Hi guys,
Im traveling to Spain in September on my first ever solo ride, ( starting to wonder if ive bitten off more than I can chew here). I`ve been told that its best to stop over rather than doing it in one long haul.
I intend to visit my girlfriend who has moved to Altea.
The itenery is to get there soon as possible as my boat trip back home leaves Santander 26th September. Im still undecided to head towards Madrid and then over to Altea or to go towards Zaragrosa and down via Valencia.
Im after any advise, stop overs, accomadations, routes, in fact anything at all will do, and lots and lots of encouragement that its going to be ok.......lol.
I know its not a big adventure, and it looks like its only a trip to the shops to you guys, but cast your minds back to your first ever trip.
Hope you can help me out in anyway and look forward to your comments.
Thanks,
Rusty.

__________________
:tooth:

depends on what u want.If u are in a hurry then get on the motorway and go for it.a lot of toll sections to zaragoza and the valencia coastal route and mighty expensive they are in spain.As well as mind numbingly boring.

If u have 2 days get a michelin map and pick a route on the yellow back roads. they will be empty, free and have some spectacular scenery.you can find somewhere nice and cheap to stay overnight and i'm sure yer girl will still be there waiting for you...

Hi Rusty

I made that same trip three times back in the 1990s; twice leaving England via Plymouth-Santander, and the third time from Portsmouth-Bilbao. I always went --> Madrid --> Valencia – turn right down the coast.

Even back in those days the main road network was very fast, so after disembarking the ferry it can all be done in a day if you roll-on the throttle. However, I stopped over in/around Madrid on two occasions just to break-up the ride.

There’s a little friendly township called Albir sitting in-between Altea and Benidorm, where I tended to stay. Dunno what Albir is like nowadays though, nearly 20 years later? Maybe it’s as overly commercialised as its two neighbours.

I recommend spending a little time – perhaps just a day or two, depending on your schedule – exploring the north coast of Spain; for instance, the region between Santander and Bilbao. It’s quite beautiful there, to the point I often wondered why everyone always seems hell-bent on racing down to the Costas, in preference to simply hanging around the Spanish Atlantic coastline.

But of course, you have a nice incentive to go to Altea, eh?! ..

Have a great trip.

Keith

__________________
Right Way Round ...

Thanks for that matey,
I've checked out the Michelin website, much more better than the AA Route finder or the RAC one, it caters for bikes. I spoke to my other half and she also agrees, for my own safety, to cut the journey into two days traveling.
Now I need to figure out which is the best route. I don't mind scenery but I don't want to be stopping every ten to twenty miles to take pics and look around. This time around its to get somewhere. Should I book somewhere on the net to stay or take the chance and see if I can get a room some where?
I know these seem daft questions to you guys, who are all off around the world, but like I said, I need encouragement and advice.
Thanks again, I really do appreciate your replies and responses.

__________________
:tooth:

Hi Keith1954,
Thanks for the reply. Yes been to Albir, my girlfriend has a friend who lives there. We stayed there a few times when we were looking for a place to rent for her. We stayed at the `Albir Gardens` hotel, highly recommend it. Albir has grown, apparently, into a thriving Norwegian community with a few British ex pats there.
Im still unsure which route to take. Do I go towards Madrid, stay over near before or after it? Or do I take the Zaragozsa route, again do I need to stay before or after the place? Do you know of or recommend any places on route to stay at.
I think that if I can get his route planned, sorted, ridden there and back without problems, then I will be taking on a new more detailed bike only tour to Spain.
Thank you again for taking the time to reply and giving advise and information, all appreciated so much.

__________________
:tooth:

Hello!

I am from Spain, can tell you what I would do.

I understand that your starting point is Santander, right?

Well, if you have to get to Altea as fast as possible and don't care about landscape or roads. Just take the highway to Zaragoza the first day. Don't worry about where to sleep, there will be plenty of places. Just think whether you prefer to sleep in a big city or a small village (I would do the second, cheaper, easier...). Then the next day, get the highway to Valencia through Teruel.

Santander, Cantabria to Altea, Alicante - Google Maps

This ^^ is easy and fast. You will have no problems, I promise.

If you can spend a little more time (while still being two ridding days) and want to ride some of the best roads in Spain, make sure you get off the highway and ride the Sierra de la Demanda mountains the first day and the Tajo River Natural Park the second day. Don't miss the backroads in Cuenca around the source of the Cuervo river.

Santander, Cantabria to Altea, Alicante - Google Maps

This ^^ is long and you WILL be tired both days. But the scenery and the roads are exceptional. Believe me.

There is a third option, going through Madrid as you said. But I would not even come near to one of the busiest cities in Europe if I don't really need to and I am heading somewhere else.

Just do it. You will love it

Suerte!

Hi Mr Hicks,
Thank you for the response to my query, I appreciate you telling me which way to be going. I was originally going to go via Zaragoza as it looked more scenic and adventure full so I think I will be going along that way. You say that its easy to find accommodation along the way, so should I look to book something from here or take the chance and just be able to stop when I want rather than push to a place to stay? Petrol stations? Are they few and far between or are they plentiful? I get roughly 180 miles to a full tank so I need a few stops. Do you know what the prices of accommodations' there are? I know there daft questions to you but I really need lots of advise.
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my first post.

Rusty Russ

__________________
:tooth:

Accomodation-> No, you don't need to book anything. Plenty of places to stay. Just look for these words: hotel, pensión, hostal, albergue. A pensión and hostal are normally cheaper than hotels and albergue is what you would call a backpackers hostel.

All of these normally have a blue sign with a capital H, and the corresponding number of stars depending of category...

Regarding the prices... nice hotels can be up to 100 €, but normal hotels in normal places are 50€ and less. If you go to a secondary road and search a little bit you will find beautiful hotels for 30-35€

Spain has lived from tourism for ages, there are lots of forms of accommodation. If you can identify one Hostal, it will be cheaper, while still having all the commodities of a Hotel.

Free camping is not allowed in theory almost anywhere in Spain, but it can be done if you plant your tent late and leave early. Also there is a ton of campsites on that route, but you will only see them if you get off the highway.

Petrol -> The least densely populated area you are going to cross is Teruel... but even there, it is almost impossible that you run out of gas with that range. Almost every village has a petrol station.

Don't worry, just do it. It will be a piece of cake