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This bicycle tour of Andalusia offers you a fascinating insight into the incredible beauty and intriguing history of this part of southern Spain. Enjoy challenging bike rides through spectacular scenery, pedalling your way from hotel to hotel at your own pace.
On this route, you will cycle along smaller country roads and paths, with a backdrop of the stunning Sierra Subbética mountain range. This awe-inspiring landscape of rolling countryside and traditional pueblos blancos (white villages) gives you a glimpse into the quintessential Andalusia.
Experience the wonders and charm of open skies, country paths that curve their way past tranquil olive groves, and the sight of shepherds guiding flocks into quiet town centres, where residents stroll in the late afternoon sun and gather on benches to discuss the day’s events.
You’ll stay in small, charming hotels in picturesque Andalusian villages. This is the perfect opportunity to experience traditional Andalusian cuisine, paired with excellent wines.
Day 1: Lucena
Arrival Day
Accommodation: Hotel Santo Domingo
Welcome to Andalusia and the start of an amazing tour!
Arrival at leisure in Lucena. The town is 60 km from Cordoba and 85 km from Malaga. There is also good access to Granada, Seville and Jaen. Please consult with our Bike Spain Tours team if you need any assistance in organising your transfers to Lucena.
This afternoon, enjoy a walk in Lucena and discover the Gothic-Renaissance church of San Mateo, from the 15th-16th centuries, with one of the most beautiful Baroque sacrariums in Andalusia. You can also visit the castle and old palace of Medinaceli, the house of the Count of Santa Ana, and the house of Rico de Rueda. Lucena was also home of one of the biggest Jewish communities established and achieved such outstanding reputation that it was known as the Pearl of Sepharad. The beautiful city offers to its visitors history and heritage, as well as impressive surroundings.
Your accommodation tonight is a repurposed 18th-century convent, full of local character and charm – the perfect place to begin your adventure!
Tonight’s dinner at the hotel is included in your tour package. Please advise reception of your preferred dinner time upon arrival.
Day 2: Lucena – Zuheros
Route: 38 km/23.9 miles
Elevation: +690 m/2264 ft
Accommodation: Hotel Zuhayra
After breakfast, we’ll begin pedalling through classic Andalusian countryside, over rolling hills covered with endless olive trees and vineyards. Once we pass the town of Cabra, we will continue along a peaceful greenway biking path, a former railway line once used to transport trains full of olive oil from Andalusia to the rest of Spain. Our destination for today is the charming medieval Moorish village of Zuheros, a striking example of beautiful Andalusian architecture, nestled in the Sierra Subbética mountain range.
Zuheros retains the traditional architectural style of white houses with ochre roofs, and is set at the foot of a historic Moorish castle, where we highly recommend a stop, as it is the Local History Museum, which has some archaeological finds from Murciélagos Cave on display. A visit to this cave is a must – it is a natural opening running into the mountainside, inhabited as far back as the Neolithic period. It is 4 kilometres away from the village. Apart from the cave paintings inside, there is also a stunning view of the region from its entrance. The cave is uphill, and accessible by bike for the most courageous ones or by taxi from the hotel.
At the end of the day, savor your 3 course dinner at the hotel, prepared with local ingredients. This magical atmosphere may just tempt you to stay an extra day!
Day 3: Zuheros – Priego de Córdoba
Route: 49.1 km/30.5 miles
Elevation: +863 m/2844 ft
Accommodation: Hotel Patria Chica
Today, you will enjoy a day of cycling through dramatic landscapes in direction of Carcabuey, pretty typical white village on your way to your next destination: Priego de Cordoba.
This afternoon, take some time to wander in this romantic and typical Andalusia village set in the circle of mountains of the Natural Park of Las Sierras Subbéticas. This is one of the stops not to be missed on the Caliphate Route, the European Cultural Tour crossing Andalusia from Córdoba to Granada. We recommend a walk to the amazing fountain, more than 100 years old, through the various baroque churches and a visit to the castle just behind your hotel and accessible by the impressive Adarve balcony. The lookout is also an amazing spot to enjoy sunrise!
Before dinner, enjoy a relaxing moment in the arab baths of the hotel with a good massage to relax your soul and body.
Tonight, dinner is not included. We can recommend for tonight the restaurant Balcón del Adarve or the Asador La Muralla, both located close to the hotel. Priego’s cuisine, made with olive oil with its own Denomination of Origin, completes this perfect day.
Day 4: Priego de Córdoba – Iznájar
Route: 31.7 km/19.7 miles
Elevation: +528 m/1792 ft
Accommodation: Hotel Caserío de Iznájar
Today you will enjoy a beautiful cycle route through the Natural Park of Sierra Subbética, riding through endless olive trees and along quiet roads that curve through the mountains as you bike south towards the valley of the river Genil. Your destination for today, Iznájar, is a gem of traditional Andalusian architecture: a maze of narrow streets and whitewashed buildings, perched on a hill overlooking the impressive reservoir of the same name.
Our route takes us up into the town to explore the winding streets and enjoy the fabulous views, before heading back down to our hotel, located just outside town beside the reservoir.
Enjoy an afternoon by the hotel pool, with amazing views over Iznájar reservoir.
Tonight’s dinner at the hotel is included in your tour package. Please advise reception of your preferred dinner time upon arrival.
Day 5: Iznájar – Loja
Route: 47 km/29.4 miles
Elevation: +1100 m/3574 ft
Accommodation: La Bobadilla, a Royal Hideaway Hotel
Today’s ride takes you through beautiful traditional villages, against a background of mountains and endless olive groves. Everywhere, the air is scented with aniseed, thanks to the numerous traditional aniseed distilleries that made the area famous.
Your destination for tonight is La Bobadilla, renowned as one of the best hotels in Spain! A luxurious 5* hotel set in beautiful grounds, La Bobadilla is a small pueblo blanco in itself. Spend the afternoon enjoying the hotel facilities: relax at the spa, take a dip in the outdoor pool (open April – October), or play a game of tennis, badminton or basketball.
Tonight, dinner is not included – you can choose between La Bobadilla’s three in-house restaurants, one of which – La Finca – has been awarded a Michelin star.
Note: Hotel La Bobadilla is open 13th March – 7th November 2024. In the event that your trip falls outside this time frame, you will stay at Hotel Rural La Paloma.
Day 6: Loja – Antequera
Route: 43 km/26.7 miles
Elevation: +500 m/+1629 feet
Accommodation: Parador of Antequera
Your final cycle route takes you along quiet country roads through the foothills of the Sierra Subbética, passing through olive groves and meadows, and through the medieval frontier town of Archidona, a stage start line for this year’s La Vuelta a España. We recommend a quick stop here to visit the hilltop Moorish fortress. The route is largely downhill, allowing you to enjoy a relaxed ride into your final destination: Antequera.
The city of Antequera dates back to time immemorial, to the extent that even the Romans named it “Antikaria”, meaning “ancient”! The city’s Bronze Age dolmens have been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the patchwork of streets reflect the many different eras and cultures that have left their mark in the city over the centuries. The city is surrounded by mountains, of which the most famous is the Peña de los Enamorados (Lovers’ Peak), the base of many local myths and legends.
Dinner tonight is not included. The restaurant at the hilltop Parador de Antequera offers delicious local gastronomy with fabulous views.
Day 7: Antequera
Departure Day
After breakfast, our tour will come to an end.
We hope you had a great time discovering the traditional white villages of Andalusia.
If you need any help with your onward plans, please feel free to contact our Bike Spain Tours team!
Hotel Santo Domingo
An Santo Domingo is set in the heart of the historic Andalusian town of Lucena.
The building was once a convent, and still has a beautiful 18th-Century cloister. Lucena has a famous Mudejar church and a Moorish castle.
Hotel Zuhayra
Small rural hotel with charm located in the town of Zuheros.
Zuheros is one of the most picturesque villages of Andalusia, whose sinuous route reveals its medieval origin, in the Natural Park and next to the Subbetic Greenway.
Hotel Patria Chica
Hotel Patria Chica wants to offer you that moment and provide you a unique experience, far from overcrowded places.
How about a journey through time? A stay at this hotel-museum allows you to discover unrepeatable cultural moment of this lovely town. It’s a journey through the history, culture and customs of rural Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. Relax, discover and recover are the key words for this unique overnight location.
Hotel Caserío de Iznájar
The Hotel Caserío de Iznájar rises impressively from the largest lake in Andalucía, the Iznájar reservoir.
Surrounded by nature, it offers visitors a unique experience, combining the tranquility of the lake and the beauty of the Sierras Subbéticas Natural Park.
La Bobadilla, a Royal Hideaway Hotel
The hotel boasts big luxurious rooms, 3 restaurants and a large outdoor pool.
Set in its own 350-hectare estate, the luxurious Barcelo La Bobadilla resembles a Moorish village of white-walled buildings with tile roofs and patios evoking the different cultures that have left their mark on Andalusia.
Parador de Antequera
If there is one Parador that breaks with the trend of historic buildings and acts as a symbol of modernity, it is the Parador de Antequera.
Enormous windows allow the light to flood every corner and offer views of the magnificent landscape of Andalusia, with gorgeous sunsets over the Antequera plain and rocky formations known as the Peña de los Enamorados.
1.150,00€ – 1.350,00€
Discover the typical villages of Andalusia at your own pace with this amazing self guided bike tour.
Availability on request all year around. Start any day of the week.
Not Included
*Coverage to guarantee a safe trip. An indispensable travelling companion provided by BIKE SPAIN TOURS for our clients. Nevertheless, we ask you to review the limited amount of such coverage included in our insurance, and to confirm with your insurer that you are adequately covered in any event.
| Any day of | March 15th to Nov 4th, Nov 5th to March 14th |
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We have cycled with Bike Spain before and consider you to be an excellent tour company that works very hard to ensure the clients have a wonderful time. Communication is very easy. Quality of accommodations marvelous. Excellent bikes. Extra transportation arrangements definitely appreciated! Rated a 10, we especially enjoyed the customization we had for our stay at La Bobadilla.
E-bike definitely required for this trip, or at least, if you’re older even if relatively fit, they make it so much easier to enjoy the ride.
Overall we were quite pleased. I hope to ride with you again!
For everything that was included and the quality of the hotels the price was reasonable. The GPS routes didn’t lead directly to the hotels and a couple of days there were some pretty treacherous bad descents on poor quality roads. Otherwise the routes, locations and overall trip was amazing
The bicycle was in good shape with all the necessary tools and equipment. It provided a smooth and comfortable ride.
In general, we were very happy with our experience and with the service provided by Bikespain.
Having made it from Ronda to Finca Cortesin was a great feat for us, and we are very proud to be able to have accomplished it. I loved the smells in the routes around Bobadilla, there is some wild yellow flower that had a vanilla-like perfume that was delicious, aside from the Olive oil pressing mills we biked around. Ronda is spectacular, I am glad we took an afternoon off just to walk around the city. What we enjoyed the most was the change in scenarios between the regions, it never got boring.
Just wanted to thank you for helping us plan our self guided trip in Andalusia. We had to trim it down a little because of our schedule but it was a great time and we are so glad we were able to do some riding in such a beautiful area.
