Spain in May

[Diggs]

Myself and two friends are thinking about getting cheap flights to Spain in early May, a hotel for a base and hiring bikes for a few days to do some exploring. Anyone here done something similar recently and can offer some top tips? Ideally looking for a base by the coast with mountains and twisties nearby...
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Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting...

[Weisse Schlange]

Spent 2 weeks firing round Spain a coupla years back
Ferry to Santander, turned right into the Picos mountains and aimed for towns with medieval catherdral centres.
Nothing booked, just rocked up and found somewhere.
Went around Madrid, across to Murcia for a bike club party for 3 days and then back into the centre for more unbelievably awesome roads.

The North of Spain is a revalation on a Motorbike. Absolute heaven.
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Hing Oan

[ZebraDriver]

I hired a MT07 from a dealer in Marbella a couple of years ago. Loads of good roads up in the hills around that area. I had the advantage of my brother in law as a guide but its not difficult to find good bike roads. Book your bike hire well in advance, I was on a two week holiday in late September and nearly missed being able to get a bike as they were all out on hire.

Me and a couple of mates have been planning something similar to what you are talking about, book a four day weekend break, with two days bike hire, it should be do-able for around £500. Other halves were coming as well but they just want to sit at the pool in the sun

Just remember to sort out travel insurance that will cover a big bike - most limit you to 125cc.

ZD

[stinkwheel]

Northern Spain/Picos area is fantastic. You can dot about in a very ad-hoc fashion using booking.com. Potes is a good jumping-off point to base yourself in, none of the roads will disappoint. Food and accommodation was cheap. locals were welcoming.

Mrs stinkwheel flew into Madrid last year and used IMTbike for the hire. She got a BMW G310 which was probably the fastest bike of the group on that kind of twisty. It was a bit of a slog up to the Picos from Madrid but that's the only flights that fitted her schedule. I think they have an office in Bilbao too. Potes is about 2 1/2 hours from Bilbao, 90-ish miles of motorway then the madness begins.

IMT weren't the cheapest but they provided a superbly well turned out bike and didn't fuck us about at all so I'm happy to recommend them.
https://www.imtbike.com/motorcycle-rentals/locations/bilbao/
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[pfaz]

Currently weighing up riding all the way across France vs Fly + Hire.

Can I ask what people did with luggage if they fly to Spain and rented bikes? I imagined transferring everything from a suitcase to the rental bike panniers but what happens to your suitcase then? Will the bike hire company store luggage for you?

[stinkwheel]

[Rob Fzs]

[pfaz]

[Rob Fzs]

[stinkwheel]

Santander ferry was £££. It was a very close run thing between the cost of fly-hire and ferry your own bike when we went for just over 2 weeks, never mind a weekend.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[chickenstrip]

[CaNsA]

I went to Mihas last year in May for a week.
Fucked about a bit.
Rented a bike and went to Gib, parked up next to the border, walked across, fucked about, walked back over.

Was pretty cool.

[A100man]

I've used the Santander ferry a few times, Campervan, Foot passenger then car hire, and once on my Fazer 600 - I like it a lot because, well, I hate flying. It used to be 24 hrs from Plymouth (not two days) but it's a bit quicker now I think. You have to have a cabin otherwise it's hell - nearly got pissed on by a drunk on my first trip - he was sleep-pissing in the doss down area (aka reclining seats)

Also northern Spain is called 'Green Spain' for a reason - it rains - much like Cornwall. They also drink cider there, loads of it. try some.
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Now: A100, GT250A, XJ598, FZ750

Then: Fizz, RS200, KL250, XJ550, Laverda Alpina, XJ600, FZS600

[P.]

Went to Spain in July time, unsure what year. Rode to Plymouth, ferry to Santander, north coast, through mountain roads to France, back into Spain, headed to Andorra.

Was a good bunch of riding and cost like £330 for the ferry return, bikes were fueled whenever and we had no problems, I expect it to be nicer, but theres nothing like riding your own bike.... I loathe hires.

Airbnb/booking.com and the like is helpful for last minute plans, we planned NOTHING. It went really well.

[Ste]

Here's a nice route across the Pyrenees for you... Google maps link.

Word of warning if you're wild camping, watch out for the wildlife.

https://i.imgur.com/LkYPTXD.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vvu4LkO.jpg

After that we decided that we'd had enough of Spain so we went elsewhere.

https://i.imgur.com/UujmjQL.jpg

[stinkwheel]

Another potential suggestion. Southern Portugal. You can get cheap flights into Faro which is the main hub airport for the Algarve and there are a couple of hire companies that'll meet you at the airport with a bike. As soon as you start to move inland a bit, it gets mountainous the roads get really nice. The N2 is a classic. Or follow the Spanish border up the Guadiana River. That bit further South at that time of year.

You could have an epic few days motorcycling on Medieira, the geography of that place is utterly bonkers and again, they'll meet you at the airport with a bike too but I suspect flights would be more expensive. I hired an utterly horrible little benelli 301 single over there and had a total hoot on it
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[chickenstrip]

[Freddyfruitba...]

Before you finalise on May, you might want to bear this little gem in mind:
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/11/25/long-queues-and-scams-will-the-new-eu-entry-system-cause-border-chaos

Basically the EU's new Border Control system is due to come into effect then, involving biometric data, paid-for visas etc for non-EU citizens, so I think it's fairly safe bet that border crossings in May will be utter carnage....
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KC100->CB100N->CB250RS--------->DL650AL2->R1200RS->R1250RS

[Rob Fzs]

[almostthere]

get a flight to Malaga and do the roads around Ronda some of the best roads ever
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Beer, It's the reason I get up every afternoon
www.mfairco.uk

[Diggs]

Thanks for all the kind advice folks. Not a tour with own bike this time, just a short break. Meeting up tonight to nail it down. The suggestion I'm bringing to the table is:

1st week in May, fly to Barca on Tuesday lunchtime. Spend afternoon/evening avoiding drinking too much.

Wed - Bike hire shop 9.00 Wed morning to pick up steeds. Down coast, nice spot of lunch then inland for twisties.

Thurs - Monserrat or similar in mountains.

Fri - Up coast, nice spot of lunch then inland for twisties. Get bikes back to shop before end of play. Get pissed.

Sat - mooch around city eating tapas, fly back in evening.

I have costed it at £500 each for flights (including one of us with a suitcase), cheap/cheerful hotel with parking and a bed each (ear-plugs essential...) plus bike hire (Late model CB500 or similar, insurance, lid, unlimited mileage etc). With taxis, beer, food, petrol, airport parking etc probably a grand each for a 5 day trip, so not too bad....

I'll be interested to see what the other two have come up with.
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Now - Speed Triple, old ratty GS550, GSXR750M
Gone (in order of ownership) - Raleigh Runabout, AP50, KH125, GP125, KH250, CBX550, Z400, CB750FII, 250LC, GS550, ZXR750H1, Guzzi Targa, GSX750F, KH250 x2, Bimota SB6R and counting...

[A100man]

[Diggs]

[A100man]

[to v or not to v]