Portugal North to South

The black art of moving from A to B on foreign soil
Post Reply
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Portugal North to South

Post by ErikGustav2 »

Summer is approaching. Riding weather is nice in Portugal.
I will present some temptations in the Iberian peninsula for you.
Ferry from UK to Santander (or Bilbao)
And than:

Number one:
(Maybe there will maybe be more. E.g Douro Wally, Picos de Europa...Depends on ...)

Portugal North to South

When riding Portugal from North to South, (or in the opposite direction) you have many good alternatives. Here are some. (4) different ways.
You can of course take one way down and the other up. Or take a return trip on the other side of the Spanish border.

N2
N2 or EN 2 (Estrada Nacional 2) is the Route 66 of Portugal. But this route is not abounded. It is really in use.
It starts in Chaves in the North and ends in Faro in the South. 738 km on twisting tarmac. The north and south parts are more twisty. The middle part a little less.
You can ride it in 2 days if you press hard. Than you will see nothing but tarmac. But you will enjoy the riding. I consider 3 days as minimum. If you don't press too hard. And you should add some more days, depending on how many places you want to visit along the road. And what detours you want to do. I used 5 days for this trip. Plus one day in Chaves. That was enough for many detours and stops on the way.

Meet Portugal's Route 66
https://www.portugalhomes.com/news/arti ... s-route-66

Roadtrip on EN2
https://www.allaboutportugal.pt/en/arti ... -in-4-days

N2, The Ultimate Portugal Road Trip
https://juliedawnfox.com/n2-the-ultimat ... -to-south/

Motorcycle Diaries EN2
https://motorcycle-diaries.com/en/roads ... haves-faro

Portugal ACT Route
ACT (Adventure Country Tracks) Portugal is a 1 250 km route. Start and end points are similar to N2 route. Branaca on the northern border and Tavira on the south coast. The route is 1 250 km and the proposed riding time is 5 days. It uses 65% dirt/gravel/off road and 35% tarmac. It is easier than TET and is more a “travel” route than the TET.

I have been riding “day5”. It was a bit rocky in the end. But else, nice back roads. (It is classified as easy/medium difficult)

ACT Route
https://adventurecountrytracks.com/portugal/

TET
TET (Trans Euro Trail) Portugal. Is harder off road. If you enjoy challenging rides more than travelling and sites-seeing.

TET Portugal
https://transeurotrail.org/portugal/#5.33/38.251/-7.114


Your own route
Portugal is full of back roads. Both tarmac and gravel/dirt roads. And trails. Off road riding is in general permitted, unless signs say the opposite (Private or protected areas) It will be nice trip, whatever route you take. But (at least in my opinion) you will see more if you do some research in advance.

Portugal is rich in historic sites. The Romans, the Moors and the Catholics have all created their parts. You see Roman bridges and aqueducts, Arabic fortresses and Catholic cathedrals mixed. In a beautiful landscape with a lot of variations. It can't go wrong.

Vaya Con Dios

Attachments: Maps of the three described routes
Attachments
N2-Portugal-map.jpg
N2-Portugal-map.jpg (98.56 KiB) Viewed 2325 times
ACT map.jpg
ACT map.jpg (79.34 KiB) Viewed 2325 times
TET Map.jpg
TET Map.jpg (28.15 KiB) Viewed 2325 times
User avatar
Scott_rider
Posts: 2436
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2012 12:47 pm
Has thanked: 29 times
Been thanked: 294 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by Scott_rider »

That's good info 8-) .
Suzuki GSX-S1000F...the KTM 450 EXC-R has gone
bikenav
Posts: 1277
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 11:46 pm
Location: Llanelli
Has thanked: 1187 times
Been thanked: 760 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by bikenav »

excellent info thanks for going to the trouble.
PDiddy
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:44 am
Location: Derby
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 19 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by PDiddy »

Ferry booked for the end of May 👍 ACT heading North to South and then Sections 2 and 1 of the TET heading north on my way home 😎
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by ErikGustav2 »

PDiddy wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 7:53 am Ferry booked for the end of May 👍 ACT heading North to South and then Sections 2 and 1 of the TET heading north on my way home 😎
Great.
I hope that you write some travel story with pictures.
User avatar
Monster
Posts: 752
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:33 pm
Has thanked: 43 times
Been thanked: 125 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by Monster »

Hello

Thanks for posting the info

Plan A for this year is get to Morocco ... but the ferries (or lack of!) are a REAL major issue

Plan B is Portugal and Spain

See what happens in June I guess
If a Hammer don't fix it - you have an electrical problem
PDiddy
Posts: 81
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:44 am
Location: Derby
Has thanked: 15 times
Been thanked: 19 times

Re: Portugal North to South

Post by PDiddy »

Monster wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 10:45 pm Hello

Thanks for posting the info

Plan A for this year is get to Morocco ... but the ferries (or lack of!) are a REAL major issue

Plan B is Portugal and Spain

See what happens in June I guess
Some good news for you then 👍

https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/04/08/s ... xLNqZRuSdg
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Portugal mini tour

Post by ErikGustav2 »

I wanted to do a mini tour.
I followed my own advice. I made a 2 days tour on N2 and ACT.

More pictures:
https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzKcE4

00 Planned Route.jpg
00 Planned Route.jpg (150.25 KiB) Viewed 1985 times
The blue line going north is to large extent N2. Before going east to Moura.
Where "day 5" of ACT starts.
The green route is ACT.
And the pink one is to get home.

Day 1: Albufeira to Moura + Sightseeing in Moura
Day 2: ACT "day 5" + home.

ACT route was very nice and smooth for the first 2/3.
Time to enjoy the views.

Then it became a roller coast on rocky surface with a lot of stones.
Combined with many sharp corners.
Shaking both me and the bike for 3 hours.
All focus was on the riding. Not enjoying the nice views.

For my taste, if was a long one day 8 hours ACT. incl 3 short stops.
(+ 1½ hour => home.)

56.jpg
56.jpg (157.75 KiB) Viewed 1985 times
The smooth dirt road
91.jpg
91.jpg (170.42 KiB) Viewed 1985 times
The not so smooth rocks
,
Post Reply

Return to “TRAVEL”