Away from the Crowds

Reviews

Peñiscola is a great place to finish a ride and relax for a few days.

I had a great time cycling in Valencia and met up with my partner in Peñiscola to spend a few extra days.

As with my previous experience with AFTC the route was well thought out and the difficulty level was as described.

The hotels were all excellent and bike delivery and pick ups went without a hitch.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cycling in Valencia and from the mountains to the Costa de Azahar.

One of the descents towards Montanejos was particularly exhilarating and Peñiscola is a great place to finish a ride and relax for a few days.

I would recommend this trip and this company for a cycling holiday in Spain! Thanks!

Neil Thompson, Stockpoort, UK

Muchas gracias, Neil, siempre un placer. ¡Hasta pronto, amigo!

Jaime y Gaynor, Aftc

We thoroughly enjoyed this diverse cycling itinerary. Each day was a completely different experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed this diverse cycling itinerary. Each day was a completely different experience.

The first day of cycling found us in El Palmar on a Sunday afternoon along with masses of Spanish families enjoying a full Paella lunch. We joined in with the crowd and ate so much we were happy to have the cycle back to Valencia to work it off.

The next day we were transferred to the Via Verde far away from the bustle of Valencia. We descended down the quiet peaceful path surrounded by olive groves to medieval Mora de Rubielos. There was a castle to explore in our backyard!

More mountain cycling the next day took us to Montanejos. We had been looking forward to seeing this ancient spa town and going for a dip in the Hot Springs. The water was a pleasant 25 degrees and the swim/float was the perfect respite to the day of cycling.

Continuing with the theme of a new surprise every day, we arrived at the coast in Grau Castellon. At the lovely hotel, we could sit on our balcony and watch the action on the boardwalk and beach. Another paella dinner across the street from our hotel left us completely satisfied.

Riding north along the coast we passed through many beachy resort towns. We came upon a large Saturday market that warranted a fairly long stopover. The pannier bag was suddenly filled up to the top:)

On the last big hill climb we were rewarded with a view of Peniscola in the distance. This was a true beach resort town and lots of fun to explore. We also had a lovely swim in the blue Mediterranean sea.

We went with one regular bike and one e-bike. The regular bike was brand new and very comfortable. Both fit us very well.

The breakfasts in the hotels were all wonderful, with the exception being the Hotel Xuan where they seemed to cater to large bus groups. Although the food wasn't great at Hotel Xuan, the room with its balcony and view of the river was very nice.

<>This tour was a fantastic way to see many different sides of this region in Spain. We find ourselves now pouring over other itinerary choices on your website in the hope we can one day do another one!

Many thanks for all your guidance along the way,Janine & Brian Varney, Victoria, Canada

Thanks Janine and Brian. I'm glad to say that we no longer use that hotel! We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed the Paellas, th breakfasts and the different locations! Hope to see you again soon!

Jaime & Gaynor, Aftc

I think we were all pretty blown away by the incredible views, cycling alongside mountains and the small, charming towns we got to stop at

Thanks so much to you and the AFTC team for organising our trip in May - we had a wonderful time!

Overall we found the tour an excellent mix of urban, regional and coastal cycling. We saw parts of Spain we probably wouldn't visit otherwise, and also feel like it was just the right level of physical challenge!

Some of the highlights were day 4 (particularly cycling alongside the mountains in the morning, incredible!). I think we were all pretty blown away by the incredible views, cycling alongside mountains and the small, charming towns we got to stop at. We also loved some of the accommodation options, including Peniscola and Mora de Rubielos.

As a side-note - it could be good to do a day 1 introduction to the other cyclists doing the 7-day trip to break the ice, as we ended up crossing paths quite a bit. We really enjoyed getting to meet the other cyclists along the way at hotel breakfasts, and even pulled up on the side of the road sometimes!

Overall, we had a really great time and would definitely recommend AFTC and the Vibrant Valencia tour to other travellers interested in a Spanish cycling adventure.

Thanks again! Cheers, Lee Arthur and friends, New South Wales, Australia

Thanks so much for your lovely review, Lee and your suggestions! We'll suggest to our bike provider your idea of a day 1 introduction of other cyclists on the route (though 2 groups of cyclists seldom coincide!), we already do that on some other routes, so thanks for the suggestion!

<>Aftc

The city of Valencia is lovely and we would have spent at least another night there

We are home now and I am looking at our trip pictures. We had a great time in Spain and really enjoyed our time cycling in the countryside. We especially loved the time in the mountains.

The city of Valencia is lovely and we would have spent at least another night there if we had known. It would have been nice to cycle the length of the greenway there. Next time...

All of the accommodations were comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful. We skipped the half board offerings about half the time even though we had paid for it. We don’t like buffet dinners so we chose to go to other restaurants. Next time we won’t take the half board.

The hardest day of riding was the Barracas to Mora de Rubielos leg. We had headwinds all day and the Via Verde was impassable in one area because of mud so we had to divert around. We were very tired at the end of that day. The other days had some challenging climbs but were more manageable.

Thanks for all,

Vicki Grandy and Steve Hoffman, USA

We all enjoyed the quality of rooms you had arranged for us

The photos I've sent you are just a brief example of what was for us all a great trip - especially a lovely meal at the fish restaurant in Valencia on Karen’s birthday.

By the way, we did a walking tour (with Guru Walk) of Valencia which was a great intro to the city.

A surprise memory was a truffle speciality meal at the hotel/restaurant in the mountains!

We all enjoyed the quality of rooms you had arranged for us, as well as the variety of cycling - beach, hills, quiet country versus busy resort (you’re right it did show the best and worst of Spain's development)

Full marks and thank you again. Suggestions for next year ??

Best regards, Tony Barry and Karen Yates, London, UK

We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip, Tony and Karen. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Aftc

The ride through the hills was so beautiful and spectacular.

We had a great time as ever. A few comments:-

The hotel in Peñíscola was particularly lovely. The hotel in Montanejos was ok but not as good as expected- the hotel across the road (Rosaleda ) looked much better.

The bikes were fine but not as good as the ones we had earlier in the year. Jon’s wasn’t set up properly ie not all gears weren’t working on day 1. This was resolved the next morning and Jon was able to help Jesús to do it. My battery didn’t work on my bike on day 2 - luckily as we had a transfer we were able to go to the Hardacho depot and swop it over.

Jesús was very good at keeping in touch and communicating.

It was great to have a mix of hills and coast although in general we both prefer trips without transfers- especially when you have to wait in the afternoon. We found ourselves trying to spin out the day and Onda wasn’t that great. We did completely understand there would be transfers so not a criticism. The ride through the hills was so beautiful and spectacular.

I will forward some photos separately. Thanks for all your help in arranging the holiday.

Best wishes

Rona Nicholson, UK

This was our fifth holiday with you

This was our fifth holiday with you and we will probably come back for number six - so, overall we are very happy with you.

One possible improvement would be to reorganise the first cycling day is it did not see very varied. To spend the night in Rubielos de Mora instead of Mora de Rubielos also could be an opportunity.

Hallgeir Aalbu, Norway.

Thanks for your suggestions Hallgeir. We will study them carefully. Improvements are always welcome.

Jaime, AFTC.

We will never forget our first sight of Peniscola

Overall - the route design was absolutely perfect. We spent two days and nights exploring Valencia. We added to the bike route that you had selected by cycling in the main park/river bed that runs through the centre of the city.

We then followed your route to find the best Paella we have ever tasted. The NH Las Artes hotel was really nice and the NH breakfasts were up to their usual excellent standard.

Jesus transported us and the bike up in to the mountains on the next day where we enjoyed the Via verde cycling followed by the steady climb up to Mora de Rubielos. Our hotel host was an wonderful lady who made us really welcome. We had lunch and dinner at her restaurant and she insisted that we share our wedding pictures with her. Her hotel accommodation and specially prepared garden breakfast were both exceptional.

The next day we enjoyed the undulating ride to Montanejos. We added a bit to this route, so that we could see the remains of a Roman Aqueduct. The lake-side scenery was some of the best we have encountered. The hotel accommodation was good an the bike parking and maintenance facilities were really appreciated.

However, the breakfast in this hotel was a bit of a busy affair, due to the hotel being full of a bus party who were leaving at 9:00. This could not be avoided, but if it were possible to book a smaller hotel in this town, it may suit more of your guests.

The cycle to Castellon the next day was really interesting and the location and quality of the NH in Grau de Castellon was very good.

The next day cycle route was fantastic and we are very envious of the quality of cycle lanes you have in Spain. The route book provided great information for us to navigate to Alscoceber.

We loved our Saturday night in Alcoceber, as it coincided with a festival, bands playing and a firework display at the beach. The Sancho III was perfectly adequate for our night and we enjoyed using the pool.

Our last day cycling was again on a lovely route - a minor feedback issue here - some of the route was quite bumpy/rocky and whilst we like this type of cycling, a mountain bike would have been the better option for this route.

We will never forget our first sight of Peniscola, as we rounded the hillside. This was a truly exceptional final stop on what was a great cycle tour. We loved exploring the old town and did not want to leave the next day. The RH Portocristo was a very good hotel, and we enjoyed the evening buffet meal.

So, overall, our sixth Away From The Crowds adventure was great. What a way to spend our honeymoon. And thanks again for the lovely present you provided for us in Valencia.

Ged Bell, Scotland

Thanks Ged and Audrey. Always a pleasure to host you. It´s great to see you enjoy our country so much.

Jaime, AFTC.

Would we recommend you? Yes!

We had a wonderful time on our cycling adventure. The weather was cooperative and the scenery was stunning!

the hotels were clean and most had air conditioning -which is important to us. The amount of riding per day was perfect and we enjoyed the varied topography.

The e-bike gave us problems but once we were shown how to charge the battery without removing the battery, that settled the issue.

Would we recommend you? Yes! Would we try a more difficult ride ? No- this was enough of a challenge for us!

All the best, Sharon & Jay Bobbins, NY State, USA.

Thanks Sharon and Jay. We're glad the bike issue was nothing serious! For a similar level of challenge, you've got the Alicante and the Cataluña tour too!

Aftc

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