AlexT said:
To be honest, not entirely convinced that Portugal is my destination of choice, maybe I'll reconsider Spain (do the Santander crossing) and head to the Med.
With that in mind, anyone out there with tips/routes or warnings about riding down to or through Spain?
If you do go the Santander route you will be delivered to the doorstep of the Picos-de-Europa (do a search on Picos to find lots of info from others on here).
From there, I've taken a route down through Salamanca a couple of times and then headed for the Extramadura Region. It's not visited much but is a bit like parts of north Africa.
From there push on south to Seville (brilliant city) and possibly Cordoba in Andalusia. Granada and the Alhambra is worth seeing if you have the time.
I'd ignore the Med coast (too commercialised and too many tourists) and if you are returning via Santander, turn north visit Toledo, Avilla and Segovia. this route will take you through the Toledos and Gredos mountain ranges, then you can head back to Santander via Burgos (home town of Rodrigo de Bivar otherwise known as El Cid).
Camping is good in Spain. Lot's of decent private sites everywhere and easy to find.
If not camping go for Hostels. Cheaper than hotels but just as good. The difference is that Hostels don't have a restaurant, where like most travellers you wouldn't eat anyway, preferring to find somewhere in town to eat. Look for a blue letter 'H' on a building.
The Spanish are motorbike enthusiasts. Drivers will usually do all they can to let you get on and pass them. The biggest problems I've had riding in Spain were from French drivers intent on getting to the Algarve or wherever!
