Cycle the Costa Brava in Spain! Photo via Creative Commons:a.m.rua
Boats in Girona, Spain. Photo via fotopedia:Joseplamesaandreu

Spanish spices. Photo via Flickr:Carlos Matilla
4/5 (1 rating)

Dali’s Country

Spain Bike Tours

A Girona bike tour unlike any other!

Costa Brava, where the mountains meet the sea, is the setting of this exciting new bike tour in the Spanish province of Girona, deep in Catalonia along the Pyrenees mountain range. Its landscapes, climate and history combine to let you cycle Spain through a haunting beauty. Craggy cliffs, sandy coves, pristine beaches and inland, the fascinating, ancient history all awaits to be explored and experienced. Not too mention, it is also the home and setting for the surreal world of Salvadore Dali.

This is the region in which the renowned artist was born, lived, worked and died. His birth city, Figueres, is home to the Teatre-Museu Dali, which you will have the opportunity to visit. In his own words: "The two most fortunate things that could happen to a person are, first, to be Spanish, and second, to be named Salvador Dalí. These two things have happened to me,” from "Diary of a Genius". Modest, Dali was not, bold and extravagant he was, as you will experience. His museum is in itself the largest surrealistic object in the world.

If you love surrealism, you will love the Dali touches of this tour and the opportunity to personally visit his home and museum.

If you love wild coasts and pristine beaches, you will love the Costa Brava and is varied Spanish cycling routes.

If you love wine and experiencing the regional cuisine, you will love this Emporda region of Spain. Wine has been made here since the 5th century BC when Phoenicians first colonized the coast. The gastronomy is based on a Mediterranean diet, rich in seafood, rice, and fresh vegetables. The combination of seascape and rural countryside provide the freshest ingredients and makes Costa Brava one of the loveliest wine regions in the country.

This is a bicycle tour in Spain that offers something for just about everyone, it blends the mystical surreal consisting of the fantastical Dali interpretations of reality with the breathtaking real, encompassing the wild Costa Brava.

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Where You’ll Stay

Luxury hotels and elegant farmhouses.

What’s Included

  • Accommodations for 7 nights in luxury hotels or farm houses
  • Breakfasts
  • Catalan dinner at the farmhouse in Bordils
  • Lunch in Figueres
  • Entrance ticket to Dali museum
  • Luggage transfer
  • Detailed route books including maps
  • Welcome meeting
  • Cycling jersey and water bottle
  • 21 speed Cannondale Hybrid bicycle
  • GPS rental

What’s Not Included

  • Lunches and dinners not mentioned
  • Bicycle protection
  • Trip insurance

Dali’s Country Map

TourBike
TypeBoth
SkillModerate
Length8 days
From€1096 Rates
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Tour Dates

Arrival possible any day in 2016

Skill Level

Medium self guided hotel tour with daily distances ranging from 22 mi (35 km) to 31 mi (50 km) for the hybrid bike tour. Guided option available, if preferred. (minimum of two people)

Day-To-Day Itinerary

Dali’s Country Map

Below is the itinerary and daily mileage for the hybrid bike option:

  1. Arrival in Girona
  2. Girona - Sant Feliu de Guixols via "Greenways", 24 mi (40 km)
  3. Sant Feliu de Guixols - Calella de Palafrugell, 16 mi (27 km)
  4. Calella de Palafrugell - Bordils, 28 mi (47 km)
  5. Bordils - Sant Pere Pescador, 22 mi. (36 km)
  6. Rountrip, Sant Pere Pescador via Figueres, 30 mi. (50 km)
  7. Sant Pere Pescador - Girona, 17 mi. (29 km)
  8. Departure from Girona

All distance are approximate.

DAY 1: Arrival in Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Spain on the Costa Brava, near the French border. It is a beautiful city where you get a real feeling for its history just by walking through its ancient streets. A walled city, dating back to the Roman period, it has a fascinating old quarter. You will be able to explore the entire city on foot since it is not very large

DAY 2: Girona - Sant Feliu de Guixols via "Greenways", 24 mi. (40 km)
Bike pick up and information meeting at Girona Cycle Center. The first day of biking Girona you will spend part of your time on the "Greenways" or Vias Verdes. Vías Verdes are the result of converting disused railway lines into cycling and walking routes. Easy, accessible, far removed from motorized traffic and with hardly any steep slopes, they are especially recommended for nature lovers and people who enjoy outdoor exercise. There are already 1,500 kilometers of Greenways throughout Spain (more than 58 greenways), all of which have been carefully restored to allow you to discover the most hidden corners of the countryside. This first day is a relatively easy day, finishing by the beach in the old fishing village of Sant Feliu de Guixols. Located on the Mediterranean, Sant Feliu de Guíxols has idyllic weather almost all year long. The coastline of the town spreads over ten kilometers. It also includes many little bays with coves surrounded by pine covered mountains and with rocky or fine sand beaches. If you get a chance in the morning be sure to visit the Plaça del Mercat before beginning your cycling day. The marketplace serves as the heart of public and economic life in the town. It takes place every morning on the “Plaça” where you can do some shopping before you head out for your second cycling day.

DAY 3: Sant Feliu de Guixols - Calella de Palafrugell, 16 mi. (27 km)
The route winds north along the Costa Brava passing into the northern part of the Empordá county, rich with famous medieval hilltop villages and secluded coves and bays. Calella de Palafrugell is the destination today, well known for the traditional architecture of its Voltes (archways). The Costa Brava bike tour now takes you along the coastline of Palafrugell has 12 km of beaches and coves which are all awarded the European Blue flag each year. The Blue Flag is an award that is given to beaches and marinas that have met very stringent standards. The main beaches are Aigua Xelida, Tamariu, Llafranc and Calella de Palafrugell. The archipelago of the Formigues isles (the isles of the Ants) is off the coastline. This is an area where many ships wrecked in ancient times. In front of the Saint Sebastian lighthouse is the Ullastres, popular with snorkelers because of the abundant marine life.

DAY 4: Calella de Palafrugell - Bordils, 28 mi. (47 km)
The route continues north cutting inland and passing one of the most unique and incredible landscapes in all of Europe. The countryside is dotted with ancient stone houses and castles, one of which was bought by Salvadore Dali for his beloved wife Gala to be their home. The castle has the appearance of a small Gothic Renaissance palace. The lovely gardens outside the castle, with a few of Dali's spindly elephant sculptures keeping company with lush greenery and trees, stand in stark contrast to the madness of Dali's world. Gala lived here in the castle until her death in 1982. She is actually buried in the castle. Dali moved back to his sea house at Port Lligat after her death. Walking through the rooms of Castle Pubol is something special. With every step, you cannot help but be aware of Dali and his artistic influence in the surroundings. It is now maintained as a museum. The castle home has to be viewed as a great work of Dali in and of itself, for everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist and offers us a glimpse inside his captivating and unique world. Accommodations this evening are only a few miles from this castle museum. You will love Bordils, a tiny romantic village that time has forgotten. The Placa Major (main square) still has the ancient clothes washing area surrounded by buildings of the Gothic/Renaissance period.

DAY 5: Bordils - Sant Pere Pescador, 22 mi. (36 km)
Continuing north, the route leads deep into the wine and olive groves of the Alt Empordá, or wine growing region of Spain. The day ends with a ride along a beach road past the Greco-Roman city that gives the region its name, Emporion, where the Romans introduced wine to the peninsula. Sant Pere Pescador is a village with very special personality. It is in the middle of the Bay of Roses, one of the most attractive bays of the western Mediterranean. It boasts a 7 km stretch of pristine sandy beach. The first historical reference to the town dates back to the year 974.

DAY 6: Roundtrip, Sant Pere Pescador via Figueres, 30 mi. (50 km)
This day is a short and easy route passing through the village of Figueres, home to the Salvador Dali theater museum. This museum was actually designed by Dali, himself. The entire renovated theater is a surrealistic work of art. Dali himself said “Where, if not in my own town, should the most extravagant and solid of my work endure, where if not here?" You will have ample time to explore this and also the Dali Jewels Gallery. You can enjoy a lunch on the Rambla, the main pedestrian street of the town.

DAY 7: Sant Pere Pescador - Girona, 17 mi. (29 km)
This final day on the cycle returns you to the capital city of the region, Girona. It is another stunning route through the rolling hills and vineyards of Emporda providing the perfect ending to a perfect week.

DAY 8:  Departure from Girona

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Customer Feedback

  • mary 7 months ago

    Mary from Tripsite, here! I biked this tour about four years ago, shortly after we began to offer it. I had lived in Spain during my college years and it was wonderful to return! I will not rate this tour 5 star because I found the welcome meeting to me inconvenient for me. I was combining two days into one and wanted to get on the road but the pickup location for the bikes is an actual bike shop which happen to be busy and I did not get started until much later than I would have preferred. There was also a point on the Greenways where I became very confused and ended up off track by several kilometers. This tour now includes GPS devices and tracks and I think that is the way to go. Bikes are very good, accommodations are lovely and unique....overall, a great tour.

     Reply

  • Marilyn and Don McKenzie 5 years ago

    This was one of the most beautiful bike trips we have experienced. Wonderful coastal areas and the greenway made for variety. Lodgings were very nice as well. Lots of old Roman and even older sites.

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