I didn’t get much response from my thread about the Canary Islands, other than it might not be what we’re looking for, so I thought I’d broaden the search a bit.

We need:

*Somewhere warm and dry in January
*Somewhere with good gentle riding (dirt tracks, walking trails etc)
*Somewhere near the sea
*Somewhere with easy access
*Somewhere with plentiful good food
*Somewhere that’s not the other side of the planet

Ideally, we’d like a self-catering apartment, with shops and restaurants close by. The main criteria is for a warm, relaxing, stress-free holiday. Local (decent) mtb hire would be a big bonus.

Anyone care to take 5 minutes off from arguing about politics etc to shed some light on this?

Thanks.

Portugal area or South Spain near malaga/almeria. Have been there before on motorbikes in November. Plenty of hills about, not sure on bike hire tho.

Alfaz del Pi, near Benidorm, ticks all the boxes 🙂

Hahaha.

Have you been there? It has a lot to offer, do not be put off by the reputation of Benidorm the area is really quite beautiful and there are a lot of things to do.

Alfaz has a mainly Norwegian population and there is awsome biking hiking

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g652148-L_Alfas_del_Pi_Costa_Blanca_Alicante_Province_Valencian_Country-Vacations.html

http://www.topwalks.net/en/helada/helada.htm

http://www.wikiloc.com/trails/mountain-biking/spain/valencian-community/lalfas-del-pi?d=3

malaga and almeria are nice if you like flies..

Portugal/Southern Spain sounds good.

It’d be warm, but not that hot – this year’s Jan temps in Almeria: http://www.accuweather.com/es/es/almeria/306726/january-weather/306726

I’d be looking (again) at Canaries / Madeira.

Routes on Tenerife: http://es.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/find.do?t=&d=&lfr=&lto=&src=&act=2%2C&q=tenerife

I’ve never hired a bike there, but a quick google turns up loads of places.

yes google image search will give you one point of veiw 🙂

Shame you are so negative about the area, it is very popular and for that reason it has all the things you seem to be looking for. The big sierrra Aitana mountain provides the area with a lovely microclimate, and there is lots of gentle riding all around. Altea/Albir/Calpe

Still there are many other nice places. 🙂

Syntaxerror,

I don’t know if you realise but the way you are coming across by dismissing suggestions so harshly, from people taking the time out to reply to you is probably the reason that hardly anyone is replying.

The riding in that area is second to none and meets your extensive requirements, but you are choosing to hone in on a near by town that you seem to have a major problem with. However, I don’t see you getting uptight about the suggestions of Malaga, which has similar resorts (many of them). I am not the biggest fan of Benidorm, but having an open mind has allowed myself and my wife to sample winter in Malaga, Alfraz, Madeira, etc..:..

If you are prepared to be a little more open minded and less immediately dismissive then you might start getting somewhere…..

This just gets better….

So you haven’t even been to the area but you are passing judgement based on 2nd hand information?? And here was me thinking you had your bank account emptied by a Benidorm strip club bouncer or something! 😉

The area that iffoverload is referring to is about 1/2 hour to 1 hour away from Benidorm, in the surrounding hills and if you still have a major problem with Benidorm, based on somebody else’s views, then you need not visit.

I had a view like yours once, it was preset by the media about Kandahar in Afghanistan. Shame on me as the locals were truly wonderful, kind people and I felt narrowminded & one dimensional that I could have allowed myself to pre-judge without seeing it for myself.

‘Try everything, once’

You’re going to be pretty fortunate if you get dry and warm weather in January in Southern mainland Spain.But here’s my two penny worth.
Camping Sierra Espuna in the Sierra Espuna regional park.Log cabins to rent and about one and a half hours south of Alicante airport.
Great walking and cycling in the park with plenty of info at the campsite.Also has a bar, with other bars and restaurants in the village.Two grocery shops and two bakers for fresh bread.Its Spanish so forget your John Smiths and burgers.Minus point is its not next to the sea.About 40 minutes away.

Somewhere warm could be an issue. I went to Majorca in Feb last year and it was pretty cold. There was the odd bit of sunshine but I wouldn’t head there again for the weather at that time of year. The walking and food was pretty good though.
Likewise, southern Spain at that time of year. My folks lived in Alicante for years (1 hour from Benidorm 😉 ) in a lovely little village near Calpe. Ticked all the boxes but the good weather didn’t come until March/April onwards.
Mate has just got back from Madeira and absolutely raved about it. He’s been all over the world and tends to have pretty good judgement on these things. It could be worth a further look for you…
What about Morocco?

I’m not getting angry mate,

Just saying that your dismissive attitude will hinder your holiday choice and stop people offering advice. Which it is as this is the second time you have trawled for help.

Just go with google maps, that will see you right 😉

Stay near Malaga and contact Wayne in Ronda…
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-ridden-with-hike-and-bike-in-ronda-spain

look at Sardinia, looked nice last time i looked and there are trails there now i believe, also a proper MTB holiday company is operating there, google is your friend but i seem to remember an article in STW too some time back.

Also, Cyprus maybe? But there are dogs, big ones out in them hills there i believe

Weathern warm(ish) during the day but can get chilly at night.
A few days of rain to be expected in January.
Climate stats of Malaga

For what you’ve asked for, my recommendation would be Costa Teguise in Lanzarote:

– guaranteed warm and sunny in January
– lovely little town, loads of good places to eat, nice beaches and quiet bays, and mostly just low 2 story buildings (a virtual ban on high rise blocks – so the opposite of Benidorm!), only a 20 minute drive from the airport (or just get a taxi transfer)
– lots of lovely self catering places, from small villas to apartments. We booked via homeowners direct – casa McElroy. Definitely recommend it.
– several good bike hire places in town
– lots of broad tracks for gentle off road cycling, excellent road cycling, good hiking (there’s a hiking guidebook and map for Lanzarote), amazing snorkelling, diving etc (the marine life you can see just from the beach is fab!)
– Cesar Manrique’s work – just google it – amazing!

Somewhere warm and dry in January

*Somewhere that’s not the other side of the planet

Depending on what your idea of warm and dry is, you’re going to struggle with mainland Europe, you may get lucky but you’re just as likely to be unlucky.

About as far South as it gets in mainland Europe last January looked like this
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/LXGB/2014/1/1/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar

January 2012 was similar
http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/LXGB/2013/1/1/MonthlyHistory.html#calendar

I was going to suggest Morocco also.

TBH there isn’t a lot of choice for good winter sun close by without going to countries with some issues like that.

How about Cape Verde or Cyprus. Though neither will be that warm.