Doc wants to add Spain to his Doc does trip reports
- Thread starter Doc
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As Wapping says in post #34 at paragraph D.
If you let someone else plan it for you I can't recommend this company enough. They have years of experience and Sue worked in the travel industry for years.
They are extremely well planned tours and the hotel's they use will not disappoint.
Trust me, I have been on tour with them albeit a guided one. Wonderful.
www.globalmotorcycletours.co.uk
If you let someone else plan it for you I can't recommend this company enough. They have years of experience and Sue worked in the travel industry for years.
They are extremely well planned tours and the hotel's they use will not disappoint.
Trust me, I have been on tour with them albeit a guided one. Wonderful.
Global Motorcycle Tours - Self Guided Tours 2026
Global Motorcycle Tours specialise in high quality self guided tours with top class hotels, best routes and exceptional customer service.
www.globalmotorcycletours.co.uk
Just do it
Nowt to fret about
I would choose a hotel in or near a small town for your needs
Stuff will get going at 6am (shops/binmen/street cleaners/ deliveries etc) and you can get an early snack from a street cafe or be away on your bike
Similarly I can’t do with eating at 9pm like the Spanish, so there will be cafes in a rural town that cater for tourists liking to eat at 5-7pm
I wouldn’t choose the Hotel Del’Oso for the Picos and would stay in/around Potes/Riano/Panes/Cangas de Onis etc and then through Spain ….other similar towns
Picos will offer you great roads and great scenery, a few small towns dotted about. Cangas de Onis and Potes (Pots
) are about the only two bigger towns in the area. If I were you, I’d stay somewhere like Potes, for 3-4 nights, then head south to Leon and/or Salamanca. Then west into northern Portugal. And back out into northern Spain towards Santiago do Compostella and Lugo, then hug the coat and head for Santander.
Alternatevly, stay in the Picos de Europa area then head east and towards the Pyrenees mountains, then north towards San Sebastián. I think you would enjoy there, sitting out in the sun with a pint(s) and chomping on nibbles (pinchos). Whilst Boss does her shopping. Santander from there is only a short(ish) motorway jaunt away.
Stayed here for 6 nights last year...used as a base
Didn't run out of routes for days out
https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/in...9ba632a9789b0823;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl
Popular with motorcyclists......ate out in Potes each evening. No trouble getting food around 7pm
They don't put their prices etc out until March. I emailed and got booked in before they closed for winter
Didn't run out of routes for days out
https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/in...9ba632a9789b0823;type=total;ucfs=1&#hotelTmpl
Popular with motorcyclists......ate out in Potes each evening. No trouble getting food around 7pm
They don't put their prices etc out until March. I emailed and got booked in before they closed for winter
We’ve spent a fair bit of time in Spain in recent years. It’s a land of great variety. Personally, for enjoying the roads, the Pyrenees are as good as the Picos and offer more of a ‘trip’. I’m not one for stopping in the same place for several days. The east coast (Barcelona and south is mostly about tourism but there are still many great rides up in the hills behind. The north coast is stunning scenery once you’re west of Santander/Bilbao. San Sebastián is a place you must visit but ridiculously expensive. Likewise Salamanca and Segovia are beautiful places. Weather can be a bit hot for most Northern Europeans in the summer although Madrid, Salamanca, Segovia can be bitterly cold even in the Spring and Autumn. In the more Spanish parts i.e. most of it apart from the east coast, Spanish meal times can take some getting used to.
I liked the look of Del Oso but went for somewhere closer to Potes and the 7 group members could be heard wailing in the background they wanted a swimming pool
They whinge...I listen
Infantado is a good place to stay and I first stayed there in 1995
Last time I stayed in the Picos we based our 6 day trip in Panes and found a great hotel in the square behind the Main Street - hotel Covadonga and there were a few bars nearby
Turned out to be spot on, as the coast was nearer and so were other areas, so we explored different places to the usual Potes/Riano/Cangas triangle
I must have done the Picos 20 times and still find new places
Used Gijon as a base before covid
That was nice but being based in the mountains was better
Either get a base in the mountains or move around
With a group of 8 like ours, moving around during the week is never easy to find suitable accomodation
Potes is a great base
Alto Campo - Ski resort
The alternative statue at Balcon De La Cardosa - Fantastic road
Lots of this, everywhere
With a group of 8 like ours, moving around during the week is never easy to find suitable accomodation
Potes is a great base
Alto Campo - Ski resort
The alternative statue at Balcon De La Cardosa - Fantastic road
Lots of this, everywhere
Here's a suggestion to get a taster of Spain with an alternative option. Head east from Santander and have a couple of nights in San Sebastian. https://www.hotelmonteulia.com/ is modestly priced, has good parking and a 20 minute stroll to the beach at Gros. Some here prefer the Mercure atop the mountain.
Take a ride into the near mountains on the spare day. Some great roads if you head to Azpetia. Dining won't be a problem in San Seb as it has an international clientele and there will always be several tapas bars open for local food as well as half a dozen Irish pubs, American diners etc.
Then ride to Jaca to https://www.granhoteljaca.com/en/ which is near the start of the iconic N260. Most restaurants won't open until 8pm but there will be cafes serving snacks and a nearby Mc Donalds for emergencies.
From here, either continue east along the N260 to Sort or if the culture is not to your taste. Hop up to Canfranc Estacion and spend the rest of your time on the French side of the Pyrenees where there will be a myriad of eateries offering food 24/7. Delicacies like vending machine pizza, French Tacos and Andouillette as well as the ubiquitous steak avec frites et ketchup.
Take a ride into the near mountains on the spare day. Some great roads if you head to Azpetia. Dining won't be a problem in San Seb as it has an international clientele and there will always be several tapas bars open for local food as well as half a dozen Irish pubs, American diners etc.
Then ride to Jaca to https://www.granhoteljaca.com/en/ which is near the start of the iconic N260. Most restaurants won't open until 8pm but there will be cafes serving snacks and a nearby Mc Donalds for emergencies.
From here, either continue east along the N260 to Sort or if the culture is not to your taste. Hop up to Canfranc Estacion and spend the rest of your time on the French side of the Pyrenees where there will be a myriad of eateries offering food 24/7. Delicacies like vending machine pizza, French Tacos and Andouillette as well as the ubiquitous steak avec frites et ketchup.
is that the huge place on the outskirts of Potes which has hundreds of bikers staying there and used by many bike tour companies ?
If so i cant think of anywhere worse and often comment as such as we ride by to the petrol station
That's the one Rick. As we passed it on our way to the Hotel De Europa in Potes I thought thank Fook I hadn't booked that place . And it's a reet walk into Potes too.
I agree. If you get an apartment on Booking.com you can have your dinner when you want it. We do this more and more in Spain and then go our for drinks later. You might be able to get tapas in Potes in the late afternoon if you did a bit of research. Maybe the hotel would serve it?4pm to 5pm for tea. 8 is bloody supper time.
Personally i use the Parador at Fuente deThat's the one Rick. As we passed it on our way to the Hotel De Europa in Potes I thought thank Fook I hadn't booked that place . And it's a reet walk into Potes too.
I know its 15 miles from Potes but the road up is superb and on a Dinner bed and breakfast rate its is surprisingly good value
There are some great sugar factories to see in Northern Spain, best seen by night, as they are all lit up, better still when they are producing, as you get all the steam for atmosphere.
And castles, they do like a castle or fifty.
I don`t like the food, apart from the rabbit, best rabbit in the whole world in Spain, steaks good too. Other than that it`s all a bit meh.
Don`t forget the bandits, plenty of those about.
And castles, they do like a castle or fifty.
I don`t like the food, apart from the rabbit, best rabbit in the whole world in Spain, steaks good too. Other than that it`s all a bit meh.
Don`t forget the bandits, plenty of those about.
It is and near the petrol station - only stayed there in 1996 & 1997
Looks ok but there are better
There’s a better one on the outskirts of Potes on the Riano/San Gloria road
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