5 day route in central Spain?
 

Hi,

My wife and I are looking to take a week out later in the year to travel into central spain, Salamanca and Madrid are 2 must see places. We will travel from the UK on the overnight ferry to Bilbao and start from there. Does anyone have a route we could use as a template? We would be looking to travel 200-300 miles per day.

Regards,
Kevin Holmes.

hi!

the only helpful suggestion i can make is that, if you're going to travel 2-300 miles each and every day, you're either going to miss out on the best roads or spend a very great deal of time travelling.

i was in the north of spain last summer and found that, to travel on the scenic routes (and there are some beautiful ones in the picos de europa) you don't really want to be doing more than 100 - 150 per day (max) if you're at all interested in the environs.

the point is that you just can't travel that quickly on the nicer, curvy, mountain, countryside type roads. there are motorways, etc, but they're as crap ride on there as they are here.

just my opinion!

zb.

[This message has been edited by zenbiker (edited 05 February 2004).]

Hi,

I can confirm what Zenbiker stated. Northern Spain is excellent, especially the Picos. The coast is real nice as well. Futher west along the coast is San Vincente de la Barquera & Cudillero, both worth visiting, as are Galicia & Asturias.

Worth your while checking out to see if your trip coincides with any regional/town/village festivals as they're stopping off for.

I've no idea where you're based in the UK but have you considered sailing with Brittany Ferries from Plymouth to Santander as it's only a 24hr crossing? I believe the P&O crossing from Porsmouth to Bilbao takes 30 to 36hrs?

Good trip

Steve

Guys,

Thanks for the reply, it's a bit misleading on my part to say that we will be doing 2-300 miles per day. We may decide to stop for a few days in Madrid and Salamanca so I should have said perhaps we are looking to travel for four hours max.

I have riden most of Northern Spain from Galicia to Aragon and agree that it is very beautiful. However we travelled up and over the Picos de Europas and found the weather to be more in tune with our tastes and so are looking to travel further south this time round.

My wife is interested in wildlife and we have been told that there is a half decent chance of catching site of whales or dolphins on the Bilbao ferry although it does take 2 days of travel. So my arm is being twisted into this one, I much prefer the Santander route even if the Brittany ferry is a bit tired and dated.

So, back to the original post, anyone have any routes or things of note that we may be interested in?

Regards,
Kevin.

We have been on the portsmouth Bilbao ferry quite a few times and have seen many whales and dolphins particularly in hotter weather. Have you visited Toledo. We went a couple of years ago and thought it was fantastic.

Hi Kevin,

This is hardly a template but my trips have always started from different places and used a variety of transport. Some recommendations for places I have visited over the last 5 years are as follows. Sorry but I will have to make a couple of northern suggestions as well!!

Bilbao - lively, happening city these days. Basque country food is possibly the finest in Spain (probably offended someone with that remark.) No doubt you want to get moving when you get off the ferry so best to stop here on the way back.

Santillana del Mar - one of the most scenic villages in the north and a short blast from Bilbao. This is a place for relaxation. If there is just one place in rural Spain I recommend this is it.

Santiago de Campostella - you may not want to go this far west but it is very beautiful. The old Plaza Mayor and enormous Cathedral are not bettered anywhere in Spain. Elsewhere along the old pilgrims route to Santiago, Lugo and Oviedo are pleasant but not really highlights of the north.

Moving further inland and the Castilla y Leon region has many grand cities such as Leon, Burgos, Salamanca and Segovia. Leon and Burgos have huge cathedrals and in between there are many castles to stop at en route. Salamanca has a stylish enclosed Plaza Mayor with the usual multitude of cafes, plus the usual cathedral and old university. Segovia should definitely be added to the tour if you head down to the centre - the huge aquaduct, turreted Alcazar (another castle) and ubiqitous cathedral give the city 3 great attractions. There are also a couple of beautiful villages a short ride away. (Forgotten the names sorry but locals will know).

You might also look at Avila, a huge walled city a couple of hours north of Madrid.

Further south, I agree with Ally - Toledo is fantastic. Just take the GPS!

I haven't really mentioned the scenery - dry and mountainous I would not say that this is Spain at its best but still plenty of green routes on the Michelin map.

I have heard of a route through Spain from north to south called the silver route. This took in some of the cities I mentioned and continued south to Seville, Jerez and Cadiz. A route for the future I think :-)

Wherever you go, have a great one!

Matt

Matt,

The silver route is part of the Parador and Spanish Tourist board route through Spain. The following link takes you to the relevant part of the site.

http://www.parador.es/english/ocio/rutas/plata.jsp

I am now looking at possibly two weeks centred around Salamanca or segovia. Riding between Paradors. I've just bought the footprint guide to Spain and so far I'm impressed with the quality of the guide. So far its the best out of the big 3 (Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, Footprint). Well worth a look.

Regards,
Kevin.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by kholmes1:
[B]Hi,

Hi there, I went touring around spain with my partner and a mate and his wife in our 2 landies 2 yrs ago. Mine is a 101 ambie and, as I think chris scott would confirm, a 101 is not a high speed vehicle. In a week we covered 3000km and saw some fantastic sights. The north is beautiful but there is no off roading if that is what you are after. To follow unsurfaced tracks you would have to hit the central areas, which are more remote, less rugged, but very beautiful. 150miles a day, pah, thats's only about 3 hours riding, piece of cake! You estimate is easily achievable and still leaves time to mooch about. The more remote you get the nicer the people. My mate has been back twice more. it really is lovely and highly reccommended. Just avoid the flat plains in the east, dead boring!