Spain And Portugal Tour

As requested here are some pointers from our tour we did in September 2023.

  • Boarding in the Plymouth, bikes go on 1st, in Bilboa, they go on last.
  • It will take you a couple of hours to get through customs in Bilboa, because there is always someone who has a problem with their passport.

I planned all my own routes and booked places to stay using booking.com. Only one of the places we wouldn’t go again. The place we stayed was fine, but the area was a bit rough.
Yes it can rain in Spain and Portugal, so don’t forget your wet gear.
We stayed in Potes, Leon, Braganca, Covilha, Zamora, Elvas, Praia Da Areia Branca, and Marvao. I would highly recommend Marvao as the views, hotel (there is only 1) are very very good.
Don’t forget there are lost of toll roads in Portugal and they are not clearly signed, or any toll booths. They are electronic, and read your number plate and charge you via that. I didn’t know and got a fine from a scamming firm Euro Parking Collection. Look them up on MSE, One show. But what I found was using this site entered my reg number and paid the 3 euros fine.
Have a search for a map of the roads that are tolls to make sure you know where they are.
I only came across 1 speed camera, and my sat-nav warned me of it.
Even though there are lost of businesses and shops that we have over here, not many people speak English.
There are plenty of petrol stations, and it is weird IMO that most have a bar selling alcohol.
Most locals ignore speed limits. But when we arrived in Potes for the 1st night, because it is popular with bikers, there was some coppers on the road into town pulling people in, I assume for speeding.

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Three euro looks a reasonable fine. :smiley:

EPC were trying to charge me £20 :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

We went to Navatrasierra as part of our two week tour which is in the Montes de Toledo. We only spent two nights there (one on the way to Jerez, one on the way back) but the scenery and roads were very quiet and absolutely incredible. I would definitely spend more time in the area. https://www.booking.com/hotel/es/casa-rural-la-colmena-del-geoparque.en-gb.html is where we stayed. It is a tiny village, very very friendly. There was one local bar open when when we went (out of season) and it was an absolute gem. Extremely friendly and you just ask whether there is food that day and have whatever it is - we had lovely Spanish ham, egg and chips and a tomato salad for virtually nothing. The locals welcome you in and it’s great.

The area around the Portuguese border near to Ciudad Rodrigo was also amazing, like a scene from a Western film, and the city itself is well worth seeing. We crossed the border into Portugal at Miranda do Duora and the twisty roads to cross near to the hydroelectric plants are also incredible. We rode through Arribes Del Duero Natural Park - gorgeous.

Our experience with customs in Portsmouth and Bilbao was that it was rapid both sides - however we were out of season.

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Thanks for that David, first ones are already in my plans, last three are a bit further south than planned (but they might change yet :slightly_smiling_face:).
Likewise we use Booking.com (genious level3! you know - whatever that means :slightly_smiling_face:) and use StreetView to help filter out the rough.
Where was the “bit rough” area you thought best avoided?
Good info on the toll roads, things have obviously changed since our last visit (doubt ANPR had been invented), so I obviously need to read up on that.
Still data exchange between countries post Brexit then. :roll_eyes:

Braganca. The place we stayed was nice, but no restaurants etc near us.

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