Faro, Portugal.

Looking at some cheap winter sun road miles for January.

Flights and cheapness are pointing at Faro....but only slightly over Malaga.

Anyone got good experience with Faro for cycling?

Some lovely rides north of the Algarve, hilly and pretty car-less.
The weather can be a lot more unpredictable than Spain, have had some cold wet New Years.

I've been to the Algarve a couple of times in winter (Jan, Feb) to ride. Once based in Almancil and once in Carvoeiro. As mentioned some lovely rides into the the hills in the north. Up to Monchique and Fóia is something I really enjoyed - bit of a distance from Faro though.

I was lucky and had a dry, not cold week but January can be a bit hit or miss with the weather.

Roads are pretty much empty which made a nice change from the UK.

+1 for Monchique

Yes, this. Was there in June though, not sure what it be like in winter. Best road was southbound from Alfierce, wish I took that one the other way around, since the descent was too fast to fully appreciate the surroundings. We stayed in Silves, a nice quiet town with enough bars/restaurants to accomodate us tourists. We had very decent rental bikes (ultegra/disc-swift frames) that were delivered at our doorstep, strictly on time I might add. Have to admit I've had cheaper holidays, but covid has made many things very expensive in the tourist industry. Food/drinks still very affordable though, in my view.

I was looking back at my photos from April, a place I liked a lot was Fonte Ferrea (in the area of Sao Bras), its actually really close to Faro.
I went mountainbiking but I saw plenty roadbikers too.

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Thanks for the information, sounds like a cracking place.

Might be ending up in Malaga for a little bit more rain buffer. Smooth roads, dry and warmer than Scotland is all I'm after. With a cheap roof over our heads.

Did trackpacking in Évora and Beja district.
A lot of tracklocross/exploration too.

A few bits in my komoot, if any tips lmk, I am Portuguese, can point to contacts, rides, groups, cyclists if you need company/network.

Hey mate, a year later I am booked to fly into Faro and be based in Albufeira in January. Going all on my lonesome this time round, which is fine by me but you got any cool contacts, hint or tips in Albufeira?

I created a few rides on Komoot at random. Going with the roadie.

Not cycling-specific, but I’m after some campsite recommendations. We (me, wife, 2 kids under 10) are driving from faro to Lisbon in a camper van and have 7 nights to split between some campsites along the way.
Ideally kid-friendly sites with pools etc. but a lot of this type of site seem to have 7 night min stays.