My Spain / Portugal 2025 Adventure

Due to various reasons, we were unable to get away touring on the bikes until October this year. We were a little apprehensive about organising a bike holiday this late in the year as the weather could be unpredictable but, as it turned out, other than one morning of drizzle in Spain, during our 18 days away we had fabulous weather with temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees in Portugal and early twenties in Spain.

The other concern we had was how the ferry would be in October! We were sailing with Brittany Ferries from Portsmouth to Bilbao and back again. Well, as it turned out, we had good sailings both ways for which I am very grateful! There was a storm two days before our sailing home but this had passed and it was a fairly smooth crossing. Apparently, according to my husband, during the night the ferry was a bit ‘wobbly’ as he put it, but I slept all night and was not disturbed by this at all.

So the ferry was booked and the planning started. For me, this is one of the best parts of the holiday, I love the planning stage. Lots of research into places to both stay and visit and routes to take. My mind and imagination go into overdrive with the endless possibilities.

After many hours of planning, this was the basis of our adventure, we had seven legs and our itinerary was as follows:

Leg 1: Home to ferry terminal in Portsmouth; 90 miles

Leg 2: Bilbao to Tordesillas, Spain; 201 miles

Leg 3: Tordesillas, Spain to Ventozelo, Portugal; 101 miles

Leg 4: Ventozelo, Portugal to Chinchon, Spain; 252 miles

Leg 5: Chinchon, Spain to Murguia, Spain; 252 miles

Leg 6: Murguia, Spain to Ferry terminal Bilbao, Spain; 38 miles,

Leg 7: Portsmouth to Home, 90 miles

The mileage between legs is always approximate, depending on the weather, the roads and how we are feeling, we may take more direct routes or adventurous routes. Then of course there is the mileage we do when we are staying at our accommodation.

We use the Garmin Zumo XT2 sat nav and before we set off, we pre-load these with postcodes of all the accommodations we have pre-booked.

Day 1 : Leg 1: Home to ferry terminal in Portsmouth; 90 miles

We had a good ride down to Portsmouth on Thursday afternoon, the traffic was good. Our sailing was not until 7 pm but we had intended to arrive at Portsmouth early to a) fuel the bikes up before boarding so we had a full tank of fuel when we reached Spain which would get us a fair few miles before having to stop; b) miss the ‘rush hour traffic’ and c) head to the pub by the port to grab a bite to eat.

When we got to Portsmouth, there was already a queue and it wasn’t long before check-in opened so we decided to skip the pub part and checked in.

We boarded the ferry. I always worry that I will be the one to mess it up and drop my bike riding onto the ferry, but all went well thankfully! We watched our bikes being strapped down before going up on deck to find our cabin. 

We use the Ventura Luggage system on our bikes, the 50L Spada and 15L Delta (expands to 35L) bags which zip together. The larger bag we put on the bike facing the front and we cable tie this to the bike and cable tie the zippers on the bag together. I know it is not a 100% way of securing the bag but it is a deterrent. We do not leave anything ‘valuable’ in this bag, just clothing.

The smaller bag goes on the rear and we unzip just this bag and take it up to the cabin with us along with our helmets. This has everything we need for two nights on the ferry including a kettle, tea bags and mugs! I do get through a lot of tea 😂

Having dropped our bags in our cabins and unpacked, we headed to the bar for a drink and something to eat! 

Day 2

Today was very relaxing and went by quickly. There is no phone signal on the ferry but you can purchase wi-fi if you wish to go online, but for me, I find this an ideal time to have a day completely chilling, drinking coffee, eating and wandering around on deck in the sunshine trying to get a glimpse of a dolphin or two. 

There is a shop on board, cinema, spa and entertainment in the bar during the day if you wish. I had downloaded books onto my kindle and had a blissful day reading and relaxing.

Day 3 : Leg 2: Bilbao to Tordesillas, Spain; 201 miles

The familiar music through the tannoy system woke us up early Saturday morning, we had to be out of our cabins by 7.30 as we were disembarking at 8. 

We headed to the bar with our luggage and grabbed a quick coffee before we were called to head down to the car deck. We unstrapped our bikes, loaded our luggage and then we were off! The ferry is a great way to get to Northern Spain and the time goes by so quickly. 

We had underestimated just how cold it would be when we got off the ferry at 8 in the morning, the sun hadn’t quite come through and it was decidedly chilly. Soon we were riding up into the mountains, the temperature dropped and we hit a dense amount of fog. We stopped, pulled out more layers from our luggage and set off again.

We stopped a couple of times for coffee and food and had a leisurely ride to our overnight accommodation in Tordesillas which is not far from Zamora. 

Tordesillas is a beautiful town and the hotel we found had a secure garage for the bikes. We showered and then took a walk to the historic part where we thought we would have a bite to eat. Unfortunately for us, there was a fashion show going on in the centre and it was sooooo loud and incredibly busy. The bars and restaurants were packed.

After watching the show for a while we headed away from the noise and found a lovely little bistro for dinner. We then headed back to the hotel, ready for the next leg in the morning.

Day 4 : Leg 3: Tordesillas, Spain to Ventozelo, Portugal; 101 miles

After a lovely breakfast on our balcony of coffee and pastries (which we had picked up in the town the day before) we packed up and loaded the bikes ready for our next leg.

We only had a 100 or so miles to cover today so we set the sat nav to an adventurous route and headed towards Portugal.

We stopped a couple of times for very leisurely coffees and bites to eat. The closer we got to Portugal, the warmer it was getting, layers were coming off!

We arrived early at our accommodation in Ventozelo so we asked if we could leave our luggage and head to the nearest town to explore and find a supermarket as we would be here for the next seven nights.

Our accommodation was beautifully set on the edge of the owner’s vineyard. The owner had left us fruit and vegetables from their land and we used some of these for our dinner which we ate outside watching the sunset. I already knew I was not going to want to leave here. After dinner, we went for a stroll around the village before heading to bed.

Day 5

Today was another beautiful day so we set the sat nav for an adventurous route and headed to Freixo de Espada A Cinta where we stopped for a coffee.  

We then headed out from there to the view point Penedo Duaro.!

If you are ever this way, do make a point of stopping here, you will not be disappointed. The views are absolutely stunning, you can see for miles. You can see the Duoro River below and on the other side of the river is Spain. 

We noticed a winding road on the other side which led to/from the dam below. We were going to have to find this road!

We then headed back down to Freixo to find a very late lunch.

Day 6

Well today was interesting! We decided to head to Braganca so hubby set the sat nav to an adventurous route and we set off.

Now my geography is not the best but I thought Braganca was in Portugal so when we went past a sign saying ‘Welcome to Spain’ I was, like, um … where exactly are we going?

It turns out that there must be a Braganca in Spain and a Braganca in Portugal, hubby had not entered the correct Portuguese spelling! Oh well, it was certainly an adventurous route to get there and the ride was still great. We stopped for fuel, grabbed a coffee, re-set the sat nav and headed to the right Braganca. 

Braganca is a city and municipality in north-eastern Portugal, capital of the district of Bragança, in the Terras de Trás-os-Montes subregion of Portugal and definitely worth a visit. It is very beautiful and full of history with lots to see and do.

We parked the bikes and left as much of our bike gear as we could on the bikes – it was 35 degrees and we were wilting! 

We found a lovely bistro for lunch and had a suspicious looking portuguese dish that was, um… interesting shall we say! 

We headed back to our accommodation via the supermarket, made dinner and sat outside eating watching the sun set, what a great day.

Day 7

We decided to stay local today and headed into our nearest town, Mogadouro. We parked our bikes and headed to the remains of the Castle of Mogadouro where we were greeted with some spectacular views.

There is another castle you can visit here as well as a church and museums and the Picoes Viewpoint is well worth checking out.

There happened to be a trade fair trade/exhibition happening which had everything from local produce, including fruit and veg, sweets, clothing and gifts, to agricultural machinery including tractors of varying sizes and also cars! There were animals to see, street entertainment and food vendors. I can tell you that the banana and nutella crepe was delicious!

Day 8

We headed back to Freixo de Espada a Cinta but instead of heading up the Pendo lookout, we went down to the Barragem de Saucelle Dam and took the gorgeous winding road that we could see from the Pendo lookout up to saucelle, found a lovely little roadside cafe for a coffee and then headed back to the winding road and went back down again. That is definitely one road that you would not tire of doing!

Day 9

We were greeted with another beautiful sunny day and headed to the River Sabor at Fox do Sabor, which is absolutely beautiful. 

We sat here for a while savouring the tranquility then, as the only place to get a drink was closed, we headed to Torre de Moncorvo, which is a beautiful town with interesting little streets to explore and found a nice cafe for a spot of lunch.

We set the sat nav for an adventurous route back to our accommodation and were not disappointed, it found us some awesome roads. 

We sat outside eating dinner soaking up the last of the sunshine. I’m definitely going to miss this.

Day 10

Noooo! How can it be our last day in Portugal already!

We took a ride to Miranda do Douro, another beautiful town steeped in history. Here you can see a glimpse of traditional Portuguese life with the town renowned for ancient customs and crafts, from weaving to pottery. 

There is an ‘old part’ and a ‘new part’. The old part is very pretty and rustic and we spent most of our time here exploring. The new part has many shops and eating places, so something for everyone.

We are very sad to be leaving our beautiful accommodation in Ventozelo and Portugal itself, the scenery and roads here should definitely be on your list of places to check out.

Leg 4 Day 11 Ventozelo, Portugal to Chinchon, Madrid 252 miles

After breakfast, we loaded the bikes and set off for Spain. We had 252 Miles to cover today and were heading to a place called Chinchon, just south of Madrid which would be our home for the next five nights.

There was no rain today but it was extremely windy, which makes for a tiring ride. We stopped a couple of times for fuel, drinks and a break from the wind. I am not sure which is more preferable to ride in – wind or rain!

We made it to Chinchon, where there happened to be the oldest charity bullfighting festival taking place, the Festival Taurino Benefico con Picadores. Lots of streets were closed and there were soooo many people. 

Thankfully as we were on bikes, we managed to find our way through hub bub down little side streets to our accommodation which, although it was in the town, it was down a side street.

After unpacking and having a well earned cuppa we went to explore what was going on and check out the town. Although we didn’t have access to the bullring as it was ticket only, there was a great atmosphere in the town itself with street vendors, and people singing and we found a fabulous taverna for dinner.

Day 12

After yesterday’s tiring ride, we decided to have a day off the bikes today, plus we had been out on the bikes for the last 9 days so it was really good to chill.

We headed out to explore Chinchon and find coffee. The sun was shining and we had a very relaxing chilled day which was just what we needed.

Believe it or not, my first bit of cake all holiday!!

Day 13

We woke up to drizzle this morning, so headed out for a walk exploring more of Chinchon including the old castle. We found coffee and sat under the veranda and watched the world go by.

The rain stopped and the roads had dried up by the afternoon so we headed out on the bikes to a couple of nearby towns to check them out. We set the Garmin to an adventurous route coming back, and had a great ride. 

It is a nice area to explore, the scenery is not as good as where we stayed in Portugal, in my opinion, but still interesting and it is good to be able to see different places.

We had a great afternoon riding, I know we had only had one day off the bikes, but it was just great to be out riding again.

Day 14

The sun was already shining when we woke up so after breakfast we headed to Aranjuez, which is on the River Tagus, south of Madrid and home to the Royal Palace. 

We spent pretty much most of the day here, it is a lovely vibrant town. We spent a long time wandering around exploring the different parts of the town and had a coffee and toastie in the square watching the world go by, what a perfect day.

Day 15

It was already our last day in Chinchon, our time here has just flown by. We knew we had a long day ahead of us tomorrow as we would be heading back up through Spain to our overnight accommodation before catching the ferry home so we decided to have a bike rest day.

We had another beautiful sunny day ahead of us so we explored more of Chinchon. There are so many cobbled side streets with boutiques and shops scattered around.

Leg 5 Day 16 Chinchon, Madrid to Murgia, Spain 252 miles

After breakfast, we loaded the bikes up and set off for Murguia, Spain. We had 252 miles ahead of us today and thankfully the sun was shining and there was no wind or rain forecast.

We had a good ride to Murgia, stopping for fuel and food on the way. We made it to Murgia hoping to find a fuel station here to fill up the bikes before getting to the ferry but with no success. 

Our hotel had underground parking (an additional €7 for both bikes but totally worth it for peace of mind) and was centrally located. We booked a table in the restaurant for dinner and breakfast the following morning and had a well needed cuppa.

A text message arrived from Brittany Ferries to say our arrival time at Portsmouth had been delayed by 3 hours, so our new time of arrival was 8.30 in the evening. It could have been worse, at least we were still sailing and the ferry hadn’t been cancelled. We had a 2 hour ride from Portsmouth to home.

Leg 6 Day 17 Murgia to Bilbao 38 miles

After breakfast, the bikes were loaded and we set off on the 38 mile ride to Bilbao. Again the sun was shining and the ride there was good.

As we rode into the ferry terminal, we headed to the fuel station to fill up the bikes. We knew if we did this, we should just about be able to get off the ferry at Portsmouth and ride home without having to fuel up again.

Our sailing was at 1.30 in the afternoon and we were soon boarding, watched our bikes being strapped down and then headed up to Deck 9 to find our cabin.

And relax! 

Day 18

Our ferry was due to arrive in Portsmouth at 20:30 so we had a whole day of relaxing on board before over the tannoy we heard we should vacate our cabins and head to the bar area to wait before heading to the car deck.

There was an hour’s delay before being able to head to the car deck as there was an issue port side. It was 21:30 by the time we got to our bikes, we loaded our luggage, set the sat nav for home and off we went. 

It was a very stark contrast to the weather we had been used to for the past 17 days. Thankfully we had packed our heated vests with us and these were put on before we set off. It wasn’t raining but it had been so the roads were wet. We arrived home at 23:30, parked the bikes in the garage, made a cuppa and went to bed. It had been a long day but we had made it home safe and sound.

What an incredible 18 days and 1,604 miles of adventures we had. We saw some beautiful scenery, rode on some fantastic roads and met some really lovely people along the way. 

I count myself very lucky to be able to have some amazing adventures on my bike and I absolutely cannot wait for our next adventure.

Planning our next adventure has already started …..

BK

Here’s my list of essential items to pack (let me know if I’ve forgotten anything):

Tank bag:

In here I have two zip wallets, one containing information for the bike:

• Log Book
• MOT
• Insurance
• European breakdown cover
• Spare key (in case I lose my main key!)

The other zip wallet containing:

• Passport
• Driving Licence
• Tickets for Eurotunnel/ferry
• Printed list of accommodation booked (in case phone dies)
• Euros/Credit/debit card
• European health card
• Travel insurance

Also in the tank bag:

• Energy bars and bottle of water
• Hi-vis
• Zip-lock bag for my phone in case it starts raining
• Peg/bulldog clip for attaching boarding pass to the bike’s screen
• Tissues
• Hand sanitiser
• Glasses (if applicable)

Cabin bag:

• Medication (if applicable)
• European plug adaptor/Mobile phone/sat nav chargers
• Spare glasses (if applicable)
• Kettle; tea bags; mugs (this could just be applicable to me)
• Hairdryer (if applicable)
• Clothes (enough for the time on the ferry)
• Shoes (you’ll be surprised how easy it is to forget these)
• Toiletries
• Kindle/books/magazines

Main bag:

• Waterproofs
• First aid kit including mosquito/insect repellant, antihistamine cream/tablets
• Spare gloves
• Torch
• Zip lock bags 
• Carrier bags – useful is you have wet gear that is not dry before setting off for the next leg of your trip 
• Gaffer tape – useful for fixing a broken fairing or indicator etc. 
• Bungee straps – useful for strapping down luggage or a water bottle 
• Zip ties – For fixing stuff, like a broken luggage lock, or keeping your bike together if it goes really bad!

• Tyre repair kit
• Tool kit, spare bulbs
• Chain cleaner/lube, visor cleaner/cloth
• Clothes
• Shoes for when not on the bike (you’ll be surprised how easy it is to forget these)

And don’t forget:

• Sat nav/maps pre-programmed with postcodes, accommodation, stop points etc.
• UK sticker for the number plate