We’d love to follow along with the photos and videos from your fabulous bike tour!
Follow us on Instagram at @bikespaintours and on Facebook at BikeSpainTours, and don’t forget to tag us in your travel posts.
Be sure to join our Strava club so we can give you kudos for all your amazing rides!
Your guides for this tour will be Pablo (+34 677 35 65 86), Stephane (+34 611 68 97 25) and Enrique (+34 696 54 60 88).
Gratuities for our guides are much appreciated to thank them for exceptional service, support, and expertise. The industry standard for each individual guest is 7.5-10% tip of the trip price at the end of the tour. Local currency is preferred.
Call the Bike Spain Tours office on +34 915 590 653, or out of office hours call +34 677 356 586. We will get you where you need to be and get you the help you need.
Your insurance policy number is 21394569. You can find your insurance documents here.
Click here for our packing suggestions for a guided bike tour.
In order to ensure that there is enough space for everyone to travel comfortably in the van, we ask that you bring only one standard hold luggage size suitcase and one rucksack per person.
Please be aware that Spaniards follow a very particular routine in terms of their daily meals, and this is often strictly enforced by restaurant opening hours, especially in small towns!
You can expect restaurants to be open for lunch from approximately 1:30pm – 4pm. Remember that lunch is the main meal of the day in Spain.
Dinnertime in Spain is any time from 8pm onwards. Dinner in Spain is typically a lighter meal.
Monday, September 1st. Bilbao.
Arrival day
Accommodation: Hotel ABBA Euskalduna
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, laundry, garden
Meals included: Dinner
Welcome to Bilbao, and the start of your La Vuelta bike tour!
Arrival at leisure in Bilbao. You can check into the hotel from 3pm.
Today, we’ll enjoy some free time to get to know the charismatic city of Bilbao.
6:30pm: Welcome briefing and bike fitting at the hotel.
8:30pm: Dinner at the hotel
Click here for our Google Maps recommendations in Bilbao!
Bilbao’s most famous attraction, the Guggenheim Museum (open Tue – Sun, 10am – 7pm), needs to be top of your list, even if you only visit the external artworks that form part of this magnificent building! Take a selfie with “Puppy”, Jeff Koons’ colourful dog sculpture made from living flowers, “Maman”, Louise Bourgeois’ enormous spider sculpture, and Anish Kapoor’s “The tall tree and the eye”.
If classical art is more to your taste, don’t miss the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum (open Mon – Sat 10am – 8pm and Sun 10am – 3pm. Closed Tue), which exhibits pieces dating back to the 13th century and has an important collection of Basque art through the centuries.
For the best views in the city, take the cable car up Mt Artxanda, and enjoy a coffee or dinner with an amazing view at hilltop restaurant El Txakoli.
Football fans will love the museum and stadium tour at San Mamés, the brand-new home of Athletic Bilbao, the world’s only all-Basque football team!
Tuesday, September 2nd. Bilbao.
Route: 86.8 km/53.9 miles
Elevation: +1477 m/+4846 ft
Accommodation: Hotel ABBA Euskalduna
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, laundry, garden
Meals included: Breakfast
Our La Vuelta tour begins with a beautiful mixture of coast and mountain!
Following the Nervión River, we’ll glide past iconic city sights before the urban landscape gently gives way to open riverside paths and leafy promenades as you head towards Getxo, where we can admire the Puente Colgante, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest suspension bridge in the world.
In Algorta, take a moment to admire the charming old port and stunning views of the Bay of Biscay before continuing north along the coastline. The ride along the clifftops is nothing short of spectacular, with fresh sea breezes and sweeping ocean views accompanying us all the way to the beach in Plentzia.
From Plentzia, the route turns inland through the rolling green hills of the Basque countryside. We’ll pedal through peaceful rural stretches, passing through Elotza and climbing gently to Unbe-Mendi, where we’ll be rewarded with sweeping vistas.
The descent through Sondika leads us back toward the city and down to the riverside once more. From here, we’ll enjoy a relaxed final stretch along the river, gliding past the striking curves of the Guggenheim Museum, before arriving back at the hotel.
Wednesday, September 3rd. Bilbao.
Route: 74.8 km/46.5 miles
Elevation: +1395 m/+4677 ft
La Vuelta: Stage 11: Bilbao > Bilbao
Accommodation: Hotel ABBA Euskalduna
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, laundry, garden
Meals included: Breakfast
Today, we’ll be cycling the route of today’s Vuelta stage ahead of the pros!
The route takes us out of the city and climbs steadily into the heart of rural Bizkaia. Here, the roads narrow and the scenery opens wide—rolling farmland, stone hamlets, and old oak trees lining the route as you pass through sleepy rural villages.
A winding descent brings us gently back into Bilbao, in time to see off the peloton from the VIP start area!
After the peloton has set off, you have two choices: you can either come with us for an extra cycle route, or head to the VIP finish area to cheer on the riders at the end of the stage.
Thursday, September 4th. Oviedo
Route: 38.1 km/23.7 miles
Elevation: +1233 m/+4045 ft
La Vuelta: Stage 12: Laredo > Los Corrales de Buelna
Accommodation: Hotel Las Caldas
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, spa, gym, swimming pool, laundry
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Today we’ll leave the Basque Country behind, and explore the beautiful coastal region of Asturias.
We’ll travel into the spectacular Picos de Europa, where we’ll take on one of La Vuelta’s most legendary summit finishes: the Lagos de Covadonga!
We’ll finish the day with a group dinner at our luxurious hotel in Oviedo.
8:30pm: Dinner at the hotel
Friday, September 5th. Oviedo.
Route: 64 km/39.8 miles
Elevation: +1959 m/+6427 ft
La Vuelta: Stage 13: Cabezón de La Sal > L’Angliru
Accommodation: Hotel Las Caldas
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, spa, gym, swimming pool, laundry
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Today, we’ll tackle our very first summit finish of La Vuelta 2025: the fearsome L’Angliru! With a 13km climb and an average gradient of 9.7%, L’Angliru is one of La Vuelta’s most challenging summits. How will you fare compared with the pros?
8:30pm: Dinner at the hotel
Saturday, September 6th. León.
Route: 73.3 km/45.5 miles
Elevation: +3114 m/+10216 ft
La Vuelta: Stage 14: Avilés > Alto de Farrapona. Lagos de Somiedo
Accommodation: Hotel Conde Luna
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, laundry
Meals included: Breakfast and dinner
Today’s La Vuelta stage is another spectacular summit finish: the Alto de Farrapona, a beautiful mountain pass that marks the border between the regions of Asturias and León.
We’ll take on this challenging climb, and get our breath back with a glass of champagne in the VIP section at the finish line, while we wait for the peloton to arrive.
Next, we’ll travel by van to the historic city of León. Together, we’ll wander the narrow streets of the city’s old quarter and discover the spectacular Gothic cathedral, which boasts the most beautiful stained glass windows in all of Spain, and admire the Museo Casa Botines de Gaudí, a magnificent example of 20th-century Modernist architecture.
8:30pm: Dinner at Trastienda del 13.
Sunday, September 7th. Madrid
Route: 68.4 km/42.5 miles
Elevation: +1558 m/+5112 ft
Accommodation: Hotel Catalonia Goya
Hotel services: Restaurant, bar, gym, swimming pool, laundry
Meals included: Breakfast
Today, we’ll head to Madrid, where our tour finishes – but not before taking on one more legendary La Vuelta climb!
We’ll end our tour in style with a cycling route from Navacerrada and La Bola del Mundo, which will see the finish of the decisive penultimate stage of La Vuelta in just a few days time. From here, we’ll travel by van to hour hotel in Madrid and celebrate the last night of our tour in Spain’s charismatic capital.
Monday, September 8th
Departure day
Meals included: Breakfast
After breakfast, our services will come to an end.
We hope that you had a wonderful La Vuelta experience with us!
