Potes to Douro Valley via N621?

We'll be there in a couple of weeks as it happens, so will look out for the spaceman.
And a frog as well, excellent.

Is there an ISpy book for the town ?

You will enjoy the place. The plaza mayor (Main square) is well worth a visit for a beer and people watching...not sure about the ISpy book.:D
 
Really interesting Ken - thank you
I like the look of it and keeping clear of Leon where we have been before
As for Portugal we haven't got a plan other than maybe Pinhao and the Douro valley and ultimately probably down to Costa de la luz and Jerez then eventually round to Cartagena for the missus to see the Ampitheatre
We have been before and went to Aviero the othe side of the river from a Porto but wanted to just explore nice places preferably not tourist traps

If your wife wants to see an Ampitheatre, you could try Merida in Extramadura it has a very well preserved one, and is on your way to Jerez...:thumb2
 
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
 
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

Blimey Ken
What a great write up - thank you so much - I thought I had a decent knowledge of Spain but with your 25 years riding with your mate you have been to some great places - thanks again - I will post properly when I have more time - it's the wife's birthday today
 
Blimey Ken
What a great write up - thank you so much - I thought I had a decent knowledge of Spain but with your 25 years riding with your mate you have been to some great places - thanks again - I will post properly when I have more time - it's the wife's birthday today

Completely agree - some great ideas there :thumb2
 
Blimey Ken
What a great write up - thank you so much - I thought I had a decent knowledge of Spain but with your 25 years riding with your mate you have been to some great places - thanks again - I will post properly when I have more time - it's the wife's birthday today

Spot on.....:beerjug:
 
You have had some excellent information on here. I have been riding Spain & Portugal for 20 + years. I have said this before on here, two fantastic countries to ride. Underestimated by so many!! In Spain, number one is still La Alberca, stunning place & roads around the place!! Portugal, it really depends where you want to go, what you want to see etc. I could make several recommendations!
 
You have had some excellent information on here. I have been riding Spain & Portugal for 20 + years. I have said this before on here, two fantastic countries to ride. Underestimated by so many!! In Spain, number one is still La Alberca, stunning place & roads around the place!! Portugal, it really depends where you want to go, what you want to see etc. I could make several recommendations!

Stunning indeed, one of the best little 'corners' of Spain. :)

While we're about it, however, be warned that there¡'e trouble brewing with a national dockers strick threatened of the next few weeks. So far the details are scant, so check you bookings chaps ...

Regs

Simon
 
Stunning indeed, one of the best little 'corners' of Spain. :)

While we're about it, however, be warned that there¡'e trouble brewing with a national dockers strick threatened of the next few weeks. So far the details are scant, so check you bookings chaps ...

Regs

Simon

Yep, the unions were out with their megaphones in Algeciras last week, drumming up support. Algeciras is the 2nd largest container port in Spain after Valencia, so its an important part of their system. I'm not sure if it will affect the ferry crossing though. As Simon has said keep checking.
 
Just got back from Portugal tonight, we did this route on the way back up, we took the N621 through Riano to the CL626, across to Villablino (to avoid Leon), CL631 to Toreno/Ponnferrada (stayed overnight), N536/ou536 to the A52, green road to Puebla de Sanabria and N103-7 to Braganca where the trans Portugal trail starts, we were not disappointed at all, we were looking for a good route to get to the ferry on the last day. We took the CA131 back into Santander which was a lot better than the Motorway. Once in the Doura region N222 and N221 definitely worth a go. There maybe better roads nearby that we did`nt know about but I wouldn't miss the N621.
Neil
 
Yep, the unions were out with their megaphones in Algeciras last week, drumming up support. Algeciras is the 2nd largest container port in Spain after Valencia, so its an important part of their system. I'm not sure if it will affect the ferry crossing though. As Simon has said keep checking.

Looks like two of the strikes next week is called off - so that's two days with another seven left up in the air!

http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2017/03/02/actualidad/1488480366_604263.html

Regs

Simon
 
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

Hi Ken and everybody else who has given us some great advice on here
We started off in Potes and went on through Riano and stayed in the Parador at Puebla De Santabria and then carried on through Pinhao and stayed the night Cinfaes which was excellent - we carried on today and got down as far as Obidos where we are staying and going out to eat later in the old town

We wouldn't mind finding somewhere for a couple of nights in the Algarve for some R&R which is only a 3 or 4 hour run from here
The problem is if you do a search for hotels in the Algarve it just comes back with a mass of high rise hotels
Wondered if anybody could recommend anywhere not too crowded, with a pool and fairly safe for the bike please?
Cheers
Bob
 
Personally I'm not a fan of the Algarve these days - it's been spoilt progressively.

From Obidos (are you at the Castelo?), why not pop down to Cascais, near Estoril. A classy resort these days.

If you insist on the south coast, then Sagres on the far SW, or Tavira near the Spanish border would be my preference. Both have good Pousadas & other decent Hotels nearby. Sagres is Lands End, so can get pretty windy unless the weather is settled. Tavira is old fashioned Portugal & the Pousada a haven of calm with an excellent pool.

Enjoy the trip ...................... KEN
 
I second what Sqibb said. I believe you'll enjoy more older towns...
(sorry can't be more helpfull about where to stay...
 
Thanks guys - much appreciated- one of the attractions is that the Algarve coast is nearer from r the hop back into Spain - if we just hopped to Cascais it would be too close to here - think I will have a look at Booking.com for Tavira and see what price the Pousada and other decent hotels
Staying 2k out of Obidos at a place called Casa de Campo - wouldn't bother again - just been into town for a meal which was ok but not a patch on last nights in the Douro
Thanks again
 
It appears that the Pousada is fully booked on Booking.com and the only deals on the Pousadas website are way out of our price range
I wondered if any of these are worth a look as they are rated just below the Pousada on booking.com?
Vila Galé Tavira
OZADI Tavira Hotel
Maria Nova Lounge Hotel
Quinta Do Morgado - Nora Velha,
Or any other recommendations please?
Bob
 
If you have the time, do get up to the Castelo at Obidos for a coffee.

By the way, don't under-estimate travel times south of Lisbon. If you want a nice run, I would suggest you go directly on the A8 M/Way through Lisboa, over the famous bridge onto A2 IP7. Then take A2 IP1 south after Setubal (dir. Faro). At J10 turn east onto N121 IP8 for Beja. Then turn south onto IP2/IC27/N122, which is a lovely ride. The road arrives close to the Spanish Border near Villa Real de Sto Antonio. If you can't get into a nice Hotel in Tavira, try the Parador over the border in Spain, at Ayamonte - decent pool & great views over the Estuary.

Cheers .................... KEN
 
Algarve ... I always stay inland around Alcoutim. Next to the river and some great routes around both on and off road. Don't try and go around via Pomaroa at the moment as the road is closed near the dam due to a landslide.

You can hire a boat or go off-roading in a buggy which can be hired from Fun River in Alcoutim.

Have a drive/ride to Mina de Sao Domingos and have a look at what devastation a British mining company can cause when they set their minds to it. Its actually quite interesting too.
 
Personally I'm not a fan of the Algarve these days - it's been spoilt progressively.

From Obidos (are you at the Castelo?), why not pop down to Cascais, near Estoril. A classy resort these days.

If you insist on the south coast, then Sagres on the far SW, or Tavira near the Spanish border would be my preference. Both have good Pousadas & other decent Hotels nearby. Sagres is Lands End, so can get pretty windy unless the weather is settled. Tavira is old fashioned Portugal & the Pousada a haven of calm with an excellent pool.

Enjoy the trip ...................... KEN

Thanks Ken and Joca
Maybe I should take your advice and try Cascais for the night since we are so close
Is there a hotel that you could recommend please?
I think Bike security has to be considered so close to Lisbon?
I will start looking on Booking.com

Cheers

Bob
 


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