Over the last ten years, there has been an improvement in the provision of marked walking trails in the area. There are three or four long-distance trails, two across the region from the Spanish border to Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape St Vincent), and two down the west coast, coming down from the Alentejo to the Cape, plus a new on in development along the Rio Guadiana on the frontier with Spain. Several of the local authorities have developed local walking routes, and these are usually marked with red and yellow bars, as opposed to the international red and white of the long-distance paths. Care needs to be taken if walking these local routes, as the waymarking can be interrupted or in the odd case really misleading. Information for these various routes can be found by visiting the offices of the local Câmara (Council), or Tourist Information Centres. Information about the long-distance paths is given below.
Long Distance Walking Routes in Southern Portugal.
Via Algarviana. Offical International walking route. (GR 13) Just over 300k from Alcoutim on the river Guadiana to Cape St Vincent. Contact environmental group Almargem. Detailed information on their webpage. A new pack, including full description in English and with good maps, is now available from TICs. Almargem have now completed a series of linking walks, which can take you from a number of points nearer the coast, up to the main trail. There are also some short circular routes to try.
The Algarve Way. Unofficial route with the same start and finish points, about 40k less than the VA.. The waymarking of this route was done between 2005 and 2007, and has not been renewed, so finding your way could be very difficult. I have all the details should anyone wish to attempt this route. I have now included a detailed write-up of the AW route as part of this series of walks.
West Coast. Under the banner Rota Vicentina, there are two trails running down the west coast. Googling that title will give you the information you need, but briefly:
Trilho dos Pescadores (Fisherman´s Trail). A coastal walk in the Alentejo, within the Natural Park which covers much of the western coastal fringes. 120k from Porto Covo. Marked with blue and green bars. This has now been extended towards the Cape - see the RV website for details. Latest news is that the Trilho has been extended to the Cape and along the south coast as far as Lagos.
Trilho Historico 230k from Santiago de Cacém to Cape St Vincent, taking in some of the hills inland from the coast. An international long-distance path, marked with red and white bars.
The Guadiana Trail.
A long distance trail following the line of the Rio Guadiana from the mouth near Castro Marim, on the Portuguese side of the river, all the way up to Mertola. Parts of this are still in development.