fresh from our tour of Spain....

[Schultz]

Our long awaited trip has now been and gone. After the winter of arranging ferry crossings, hotels, insurance etc we have just got back from our 5th tour of Spain.
6 of us sailed from Plymouth, as the Portsmouth crossing to Santander had been cancelled at short notice. Bit of a let down as we live in Bournemouth and it's only 45 mins to Portsmouth.  Having arrived in Santander on Monday afternoon on the 9th of September after a 20 hour crossing we made our way to our overnight stay.  Ferry cost per 4 berth cabin  and a bike each costs around £340 per person.
A quick 60 mile ride to a town called Castro Urdiales for the overnight stay. Nice town with a fishing harbour and some nice restaurants our hotel was called the Las Rocas. Early morning start for our next destination in Bielsa our hotel was the Parador hotel. The location is right up in the mountains around 1800ft. We rode from Castro urdiales via Pamplona and Jaca on a great road called the N240/ N260 this road goes all the way to Barcelona. Lovely sweepers and mountain views. Bielsa is about a 240 mile ride from Castro Urdiales so no need to blast it just enjoy the scenery and have a lunch stop on the way....
The 6 of us travelling are all friends from school and are just approaching 60 years old, having cut our teeth on mopeds back in the 70's bikes have kept us all together in one way and another. The conversation always starts in the evening bar with do you remember so and so at school.... oh yeah, and didn't he or she marry so and so. Along with many stories on our RD250 Yamaha's etc.....
The Parador hotel in Bielsa has a winding 30 mile ride to it, it's awesome and the locals use it for there Sunday morning blast before the sleeping police arrive !!
on checking out of the Hotel around 10.00am after a nice breakfast the best roads of the tour lay in front of us the N260 to Sort about 45 miles out side of Andorra.
Now all 6 of us have different bikes me on my 2009 BMW RT1200 an MT10 Yamaha, Triumph 800 Explorer, Triumph Twin 2019, Yamaha Tracer GT and Ducati Multi Strada. The riding standard ranges from i'm here just for the ride and the  view to i scrapped my pegs on that sweeper.... This road has huge elevation and smooth sweeping bends to die for with many villages dotted along the route for coffee and lunch.
Sort was our stop over for two nights as our hotel 'Pessets '  has a spa and pool for those wanting to relax. For those that take the mountain pass over to Andorra, take your camera it's beautiful vistas are a must. Andorra's centre is very busy but you have to go through it to get to the mountain roads the other side...Well worth it.
The two days in Sort saw some of us head into the mountains for video and camera shots as the roads are so empty and a delight in the cool of the morning.


Leaving Sort we headed south to the coastal town of Salou, the C14 will take you straight to Salou it's around 120 miles from Sort. This road has some nice bends and flat land views but is very windy hence the 30-40 wind turbines planted along the cliff edges.


Salou was our stop over for that holiday feeling of beaches and holiday atmosphere. Can be a bit commercial but it's the Mediterranean and a swim is a must. Leave the bike's go to some bars, catch up on the Sports results, or get some sun on your face, your call. We had two days of do what you want...
Now at the bottom of of our Journey we have to head north back to Pamplona this is the longest part of our tour with around 260/ 270 miles to cover. When travelling in a group remember Fuel stops happen at different times for different bikes as you know the RT will travel around 300 miles on a full tank whilst an MT10 will struggle to get past 110 miles. So try and plan a coffee stop or lunch with a fuel stop other wise it's 40 miles for fuel then 50 miles later for coffee, you get my meaning. 250 miles may to some mean 5 hours it may take all day, a bit of planning is well worth it before you start...where are my key's, i left my passport at the hotel, i need fuel etc etc


Salou to Pamplona is mostly Motor way to break the back of the ride, then take the back road from Huesca A132  to rejoin the N240 back up to Pamplona, this road is about 35 miles There we stayed in the Hotel El Torro just outside Pamplona as it's a major city you don't want to ride through it in 80 degrees with leathers on. This also sets you up for the morning ride to Santander which is a comfortable 115 miles arriving at the ferry port with plenty of time to spare.
The Hotel El Torro for bed and breakfast  cost only 46 Euro's, lovely place with nice clean rooms and good food. All the Hotels on our trip are 3 star or more mostly 4 star, after a long ride you don't need the hassle of cold water showers, no wi-fi etc, you will never say we should have  stayed in a cheaper hotel !
Once in the ferry terminal your in it no way out ! so don't get there two early. Stop in Santander itself for coffee then ride over to the port with an hour and a half to spare you won't regret it.
Anyway just a little ditty from our trip, ride safe guy's.

 

[Frank123]

Well done, I really enjoyed reading your trip report. I'll save your route details for next year as I had a similar trip planned this year except that Brittany Ferries dropped us off and collected us on the continent at Roscoff (approx 1000 km from Santander) due to ferry issues. Very impressed by your accommodation choice as the Parador chain of hotels is well worth the extra couple of miles. Regards.

[Schultz]

Any time Frank, if you need any information just drop me a line.
Regards.