Picos, Pyrénées & Volcanoes

Sat* 27 June – Sun 5 July 2015

A chance to ride the Picos mountains of Northern Spain, the Pyrénées and the Central Massif volcanic region of France. See the reviews of previous tours under Testimonials European Tours.

This will be a fully escorted bike trip from the moment you arrive at the port of Santander, Spain and will be run at a moderate pace. The routes have been extensively researched and as we use a tried & tested “drop-off” marker system with a tail-end rider there is no need for you to refer to road books or maps.

An early evening arrival in Santander means you can experience the tapas bars before the riding starts on Sunday (*).

Sunday [late morning] we have a pre-tour briefing before setting off into the Picos Mountains of Northern Spain taking in some fabulous roads before arriving at our hotel. Dinner this evening is included.

The next day we continue to ride through the Picos Mountains and stay a second night in Spain in Logrono, the capital of the Rioja wine region. The evening here is at your leisure and our hotel is ideally placed to enjoy the numerous tapas bars on hand.

We then ride through the Pyrénées, over the Col D’Aubisque, staying overnight in Lourdes, the destination for over 5 million visitors each year, believing its’ sanctuaries to have healing properties. This evening is at your leisure.

Day five takes us into the Dordogne region of France, to Rocamadour, the spectacular town built into a cliffside. We stay here this night and dinner is included.

We then ride on to the Central Massif region of France staying two nights in same hotel near the Puy de Dome. Dinner is included this night.

The next day you can either accompany us riding the fantastic roads of the Auvergne with its spectacular views or explore this region on your own. The area contains over 80 volcanoes, Puy Mary having a height of nearly 6000 ft. Having ridden the twisty route to the top the fittest of us may attempt the climb to the summit (approx. 25 minutes). This evening is at your leisure.

On our penultimate day we ride to Le Mans to our hotel where your final dinner is served in its’ superb restaurant.

The last day we ride through the Alpes Mancelles to the port of Caen (or other agreed departure point) for your early evening return crossing to the UK.

This tour will be run at a moderate pace and with a maximum of fourteen bikes. All routes have been fully researched and we always stop every hour & a half for coffee, lunch or fuel so any pillions will not be too long in the saddle.

We will stay in small, mainly 3* independent hotels.

Please contact us for more details – remember there are limited places on this motorbike holiday.

Approx riding stats: Total 1375 miles; longest day 260 miles; motorways 30 miles

Price: £895 per person (*or £850 per person if you arrive on Sunday) – includes:-

• Nine (*8) day fully escorted tour led by experienced British guides – who speak French (and some Spanish!)
• Hotel accommodation with breakfasts for 8 nights (*7) in a shared room with en-suite facilities* (Nights on ferries not included)
• Evening meals with wine on 4 nights
• Transportation of luggage
• Tour Information Pack (to include itinerary, hotels, explanation of marker system, contact details etc.)

* Single room supplement £245 (*£225)

Your ferry crossing and meals / drinks other than as stated above are not included.

Unfortunately we cannot include your ferry crossing as Brittany Ferries have changed their policy for agents and prices will vary according to the time of booking. Ferry crossings do not attract VAT however as we are a French registered company we would have to charge you 20% TVA (French VAT) on the resale price of the crossing, which we don’t think you’d be happy with! We can though offer up to 10% discount off the quoted price of a crossing with Brittany Ferries – please contact us for a quote.

A deposit of £95 per person is payable upon booking with the balance payable 8 weeks before departure.

All Terms & Conditions relating to Bike Normandy Tours apply to all bookings.