Alentejo: Cycling in Paradise

Cycling in Paradise is the most flexible of Portugal Best Cycling's tours: a single-base holiday at their own boutique farm guesthouse, Monte do Serrado de Baixo, in the Alentejo countryside near Évora. There is no packing and unpacking. Choose 3 to 7 nights and ride 2 to 6 of seven routes, guided or self-guided.

Each morning after breakfast a local guide meets you to plan the day, so distance, pace, tastings and cultural visits can be adapted to suit. Routes follow traffic-free ecotrails, quiet secondary roads and dirt tracks through vineyards, olive groves and cork oak country to Arraiolos, Évora, megalithic sites, Valongo Castle, Monsaraz and the marble towns around Estremoz.

Back at the farm there are swimming pools, regional dinners and an Alentejo cooking class using simple ingredients you can find at home. Cycling days can also be swapped for kayaking or walking with advance notice.

Highlights:

• Single-base stay at the operator's own country house, with no packing and unpacking
• Évora's UNESCO World Heritage centre: Roman Temple, cathedral and Chapel of Bones
• Almendres Cromlech and the Zambujeiro Dolmen, among Europe's oldest megalithic monuments
• Alentejo wineries, a cork factory and small local producers
• Hilltop castles at Arraiolos and Valongo, plus optional Monsaraz and the marble towns
• Alentejo cooking class and regional dinners at the farm

Surface and terrain
Gently rolling countryside on a mix of traffic-free ecotrail (a former railway line), quiet secondary asphalt roads and dirt roads. Most routes are rated Easy+ with 200 to 400 m of ascent. Expect a 4 km dirt climb on the megalithic route and a steep final climb to Monsaraz.

Weather
The weather is warm almost all year. Expect hot, dry summers, mild winters with some rain, and the most comfortable riding in spring and autumn.

Suitable for
Leisure riders, couples and small groups wanting a relaxed single-base holiday with food, wine and culture. Rated Medium overall, with distances easily shortened or extended, so it suits mixed-ability groups. E-bikes are available.