Pyrenees Coast to Coast Motorcycle Tour
From Barcelona to San Sebastian
Spain | Andorra | France
It’s no coincidence that many of the best riders in the world come from the areas around Barcelona, just a stone’s throw from the Pyrenees, the most revered mountain range amongst motorcyclists who know what they are talking about. If you are one of them, if you are the type who would like to spend 10 unforgettable, intense and exciting days on top of a motorcycle, this is the motorbike tour for you!
In this route, carefully planned by our expert local guides, are some of the most famous motorcycling roads in the world as well as many lesser known sections that will surely surprise you. The exceptional combination of magnificent roads with perfect asphalt, intoxicating curves and mountain and coastal landscapes straight out of your wildest dreams make for an exquisite feast fit for true motorcyclists.
The Coast to Coast Motorcycle Tour starts and ends in the attractive and cosmopolitan city of Barcelona, passes by the rugged Costa Brava, the imposing natural parks in the Pyrenees, beautiful sections in France including mountain passes famous from the Tour de France, a visit to Pamplona and a rest day in the most beautiful city in the north of Spain, San Sebastian world famous for its gastronomy, this tour is a 10 out of 10 in every way. You don’t want to miss it!
*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 BarcelonaTotal Distance 1,373 miles / 2,211 km
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Total Time 12 DaysRiding Days 10 Days
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Rest Days 1 San SebastianBreakfast 11 Included Breakfasts
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Daily Mileage 160-220 miles / 250-350 kms.
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Hotel Overnights 11 NightsRiding Season Summer
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Highlights: Barcelona, Costa Brava, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Tour de France mountain passes, Coast to Coast Mediterranean to Cantabric Seas, The best riding in Europe.Accommodations: Amazing hotels. First-class historical Paradors and a few specially selected boutique hotels with local flair. Paradors are Castles, Palaces & Fortresses converted into motorcycle-friendly hotels.
*All IMTBIKE lodgings are hand-picked for their quality of service, local charm and strategic locations.
From: € 4160*
Start your Self-guided Tour →
Daily Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival in Barcelona
- Day 2: Barcelona - Costa Brava
- Day 3: Costa Brava - La Seu d’Urgell
- Day 4: La Seu d’Urgell - Ordesa & Monte Perdido Natural Park
- Day 5: Ordesa & Monte Perdido Natural Park - Valle del Tena
- Day 6: Valle del Tena - San Sebastián
- Day 7: San Sebastián - rest day
- Day 8: San Sebastián - Pamplona
- Day 9: Pamplona - Vall de Boí
- Day 10: Vall de Boí - Cardona
- Day 11: Cardona - Barcelona
- Day 12: Flight Home
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Day 1: Arrival in Barcelona, welcome briefing and dinner
Transfer included from the Airport to the hotel. You’ll have the rest of the day to rest or explore the city of Barcelona before meeting your guides and the other tourmembers at the welcome briefing. Afterwards we’ll enjoy our welcome dinner in an excellent local restaurant.
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Day 2: Barcelona - Costa Brava
The first day will be a perfect chance for us to get used to our motorcycles in some of the local biker “sanctuaries” of Cataluña. Leaving Barcelona we’ll head straight for the Sierra de Montseny and its famous curves. This has always been a favorite spot for local motorcyclists and is usually full of riders on the weekends. We’ll ride out to the coast to another one of the most famous roads in the country which will take us to our hotel perched high on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
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Day 3: Costa Brava - La Seu d’Urgell
This will be our first day riding in the Pyrenees. We’ll discover more fantastic local favorites like Banyoles Lake, the green volcanic region of La Garrotxa and one of the most famous mountain passes of the region across the Sierra del Cadí Mountains.
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Day 4: La Seu d’Urgell - Ordesa & Monte Perdido Natural Park
Another day of legendary mountain passes including the Col del Cantó and the majestic Port de la Bonaigua which will be our entry into the Valle de Arán. Then we’ll cross into France for some more passes and slightly different scenery. The Bielsa Tunnel will be our re-entry point into Spain where we’ll find our hotel for the night, located at the foot of the impressive Ordesa & Monte Perdido Natural Park.
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Day 5: Ordesa & Monte Perdido Natural Park - Valle del Tena
You’ll wake up to fresh mountain air, and the sound of waterfalls. Don’t forget to take advantage of the sumptuous breakfast; you have a full day of riding ahead of you. You’ll cross many mountain passes all of which offer breath-taking beauty and pristine road quality. Many of today’s roads are the same that are pedaled in the Tour de France bicycle race. Today’s overnight will be mountains surrounded by some of the best ski areas in the Pyrenees
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Day 6: Valle del Tena - San Sebastián
Today we’ll arrive at the northern coast in the heart of the Basque Country. Our day will be full of excitement and breathtaking landscapes not easily forgotten. Today we’ll have the privilege of following part of the famous “Camino de Santiago” pilgrimage passing through Roncesvalles on our way to the Northern side of the French Pyrenees. We’ll soon arrive in San Sebastian but only after crossing the lush green Basque Mountains.
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Day 7: San Sebastián - rest day
For the rest day in Donostia (San Sebastian) there are tons of options. You can take a swim in the “Bahia de la Concha” (Shell Bay), explore the old city and taste the famous “Pintxos” (Basque tapas). You can also try one of the Michelin starred restaurants in a city home to some of the greatest chefs in the world. Your guides also have a special route planned if you would like to ride into the hills to discover the small villages and endless forests in the area.
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Day 8: San Sebastián - Pamplona
We’ll leave Donosti for another city, equally attractive and welcoming as well as legendary, the city of Pamplona. And we’ll do it on a carefully selected series of back roads, winding and twisting our way through the beautiful countryside. In the Navarran capital we’ll stay right in the historical center.
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Day 9: Pamplona - Vall de Boí
We’ll start our return journey back to the Mediterranean Sea along the most prestigious roads of the Spanish Pyrenees; beautiful sections with almost no traffic that we’ll enjoy to the fullest, a perfect day putting our bikes to the test and enjoying all they have to offer. Most of the day we’ll ride the lands of Aragón where we’ll also sleep for the night, resting up in preparation for the many curves that are still to come.
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Day 10: Vall de Boí - Cardona
Crossing into Cataluña from Aragón, two ancient medieval kingdoms, we’ll conquer more mountain passes, lower in altitude but with excellent riding qualities. We’ll also ride through some incredible canyons that at times seem like they are going to close in around us. It’s a day of changing landscapes and contrasts on routes tailored for riders like us. At the end of the day we’ll stop for the night in a medieval castle perched on top of a hill.
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Day 11: Cardona - Barcelona
Not even the last day will be free from incredible motorcycling roads. The sacred rocky mountain of Montserrat awaits us for one final, yet unforgettable, section of twisties. After saying goodbye to our reliable machines we’ll head to the hotel. In the evening we'll all get together with the guides for our farewell dinner in a delicious local restaurant where we’ll reminisce about the journey and have a final toast to more adventures in the future. ¡Hasta pronto amigos!
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Day 12: Flight Home
Today it’s time to head to the airport and board your flight home. We’ll see you on your next motorcycle adventure!
€ 4160*
Start your Self-guided Tour →
*Price includes BMW G310R