Originally Posted by
travelinhobo
All good info. My first country on my first bike tour was P. That was in '98. Hated P. and after a week there took a train to Spain. That said, in many aspects it's changed and I'm sure in some it hasn't. All responses here have good suggestions and info. You have to do some research and come up with an outline of a plan so we can help you better.
Why did you hate Portugal? If you're going to make a statement like that, you should explain why. I've toured in Portugal and found virtually nothing to hate. The countryside is pretty, people are friendly, and the cities of Lisbon & Porto are lovely. My favorite region for biking was the Douro valley east of Porto. I didn't go to the Algarve tourist area in the south.
I don't think wild camping would work well in Portugal. I brought my own bike so can't help regarding renting a bike there.