Cycling UK Forum

I'm going on a week long tour to northern Portugal at Easter. Flying into Porto then heading north thru the Minho and Peneda Geres before going across to Braganza and back to Porto. I like cycling on small backroads and lanes c. 80-100kms per day. The maps that I've been able to track down are either Michelin 1:300,000 which isn't detailed enough imo, or American or Russian airforce maps which cost a fortune and are far too detailed. The other option is seems to be a Turinta map which is 1:250,000. I haven't seen one in the flesh. Is this the best option to go for or is there a more cyclist-friendly map that I've not found yet? I assume someone on here will have some experience..

I do have a garmin 800 with garmin's full europe mapping which I have used in remote parts of Austria, Germany and France but I'm a bit hesitant to rely on it solely without some backup map as the screen is too small to see much more than the immediate vicinity.

Thanks

Chris

Turinta is the best practical, modern map. That is not to say it is perfect. It is probably a good idea to have another map for a second opinion. Unfortunately the survey maps are incredibly out of date, so although you can get a more detailed maps, they don't really show the modern road system at all, and the Portuguese road system has changed a lot in recent decades, a lot more than Britain, where I don't usually have much difficulty cycling around with 30-yr-old OS maps.

There are three general problems with the quarter-inch type scale of mapping in Portugal:
(1) big new road crashes through an area. Old roads still there, but not signpost very well, and if the map shows the new road, it may no longer be clear that there is another road crossing and recrossing it along the same general alignment. More over such roads are often just signpost the next settlement on these roads, and sometimes these are not shown on the map.
(2) general development, eg suburbs, new developments, produce new roads, that are useful connections, but take a long time to get onto the map, or are too fiddly to show at 1:250 000.

There is something to be said for a GPS in Portugal. A local tells me that when they tried to introduce GPS in Portugal, they discovered that 60% of the road system was not mapped. The GPS company sent a number of vehicles to drive along every road they could find to create a map of them. So GPS actually has by far the most up-to-date and complete mapping.

In terms of finding your way in and out of Porto, you will find it more or less impossible to find your way, you'll keep on finding yourself on the motorway. I would recommend using the metro from the airport into the town centre (in theory open to bikes all the time), then the suburban railway to get out of town to Guimaraes or Braga - such trains operate from Sao Bento station, (bikes permitted except in the rush hour in the direction of the peak) though for Barcelos I think there is a different station. Don't forget to buy tickets for your bike.

your post prompted me to have a look in my filing cabinet to see what maps I used when cycling north to south - it would appear that I cannot help you as i seem to have survived using a 1:400k Michelin - not my weapon of choice and I would of bought it in the UK with the intention of getting something better when i got there - I obviously failed in that respect

Thanks for your detailed replies and the top-tip about getting out of the airport: airports are always 'fun' to try and find your way in and out on a bike as planners seem to forget that people cycle. So a combination of michelin / turinta and the gps is about the best we can hope for.

Ta

Chris

We did that same route in May-June 2002 (before GPS). The maps were significantly poorer that we were used to in France & UK, but we only got hopelessly lost 1 day around Cabril. I highly recommend your choice, it was a wonderful route.
It is difficult to find your way out of Porto airport, it was dark by the time we'd set the bikes up, so cant advise on that - dogs bark at you, dont fall into a ditch!
Peneda Geres is glorious and was virtually empty. We found most campsites big and uncrowded, but with good facilities.
Out of Braganca we followed the N15 - which is the old road - virtually deserted, running alongside and crisscrossing the motorway. If you can find these old roads, they are often almost traffic-free.
We had both extremes of weather btw - mist & cold rain in the hills like being in Scotland and also days of baking heat.
I just got my photo album and diaries out to remind me - what a wonderful country. Have a great time.

Try sending an email to this chap at Pedal Portugal.