Freewheeling in Catalonia

A most enjoyable trip in very pretty countryside with many interesting villages contrasting well with the historic town of Girona and then a further contrast of a night at the Med.

The accommodations were equally good and contrasting .El Ferres felt very Catalan and the food quite rustic.Can Garay very stylishly Art Deco with a lovely garden .Hotel Historic was a very old building right in the heart of Girona and beautifully renovated.Hotel S’Agaro a typical beach hotel situated on the seafront in a lovely quiet bay.

The cycling was in the main easy especially on the Via Verde - much of this was quiet and v scenic except on the last day as we approached the coast which was a bit more built up .We particularly enjoyed cycling around Joanetes on day one and two and explored an area to the North as far as Riudaura which was a lovely small town 

The food was v good everywhere In particular we had great meals at Ca La Matilda in Sant Feliu de Pallerols.and Restaurant Barca at Bescano.We ate at the Hotel s’Agaro the last night and it was excellent and well priced.

Well chosen accommodation in a beautiful area. The cycling routes were most enjoyable particularly being mostly traffic free. Would thoroughly recommend extra night(s) in S'Agaro where there is some lovely coastal walking.

A great introduction to Cycling Holidays Inntravel style. Easy riding, wonderful traffic free Via Verde cycle route, interesting landscape, lovely hotels, great food with plenty of choice at non-dinner Hotels. A great example of Life Lived Slowly.

Superb varied cycling from mountains to the sea. Superb restaurant near Mas Ferrés for lunch on arrival - Restaurant Fonda Barris at Joanetes. Only 10 minutes-walk.

The cycling on this holiday was a delight taking place mostly on a wonderful traffic free, smooth, gently inclining old railway track, via verdi. We didn’t really need electric bikes although the extra speed meant we had more time (and energy) to explore. The Catalonian countryside was green and varied and the people friendly and helpful. There was plenty of evidence of their fierce independence. The Mediterranean at the end gave a final luxury.

A thoroughly enjoyable trip, very easy even for inexperienced cyclists, with typically varied accommodation. Inntravel's efficiency again very much in evidence. 

Maps/Directions - the directions for the most part were excellent. However the ones for Hotel Historic were confusing and unclear. We got thoroughly lost along with other cycling people.

Accommodation - all the hotels were good but the one that stands out is the one in Can Garay, the room was spacious and bed comfortable. The hosts were very hospitable and gracious. Having a pool in Joannetes was great after all the cycling we did.

Food at the hotels - Joannetes Farm- food was terrible. Can Garay - excellent food breakfast and dinner, restaurant type quality. cannot say enough about this. Hotel Historic - breakfast very good.

S'Agaro - breakfast good.

This was a really successful cycling holiday for us. The travel and accommodation worked perfectly, but it was the route that was the real highlight: everything from volcanoes in picturesque Garrotxa to trendy vermouth bars in Girona. A wonderful break. I would thoroughly recommend it.

First time with Inntravel and very impressed, looking at further trips with them.

Great experience, scenery was amazing, especially in the first half of the week.  Lovely part of the world, really off the beaten track. Very friendly people throughout.

Trip notes on the whole were good, the riding on the roads was minimal and very quiet, and the vias verdes were in good condition. 

Accommodation was varied and comfortable, all with their own unique style.  Bikes (including an ebike) were all very suitable to the task. Some hills in the first few days had to be walked (not the bike's fault!!), however this did not deter from our enjoyment. 

Would thoroughly recommend.

The last two restaurants we visited (SanBo in Girona, and La Taverna Del Mar in S'Agaro) were both excellent, and well worth a recommendation to future travellers

Some of the circular rides were quite challenging for Grade 1 due to the number of hills. Preferred the scenery in the first half of the week to the second. Hotel Historic was a brilliant hotel and such a good location. Worth taking a change of clothing with you on the bike as the cases aren’t always delivered by the time you arrive at the hotel.

A great experience for the  6 of us. Really the  best way to explore the Catalonia countryside. All accommodation was generous and friendly. Plenty of waterholes along the way which were necessary in the hot conditions experienced this week. I recommend this trip to anyone! 

Use the GPX app as a backup when you get lost. Avoid festival times as many towns are completely shut down. 

Lovely scenery, via verde is very good, lots of good places to eat and drink on route. We did not cycle 2nd day in girona as we would have been too tired and not have had enough time to explore the city.

This was another memorable Inntravel holiday which we really enjoyed despite some variable weather. It was great to experience so much variety as we made our way slowly downhill from the volcanic mountains to the sea. We were lucky to arrive in Girona at the end of their stunning flower festival and the sun came out for our last few days at the coast.

We loved Llafranc [Sarah added a stay at the Hotel Terramar in Llafranc at the end of her holiday], a great hotel and we're very glad we added the extra days here. Swimming in the Mediterranean in May was a particular highlight.

We were also pleased to have travelled all the way to Spain by train rather than flying. This was a really scenic route which was surprisingly simple, and we will be hoping to do the same for future holidays.

Once again Inntravel has supplied a memorable cycling holiday, this time in Catalonia. The planning and execution all went very smoothly and amounted to a delightful four sunny days in rural Catalonia followed by a most welcome walking break in Girona which was completely new to us and a lovely city which luckily for us was hosting a flower festival while we were there. Our visit terminated in a trip to S’Agaro on the Mediterranean and a night in a 4* hotel where the service was excellent. 

We flew to Girona (have to say I much preferred using European rail travel on our previous trip but at least flying is speedy) and from the airport it was quick and easy to get the shuttle bus into Girona city where the shuttle linked to the overland bus out to the town of Olot. There we were met by a very friendly and welcoming taxi driver who took us on the 15 minute ride to Joanetes.  We had a slight “moment” discovering that our “pidgin” Spanish was unintelligible as most locals seem to speak Catalan so we did struggle a tad to work out the orientation of the bus station in relation to the Tourist Information office but got there in the end and our driver was on the lookout for us.

Over the week we had three varied experiences of life Catalonian. The first couple of nights in the auberge in Joanetes was right out in the country and a refreshing change for us city folk. Carme, our host, was very welcoming, the room in Can Ferres was comfortable and the food was delicious. Dinner the first night was a tasty thin chicken soup chock full of pasta, followed by a generous salad with lovely local bread and finally the meat course - a wonderful local sausage similar to a Cumberland sausage. The meal was finished off with yummy desserts, coffee and “Ratafia”, a local “digestif” which tasted quite aniseedy. My husband enjoyed the local red wine which sadly I could only sniff being tannin intolerant. Only criticism here was that Carme seemed to be running the place single handed so on our early return from cycling, we were left to our own devices for quite some time without refreshments but we could at least enjoy the sunny garden.

The cycles were, as with our previous Inntravel holiday, good for the terrain and a good fit for us. Route directions for our tour were on the whole really good (a couple of minor ambiguities) and took us to some lovely places too numerous to comment on individually. We laughed when we got home and looked at the Inntravel brochure again as all the photos advertising the holiday were now on our cameras too along with a million others. It was hard not to keep stopping to take photos. Beautiful scenery!

The stay at the Hotel can Garay was fantastic. A beautifully restored Art Nouveau country house set in lovely gardens. Again the food was lovely and it’s a good thing we were cycling the excess calories off!  The second day in Les Planas d’Hostoles took us to a set of falls which we decided Americans would describe as “awesome”! The vegetation around the falls had been petrified by the mineral rich water into structures that appeared quite alien. Apparently a good area for newts too but we didn’t see any.

Carrying on that day we made the rookie mistake of forgetting which side of the quiet country road we should be on and the two of us separately thought the oncoming car was playing with us. Luckily for us the driver realised we were there!!! Shouldn’t laugh but we were in stitches when we realised we’d both assumed he was on the wrong side until after the event when I said to my other half: “Are we on the right side?” Poor driver probably had a heart attack.

Girona was a fascinating city to wander around steeped in history with ancient and medieval quarters, the Jewish quarter being particularly interesting and I’d recommend a visit there to anyone, cyclist or otherwise. Being a relatively small city, it is easy to get about and find points of interest. The flower festival that was on while we were there really did enhance the bridges, churches and steps of the city and we were also able to take in a free musical event in the main city square. The museum of cinema and the museum of art are both well worth a visit.  The hotel was a great central location but the price was a lot of street noise.

The last part of our trip was the largely downhill ride to the coast. By then the weather had slightly turned and was a bit drizzly which made the sandy tracks quite hard work to cycle through but as we were in no hurry, we could just take our time. That part of the country was less lush and verdant as it became more Mediterranean and the trees changed. We did meet some very friendly cyclists of all nationalities along the way.

Thanks again, Inntravel, for a great holiday!

Highlights:

1. Visiting hidden gem of courtyard buildings at Sant Privat d'en Bas.

2. Experiencing the Art Nouveau splendour of Can Garay complete with both period and contemporary features.

The highlights were unexpected, (in a good way!) like when we dropped down off the ViaVerde to check out Amer to find the plaza teeming with activity...a festival of music and dancing, costumed 'giants'.  When we arrived in Girona, a 'human chain' of  'solidarity' was happening... Olot is an amazing city; rather confusing in its lay-out.  As it is the first place to visit, updated info and suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you Inntravel for a wonderful and varied holiday. The staff were so helpful arranging something suitable for septuagenarians who are no longer as fit as they once were! We particularly enjoyed the countryside and cycling to the north of Amer. The country roads were so quiet and easy to cycle on.... we preferred them to the Via Verde which was sometimes busier and could be more difficult because of the sand.

We loved this trip. There was an incredible variety of landscape, starting with stunning mountain views, through deeply rural/agricultural areas of sunflower and sweetcorn crops, followed by the stunning city of Girona, and culminating in the magnificent sea views on the Cost Brava. Our lunch stops were fantastic - who could resist a 3/4 course meal of traditional Catalonian food including a bottle of wine for 10 Euros a head! Most places dealt magnificently with our vegetarian diet. The hotel at Les Planes was a stunning piece of architecture - beautifully decorated in period style. We particularly enjoyed swimming in the waterfall at Cogolls and walking the walls in Girona, and the sea view at Hotel S'Agora.

We had highlights every day - which to choose!? Fantastic cooking at Mas el Ferres, the El Tura festival (with giants) in Olot - we just caught the end of it on the 11th, eating under the (LED) stars in the garden at Can Garay, Gorga de Santa Margarida on the way out of Les Planes, exploring 'Girona by gaslight' or the dip in the Med after a hot & dusty trail into S'Agaro? Too difficult!

A really well planned exploration of a fascinating and beautiful region. Cycling is mainly on the Via Verda and therefore traffic free, but the roads are very quiet and cars are considerate and give you plenty of space. We found the restaurant recommendations provided in the notes to be well worth following. All in all, a wonderful holiday.