Hi all, I’m looking to plan a solo ride from Bilbao to Benidorm. I’ll have 7+ days to complete the route. I’m not looking to camp but have hotels along route. Are there any forums which can help with plotting a suitable route? I’m happy to stick to tarmac for as much as I can and I can use Google maps to work out my overnight stops. The route out of Bilbao looks a bit frantic to say the least. Any suggestions welcome.

Have you looked at the viasverdes?

https://www.viasverdes.com/mapas_en.asp

Some of these might coincide with your route and I’m guessing they might have accommodation nearby?

What route are you planning out of bilbao? What’s the frantic bit?

I run an annual bikepacking trip from where I live in Cataluna to Bilbao and have done a lot of research on the best cycle routes around Bilbao. There is a good cycle network but it has to compete with the roads and rail links that run along the steep sided valleys that the city’s built on. Are you flying or sailing into Santurzi? I can send you links to the routes I’ve used which are downloadable from Wikiloc, as is a route which will get you much of the way to Benidorm on back roads and gravel trails, just in the reverse direction to the one I take. Also there’s a cycle touring option on the Camino del Cid that gets you from North of Burgos to Alicante. Pm me for links.

thanks everyone for replying, much appreciated. Pistonbroke, I’ll PM you if that’s ok.

A couple of things I’d consider:
* Pay for Strava for a month, and use their heat map to plan routes. They’ll show you what routes the local cyclists use, and given none of the Spanish I know are particularly suicidal, they’ll be avoiding the worst roads.

* As much as possible avoid any road “N-xxxx”. These are national roads and generally have more traffic. The quieter local roads have the Community or Province code at the start (NA-678, BI-631, M-510, EX-202, V-123, etc). There’s no way you’ll be able to avoid them completely, and it’s not instant suicide to stray onto one, but generally speaking if you have an alternative I’d probably use it.

* I’ve not done the route, but from a quick look at the map I’d probably do Bilbao – Vitoria – Logroño – Soria – Teruel – Requena – Alicante, and avoid Valencia. The few times I’ve driven round Valencia it’s been pretty horrible (although there might be a bike route that I don’t know about), and the coastal road down to Benidorm will definitely have a lot more traffic than further inland. (I’ve got a place just south of Alicante, and I avoid the N-332 as much as possible on my bike – it’s the same main road that runs past Benidorm up to Valencia…)