Cycling Spain’s Land of the Conquistadors
6 nights from €1205
4.56Explore UNESCO sites and the diverse landscapes throughout Extremadura
This unique tour cycles from Parador to Parador in Extremadura, west Spain. This tour features luxury hotels with a focus on historic buildings such as restored palaces, monasteries, or castles.
The route starts in the old castle of Oropesa and takes you through the south side of the Gredos Mountains in the La Vera region, a place rich in agriculture. You will get to cycle to three beautiful old cities: Plasencia, Trujillo, and Caceres, traveling along Monfrague National Park, famous for its spectacular bird life. Extremadura is the land of the Spanish Conquistadors that grew in wealth from the conquest of South America.
If you are interested in a guided experience, please contact us for details and pricing.
Daily Program
Day 1: Oropesa
Oropesa is easily reached by train from Madrid (1 hour and 40 minutes).
Overnight in Oropesa
Day 2: Oropesa to Jarandilla de la Vera
42 mi/67 km
Today you will cycle on flat land amongst typical Mediterranean woodland towards the foothills of the Sierra del Gredos.
Overnight in Jarandilla de la Vera
Day 3: Jarandilla de la Vera to Plasencia
42 mi/67 km
An easy cycle through lovely countryside takes us to the historic town of Plasencia with its beautiful cathedral and old center.
Overnight in Plasencia
Day 4: Plasencia to National Park of Monfragüe
26 mi/41 km
Today you begin the day cycling south towards the Tajo River. As you enter the National Park of Monfragüe, watch its famous bird life. On the way, you will enjoy the landscape of grazing land with holy oaks and cork trees. The landscape is dotted with large farms that are dedicated to raising wild bulls and the famous black “iberico” pig.
Overnight in Monfragüe
Day 5: Monfragüe to Trujillo
30 mi/48 km
Another cycle through Mediterranean woodland to reach Trujillo. Trujillo is one of the areas most important historic and cultural towns and is certainly one of Spain's finest gems. The walled hilltop town, which overlooks the countryside dates back to 600 BC.
Overnight in Trujillo
Day 6: Trujillo to Cáceres
34 mi/55 km
The last day of cycling gives you a last chance to explore this beautiful landscape, crossing little villages along the way to reach the historic city of Cáceres. Strolling along the narrow cobble stone streets of the old city center, having a drink in one of its small old taverns, and enjoying a terrace in one of its plazas are all great ways to end your holiday.
Overnight in Cáceres
Day 7: Departure
Departure from Cáceres or extra nights.
Hotels
These are sample hotels and may vary based on availability.
The accommodations on this tour are mostly Paradors. Paradors are a semi Estate owned chain of high-end hotels that offer superb service. Their uniqueness lies in the fact that they are all placed in renovated, historic buildings such as palaces, castles or convents. One of the accommodations is a restored traditional country farmhouse.
Oropesa: Parador de Oropesa
Jarandilla de la Vera: Parador de Jarandilla de la Vera
Plasencia: Parador de Plasencia
Monfrague: Palacio Viejo de las Corchuelas
Trujillo: Parador de Trujillo
Cáceres: Parador de Cáceres
Interested in visiting other areas before or after your tour? Visit our hotels page to learn more about lodging options.
Bikes
Standard touring bike
Designed to withstand heavy loads and provide high safety and comfort even after long hours of riding in the saddle, these adventure bikes will serve you well both on and off-road.
Electric bike
Not every type of electric bike is suitable to use in a cycling tour. Most e-bikes are actually designed for city cycling rather than long distances routes.
Experience allows us to choose e-bikes with the most suitable features for touring: reliability, simple operation, long battery life and short charge time.
*More about electrically-assisted bikes >
Accessories
Each bike is equipped with the following at no additional charge:
- Rack and one rear saddle bag
- Mudguards
- Bottle holder
- Odometer*
- Waterproof map-holder and stand
- Helmet
- Repair kit, pump, spare inner-tube, multi-tool (1 per room)
- Lock
- (*Not provided on routes with digital navigation kit only)
Bike Protection:
Bike protection can be purchased at the time of booking. You can read more about that HERE.
Pedals:
The bikes will have flat pedals. You are welcome to bring your own pedals, but please also bring your own shoes and necessary equipment to change the pedals.
Helmets:
Although a bike helmet is included with rental, we recommend for safety and hygiene reasons that you bring your own helmet.
Surface and terrain
The tour has very reasonable length cycling days. Most of the cycling is done through relatively flat terrain on tarmac roads, although there are some climbs.
Tarmac: 99%. Cycle track: 1%.
How to get there
Tour start
Nearest airport: Madrid-Barajas airport
Nearest train station: Madrid
To reach the tour start, you can take a train from Madrid train station to Oropesa train station, 2 kms from the Parador. There are 5 trains a day which take approximately 2 hours and cost about €15.
Tour end
Nearest airport: Madrid-Barajas airport
Nearest train station: Cáceres
At the tours's end, you can take a train from Cáceres to Madrid. There are 5 trains a day, and the trip lasts about 4 hours and costs about €30.
Tips on getting to and from your tour
Reviews
- ★★★★★ John Saunders
Great way to see unique part of Spain
Bike delivery from Augustine was perfect, Paradors were great, typical Spanish breakfast was plentiful, map details were accurate, routes were all on roads which were for the most part low traffic but most all had an adequate shoulder. The local operator was very helpful to get us transported to the next Parador on a rainy day. Some moderate climbs, so some cycling experience would be advised. We did it at the beginning of October so cooler nights and warm days but not hot.
- ★★★★★ Miguel7844
Amazing Cycling Experience
What a great trip! Just imagine staying in old castles as lodging and cycling from one castle to another going past ancient rivers and seeing condors fly right above you. That’s what you have in this trip. The cycling was challenging enough to keep myself engaged as an avid cyclist. The best part if this trip was going thru small towns and cycling in a part of Spain that isn’t talked about enough. Extremadura is an amazing place to visit!!!
- What was the date of your tour?
- October 5, 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 2
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ DRC1
Great intro to Extremadura
An area with tons of sites and (relatively) little visited. Can you say Juradilla de la Vera? The Paradors are outstanding. Only down side of trip is that it involves a substantial amount of blacktop. Plus side of that is that it is usually lightly trafficked. We had ebikes and grateful we did because some of the days are long and with a difficulty greater than I would have otherwise enjoyed. The bikes were first rate, German built with Bosch drives. Can’t comment on support because we needed none.
- What was the date of your tour?
- Sept/Oct 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 10
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers, Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ CJ4EY
Fabulous Paradors - Challenging Cyclying
We really enjoyed the Paradors as each one is historical and unique. The biking is through rural countryside and is very pretty, and the temperatures in March were perfect. The directions provided by the tour company were outstanding! The surface of the trip is along asphalt roads, but I think it should be noted that the terrain is very hilly. The only flat section of the trip is the first half of the first cycling day and last cycling day. Otherwise, you’re climbing or descending, and since descending is much faster, you’re spending most of your days climbing. It was our 8th trip and definitely the most challenging. Another aspect of the trip is there is a lot of traffic passing at high speeds. While most of drivers are courteous in the amount of space given, if you’re accustomed of cycling without traffic, it can be very disconcerting. It a lovely trip, but I think the surface and terrain need to be disclosed.
- What was the date of your tour?
- March 2019
- How many tours have you completed?
- 8
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Much harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- No
- ★★★★★ Brad2008
very nice lodging and service
Great places to stay and eat. Great service. It was definitely hilly but beautful.
- What was the date of your tour?
- November 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 15
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ ned75
Two small issues. When we arrived at Oropresa (TO) the printed material told us to ring the Paradore to organize a taxi. Unfortunately the reception did not speak English (only in this Paradore) and we could not get an answer (after they hung up they did not answer the phone any more). Good thing that the station master spoke English and gave us the Taxi number whihc is 670841586. We suggest that the tour operator changes his instructions and tells people to ring the taxi directly.
also unfortunately the second day is on a very busy road but the rest is ok
- What was the date of your tour?
- October
- How many tours have you completed?
- three
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ Amy M
Unbelievably Amazing
My husband and I took this self-guided tour in mid-June. It was the fourth trip booked through biketours. Despite hot weather (above 90 degrees farenheit every day) and elevation profiles that were definitely a bit more than anticipated, we loved this tour. The route was interesting, with lots to see. The Paradors were some of the nicest, most comfortable hotels I have stayed in as part of a cycling tour. The bikes were in good working order, and we didn't need assistance. The only thing to keep in mind is that Extremadura shuts down on Sundays, and services, especially groceries, are hard to come by. With the help of biketours and the local company, we booked a second night in the Monfrague National Park, which provided a much-needed day off the saddle, and the opportunity to take a bird watching tour with Monfrague Vivo. The trip was definitely an experience we won't soon forget!
- What was the date of your tour?
- June 14-20, 2018
- How many tours have you completed?
- 4
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ Long legs
Challenging and wonderful!
To be in the Extremadura on a bike was a dream. Many hills but wonderful rewards. A lot of beautiful solitude in varied remote and rural landscapes.
- What was the date of your tour?
- 5/12/18
- How many tours have you completed?
- 3
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Solo travelers
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
- ★★★★★ Big Wave Dave
A Beautiful Ride With Great Accommodations
This was our tenth self-directed tours with BikeTours.com and was one of the best. The seven of us - three quite fit mid-sixties and four thirty-somethings - had a fun time exploring the very pretty countryside and ancient towns. The Paradors were spectacular - the best accommodations we've had on a trip. The rides were challenging with a good bit of ups and downs. The bikes were relatively new and in good shape. As usually happens, we had a couple of mechanical challenges, but the support team was excellent and made the issues into an adventure rather than a detriment.
- What was the date of your tour?
- May 2016
- How many tours have you completed?
- 11
- Difficulty (actual vs. expected)?
- Somewhat harder
- Who is this tour suitable for?
- Families with teens
- Do you recommend this tour?
- Yes
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