscapes well away from the coast. Anyone who would rather stay on tarmac rides the stage paved, and the choice is open every morning. The afternoon leads back to the hotel.

Today the route follows the Atlantic cliffs to viewpoints and small coves. Winding roads alternate with short gravel passages, with time in between for the lunch snack on the road. In the afternoon the group rolls back to the hotel in Albufeira.

Hairpin bends climb to Mount Fóia, the highest point in the Algarve, with a wide view over the south coast of Portugal. After the break at the top the group rolls gently back down to the valley. As on every riding day it comes to around 150 to 250 kilometres, on tarmac or gravel as you please.

The final riding day heads north towards Almodóvar through the wide cork oak forests of the Alentejo. This stage shows the quiet, rural side of Portugal well away from the coast. Back at the base in the evening, the boot beer marks the finish.

After breakfast at the Regency Salgados the transfer takes you back to Faro airport. Behind you lie around 1,000 kilometres between Atlantic cliffs, backcountry, Mount Fóia and the cork oak forests near Almodóvar, ridden exactly the way it suited you each morning.