Spanish Picos and Portugal Motorcycle Tour

Plymouth to Santander
Meeting point – Brittany Ferries main terminal We take the overnight mini cruise from Plymouth to Santander on-board the Pont-Aven, which is Brittany Ferries flagship cruise ferry.

The ship boasts a swimming pool, a la carte restaurant, cocktail piano bar and a two storey lounge bar/entertainment area. We book inside 2 berth club cabin on all crossings. If you would like a different cabin then we are happy to try and accommodate but there will be a charge.

We dock in Santander at lunch time, off the ship and we are straight into the beautiful region of Cantabria.

This area offers nothing but stunning scenery, with its jagged peaks, medieval mountain villages, and emerald green pastures leading to the blue sea and beaches of the Costa Verde.

We end our day with the first glimpse of the Pico’s de Europa and our overnight stay in Potes, where you can enjoy a dip in the pool or a couple of beers on the terrace taking in the stunning views of the mountains and beautiful green countryside that surrounds the hotel.

After breakfast we set off north along the Pots and Pans route. So called due to the two towns which lie along the route, Potes on the south and the location of our first hotel, and Panes at the northern tip, which is our first stop of the day.

Next its west straight through the heart of the Picos Mountains, which is just stunning to both view and ride. Mountain passes, river gorges and coast roads all ridden today. Costa Verde with its white sand beaches and deep blue sea is nothing short of breath-taking. Our hotel is situated on the western coast of Asturias close to the Barayo nature reserve. An extensive stretch of pristine golden sandy beaches.

After a chilled evening in the resort of Foz we will be travelling south through A Fonsadrada on towards Lugo on the fabulous LU530 (think B500 on steroids!)

South of Lugo we head into the heart of Galicia with fast smooth empty sweepers all the way down to Ourense for our overnight stop 200m from the old historic town with its narrow streets full of Spanish bars.

After a great night out in the historic town we have a short day today covering only 136 miles down through the Reserva da Biusfera (National Park) and crossing into Portugal near Chaves. From here we head south through Vila Real to Santa Cruz do Douro and our hotel perched in the vineyards on the banks of the Douro River.

The whole day is spent riding some of the best back roads in Europe. Perfect tarmac, over hills, and down into some stunning valleys. We get to the hotel early afternoon so there will be loads of time for a swim and to enjoy the river views with vineyards on all sides and a lovely glass of Portuguese red in hand.

Following the river Douro switching from one bank to the other as we leave and weave our way through vineyard after vineyard, what a relaxing day. Its then onto the sweeping twist and turns all the way to Breganca. One of my favourite days.

From the Parque natural de Montesinho heading back into Spain riding the high mountain pass into Ponferrada and onto Leon for the night. Motorcycle touring is about riding, scenery, roads, and people. Sometimes there is nothing more to say about a day, its all in the experience.

After a great night in Leon we make our way back into the Picos today, up past the Dam at Embalse del Porma following the banks of the lakes round to Riano for a lunch break, and a garage with probably the best view in Europe. On to our afternoon and it’s over the mountain top with its brass stag statue, stunning road surface and views for hundreds of miles. We drop down via hairpin bends and fast sweepers tracing the mountain side running down into Potes and our hotel for the night.

Today it is back down into the Picos for 2.5 hrs of play time before heading back up to Santander to catch our afternoon ferry home. Great last days ride to finish the tour off.