For our hols me and mrs rocket like to take advantage of the cheap flights and accomodation in the tourist fleshpots and immediately head out of town and hike/bike into the hills. So far the Canaries have been most excellent in this respect but we want to go somewhere else.

Criteria are:
* max 4 hrs flight
* dry sunny and hot
* big hills nearby
* choice of ok accomodation/cheap food/public transport/car hire

Any suggestions welcome. Ta

Benidorm**. Climbers have been having cheap hols there for years. You did say fleshpot didn’t you…?

** Apparently heading for world heritage status or something like that..

Turkey, Olu Deniz. Lots of hill to climb, lots of cheap booze to be drunk.

The other option is to try and get a ski chalet in the Alps on the cheap. I’ve done this a couple of times in the past and paid bugger all for huge, palatial places that would be thousands in the winter. The key is to find a resort/town that is dead in the summer, Sixt Fer à Cheval is a good example of this that I’ve stayed in the past. You can then get a cheap flight to Grenoble or Geneva and take it from there. The Chalets Direct website is pretty good to help with this.

Malaga, (or nicer, a village in the hills, a short train trip away like Alora)

Tenerife, Sardinia or Mallorca. all good biking road and MTB.

Mallorca. Port de Soller or anywhere along the NW coast.

We had a pretty huge hill behind us in Corfu too come to think of it.

Edit – Mount Pantokrator 906m

Malaga/Granada. Short drive and you’re in to Ciclo Montana and Switch-Backs territory.

Ok thanks fellas have been to Benidorm (actually not that bad) and Mallorca but will have a look at Malaga as well

Mount Pantokrator 906m

If I was James Bond that’s probably where I’d start in my search for a supervillain lair.

Look at Granada too, if you can get a cheap flight, great place.

Malaga province +1. Plenty of cheap accommodation out of season and big hills everywhere.

maderia is ace -its one giant hill -great climate, lively enough but doesnt attract red neck crowd- cheap as chips , stunning interior, great roads ,great people -4hrs flights are cheap this time of year-plenty of accomasation -didnt even book-plenty there when you arrive, dont book on line its a con, we found many places half price of the big hotels-80 euros for a week b and b in a small ‘pension’ -with restaurant at the bottom-doing fresh sea food every day -ok there wasnt a swimming pool-but the sea was 200 yards away–

Fly to Malaga then drive to Motril and turn inland to the Sierra Nevada. Great roads, big mountains and you’ve got Granada, which is a super city.

Venice? Spend a few days there then head to the Dolomites or Julian Alps

Reeth in Swaledale. No flights, three pubs, great natural trails, friendly locals (well the ewe’s) are said to be accommodating. Local rides great. What’s not to like?

What’s not to like?

[quote]dry sunny and hot[/quote]

🙂

Cote d’Azur, say around Nice. You can save money by getting inland a little, renting a small apartment or gites.

Latest Trans Provence video as a teaser

[video]http://vimeo.com/131483714[/video]

Picos’s D’Europe ?
OK so not Alpine climbs but stunning scenery.
Option of road or MTB rides .
North Spainish coastline so not enormously popular with chavettes.
Drivable if you live darn south , or 36hr on aboat to Santander

Never been , but my bro has been a few times with his CBR1000rr

Sardinia looked good on the tour last year as well , ticks your boxes too.

Not sure how big the hills are but my friend had a great time in Majorca. Said the biking was really good.