Requesting Portugal Weather Advice
 

Can anyone who is really familiar with weather in Portugal tell me when the earliest practical month to ship a bike to Lisbon and start riding around is?

Generally I prefer the north of the country (Braganca area, everywhere there are hills and twisty roads), but I suppose anywhere would be OK except Algarve.

Is it rainy in March, April? What about snow in the far north (the really neat mountain park just north of the Portugal border)?

Would appreciate some advice. I don't camp, I stay in pensions.

April is one of the rainiest months of the year in Portugal, it can be pretty wet but if you get lucky maybe not, if i were you and if it is possible, i wouldn´t arrive before the second week of May, by this time the weather should be getting perfect to ride around, only getting really hot by the end of July or August, however, if you stick by the sea it never gets really hot.
Concerning the snow, you won´t find any snow during the months i´m advising you to be here. I would recommend this site as it can be very usefull regarding the weather anywhere in the world: www.weather.com
Anyway, good luck with your travels and if you want to stop by or need any help with your planning or travel arrangements, feel free to e-mail me, i live in Espinho, south of Porto

[This message has been edited by Pedro Rocha (edited 26 December 2003).]

[This message has been edited by Pedro Rocha (edited 28 December 2003).]

Pedro:

Thank you very much for your advice.

Is there less rain during April if I move inland - to the east, away from the Atlantic coast? Or is the rain pretty much equal all over Portugal?

Michael

I would say that if you want to avoid the rain in April in Portugal you should stay South, by Algarve and southern Alentejo.
I forgot to say in my previous post that as in almost the rest of the world, the weather in Portugal in getting more impredictable and warm by the year, so you may as well find an early rain season this year.
The last thing i want to say to you is not to come, if you are only available on April and not later, by all means risk it, if you bring a plastic waterproof overall to be on the safe side, come along, you´ll have fun.
If you want, i can advice you on the places to visit or routes worth taking.

Thanks again Pedro.

You are correct about unpredictable weather. Today, in Toronto, Canada, it was +11° with brilliant sunshine, no clouds - I made a 200 km ride to have a cup of coffee, just for the fun of it.

Never in my life I would have expected to be riding a moto in Canada 3 days before the New Year. There is not a flake of snow to be found anywhere, all we have had is rain this month. Amazing.

Pan European said

"Never in my life I would have expected to be riding a moto in Canada 3 days before the New Year"

Its not unusual here on the wet coast.