Incidentally. if you're travelling down through Portugal on your way to the Algarve can I recommend the Hotel Museu in Mertola. Lovely rooms and great views from them over the R. Guadiana. Very well priced too.
Just a few places you might like to try in Portugal:
Coimbra - beautiful old city. The Uni Library is a must see.
Condeixa-a-Nova - check out the Roman sites.
Batalha & Fatima - religious sites, maybe stay at Ourem.
Sintra - we stayed at Queluz & took the train/tram. Cascais is nice for R&R but has grown, smartened up hugely of late & become more exclusive/expensive.
Palmela & Setubal - wonderful old fortress', now Pousadas. Take the ferry from Setubal, over the Sado & amble down the coast roads.
Sagres & Cabo de Sao Vincente - Portugese Lands End on the SW tip.
Estoi - stay at the wonderful Pestana Pousada.
Tavira - nice Pousada & boat trips.
Then Spain -
Ayamonte is interesting, on the Guardiana; fishing/Sardine canneries historically.
El Rocio - like something out of a Western Movie.
Jerez - needs no intro. We prefer to stay in Cadiz old town.
Arcos de la Frontera - amazing old town on the edge of a cliff.
Ronda - home of bullfighting, with museum. Beatiful site & some great local rides.
Cordoba - must see the old bridge & Mezquita
Granada - the old City & the Alhambra. Triumph sometimes use the A395 road up to the Sierra Nevada for testing.
Lorca - stay at the new Parador, with great views. We quite like the Parador at Mojacar Playa though - often inhabited by VAG/Porsche with test mules. Very relaxing.
& finally to Cartagena - as you say, the Roman sites & circuito.
Sorry, too much for one tour already & that's just scratching the surface, without getting into the red hot centre. There is so much do do/see inland the options are almost endless. Having an old riding buddy living near Denia meant we did Iberia regularly over the last 25 years. Some great riding territory, although the speed camera has emerged of late. You may also be familiar too with the aggressive steep speed bumps that have been laid as you enter some towns/villages, where speed control traffic lights were getting ignored.
Anyway, enjoy the planning & the trip idc ............ KEN
Incidentally. if you're travelling down through Portugal on your way to the Algarve can I recommend the Hotel Museu in Mertola. Lovely rooms and great views from them over the R. Guadiana. Very well priced too.
Weird place (in a good way)...Roman remains in the foyer! They were very biker friendly too. Let me park my bike on the patio.Thanks Monty - just had a look and it looks good and as you say only €40 - might visit there after Sagres or Cascais
Ha - great questionSorry you couldn't get into Tavira for sensible money. The views at Sagres will more than make up for it though.
Where next??
Call in at Aracena.
B
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Sorry Monty I should have explained better - if we turn back towards Aracena and we do want to head up eventually to Bilbao it will take us through Merida and Caceres Salamanca and Leon all of which we have done previouslyLooks good but we would be doubling back from Carmona
I have been looking at Almagro near Ciudad Real but I will wait to see how far we get tomorrow before we start looking ��
Why not route via Cordoba, on the A431, take in the Bridge & Mesquita for Brunch. Then cut north dir. CR, on the N420 - it's a nice sweeping fast road. Then, after Puertollano, take the Local CR413 NE to Almagro. The Parador is excellent, with a nice pool, as is the lovely old town square.
Alternatively, try Toledo - steeped in history, some of it none too pleasant during the Civil war. The Parador aint cheap, but it sits to the south with a superb view across the Rio Tajo, to the old City & Alcazar.
Weather sounds a tad hot!!
All the best .................... KEN
After Carmona we are at Aranjuez which is the royal palaces near Madrid and a stunning place if anybody is planning a trip
https://m.nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-co...Up0wodhUMPOA&dclid=COaBjYeaw9QCFewB0wodP3ANsA
Tomorrow we move on to Segovia and the. Up into the hills for a night at Sepulveda near Segovia famed for Asadors - so it's barbecue time for us
http://www.booking.com/Share-vEywQT