Northern Green Spain Motorcycle Tour
Discover the elegance of Northern Spain
Spain
This Northern Green Spain Motorcycle Tour starts in Bilbao, a lively city in the heart of the Basque Country, famous for its Guggenheim Museum designed by architect Frank Gehry. This motorcycle adventure will trace the footsteps of the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage to Galicia before returning to the Basque Country for our farewells.
The north of Spain is well-known for its verdant rolling mountains, rugged coastline and abundance of excellent seafood. During the Northern Green Spain Motorcycle Tour, you will explore the regions of the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria and Galicia and experience a perfect blend of Northern Spain’s breathtaking coastline and the majestic “Picos de Europa” Mountains.
On this motorcycle tour you will spend extra nights in three of the most famous cities in the north of Spain: the elegant San Sebastián, the charming Oviedo and the historic Santiago de Compostela. You will have enough time to enjoy pintxos and txakoli (Basque tapas and white wine), and relax on the Playa de la Concha (Shell Beach) in San Sebastian; stroll cobblestone streets and savor “cidra and cabrales” in Oviedo; and immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere of the pilgrims who finish the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage, in Santiago.
Everyday will be a new discovery of impressive mountains, little-known landscapes and seascapes of breathtaking beauty, excellent little-known roads and some of the finest hotels Northern Spain has to offer. Mark this one on your bucket list as one of the greatest motorcycle adventures you will ever have!
*Price includes BMW G310R
IMTBIKE ROUTE rating
It is essential to know the different skill levels needed to participate in the IMTBIKE TOURS that are offered to you. IMTBIKE makes sure that it offers different tours for all riding styles and levels. The IMTBIKE team always works diligently in designing our routes. This is a laborious process which entails reviewing all road choices before selecting the best option for an IMTBIKE tour.
The most experienced motorcyclists looks for roads that require technical skill; narrow twisty roads with little traffic and endless curves. But these same roads would be too difficult for a less experienced rider.
The local driving habits, the amount of traffic, the asphalt quality and the radius of the curves vary considerably from country to country and even in different regions of the same country. They will also vary depending on the season of the year. All of these factors have been studied by IMTBIKE and have been taken into consideration when rating our tours.
IMTBIKE thinks it is also important to know about the different types of roads you will be enjoying on your tour. To understand the road types easier, IMTBIKE has divided them into two categories, and we have calculated an approximate percentage of each on all of our tours.
- TOURING ROADS: These are wider roads comprised mainly of larger radius sweepers. They are still curvy roads but not tight mountainous twisty curves. Please remember that you will ride very few straight roads on IMTBIKE tours!
- CHALLENGING ROADS: These are roads that are tight twisty turns which require more technical skill. Many times they will be narrower roads without a shoulder and sometimes with steep inclines or descents. Normally they will be mountainous roads accompanied by spectacular sceneries.
If you have never ridden a motorcycle outside of your country, or if you have little experience riding on mountain roads with many curves, we recommend that you choose a tour rated moderate or intermediate. If you have any questions or doubts please do not hesitate to call or email us. We are always happy to answer your questions to make sure that you choose the best tour for your riding level.
Moderate
This route offers wider sweeping turns that are easy to maneuver. This route may have some tighter turns in a few places but this will be the exception. Regardless, even on moderate tours you must be able to ride a large cylinder motorcycle in any condition. Never plan to learn how to ride a motorcycle on an IMTBIKE tour. We recommend having a minimum of 8.000 km (5.000 miles) of experience riding a large cylinder motorcycle to participate on a MODERATE rated IMTBIKE Tour and you should ride a motorcycle on a regular basis at home.
Intermediate
This route rating can have sections of very twisty curves on narrow roads with no center line to divide the road. There will also wider radius curves on these routes. Traffic conditions can be intense at times in some urban environments and the local driving habits may seem aggressive and unpredictable to you. It is imperative that you are an experienced motorcyclist. We recommend that you have a minimum of 12.000 km (7500 miles) of large cylinder motorcycle experience to participate on a INTERMEDIATE rated IMTBIKE Tour and you should ride a motorcycle on a regular basis at home.
Advanced
This route rating has long sections of technical narrow twisty roads and sometimes single lane roads. These twisty roads will often be in mountains where steep inclines and descents will be commonplace. Some riding days can be long and challenging. Traffic conditions can be intense at times in some urban environments and the local driving habits may seem aggressive and unpredictable to you. It is imperative that you are a very experienced motorcyclist on a large cylinder motorcycle. We recommend that you have a minimum of 16.000 km (10.000 miles) of large cylinder motorcycle experience on an ADVANCE rated IMTBIKE Tour and of course you should ride a motorcycle on a regular basis at home.
IMTBIKE Average Daily Riding Hours
5 to 7 hours
6 to 8 hours
7 to 9 hours
How many hours a day you ride on a tour is important information in helping you decide on the right IMTBIKE tour for you. Some tour members want to ride as many hours as possible everyday, while others prefer to stop more frequently and dedicate more time to enjoying the scenery, visiting cultural sights and arrive at the hotel earlier to relax before dinner. The daily riding hours are calculated including the coffee breaks and photo stops but they do not include the time taken for lunch.
Normally we’ll start our riding day at 9:30am and we will take about a one hour lunch break sometime between 1pm and 2pm. So if the daily riding hours for a given tour are 5-7, then you will arrive at the hotel between 3:30pm- 5:30pm depending on the average speed of the group.
Tour Facts
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Start / End BilbaoTotal Distance 1.986 miles / 3.196 km
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Total Time 16 DaysRiding Days 14 Days
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Rest Days 3 San Sebastián, Oviedo and Santiago de CompostelaBreakfast 15 Included Breakfasts
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Daily Mileage 160-220 miles / 250-350 km
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Hotel Overnights 15 NightsRiding Season Early Summer
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Highlights: San Sebastián, Cantabrian Coast, Oviedo, Rías Baixas, Santiago de Compostela, Costa da Morte, Costa Verde, Picos de Europa Mountains. We stay in some of best Parador hotels in SpainAccommodations: Amazing hotels. First-class historical Paradors and a few specially selected boutique hotels with local flair. Paradors are Castles, Palaces & Fortresses converted into charming hotels.
*All IMTBIKE lodgings are hand-picked for their quality of service, local charm and strategic locations.
From: € 5965*
Start your Self-guided Tour →
Daily Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival Bilbao
- Day 2: Bilbao – San Sebastián
- Day 3: San Sebastián – rest day
- Day 4: San Sebastián - Vitoria
- Day 5: Vitoria – Palentine Mountains
- Day 6: Palentine Mountains - Oviedo
- Day 7: Oviedo - rest day
- Day 8: Oviedo - Ribeira Sacra
- Day 9: Ribeira Sacra - Rías Baixas
- Day 10: Rías Baixas - Santiago de Compostela
- Day 11: Santiago de Compostela – rest day
- Day 12: Santiago de Compostela – Costa Verde
- Day 13: Costa Verde – Picos de Europa
- Day 14: Picos de Europa – Santillana del Mar
- Day 15: Santillana del Mar – Bilbao
- Day 16: Flight back home
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Day 1: Arrival Bilbao
Transfer included from the Airport to the hotel on the first day of the tour. Then you will have the rest of the day to relax or take a walk through the beautiful center of the city before the welcome meeting in the hotel. Then we will have dinner together in a traditional restaurant where we will toast the beginning of our trip. Depending on the country you are flying from, you may have to leave a day early. Please book your flights accordingly!
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Day 2: Bilbao – San Sebastián
The first day of our route takes us directly to the rugged Basque coast. A coastline full of secluded beaches and picturesque fishing villages. Forests roads will lead us to cliffs where the smell of ocean salt mixes with aromas of the mountain. Our route will take us following the sea until we arrive in San Sebastián.
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Day 3: San Sebastián – rest day
On this rest day you can enjoy the beautiful city of Donostia (San Sebastian), its cozy La Concha Bay and its promenade, the fishing port and its restaurants, sample famous pintxos in the old city ... But you can also ride in the morning, on a beautiful route in the mountains that approach the northernmost Pyrenees Mountains.
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Day 4: San Sebastián - Vitoria
Today we will head to the Basque capital, Vitoria, a small city with a lot of charm. We will ride some of the most beautiful little-known mountain passes in the Basque Country with verdant forests and incredible aromas, and then ride through the Natural Park Urkiola before arriving in Vitoria.
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Day 5: Vitoria – Palentine Mountains
Today we will make our journey westward crossing mountain range after mountain range, valley after valley. This is a little-known sparsely populated part of Spain, but precisely for this reason full of pristine beauty. Several Natural Parks in the Cantabrian Mountains and the Eastern Picos de Europa will pass under our wheels before reaching the Palencia Mountains.
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Day 6: Palentine Mountains - Oviedo
Today we will ride along the banks of several reservoirs included the most famous, Riaño. We will enjoy incredible sweepers at the foot of the Pico de Europa Mountains and cross Asturias before arriving in the monumental city of Oviedo with its famous cathedral.
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Day 7: Oviedo - rest day
We have a rest day today and can discover all the charms of the beautiful city of Oviedo. But we can also go to the western Asturian coast to visit the picturesque fishing village of Cudillero. There we can enjoy fresh fish at an outdoor restaurant contemplating the sea and the daily life of its locals. We have prepared a nice curvy route to get there.
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Day 8: Oviedo - Ribeira Sacra
Today we arrive in Galicia, but first a spectacular mountain riding day awaits us. We will ride through the Asturian Mountains in search of the Somiedo Natural Park. Then we will continue traveling through the westernmost part of the Cantabrian Mountains, to finally reach the Ribeira Sacra, famous for its wines and spectacular landscapes.
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Day 9: Ribeira Sacra - Rías Baixas
Today we will enter one of the most spectacular landscapes in the interior of Galicia, the Sil Gorges. An impressive depression created over millions of years by the course of the Sil River. We will ride through small roads that border these canyons that belong to the so-called Ribeira Sacra, where they make excellent wines. Then we will continue our journey along solitary roads surrounded by lush forests, until we reach the very heart of the Rías Baixas.
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Day 10: Rías Baixas - Santiago de Compostela
On this day one of the most enchanting landscapes in Galicia awaits us: Costa da Morte. We will faithfully ride this rugged coastline until we reach Finesterre. Along the way we will find myriad fishing villages. Finisterre is where the Romans thought the world ended, and it is from where we head to Santiago de Compostela by little traveled local roads.
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Day 11: Santiago de Compostela – rest day
A rest day in Santiago de Compostela is almost mandatory to meander its old streets full of history and legends. This will mix nicely with the joy of happy pilgrims who are finishing their adventures on the Camino de Santiago (Saint James Way). Feel free to talk to them to hear their stories, they come from all over the world.
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Day 12: Santiago de Compostela – Costa Verde
After resting in Santiago, we will leave for the Galician north coast, to enjoy the spectacular greenery that surrounds the Rías Altas area. We will ride the roads closest to the coast and enjoy the magnificent coastline full of beautiful fishing villages, steep rocky, cliffs and green meadows that reach the very edge of the sea.
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Day 13: Costa Verde – Picos de Europa
The return to Asturias brings us promises of nature in its purest state as we immerse ourselves in the Navia Valley. We’ll enjoy a road with little traffic and full of curves that enters the heart of the Asturian Mountains and highlights its small villages. Later we will go to the foot of the Picos de Europa.
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Day 14: Picos de Europa – Santillana del Mar
Today we will reach the very heart of the immense Picos de Europa Mountains, where we can take a cable car that will take us to the summit, riding between rugged mountains and narrow canyons, and then return us to the coast. We will enter the Cantabria region, passing through villas of great beauty and historical significance, until we reach Santillana del Mar, a perfectly preserved medieval town.
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Day 15: Santillana del Mar – Bilbao
Today we will arrive back in Euskadi (Basque Country), but first we will enjoy the calm of the Cantabrian Mountains, crossing mountain after mountain by curvy roads, surrounded by infinite greenery and an unrepeatable atmosphere until, almost without realizing it, we reach Bilbao. Our adventure through the North of Spain ends here. Green Spain!
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Day 16: Flight back home
Today you will say your goodbyes to the guides and the other tour members (now your new friends) as you make your way to the airport to fly home. Until our next motorcycle adventure together! Hasta Luego!
€ 5965*
Start your Self-guided Tour →
*Price includes BMW G310R