Travelling north to south of Spain.

Andrew 789

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Hi all,
Me and SWMBO will be travelling from Bilbao to Malaga in August and am looking for some advice for places to stay / things to see en route.
We have got 3 days to get there so plenty of time to have a look around.
The only info I have found is to avoid Madrid.
Don't really know much about Spain so any info would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Andy
 
It’s going to be very very hot. Sorry, doesn’t answer your question.


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Aim for Segovia (NW of Madrid), then take the N403 South from Avila to the N401 and head South to Malaga; one of the best biking roads I've ever been on, plus a lot of it is in the mountains which will be a lot cooler than the fringes.

Segovia is a beautiful little town, and well worth a day on its own. Burgos is nice, not too big and plenty of history. Cordoba is on my list to see but not managed it yet.

Stay in a Parador, at least once.
 
my choice would be.bilbao-santander,burgos,valladolid,salamanca,plasencia,merida,ring road around Seville,then on to Malaga.you pass near some national parks if you've got time.done this route a few times and always enjoy it.



ps. avoid madrid.
 
Will be taking that route with a few buddies in June......we have 9 days to do it.
I can't wait.

Sent from a U11
 
Thanks guys this is just the sort of info I need.
Guessed it will be hot.
 
Salamanca is worth a look as are many Spanish city’s. For Andalucia, Córdoba is my favourite, it’s small enough to walk around. The mezquita and the old Jewish quarter are well worth look, then have a stroll down to the Roman bridge and across the river, good views back to the old town. Recross the bridge and turn right parallel to the river, and walk about 4/5 hundred mts,you will pass a few restaurants, but Carry on until you see a street off to the left, it is lined down both sides with restaurants, you will know you have the right street when you get there. In August be prepared for temperatures into the 40 C in the afternoon, in most of inland Spain. A lot of the locals spend July/August on the coast if possible.


Oh nearly forgot, avoid Madrid....:thumb2
 
On our last trip south we stopped off at Segovia, Trujillo and Córdoba and they were all great locations. Córdoba was especially interesting and would definitely warrant an extra night. We kept off the main roads as much as possible but still managed to reach the next town by mid afternoon, so time shouldn’t be an issue. Toledo is also a good stop off on the way home and then the 403 to Avila in order to avoid Madrid.
 
Thanks guys this is just the sort of info I need.
Guessed it will be hot.

Yes but do you realise just how hot. Have you ridden long days in heat before?
Suggest you time it so you're not hitting cities at busy times. DAMHIK.
If you get stuck in traffic you will bake.
I hit Seville in about 35 degrees. Feck it was hard work.
You're going to need regular stops if you want to stay married.
Strongly suggest you get camel backs.
What gear will you be wearing?
 
We came back up through France last year and the temp hit 39 around Bordeaux stuck in traffic. Bloody awful, especially as I was suffering from MAN FLU.
That was on a 800 GS. This trip will be on a 1200 GS so hopefully a little more comfortable.
We plan to try to do most of the travelling in the morning.
The return journey we are going to stick to the Mediterranean coast and come back up through France to Caen and then the ferry back to Portsmouth.
 
Yes but do you realise just how hot. Have you ridden long days in heat before?
Suggest you time it so you're not hitting cities at busy times. DAMHIK.
If you get stuck in traffic you will bake.
I hit Seville in about 35 degrees. Feck it was hard work.
You're going to need regular stops if you want to stay married.
Strongly suggest you get camel backs.
What gear will you be wearing?

I came through Seville at 9 O'clock at night in July, and it was still 38 C, because of the time of night, there was no Sun to contend with or traffic, so was able to keep moving, so not a big problem. Good tip the camel backs , you must stay hydrated. I pour water down the inside of my mesh jacket, and that keeps you cool for about half hour or so. But drink plenty of water too.
 
Segovia for a night would be mychoice too. We stayed at a hotel right by the aqueduct and it was very nice.

https://www.eurostarshotels.com/eurostars-plaza-acueducto.html

Toledo is also worth a look if you don't fancy Segovia. We stayed at http://www.cigarraldecaravantes.com. Good hotel, great view of Toledo. This would make the first day's ride longer and the second day's shorter.

Granada is a bit of a detour but well worth it. The Alhambra needs a good half day minimum. Ronda is also worth seeing and the road from Ronda to San Pedro de Alcantara, A397, is one of the best rides in Spain. Lots of bike launches are done on this road.

It can easily hit 40c + in August, so vented kit is helpful and lots of water is essential.

Enjoy yourself!!
 
We came back up through France last year and the temp hit 39 around Bordeaux stuck in traffic. Bloody awful, especially as I was suffering from MAN FLU.
That was on a 800 GS. This trip will be on a 1200 GS so hopefully a little more comfortable.
We plan to try to do most of the travelling in the morning.
The return journey we are going to stick to the Mediterranean coast and come back up through France to Caen and then the ferry back to Portsmouth.

Sounds like a good plan, Early starts and early finish in the high Summer inland, or keep to the coast.

Enjoy your trip. Spain is a fabulous country for biking, so much to see and do.....:thumb2
 
The wife has her heart set on visiting Alhambra Palace so will be stopping there the night before meeting the rest of the family near Malaga.
She is on the net right now looking at 5 star hotels.
The heat is a bit of a worry but like you guys said you just have to stay hydrated.
 
Evening. I did almost this very trip this August. If there is a way for me to send you the .gpx files from my Nav I’d be more than happy to do so. Perhaps PM me your email?

I basically went from Santander to Salamanca. Salamanca to Córdoba. Cordoba to Marbella via Rhonda.

Salamanca was amazing and my favourite place of the whole trip and I stayed in a parador there. Modern hotel, 10min walk to centre of the city. I stayed Macia Alfaros in Córdoba which was ok. Both had underground parking (a must on Córdoba). I personally wouldn’t go back to Córdoba. Just didn’t get on with it.

On the return leg I did one overnight at Plasencia, again staying in a parador which was of the true spirit of paradors (ex monastery). I also planned to do the Via de Plata on the return leg. I stayed on this route for about 50-100 and then gave up on it - dull as dishwater - don’t bother.

Despite all my route planning in advance using Michelin maps, some of the best roads I encountered were by me putting in the final destination e.g Salamanca and setting the Nav to ‘curvy route’. It took me on some amazing roads in places that I’m convinced not many people from outside of Spain ever visit. On the return leg this approach was so successful that I don’t think I’d plan a route as I did ever again. I’d simply figure out some highlights of spots on the route, perhaps set them as waypoints and then let the Nav work out the rest.

My other tip would be to take plenty of cash with you. I was surprised how many places didn’t accept card payment.

As others have said it will be hot. Got up to 49,c at one point for me this summer, but keep hydrated and on the move and it’s fine. I should also add that on my return leg I got caught in quite a few storms and once up high in the Picos, soaking wet through, I found my teeth chattering I was that cold.
You’ll have an amazing time. Enjoy.
 
The wife has her heart set on visiting Alhambra Palace so will be stopping there the night before meeting the rest of the family near Malaga.
She is on the net right now looking at 5 star hotels.
The heat is a bit of a worry but like you guys said you just have to stay hydrated.

I’m pretty sure that you have to pre book the Alhambra, they have 2 visiting times a day. It’s an amazing place.
 
Couple of pics from my trip! Look forward to seeing yours.

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Don't really know much about Spain so any info would be much appreciated.

The Spanish are a parasitical, bone idle race who will soon be crashing out of the EU. They kill millions of bulls every day by throwing them out of bell towers. I read it here.

You could start with this book:

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Better still, just buy a copy of ‘The Rough Guide to Spain’ or Michelin’s Green Guide to Spain.

Me and SWMBO will be travelling from Bilbao to Malaga in August and am looking for some advice for places to stay / things to see en route

Bilbao to Malaga direct (very nearly a straight line north to south) is just a touch under 1000 kms or say 630 miles. You have three days, so that is 210 miles a day, if you round the numbers. Probably further as you have decided to miss out Madrid (who told you to do that?) and you want things to see in the peak of summer and places to stay enroute? Just how much of your three days do you want off your bike ‘seeing things’ whilst you trundle along your daily average 210 miles?

Divide the journey up, say into three equal bite sized chunks, which will give you very roughly your over night stopping points. You only need two as your third night will be in Malaga.

RiDE magazine’s website has suggestions on north south routes, you may be able to adopt / adapt these perhaps?

Go to the ViaMichelin website. Insert Bilbao / Malaga. Chose motorcycle. Select avoid motorways / toll roads. This will at least give you a route that swerves around Madrid, bending like a bow to the west:

f847b262295097e94d8db5815b856625.jpg


It’s 1,200 kms or near enough, so roughly 20% further than the direct route.

Then do the same thing again in this excellent routing website:

https://kurviger.de/en

Which will give you:

99e252de8792e8f75bdad236b75b17c0.jpg


Play around in it, you can’t break it.

PS Book your tickets in advance for the Alhambra
 


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