Anyone been to Algave Circuit Portugal

Thinking of going to MotoGP there. Anyone ever been? Fly into Madrid and take billet train down. Thoughts

 

Sounds like an expensive train.

 

I went to World SBK there in 2018, when Gagne was riding the RedBull Honda. Love that place. Similar to Laguna Seca, near the ocean but hot and dry, lots of ups and downs, you should be prepared to hike around the track to get the best views and really get a feel for the place. I had rented a moto in Malaga and rode over from there then carried on. I stayed at the hotel right next to the track which was very nice and very convenient.

CAUTION: Beware the hot sauce on the meat sandwiches sold at the stand on top of the hill...had a near death experience up there!

 

Watching Portimao WorldSBK this morning, once again shows that the camera flattens everything out, just like Laguna you have no idea how awesome that track is from the TV, you gotta hike all around to really get it. Awesome!

 

Awesome feedback. TY. Where did you fly into if I may ask

 

I'd go to Lisbon.

 

I kinda want to go to Madrid and take train but not sold on it yet. Will look at Lisbon.

 

The train route from Madrid is super slow isn’t it? If you just want to see Madrid while over there, I’d fly to Faro. I mean , I love trains, but I wouldn’t want to spend a whole vacation day riding one.

I haven’t been to the track, but the Algarve area is gorgeous and your dollar goes a long way in Portugal.

 

In my case I flew into Malaga, Spain and rented a moto there, because I was meeting friends there for a group moto tour of Morocco. So I went over early, rented a bike from the same place we were doing the tour with (IMTBIKE) that way I could do my thing and end up back there. Went to WSBK at Portimao, MotoGP at Aragon, and WSBK at Magny Cours, riding every twisty road I could find in between, then a quick spin through the Alps, coming back through the Pyrenees. IMT has several locations in Spain and Portugal, highly recommended.

 

There is a high speed rail from Madrid to Seville that takes about 2.5 hours. Madrid is a fun city for sure, but so is Lisbon. A couple decades ago I rented a car in Lisbon and took a roundabout 3 weeks (the long way via Porto, Bilbao, Valencia, Toledo etc.) to get to Madrid to head home. Great trip.

 

Bultaco Matador FTW.

 

I looked into going from Madrid to Portimão a few years ago. It's not quick to get there by train. High Speed from Madrid to Seville but then it's a bus from Seville to Portimão.

rome2rio.com is pretty useful for finding routes between cities. You can even book through them.

 

I'm in Albufeira often. Going again in a few weeks. Let me know if I can help with anything.

 

from Tues. We stayed in Lisbon for a couple of days and drove down to Lagos for the day. Super easy drive.. 2.5 hours or so.

 

I’ve gone there from Malaga, Madrid and Lisbon. Madrid was about 8 hrs drive. The other two were much easier. Stay in Lagos or Sagres. Both are killer beach towns but Sagres is really awesome to me.

 

One thing that was a bummer was that from the perimeter road, you cannot see ANY part of the track. I was hoping that as hilly as the place is you could get a view of the track from outside but no dice. The one manned gate we found was pretty no-nonsense about not getting in for a couple of snaps. I agree with staying in Lagos. Driving down from Lisbon was a bit like driving on the Autobahn. The speed limit was basically 120kph but we were getting passed like we were standing still a couple of times so you had to really keep an eye on your mirrors when making passes. I paced one guy that passed us at 180k's. I didn't feel like going to jail so I just kept it at 125.

 

A German (Bavarian at that!!) team being sponsored by near beer. There's your problem right there.

 

Did that trip last year and some of it is toll road, I can't remember which part though. You can either pay online later (they photo your licence plate) or you can get a transponder with your rental.

 

Yep, you just take the A2 and there's a toll station at the beginning and the end (green lane with our rental car) then a couple of little auto tolls once you get on the A22 that are like .85 euro per. It just seemed like people drove like they KNEW there were no police ahead.

 

I love Malaga, spent a bunch of time there not race related, but during the three kings festivities, and had a great time.