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Your guides for this tour will be Pablo (+34 677 35 65 86), Stephane (+34 611 68 97 25) and Enrique (+34 696 54 60 88)
Call the Bike Spain Tours office on +34 915 590 653, or out of office hours call +34 677 356 586. We will get you where you need to be and get you the help you need.
Your insurance policy number is 21129968. You can find your insurance documents here.
Sunday, September 1st. Madrid.
Arrival day
Accommodation: Hotel Catalonia Goya
Arrival at leisure in Madrid. Today, we’ll enjoy some free time to get to know Spain’s elegant capital.
You can check into the hotel from 3pm.
At leisure in Madrid
Eating and drinking in Madrid
Monday, September 2nd. Puente Viesgo
Accommodation: Balneario Puente Viesgo
Route: 49.2 km/30.3 mi
Elevation: +568m/+2037 ft
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
10am: Your guides will pick you up from the reception of Hotel Catalonia Goya for the transfer up north!
We’ll travel up to Cantabria in our private van, and stretch our legs after the drive by taking our bikes out for a spin through the Merindades, a spectacular unspoilt natural paradise rich with verdant forests, sparkling rivers, and dotted with historic monasteries and castles. We’ll pass by two major La Vuelta mountain passes – Puerto Lunada and Puerto Caracol – as we enjoy a beautiful descent down to our hotel in Puente Viesgo.
In the afternoon, we’ll enjoy some free time exploring the beautiful mountain town of Puente Viesgo, tucked away in the verdant Toranzo valley, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times, before meeting back at the hotel for dinner.
Tuesday, September 3rd. Puente Viesgo
Accommodation: Balneario Puente Viesgo
La Vuelta: Stage 16: Luanco > Lagos de Covadonga
Route: 46 km/28.6 miles
Elevation: +1296m/+4252 ft
Meals included: Breakfast
Today we will face an iconic La Vuelta climb up to Lagos de Covadonga, a popular stage finish for the race over the years and classified as a special category climb with gradients of 7%. As well as its fame as a La Vuelta stage finish, the Covadonga lakes are known for their spectacular natural beauty, and proximity to the mountaintop Basilica de Covadonga cathedral.
After cycling up to the iconic summit finish, we’ll get our breath back in our VIP seats at the stage finish line and watch the pros make their way up the very same hill, before heading back to our hotel.
Wednesday, September 4th. Puente Viesgo
Accommodation: Balneario Puente Viesgo
La Vuelta: Stage 17: Monumento Juan del Castillo (Arnuero) > Santander
Route: 99.9 km/62.1 miles
Elevation: +1325m/+4348 ft
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
On today’s cycle route, we will discover the true Cantabrian pastoral lifestyle, exploring hidden valleys and cycling through the Hayedo de Aloños forest up to the mountain pass of La Braguía, from where we’ll be able to enjoy spectacular views of our unspoilt natural surroundings.
Next, we’ll cycle the final 60km of today’s stage, enjoying a glorious descent into Santander, the seafront capital of Cantabria. We’ll cheer on the pros from the VIP finish area, located right by the beautiful beach of El Sardinero, before heading back to our hotel in our van for a group dinner.
Thursday, September 5th. La Rioja.
Accommodation: Hotel Silken Villa de Laguardia
La Vuelta: Stage 18: Vitoria-Gazteiz > Maeztu-Parque Natural de Izki
Route: 53.5 km/33.3 miles
Elevation: +1174m/+3852 ft
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Pack your bags, we’re going to wine country!
In the morning, we’ll visit Laguardia, a breathtaking hilltop town surrounded by grapevines that looks like something taken out of a fairytale. During the Middle Ages, Laguardia was an important fortress town, and still retains well-preserved medieval architecture, including several monasteries and convents and the old fortress walls. It has been a major centre of wine production since the 14th century, and many of its historic bodegas are still in operation to this day.
Our cycle route will take us out of Laguardia and up to the Balcón de La Rioja, from where we can take in spectacular views over the rolling hills and endless vineyards of Spain’s most famous wine region. Next, we’ll cycle through the Sierra de Cantiabria, a natural paradise of pine forests and imposing granite cliffs, before finishing in the Izki Natural Park in time to take our seats in the VIP area and cheer on the pro cyclists as they cross the finish line of today’s stage.
Once the day’s cycling stage has come to an end, we’ll return to our hotel for a delicious dinner.
Friday, September 6th. La Rioja.
Accommodation: Hotel Silken Villa de Laguardia
La Vuelta: Stage 19: Logroño > Alto de Moncalvillo
Route: 84.3 km/52.4 miles
Elevation: +1815 m/+5955 ft
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Today we’ll enjoy a relaxed bike ride along the course of the River Ebro, cycling through vineyards and past iconic bodegas such as Marques del Riscal, and discovering small, historic towns such as San Vicente de Sonsierra and Haro, famous for its annual wine fight festival. Our cycle route starts to get more intense as we rejoin the route of La Vuelta and face a challenging climb up to today’s summit finish on Alto de Moncalvillo, with gradients of 9%. Once at the top, we’ll take our VIP seats and watch the nail-biting finish!
In the evening, we’ll enjoy a final dinner together: the perfect opportunity to exchange predictions about the crucial final days of the race!
Saturday, September 7th. Madrid
Accommodation: Hotel Catalonia Goya
La Vuelta: Stage 20: Villarcayo > Picón Blanco
Route: 48.7 km/30.3 miles
Elevation: +621m/+2037 ft
Meals included: Breakfast
Today, we’ll be watching the start of the stage from Villarcayo! We’ll use our VIP passes to join in with the behind-the-scenes excitement before the beginning of the day’s stage, taking selfies with our favourite pro cyclists and chatting to their teams.
From Villarcayo, our final cycle route takes us up to the historic town of Puentedey, renowned as one of the most beautiful villages in Spain. The village owes its name to a natural rock bridge, sculpted by the river Nela, around which the first buildings were constructed.
Our route continues through the unique landscape of La Merindad de Sotoscueva, a fascinating network of karstic landscapes, including the Monumento Natural de Ojo Guareña, a hermitage carved into the rock. Keep your eyes peeled for golden eagles and peregrine falcons!
Upon finishing our cycle route, we’ll travel south to Madrid ahead of tomorrow’s grand final!
Gratuities
Gratuities for our guides are much appreciated to thank them for exceptional service, support, and expertise. The industry standard for each individual guest is 7.5-10% tip of the trip price at the end of the tour. Unless you want to tip separately, guides will divide tips among themselves. Local currency is preferred.
Sunday, September 8th. Madrid
Accommodation: Hotel Catalonia Goya
La Vuelta: Stage 21: Distrito Telfónica> Madrid
Meals included: Breakfast and lunch
Last day party!
Today is the day of the grand final. We’ll spend the morning at leisure in Madrid, cycling the route of the final stage or simply exploring the city. In the afternoon, the party begins!
3:30pm: Our private Bike Spain Tours space in the luxury Neptuno VIP area, located in Plaza de Cibeles (around 20 minutes from your hotel on foot), will be open from 3:30 – 7pm. We’ll enjoy an open bar all afternoon, as well as a buffet of gourmet snacks (don’t eat too much before arriving!) and an exclusive La Vuelta gift. From our VIP area, we’ll enjoy premium views of the time trial and the podium, and the opportunity to socialise with pro cyclists.
Monday, September 9th. Madrid
Departure day
After breakfast, our services will come to an end.
We hope that you had a wonderful La Vuelta experience with us!
Bike Spain Tours will provide you with a cycling jersey: the perfect souvenir of your experience! We will also provide water bottles and, optionally, helmets.
On a Bike Spain vacation, understanding and abiding by the rules of bicycling safety are the most important part of each day.
You are probably familiar with some common safety guidelines. Below are those that we follow at Bike Spain, and we ask that you follow them while traveling with us:
To check the weather before you leave on your trip, please take a look at current weather conditions at www.weatheronline.co.uk. For historical temperature and precipitation statistics visit www.weatherbase.com or take a look at the Spanish Meteorological website with detailed information per region (http://www.aemet.es/en/elclima/datosclimatologicos/valoresclimatologicos)
The history of Spain is a compendium of influences from the different cultures that have lived in the country. The first settlers on the Peninsula were the Celts and the Iberians. The Roman presence in Hispania lasted for seven centuries, during which time the basic borders of the Peninsula in relation to other European towns were set up. Many institutions were inherited from Rome such as the concept of family, Latin as a language, religion and law. At the start of the 5th century new settlers from the North arrived and settled on the Peninsula: the Visigoths in the interior and the Swabians on the West. The decomposition of the Visigoth state apparatus would lead to the successive infiltration of Arab and Berber troops from the other side of the Straits of Gibraltar at the beginning of the 8th century. In the middle of the 8th century the Muslims had completed occupation and Cordoba became the center of the flourishing Andalusian state. The Arab presence in Spain would last for almost seven centuries and leave an indelible mark on the Spanish cultural heritage.
Following a long period of peaceful coexistence, the small Christian strongholds in the North of the Peninsula took on a leading role in the Reconquest, which ended with the capture of Granada in 1492 under the reign of the Catholic King and Queen, traditionally considered the founders of peninsular unity and the imperial management of the Spanish revival. The 16th century represents the zenith of Spanish hegemony in the world, a process that would last until the middle of the 17th century. Following the death of Charles II, the last of the Austrians, who died without having had children, Phillip V inaugurated the dynasty of the Bourbons of Spain.
The crisis of the Old Order opened the doorway to the Napoleonic invasion. The War of Independence was a war against the French invasion, but also a revolutionary war due to the decisive involvement of the people and the clear formation of a national consciousness that would later shape the 1812 Constitution. The Courts of Cadiz thereby enacted one of the first Constitutions of the world which ratified that sovereignty would reside in the nation. The conflict between liberalists and absolutists, or in other words, between two different ways of perceiving the establishment of the state, would be one of the longest Spanish conflicts throughout the 19th century.
The ballot box is introduced into Spain and with it the first democratic experience of the 20th century: the second Republic, a brief attempt to introduce the reformations the country needed, frustrated by General Franco’s military rising and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1936. The military victory of General Franco gave way to a long dictatorial period that would last until 1975. Following his death, the Spanish peacefully made the transition from dictatorship to democracy in a process known as ‘the Spanish model’. Don Juan Carlos I, as King of the Spanish people, became the chief of a social and democratic state of law, which molded the Constitution of 1978.
More information…? Should you be interested in a specific theme, please check here, you will find many info about culture, environmental issues, nature, society, geography and politics.
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To read more about Spain’s cuisine
Hotel Catalonia Goya
Sleep in Madrid’s Golden Mile at the Catalonia Goya hotel in the heart of the Salamanca neighbourhood.
The hotel has recently refurbished rooms with a contemporary design, an urban pool ideal for cooling off on a hot day, and a gym to keep up with your workouts. Each morning you will enjoy an extensive buffet breakfast with a cooking show and you can stop off at the Gastrobar anytime for Mediterranean-inspired dishes that can also be served in your room.
Gran Hotel Balneario Puente Viesgo
Rest in an enclave open to the fascinating natural environment of Cantabria.
The GRAN HOTEL AND SPA RESORT form part of a hotel complex composed of two buildings connected by an underground passage, located in the town of Puente Viesgo, just 28 km from Santander and close to the Pas towns of Santillana del Mar and Carbárceno.
Hotel Silken Villa de Laguardia
A four-star hotel with spa located in the Rioja Alavesa, close to Logroño and surrounded by vineyards.
The Silken Villa de Laguardia Hotel has a spectacular spa, offering treatments that use wine and olive oil, fully harnessing the properties of these ingredients. Sit back, relax and let yourself go with the flow in our spa and its special setting, surrounded by nature and vineyards.
