Cycle tour in Feb

[barnesy]

Hi,

Im going to have about 7-10 days holiday to take before the end of February. Ive been thinking Spain, maybe Malaga to Faro or something similar.

I know it wont be warm but it wont be as cold as we have here.

Im not sure on the best places to stay, im hoping i can stay in hotels and hostels at low charge but i wouldnt mind the idea of camping.

Ive even considered wild camping but to be honest the idea of it frightens the life out of me, I wouldnt know where to start about finding a safe place to stay and id constantly be in fear of animals or accidentally being on someones land and getting into bother.

Has anybody who has done this type of trip before got any advice?

 

[stephenjubb]

I did Alicante to Faro (800 miles) Christmas 2009 over a month, camping, wild camping where there were no campsites.

Theres a lot to communicate on a trip of this type so it would help if you asked specific questions.

One piece of advice try and avoid cycling through Malaga in rush hour, it is like being on the M25 motorway.

 

[andrew_s]

Ive even considered wild camping but to be honest the idea of it frightens the life out of me, I wouldnt know where to start about finding a safe place to stay and id constantly be in fear of animals or accidentally being on someones land and getting into bother.

There aren't any significant wild animals in Europe. It's not like America where you've got grizzly bears and wolves to worry about.
As for land, you are always on someone's land. Camp late, leave early, and pick somewhere that's not obvious.

 

[barnesy]

A bit of information:

My first tour was cycling and camping for 2 weeks doing 800 miles round the coast of Ireland and last year was 450 miles over 5 days doing Malin to Mizen.

I have wanted to cycle further afield, was hoping to do Spain but not sure where.

The idea of a point to point appealed to me and i see that flights arent too expensive, time is anything up to 10 days due to work.

In 10 days i could do a comfortable 600 miles, so Malaga to Faro isnt that much but they are 2 handy airports.

Id like to keep it simple and inexpensive so camping and wild camping appeals to me but as i say i wouldnt know what to do.

Thinking of anywhere ive cycled before i dont think id be good at picking a good spot, i dont know wheres out of bounds or dangerous.

What is weather likely to be in the south of Spain in February?

I could cycle the coast although it could be very busy? Inland would mean some mountains bt thats a good thing

Its still in the early stages at the minute but you have to start somewhere.

Camping would be handier but if i could find low cost accommodation it would mean carrying less weight which could be helpful

 

[jay clock]

well as it happens, yes, I have done exactly that route a year ago. See here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/malagatofaro

also been to the Algarve another time in March see here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=3379&v=2G&term=faro&context=all - weather very nice

I think there will be a number of issues, all surmountable depending on how hardy you are.

Daylight. This very clever site will help but you only get 12-13 hrs of daylight. http://www.sunrisesunsetmap.com/ Personally a 12 hr stealth camp is a bit long. When I was there in mid Oct it was warm enough, but at 800-1000m high it may be much colder.

Weather. Not guaranteed but could (should?) be nice. However I seem to recall that west of Ronda is the "wet" part of Andalucia. A few years back I booked for a week's touring in Andalucia in mid March and cancelled 2 days before due to the 10 day forecast being rain and 12 degrees every day.

Campsites - might find some open

Hotels. Cheaper ones are called Hostales in Spain. This is not a hostel, but a simple hotel. Often very good value

If you delayed to mid March you might have better luck and more light, but still do-able for Feb

Keep us posted

Julian

 

[psmiffy]

I cycled from cycled Santander to Malaga in April par le cote a few years ago and camped all the way. However, the majority of what campsites there were in Spain were closed (locked and well fenced) and I camped wild a lot of the time in Spain – compared to France it is a lot easier to camp wild in Spain - there are lot more little pieces of land that they do not seem to bother to cultivate or have forgotten about – by being reasonably discrete nobody ever bothered me

I would start by checking the ACSI camping website (something I should have done) - normally pretty reliable for finding campsites open all year

 

[smith4188]

Weather. Not guaranteed but could (should?) be nice. However I seem to recall that west of Ronda is the "wet" part of Andalucia. A few years back I booked for a week's touring in Andalucia in mid March and cancelled 2 days before due to the 10 day forecast being rain and 12 degrees every day.

Weather definitely not guaranteed. Last winter was the wettest on record, with three times the normal amount of rain. I live on the south coast and it felt like it was raining every day from mid October until the end of April, but obviously it wasn't. Many of the mountain roads around here had landslides partially blocking roads or destroying them entirely in some places. When it rains, it really rains. It's rarely like English drizzle.

That said, I've heard that this winter there's much less rain predicted (at least up until Christmas). And so far they've been right. The weather is gorgeous at the moment.

So, it might be nice but it also might be very, very wet. Bring a hat.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Ive even considered wild camping but to be honest the idea of it frightens the life out of me, I wouldnt know where to start about finding a safe place to stay and id constantly be in fear of animals or accidentally being on someones land and getting into bother.

Whilst doing research for out World tour (setting out 1st March 2011), I came across this website How to wild camp anywhere...
you may find some of it useful.

 

[MarkF]

When in Spain I prefer to take less weight and use rooms, they are plentiful and v.cheap, they are worth it (for me) to have a shower, a good night sleep and somewhere to leave my bike so I can wander around. I recently paid 15eu for a basic room (Mataro) with shared bathroom up to 25eu for a very good room (Girona).

I think Malaga is worth going into and staying for a night and the Marbella area is, IMO, a lot more dangerous for cyclists.