Portugal · Douro Valley · Premium route guide
N222 Douro Valley (Peso da Régua → Vila Nova de Foz Côa)
Voted the best driving road in the world by Avis a few years back and Portugal's answer to every riders' bucket list. 140 kilometres of second- and third-gear sweepers hugging the terraced Douro valley — full route on the map, a GPX for your GPS, and the motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted along the river.
- Distance
- 138.5 km
- Peak elevation
- 730 m
- Elevation gain
- 2,464 m
- Best months
- Apr–Oct
The route
The N222 hugs the north bank of the Douro from Peso da Régua east through Pinhão and Casal de Loivos to Vila Nova de Foz Côa. Terraced vineyards drop away to the river on your right for most of the ride. Pins are motorcycle-friendly stays other riders have vetted.
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Works with Garmin, TomTom, BMW Navigator, Calimoto, Kurviger, komoot, MyRouteApp. Import as a track to ride the exact line. Road data from OpenStreetMap (ODbL); elevation from SRTM.
Track vs. route — how to load this into your GPS
What you're downloading is a GPX track — a dense, road-snapped breadcrumb of the exact line, with elevation on every point. It's not a GPX route (a short list of turn waypoints your device re-plans between). Tracks preserve our road choice; routes let the device pick its own way and can send you down a boring motorway shortcut.
How to use it on your navigator:
- BMW Navigator / Garmin Zumo / zūmo XT: import as a track, then Convert to Route (or Trip Planner → new trip from track) if you want turn-by-turn prompts. Keep Recalculation off so it stays on our line.
- TomTom Rider: import the GPX in MyDrive — it loads as a track / itinerary. Enable Follow the exact route so it doesn't re-plan.
- Calimoto: open the GPX and choose Import as tour — Calimoto follows the track line.
- Kurviger / komoot / MyRouteApp: open the GPX and pick Import as track to keep the road choice. Only choose Import as route if you want the app to re-plan for your bike profile.
- Google Maps / Apple Maps: these don't read GPX. Use the map on this page for turn cues, or import the file into a GPX-capable app first.
Rule of thumb: if your device asks "track or route?", pick track to ride our exact line — pick route only if you want the device to re-plan.
Elevation profile
From ~61 m at the base to 730 m at the top — 2,464 m of total climbing across the route.
This is a slow-ride road, not a fast one. The corners flow, the surface is good, and there is a viewpoint or a quinta (wine estate) every few kilometres begging you to stop. Give it a full day: Régua to Foz Côa and back, with a long lunch in Pinhão and a wine stop at one of the port lodges along the way.
The best single moment is the climb from Pinhão up to Casal de Loivos. It's a short spur off the N222 — five minutes of switchbacks and then the definitive Douro photograph: the river bending below, vineyards stacked in green terraces on every hillside. Don't skip it.
The road, honestly
The N222 is not a technical challenge. What makes it special is scenery, surface, and pace. Portugal has kept this road properly maintained because tourism depends on it, and outside high summer the traffic is light. Ride midweek if you can — weekends bring the port-lodge tour buses out.
The Pinhão–Foz Côa half is quieter and less-driven than the Régua–Pinhão half. If you want the postcard corners with fewer coaches, start east and ride west into the afternoon light — the sun on the terraces around 5pm is exactly why photographers rate this valley.
Where to base yourself
Pinhão is the classic choice — small, right on the river, with a couple of hotels and a train station if you want to link a rest day. Peso da Régua is bigger and has more options at every price, plus the Douro Museum if the weather turns. Vila Real, 20 minutes north, is a proper town if you want restaurants and a night out.
Two nights lets you do the N222 in one direction, then loop back the next day via the N323 on the south bank for a completely different perspective on the same river.
Fuel, food and what to expect
Fuel: fill up in Régua or Pinhão — stations get sparse east of Pinhão and there is nothing above the river once you climb into the terraces. Cash is still welcome at family quintas even where card is accepted.
Food: every village has a quinta doing tastings. Two or three glasses of port at lunch is a bad idea on a bike; take small pours or come back tomorrow. The valley invented port wine — treat it accordingly.
What to see along the way
- Peso da Régua — Western gateway to the Douro. Douro Museum on the riverfront is worth 30 minutes if it's raining.
- Pinhão — The heart of the valley. Tiled train station, riverside cafés, and a walking bridge across the Douro for the classic photo.
- Casal de Loivos viewpoint — Five-minute spur off the N222 above Pinhão. The definitive Douro terraces panorama — don't skip it.
- São João da Pesqueira — Hilltop town midway between Pinhão and Foz Côa. Coffee stop with the best view of the eastern half of the valley.
- Vila Nova de Foz Côa — Eastern end of the route. UNESCO prehistoric rock-art park nearby if you fancy a rest-day walk.
Rent a bike
Rent a motorcycle or scooter for N222 Douro Valley (Peso da Régua → Vila Nova de Foz Côa)
Flying in? Pick up a bike near the start of the route. We've pre-filled the pick-up city with Peso da Régua / Pinhão — change it if you're basing elsewhere.
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Rider-verified stays within 30 km
Automatically selected by proximity to the traced route — no editorial cherry-picking. Sorted by how close they are to the road.
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