Itinerary

Day 1, Departure from your home country

Day2, Arrival and Sightseeing Lisbon

The capital with some of the most exciting geography and diversity in Europe is well worth a whole day of sightseeing. The Romans, the Phoenicians and the Arabs have settled here and left their well visible traces. We roam the hills of the town, stare down from great viewpoints and take the historic public transports once the feet are disagreeing with the cobblestones. Dinner will be in one of the atmospheric restaurants in an historic downtown alley.

Day 3, Lisbon - Vila Vicosa

In the morning we will pick up our motorcycles and head out of city. We cross the area of the Alentejo from west to east. The beauty oft this typical Portuguese landscape of rolling hills often is underrated by visitors. Roads are lined by Cork trees, which are still used for production. At this time of the year spring blossom is on. With some luck plenty of storks will be our escort. We stay in the town of Vila Vicosa, a quaint village, rich with history and historic buildings. Take a stroll in the afternoon on your own, even if you make it only a couple of hundred feet to the main square and enjoy a drink underneath the orange trees that surround the place. Our Pousada is located in the former Convent of the Chagas de Cristo, built in the 16th century. Between the several feet thick walls you get the feeling of times that have past away for a long time. It’s quite amazing that you can buy something like this just with a bit of money. Don’t worry: At the same time you still can enjoy all modern amenities of luxurious hotel.

Distance: 130 miles, 200 km

Day 4, Vila Vicosa - Elvas - Monsaraz

The morning starts with a ride along a curvy road to Elvas. We come here on our second day for a reason, even if we have to leave our general direction and retrace a bit. It would be a shame to visit this place rather exhausted in the afternoon on our first day and not spend enough time here. Many towns along the border to Spain are build like a fortress, Elvas probably is the most impressive one, actually the largest fortification of it’s kind in the world. But maybe even more memorable is the 4-story high Aqueduto da Amoreira, built in the 15th century to secure water supply of the town. From Elvas we head south along the border to Spain. Finally the village of Monsaraz appears out of the horizon, well visible from a distance. The closer you get the more the desire grows to visit this spectacular location. It was this beauty that in 2017 made it win the category “Monument Villages” of the contest 7 Wonders of Portugal - Villages. We will sleep in a hotel which is located right at the bottom. After we escape the afternoon heat at the hotels great pool we will explore the fortress on top of the hill, walk along the towns wall (which would be impossible in other parts of the world) and have a wine tasting with one the most incredible sunsets in Portugal. Dinner will be in quite a special location nearby.

Distance 70 miles, 110 km

Day 5, Monsaraz - Cordoba

It will be hard to leave our little Portuguese paradise in Monsaraz. But Cordoba, one of the 3 famous cities of Andalusia is waiting at the end of the day. After some minutes ride we will cross the border into Spain and notice quite some changes in the two countries. Towns will have a different architecture, at least as nice as in Portugal. Suddenly free roaming pigs will sit underneath oak trees, the raw material for the famous ham we will have the chance to taste several times. We stop for lunch in a town that has plenty of flair, but because it’s remote location will see hardly a foreign tourist. Between Monsaraz and the Cordoba we will cross several smaller mountain ranges to make up for a beautiful day of riding. We will spend the evening in the historic part of the city. One of the special features are the beautiful decorated backyards of the houses, a leftover from the Moorish times. They have build there houses like little fortresses around a backyard. Now inhabitants take big pride in them. There is even an annual competition, visitors are invited to see them.

Distance: 200 miles, 317 km

Day 6, Cordoba - Granada

Cordoba was conquered in the 8th century by the Moors and became the Islamic capital. It has the second largest Old town in Europe, the largest urban area in the world declared World Heritage by UNESCO. The most important building and symbol of the city, the Great Mosque of Córdoba and current cathedral, alongside the Roman bridge, are the best known facet of the city. We will visit both in the cool morning air. Because Cordoba also is known as one of the hottest cities in Spain. Afterwards we start a beautiful ride and pass several pretty villages. Each of the seams to have a Moorish castle sitting on top of it like Baena, Luque or Alcala. Granada is not less pretty then Cordoba, but has a very different feeling. Cool mountain air comes down from the will visible snow covered peaks of the Sierra Nevada. The large university is responsible for a rather young crowd in town.

Distance: 110 miles, 170 km

Day 7, Granada, Visit of the Alhambra

In the same league as Venice or Florence Granada is probably the most beautiful city of Spain. The location is hard to beat. At an altitude of 2000 feet it is overlooked by the always snow covered Sierra Nevada, at 11411 feet after the Alps the highest mountains of Europe. In the morning we will visit the Alhambra, a Moorish palace and fortress, the most visited sight in Anadalusia. Moorish poets described it as “a pearl set in emeralds,” an allusion to the color of its buildings and the woods around them. In the warm afternoon air we will visit the opposite part of town from where we will have a great view at the Alhambra with the mountains behind. If interested we could be part of one of the famous Flamenco shows in the Old Town.

Day 8, Granada - Lanjaron

Via exciting mountain roads with endless vista we will do a loop around the whole mountain range of the Sierra Nevada. We will pass interesting places like the Barrio de Santiago in Guadix, a quarter characterized by houses carved in tuff rocks, even visit a local place where a family still lives in a men made cave. Afterwards we ride 6700 feet high pass Puerto de la Ragua onto the southern side of the Sierra Nevada. Through the foothills of the range we will reach the mountain village of Lanjaron with great views towards the south and finish one of the most exciting riding days on this trip.

Distance: 120 miles, 185 km

Day 9, Lanjaron - Ronda

After an exciting ride through mountains and gorges with hardly any straight stretch we will end in one of the most beautiful regions of Andalusia at the spectacular setting of Ronda. Olive orchards, wineries, cork trees are the dominating plants along the way. The location and feeling of Ronda is hard to describe, you have to see it yourself. We will stay in the hotel with the most beautiful setup in the town. It inspired once the famous poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who lived here. He wrote: “I have sought everywhere the city of my dreams, and I have finally found it in Ronda” and “There is nothing that is more startling in Spain than this wild and mountainous city.”

Distance: 168 miles, 271 km

Day 10, Ronda, Daytour towards Gibraltar or sightseeing Ronda

Ronda has the most spectacular location in Spain. It sits on the rocks on two sites of the 400 feet Tajo gorge, connected by 3 bridges. American artists Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles spent many summers in Ronda as part-time residents of Ronda’s old town quarter called La Ciudad. Both wrote about Ronda’s beauty and famous bull-fighting traditions. Their collective accounts have contributed to Ronda’s popularity over time. There are possibilities to see the bullfight ring or walk down into the gorge to get another spectacular view at the town. For the ones keen on riding there is a beautiful loop through the mountains where we would see Gibraltar and Africa from a viewpoint.

Distance: 120 miles, 200 km

Day 11, Ronda - Almonaster la Real

In the morning we will pass through mountains where we will have to stop a couple of times just to enjoy the views at the famous white villages of this region. Especially the location of Setenil de Las Bodegas will be an exciting surprise. We have to cross the plains of the river Guadalquivir, if desired we can have a stop in very picturesque Seville. That would involve some extra city traffic, but not too bad. We will spend the night in the pretty and tranquil mountain town of Almonaster la Real with a chance to visit the local Mesquita or just take a stroll through the pretty nature there.

Distance: 180 miles, 290 km

Day 12, Almonaster - Milfontes

After an hour in the mountains of the Sierra de Aracena with it’s beautiful cork oak trees we cross the border back into Portugal. The first highlight will be the Moorish town of Mertola above the river Guadiana with it’s impressive fortress and the narrow alleys that lead up to it. Along our way on absolutely empty roads through the Alentejo we will visit some more hidden gems of this pretty landscape. Finally we arrive at one of the most spectacularly located beach towns on the west coast of Portugal: Vila Nova de Milfontes. It sits right at the mouth of the river Mira where the tides form some pretty and completely unspoiled beaches. We will enjoy dinner looking at the beach into the sunset.

Distance: 160 miles, 250 km

Day 13, Vila Nova Milfontes - Lisbon

Portugal tries to impress up to the last mile. Across the huge bay of the river Tejo we ride back in Lisbon. The approach reminds of traversing the Golden Gate into San Francisco. Before that we ride along the Peninsula de Troja to cross by ferry into Setubal. Downtown we will enjoy the prettiest market in Portugal before riding across the Serra da Arrabida which offers great views across the Atlantic. The trip will end with a nice dinner in one of the very good restaurants in town.

Distance: 120 miles, 200 km

Day 14, Departure from Lisbon