First Foray

[Mr Bean]

Hello

Looking for a bit of advice if anyone can help please?

My wife and I want to do a four or five night trip from Bilbao or Santander to Calais in July. Our initial thoughts are

Make it as relaxed as possible and cover around 250-300 miles a day
Avoid motorways and major roads where practical
Avoid built up areas where practical
More interested in scenic routes
Stay in Campanile style hotels

Anyone here have any suggested routes/accommodation/advice that cover our requirements as most peeps seem to go for longer or further afield

I have had a look through other posts and none seem to match

Thank you :bow:

 

[banger]

I think your suggestions are sensible, we have done about 6 trips throughout France, Spain, Germany etc, and tend to do as you suggest.
We tend to stop riding about mid afternoon and start looking for a hotel, there are a couple of chains, one has an emblem of 3 castles I think, and tend pay between 40 to 60 euro per room per night ( current exchange rate will have increased this).Never had a problem finding somewhere and always stayed away from the big cities. ( part of the adventure).

Make sure you do not run short of fuel in France on Sunday's , stations close early and the card only ones do not take UK credit cards, better to fill up too early than leave it too late ( talking from experience).

 

[natcar]

Did this last year - 4 days is not enough unless you are happy with 8 hours every day on the bike- not much of a holiday- you will need more time!! Took us 3 weeks although not rushing. Santander - Pamplona (dissapointed) -Zaragoza (nice place) -Barcelona (touristy) -Girona (another worthwhile stop) --Carcassone - (pretty but expensive) Toulouse (nice town but a bit dodgy in places take some security/secure parking) -Bordeaux -Nantes (stayed with family)- St Malo (Nice town). Expedia is helpful for pricing up accomodation and you can get some reasonable deals. If you can't get the time off stay around North Spain and go back on ferry or stay in N France. Stopped off at a few other places can't remember exactly

 

[Mr Bean]

Thanks for your replies.
Time from work is the issue and we aren?t able to take more time away.
We are also more interested in the ride and experience than a holiday ? but also don?t want to be totally knackered at the end of each day. Is this possible while covering around 250 or so miles a day?
The Michelin sightseeing route back to Calais is 17 hours (780 miles to) with a mixture of both motorways and other roads. I guessed that with a few detours and stops etc we should be able to do 4-5 hours a day and still cover the distance without over doing it.
I?m also guessing that with detours etc for better biking roads shouldn?t add more that 200 miles ? or am I way off the mark?
I would still be interested in hearing any suggestions on routes that may suit our needs ? if there are any!Smilies:bow:
:bow:

 

[Trumpet]

You'll miss all the best bits doing it on the motorways. Might as well take the car We do 150-200 miles a day on the regional roads, sometimes the back roads, to take in the scenery. Start after brekky, then start looking for accomodation from 3 o'clock onwards. Once settled, you then have the early evening to explore where you are staying..

PS off next week to Europe, down to italy then Austria - Switzerland and all the passes... allowing for 16 nights with a few two night stops in the best bits

 

[Mr Bean]

I envy you, maybe next year....

The Michelin route I mentioned was 7 hrs motorway and the rest on other routes. I'm more than happy not to use motorways at all if there are suitable alternatives but as a virgin on a bike (done Alps, France and Switzerland before by car) I'm struggling with the time available and a lack of knowledge of the area in southern France and Spain