Catalonia by Bike

I would highly recommend this company for a bike trip in Spain. Support, accommodations and guidance were stellar.

This was an outstanding trip. The scenery was varied and gorgeous. Cycling on mostly rural roads and paths between perfectly preserved medieval villages was amazing. I did not find the distances or the elevations excessive, although it does pay to be in shape. Europe was in a heat wave the week we were there (first part of June), so we tried to get our riding started early in the day and took some shortcuts to be out of the heat of the day by 3:00 pm. The route later reaches the Costa Brava and the coastal towns, which have a different topography, and finally on the last day past an amazing nature preserve at Aiguamolls de l'Empordà Natural Park. You can't actually bike through the Park, so we altered our itinerary the last day to spend more time walking through it, since our son is an avid birdwatcher (320 species to see!). Bring mosquito protection for the Park. The guide app was easy to use and directions always clear. If you strayed off the route it temporarily lost you, but as long as you returned to the route, it picked right back up. The hotels were varied and interesting with universally helpful and accommodating hosts. We did the self-guided trip with two 30-year-olds on regular bikes and two 70-year-olds on e-bikes, which worked perfectly. Personnel were very helpful up front and they do have an in-country representative for emergencies (only had to call him once). You really need to read all of their instructions, including downloading the guide app before you go. I also recommend installing WhatsApp and learning how to use it. Everyone in Spain - including restaurants (if trying to make or confirm a reservation), the in-country bike provider, taxi drivers trying to find you, hotel hosts and anyone else you might need to communicate with - exclusively use WhatsApp. (Super easy to use.) Some of the really small towns close all of their restaurants on Tuesdays (or Mondays), but if arranged ahead of time with your host, you can get a taxi to the next bigger town for dinner or ride your bike another 5 km in the evening (not recommended after trying their delicious local house vermouths). We loved this trip and this area of Spain!

Overall a good trip. They were responsive. Equipment was delivered promptly and efficiently. Transfers were timely. Route was very scenic and largely consisted of lightly used roads and paths. A more detailed itinerary would enhance the experience. Hotel owners/staff were uniformly extremely pleasant. Accommodations and breakfast varied with one outstanding, one good, and one marginal hotel.

Excellent every day. Accommodation was varied and comfortable. Towns were interesting-some more touristy than others. Great eating advice from the hotels.

It was one of the best trips we have done. The routes were perfect a couple of small bumpy areas but 99.9% quiet country paths. So much fun!