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Catalunya moto offroad
Early Summer Adventure - Options:
5-day Fly/Moto/Fly | 10 day Bike/Moto/Bike
Trip Outline
Back to Catalunya for a 3/4 day experience offroad on Honda CRF250L trails bikes.
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Catalan Adventures is based close to the riverside town of Mora d'Ebre in southern Catalunya. They provide offroad adventures pitched at all levels of skill, but with a special focus on introducing bikers to trail riding.
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Honda CRF250Ls are ideally suited to this terrain, and as relatively low-powered but really tough bikes, are great for inexperienced green-laners to gain skills and confidence quickly on loose ground.
The focus of the trip is three days trail riding in Catalunya, sandwiched by either a bike road trip to get there and return; or otherwise to leave our bikes at home and instead, fly to Spain. Reus is the closest airport, Barcelona next closest.
However we travel, we'll stay for 4 nights at Catalan Adventures' delightful, luxury apartment in Mora d'Ebre, which will give us three full days moto.
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Adventure Option 1: 10-day Bike/Bike trip:
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We will take the fast-ferry outward from Portsmouth to Cherbourg which takes just 3 hours, arriving late morning. On arrival, we will trace a route through the length of France, across the Pyrénées into Spain, onward to Catalan Adventures' Base Camp at Mora d'Ebre, not far from Barcelona. The return trip follows a similar but alternative, and slightly shorter route back across Spain and France to the Channel port of St.Malo for an overnight ferry home to Portsmouth.
Adventure Option 2: 5-day Fly/Bike/Fly trip:
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We fly out from the UK to Reus in Spain, transferring to the finca at Catalan Adventures' base at Mora d'Ebre for 4 nights, giving the same, three full days moto. We return home the same way.
Option 1 Itinerary: Through France and Spain to Catalunya
Days 1 to 4 - Outward Road-Trip
The outward trip takes early morning 'fast-ferry 'Liberation' from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, and after disembarkation, our ride works south through France and into Spain to Mora d'Ebre to check in to accommodation at 'Catalan Adventures'.
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Day 1 (eg: Sunday 26th May 2024):
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Depart Portsmouth 07:00 Friday morning aboard Condor (Brittany) Ferries fast-ferry to arrive in Cherbourg at 11:00 local time.
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Cherbourg -> Nantes - 320km; After clearing through customs and port control, head south to the maritime city of Nantes on the banks of the River Loire for an overnight stop.
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D​ay 2:
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Nantes -> Bordeaux - 315km; A long day's cruise due south to cross the River Gironde at Royan to arrive in Bordeaux, with time left to explore the amazing WW2 U-boat museum and art gallery.
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Day 3:
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Bordeaux -> Jaca - 303km; Further south, we race across the flatlands of Landes before climbing steeply into the Pyrénées to either the Col de Somport, or through the tunnel beneath it. Now in Spain, we cruise downhill to our old friend, Jaca .
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Day 4:
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Jaca -> Mora d'Ebre - 258km; From Jaca, we'll enjoy at least a brief ride along the legendary N260 again to Ainsa, before heading south across the Plains of Aragon to arrive at Mora d'Ebre mid-afternoon to check in to our Catalan Adventures HQ for the following four days.
'Liberation'
Nantes, riverfront to the Loire
Bassins des Lumieres, Bordeaux
Ainsa
Days 8 to 11 - Return Road-Trip
Days 8, 9, 10 (eg: Tuesday 4th June):
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After three days sliding around the Catalan 'outback', we'll head back north towards the Channel coast and a ferry home to Portsmouth. We'll trace an alternative, but similar route to the outward ride, taking in two overnight stops on the way back, venues to be confirmed but possibly, to Tarbes (340km), just on the French side of the Pyrénées, then La Rochelle (432km) on the Biscay coast, arriving at St.Malo in Brittany (320km) for a night ferry home. All quite long rides but we've done it before!
Option 2 Itinerary: Fly UK to Catalunya and back
Days 1 & 5:
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The closest airport in Spain to Catalan Adventures' HQ is Reus (commonly referred to as Barcelona Reus), which by bus, is about a 45 minute ride. Direct flights from London Gatwick to Reus are operated by Vueling outward Wednesdays, return Sundays, with a return fare of about £230. Ryanair fly Birmingham to Reus on Mondays and Wednesdays, or daily to Reus from London Stanstead.
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The only realistic alternative is to fly in to Barcelona itself, which is connected to Mora la Nova by high speed train to Tarragona followed by regional train onward to Mora la Nova - total journey time approx 2 hours. Mora d'Ebre is 2km from Mora la Nova on the other side of the River Ebre.
Catalan Adventures motos offroad
Days 5 to 8
Catalan Adventures has established a base above the river town of Mora d'Ebre and provides a small fleet of Honda CRF250L bikes to rent. They offer a special deals to those who also book accommodation in their delightful converted 'finca', where we'll stay for the five nights we're here. Their Base Camp is located in the high countryside above the Rio Ebre valley. The Ebre rises far away in the Picos Tres Mares mountains of Cantabria in the far north of Spain to flow 980km in an almost entirely south-easterly direction to its Mediterranean delta near the ancient roman city of Tarragona in Catalunya.
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As experts in teaching offroad skills together with being highly knowledgeable about all the best trails in the region, taking their additional service of a tutor/guide will be an essential part of this adventure. We'll plan for three days offroad riding with a day off the bikes at the end for a bit of a rest before the trip home.
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Check out the Catalan Adventures, and their dedicated Moto Rental webpages for all the info, and watch a short video clip here to introduce the experience.
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There's loads of other stuff to do in the area too - via ferrata Patacons for example, so if we can squeeze an additional day or two in the area, what an amazing way to add to an already terrific trip.
Via ferratas Patacons
Miravet on the Rio Ebro, close to Mora d'Ebre
