Exploring Faro and the Ria Formosa by bicycle

You don’t have to be a fit boy or fit girl to explore the beautiful nature around the Algarve’s capital Faro in an active way. Hop on a bicycle and easily make your way around the stunning flat lands of natural park Ria Formosa. Sandy paths lead you through the salt marshes, barrier islands and tidal inlets. A beautiful boardwalk was built a couple of years ago to make your cycling adventure even more easy.

Ria Formosa

Ria Formosa is a stunning natural park and lagoon system located along the eastern Algarve coastline of Portugal. In 2010 it was chosen as one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal. It stretches over 60 kilometers, encompassing a diverse range of habitats and animal species. The park is internationally recognized for its ecological significance and biodiversity, making it a haven for wildlife and a popular destination for nature enthusiasts and tourists alike.

Rent a bike

From Faro city, you can easily cycle to the western part of the Ria Formosa. To rent a bike go to the port of Faro and look for the office of Formosamar. This company offers mountain bikes, with or without electric assistance, which you can rent from as little as four hours. From there, you only cycle through the city for a short time, before you get to quiet bike paths.

Cycle past the train station and through the Parque Ribeirinha to make your way to the Faro airport. While the planes fly on and off to bring new tourists to the Algarve, you continue cycling till you see the first signs of the Ria Formosa. A network of paths appears between the salt pans. The roads are narrow, but great for cycling (be careful of some holes here and there). The landscape is really stunning. The shallow ponds in which salt is being extracted have a fascinating pink colour at times. Even more pink than the flamingos that also live in the area, just like many other water birds.

Ilha de Faro

Follow the paths in a westerly direction, until you see the signs to the Ilha de Faro. This is the largest island of the Ria Formosa, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. You can easily cross here with your bike and visit the island. It has long sandy beaches and several places to eat or drink. Ilha de Faro is best known for its giant grilled sandwiches, so make sure you have an appetite at this point.

Passadiços Loulé Litoral

Once you’ve crossed the bridge back to the mainland, you cycle further along the coast to the west. Along the way you will probably see fishermen who are looking for crustaceans and shellfish (depending on the tide). Soon you will get to the “Passadiços Loulé Litoral“, a wooden walkway along the coast of almost five kilometers. You are allowed to cycle on it, as long as you are not a nuisance to the pedestrians.

It’s a linear path, so if you prefer to stay along the coast, just ride it up and down. You can also find your own way back to Faro via the various golf resorts that are a little more inland. In that case, keep in mind that you will be on roads with more car traffic.

Below I share the route that I cycled myself. This was a bike ride of 36 kilometers with 124 meters of elevation. Apart from lunch on Ilha de Faro, this bicycle ride took 2.5 hours. We kept it short, because we had a plane to catch later that day. It was a perfect way to make the final day of a holiday still fun and interesting.

There are many other ways to discover the Ria Formosa. You can, for example, go on organised walks with a guide or take boat trips. Find out all the options on the website natural.pt.

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