Arrive at Santander hotel by own means. Spend the rest of the day exploring the city, the marvellous bay, the fine beaches, and the tapas bars.
We leave Santander along the waterfront, taking in the magnificent views across the Bay, the Magdalena Palace and Beach, and the beautiful beaches of El Sardinero. From here we head west again past the unspoilt beaches of Liencres, with views down the coast and to the Picos de Europa mountains. Here we are following the pilgrims trail of El Camino de Santiago. A fine bike path takes us down the River Besaya towards the sea and the village of Suances. From here it is only a short ride to the beautiful medieval village of Santillana del Mar. 54 km - 34 miles
From Santillana we continue westwards to the village of Novales, with its lemon groves. More beach and coastal scenery takes us to Comillas, with its many Modernist buildings, the most famous of which is El Capricho, built by the Catalán architect Antoni Gaudí. Our journey takes us through the Natural Park of Oyambre, with its beautiful beaches and coastline towards tonight's resting place in the seaside fishing village of San Vicente de la Barquera. 36 km - 20 miles
Leaving San Vicente the route heads westwards along the coast. After a short distance, cycle around the beautiful headland of Pechón with its magnificent views of the coastline. Crossing the River Deva in Unquera we enter the province of Asturias. The village of Colombres is home to the sumptuous villas of the indianos, emigrants to the Americas who made their fortune and then returned. From here, the route continues between the coast and the dramatic mountain backdrop of the Sierra de Cuera, foothills of the Picos de Europa. A beautiful descent through eucalyptus forests brings us back to the coast, where we cycle past beautiful and unspoilt beaches to arrive at the charming fishing village of Llanes. 47 km - 30 miles
Cycle westwards and visit a string of fine beaches, including the incredible landlocked beach of Gulpiyuri. We continue, with the magnificent coastline to our right, and the beautiful mountains of the Sierra de Cuera and the Picos de Europa to our left. Finally we reach Ribadesella. Here we can spend time enjoying this pretty Asturian fishing village with its beach and lively atmosphere. 44 km - 27 miles
Comfortable fitted and fully-equipped bikes for your cycling pleasure.
You can either make arrangements to bring your own bicycles or hire IberoCycle's own models. Most airlines will carry bicycles for a small extra charge or even free. Cyclists who choose to hire will be provided with a comfortable quality bicycle to suit their particular measurements and preferences. We place great importance on getting the bikes right.
Too many cyclists on trips with other companies have complained about past experiences where they have had to put up with uncomfortable saddles, the wrong sized bike etc. Measurements are requested on booking so the right bike is waiting for you on arrival.
You are provided with hybrid-type tourist bicycles with conventional handlebars and with triple chain ring and easy-to-change gear ratios for comfortable and easy cycling. Road bikes are also available on request.We can provide tandems, which make for great cycling fun, and are also ideal for those with children.
And last but not least, e-bikes. An absolute revolution in the world of cycle tours, and of course available on all our rides.
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| Ladies bike (Trek FX) | Men's bike (Trek FX) |
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| Hybrid e-bike | Road e-bike |
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| Road bike (Cube carbon) | Female road bike (Cube carbon) |
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| Tandem (a fun way to ride, and also ideal for helping smaller children - Dawes Duet) | |
Hybrid bikes will carry a handlebar bag, useful for carrying money, documents, camera and lots of other useful items which may be needed close at hand. This bag is easily removed it from its click fastening and carried around with the shoulder strap. They are also equipped with a rear luggage rack and one or two panniers, or a rear rack bag to carry just what you need for each day's cycling. Road bikes carry a seat post bag if required.
In addition, all cycles are equipped with pump, spare inner tube, water bottle, bike lock and basic toolkit. Extras such as lights or toe clips are available on request. Iberocycle provides cyclists with a fine bicycle in tip-top condition to make cycling an absolute pleasure.
Childrens Bikes
Children's bikes, and child seats are available on request.
We think cycle touring is the ideal way to travel in Europe and that is why we are very pleased to launch European Bike Adventures, as it allows us the opportunity to offer a whole new set of experiences to people we know will appreciate them.
Accordingly we have taken our time in selecting the portfolio of cycle tours you find listed here.
A selection of hand-picked bike trips in spectacular places throughout Europe that focus on fun with the same attention to detail and quality that hundreds of our very satisfied clients have been enjoying with Ibero Cycle Tours since 1999.
There is plenty on offer for vegetarians to eat. Restaurants tend to be fairly flexible and in general have no trouble in catering special requirements. The same also goes for different allergies such as gluten, lactose etc. Please let us know when booking and we will make sure that the hotels are fully aware.
On a self-guided tour, you are basically independent. IberoCycle transports luggage to the next hotel.
Riders are expected to complete each day's ride, unless there is an emergency, or a mechanical problem.
Cyclists do not travel as part of a group or with a guide, although they may coincide with other cyclists on the same trip.
Our "IberoCycle On Call" service means we are always available for help or advice.
Cyclists are provided with our own detailed Route Guide and maps for their chosen route.
Fitter cyclists may extend stages at will.
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| Hybrid e-bike | Road E-bike |
The last few years have seen a revolution in the use of e-bikes. We now offfer e bikes on absolutely all of our rides. There are of course multiple advantages to using one on a bike tour:
The difficulty level is lowered by a grade. Thus an intermediate level tour becomes an easy tour as the motor assists pedalling.
The distance you can cycle on each day is effectively "reduced". Longer distances become accessible to a greater range of riding abilities.
Ability levels between riders on the same tour are levelled out as riders can choose an e-bike to enable them to keep up with stronger riders.
No more worrying about the hills!
So if you are in any doubt about whether a particular tour might be too challenging for you, then take the e-bike option. You can still get a good workout by keeping the pedal assistance level low. E-bikes are now available on all of our tours. And many have both the standard e-bike and also the road e-bike.
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