Any one fancy touring Spain?

[Derek1943]

Hi

Any one fancy touring Spain? Quite a low cost as I have done this twice before. Average cost of hotels including breakfast about £20 per night and ferry from Poole to Spain cost about £200 return for one person and their bike.

Really great roads and plenty to see. I ride a BMW F800 ST. Does not matter what sort of bike you have as almost any road bike over 250cc will be OK.

Interested in joining me sometime next year then just reply.

Derek

[Peirre oBollox]

The Poole-Santander ferry has just cost me £160 rtn for a summer booking (1x person + 1x bike) in a shared cabin. That's 1/3rd the cost of the Brittany ferries cruise ship.
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I accept no responsibility for swearing, drinking, motorcycle riding or your pregnant teenage daughter.

[chrisbmxr]

I'm interested!

When were you thinking?

I ride a 600cc Hornet. I've been wanting to tour Spain for a while now, but haven't got round to it!
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Peugeot Speedfight 2 50cc -> Gilera Cougar 125 -> Honda Hornet 600 (2005) -> Honda CB1000R

[Derek1943]

Hi

I can really do the trip at any time (almost). Because of the possible winter weather it is best to avoid Jan & Feb and maybe March. I have done the trip from Santander to Alicante in January and I have never been so cold on two wheels. The East Coast of Spain is OK during the winter but you have to cross some very cold areas to get there.

Yes the ferry from Poole to Santander is only £160 next year and that is with your own cabin. I have used that actual ferry (ship) on another of their routes and it is very good. The food is good and priced well. Main meal for example 8 Euros with breakfast at about 5 Euros.

As I have said the hotels in Spain are very cheap if booked through booking.com and you do not need to pay upfront. I reckon £20 a night would do it. Day time food is again very cheap.

The roads in Spain are a bikers dream with very little traffic and they are generally in a first class condition.

Your bike sounds spot on for the task. Larger bikes are more difficult on the twisting roads bits. Last time I went I took in France, Portugal and Spain and covered 2,589 miles in eight days.

I think somewhere about the 2,000 miles in a week is just about right being an average of about 300 a day. The ferry takes a day each way and then you obviuously need to get to the port at Poole.

I ride at about the Speed limit not going too silly over that. I think it is better to be sensible.

Derek

[TheDonUK]

Anyone know if there is usually snow Between Pamplona/Ripoll (N240/N260) around mid march?
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[Ste]

Went offroading in Spain, ended up in Amsterdam after a 26hr drive.

[s1h]

What's it like in Spain mid march? Was having a look at the boat to gijon or Santander myself earlier,

[Derek1943]

Hi

The East Coast will be warm and good biking weather during March with temperatures in the low twenties. The best route weather wise is to run along the Ebro river valley and avoid Madrid as the weather will be much colder going via Madrid/Soria.

About 550 miles will take you over to the Costa's from Santander and the roads along the east coast are very good.

I have a house near Santa Pola and know Spain quite well having had my place there for about 10 years. I also speak enough Spanish to get by.

Derek

[Lupo]

Pity I am still not fully set up, as my final goal is to tour to Santa Pola from England in the summer. My parents have a flat over there.
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A por ellos, que son pocos y cobardes.

[Robster]

Would love to do this, (although I don't have a license yet... or a bike )

Was originally going to attempt to do this via car last September; through France, Le Mans - Bordeaux - Toulouse, Through Andorra and the N260 towards Roses, then back up through Millau and possibly Alps - Always wanted to go through the Pyrenees and northern Spain

Ended up being persuaded to do Bournemouth to Nice last September via Col De La Bonette/Route Napoleon, stayed in Hotel Formule 1s and camped along the way - amazing how much shit you can stuff into a mk1 Mazda MX5!

Was brilliant if not a bit stressful and a tad un-organised, was drop of the hat, last minute as I was waiting on a job offer.

One of the reasons i'm looking at bikes now was the amount of bikers I saw whilst in the Alps, was a biker paradise!

Been to Costa Blanca/Del Sol plenty of times in the past (my ex is Spanish) and fell in love with the place.

Would recommend having a break half way through for a couple of days in a nice area, I was knackered after 1000-odd miles in a car, couldn't imagine how i'd feel on a bike.

Again we went mid September and the weather was brilliant. Was 20-30+ degrees, clear blue sky all the way down and even went for a swim in the med. It wasn't busy at all, lots of campsites had vacancies, no school holidays etc. so good time of the year to go IMO!

i'd be up for it if I had a license!

p.s. Thats a darn good deal from Poole, I think I checked via car and it was up to around £400 for the dates I was checking; DFDS did it for £40 return Folkestone - Dunkerque so it was a no brainer

[P.addy]

Did Spain this year, pretty damn good.

Trip starts here really... but can read from the beginning if you wanted

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=261903&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=325

[TheDonUK]

Yeah a mate of mine has finally got a bike that he can do some touring on, due to work its going to be about three weeks from 10th of March onwards, probably end up riding to Turkey, Was hoping to start with the boat to Santander and do the N240/N260 > Jaca > Sort > Ripoll etc.

Have only ever done it in the summer, wondering if it would be any fun on sports bikes mid March...
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[Current Bikes - GSXR-750 K5 & C90-97 ] [Previous Bikes: Runner 125, YBR 125, GS500, Bandit 600, Hornet 600, ZX6R-99, C90-99, R1-99, XT600E-04, GSXR-750 K4, CRF250L '16]

[delsol]

I'm interested, only hope it works out time\date wise, look forward to updates, ta.

delsol

[spnorm]

[RidersRest]

I have just got back and can recommend it, we trailered a bike down behind our Camper (we were there for 2 months) costa del Sol and Costa Blanca , even managed a ride up the Rock of Gibraltar...

Some pics with routes apologies the link goes to Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/lonytang/media_set?set=a.10151943928487284.529067283&type=3


https://www.facebook.com/lonytang/media_set?set=a.10151981088707284.529067283&type=3
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RidersRest Bikers only B&B in the beautiful Central Massif - France
Touring France not sure where to go? Central Massif on a motorcycle...

[c-m]

I did Spain in November with the girlfriend. Had a great time.

Picos de Europa are well worth a look, as is the road from Ronda to San Pedro. Also consider riding up Sierra Nevada.

I'd avoid the Costas they're pretty boring.

If you like your vegetables then you'll find that Spainish food sucks big time.

[_Iain_]

[StevenF]

I have been wanting to do a trip like his for years but I've never got round to it. How much in total do you think a trip like this would cost? I had always thought I would camp (for the experience as well as saving money) but with hotel prices so cheap it makes sense to make use of them!
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My Project - Honda CBR 600 F2/FM

[Derek1943]

Hi

I reckon the ferry from Poole to Gijon or Santander would set you back £160 return. If their are two of you allow £40 each for hotels and food. Then you have got the fuel cost. I did last year just over 2,599 miles France. Spain and Portugal and I averaged 60 miles per gallon on a BMW F800 ST which never missed a beat. Fuel cost me about £270.00. There really is not much else to spend out.

Add this up and deduct what you would normally spend at home and there you half it, the cost of an adventure that you will remember for ever.

Derek

[John933]

I should be going down that way, but riding from France down. If any one want's to ride the long way and meet up in Spain. Share cheap hotel cost's. I have a place to stay in southern Portugal. May, I find is better. Due t the weather and cost. post more if any one is interested.
John933
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My trip

[c-m]

Not including the ferry the gf and I spent about £1000 between us over two weeks.

That was 2,200 miles, staying in cheap hotels every night, eating out every night and drinking and partying.

On my own I probably would have spent £600

[Derek1943]

Hi

Just booked the ferry from Poole to Gijon (Northern Spain) for £160.00
return including a cabin each way. Dates 6th May returning 16th May.

We are going through Spain into Portugal then onto Gibraltar then along the east coast of Spain to Andorra. From there we travel across Spain to the Picos de Europa mountain range before catching the ferry back to Poole.

Looking at possible hotel cost on Booking.com they range from about £10.50 to £21.00 per night including breakfast.

Well at least we have booked the first leg of our adventure.

I expect we will cover between 2,500 and 3,000 miles in ten days of riding. The bikes we are going on are mine a BMW F800 ST (Sports Tourer) and my mates Ducati 999 (sports bike).

This being our third trip to Spain on two wheels. Twice on the above bikes and once on two scooters (Sports ones with 300cc engines).

Derek

[StevenF]

Glad you're all booked up! I'm hoping to go in April for 2 weeks.

I haven't decided whether I should ride through France or just get the Ferry to Santander or similar and spend the 2 weeks touring Spain, what's your suggestion?

My girlfriend is currently working near to Alicante so I would be stopping off there for 3 days or so during the trip. I have been wanting to tour for years now so I'm hoping to go ahead with it!

Oh, what website did you use to book your Ferry?
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My Project - Honda CBR 600 F2/FM

[spnorm]

https://ldlines.co.uk

It's about half the price of Brittany Ferries. I've done the riding through France thing before to get to Spain and it takes a big chunk of your holiday.

I used Brittany Ferries to Santander last year and it wasn't too bad going out as we got off at noon, but the return ferry was a bit tedious as we didn't get off until 4pm in Portsmouth and that's a lot of time to kill on a ferry during the day, especially when you can't have a drink. I upgraded to a posh cabin, which the mrs loved, but even with your own space with double bed, TV and sofa etc. it was a long day.

The LD Lines ferry to Santander this July would save me £140 but doesn't dock until 7pm, so I'd need to add the cost of a hotel and meal to the trip. The Brittany Ferries ferry docks at noon, so I'll be in the Pyrenees by tea time

[Derek1943]

Hi No book from Poole to Gijon (Northern Spain) on LD Ferries and it gets in at 14 hours. As I have said the cost in May £160 return including the cabin.
Rather than ride the Pyrenees try the Picos de Europa which they say is as good as the alps. Plenty of videos on you tube showing rides through them.

Derek