Canaries or Majorca

Andalucia

any thoughts, Canaries or Majorca for a week of cycling

WMP

Depends on when you want to go. At this time of year it's got to be the Canaries. In spring Majorca is great. Majorca is also much bigger with a lot of variety whereas the Canary islands are very hilly. Not much flat road to be found at all. Up and down all day.

wirelessdude01

Which Canary island would be best?

Exiled1

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Which Canary island would be best?

Tenerife is very very hilly, a climbers paradise. Lanzarote can be quite windy but some good routes. Whichever floats your boat.

Fian

wirelessdude01 wrote: »

Which Canary island would be best?

Gran canaria. Because it has maspalomas - great beach & great restaurants. Cycling also good:)

I am heading there in one month and a week. Though I wont do any serious cycling this time, just up and down to beach on a crappy hire bike.

LCD

Been to both Lanzarotte & Majorca a number of times. Majorca has better cycling IMO. Lanzarotte is just too hard, feels like you are only ever going up or down hill. Majorca has more variety & has a few iconic climbs

NBar

Was in Maspalomas this year and got a nice few spins in but as previous have said its up and down but the drivers are very courteous and don't cut you up or try and drive into you. Nice selection of bikes in FreeMotion as well

Tenzor07

GC, just for the fact it has the "Free Motion" shops for hiring bikes or having your own repaired/cleaned as needed.. Also if you're not travelling as part of a group or on your own, you can go on some of the tours they run for all levels...

Though I mainly went MTB'ing and GC is perfect for it!

Majorca had snow and rain last Jan/feb whereas GC was dry and sunny, so always good weather..

deekster

There is no right or wrong, I just feel the need to see the word 'Mallorca' appear on this page. As you were.

RobCyclist

Yup no wrong or right answer. If it was me I would go with LCD's advice and head to Majorca, love the island. 

Cee-Jay-Cee

Tenerife is beautiful and your pretty much guaranteed good weather no matter what time of the year you go however its all climbing, there are zero flat routes anywhere on the island.

tuxy

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Tenerife is beautiful and your pretty much guaranteed good weather no matter what time of the year you go however its all climbing, there are zero flat routes anywhere on the island.

I went in December last year the climb from sea level to where the cable cars are on Teide is amazing and worth doing twice!

Teno massif looks great for cycling but will probably be far from whatever accommodation you choose. I had no car so never made it over there. There may be cycling tours that will pick you up but of course that will add to costs.

The island has many other beautiful places but you will end up climbing and descending loads and probably coming back the exact same route you took.

The weather was amazing I was lucky enough to get 25c of sun every day without a drop of rain. Also as I was on the south of the island I think Teide offered shelter from the wind.

I wouldn't recommend it for a full cycling holiday but if you want a mixture of cycling some days and sitting by the beach drinking beer while everyone else in Ireland is miserable it's perfect.

1bryan

Tenzor07 wrote: »

GC, just for the fact it has the "Free Motion" shops for hiring bikes or having your own repaired/cleaned as needed.. Also if you're not travelling as part of a group or on your own, you can go on some of the tours they run for all levels...

not cheap though. You'll pay 20-30 euro to go on one of those spins, though that's cheaper if you hire the bike from them too. Plus, they're Germans so they leave nothing to chance. You'll sign a 20-page contract indemnifying them from ANYTHING that might happen.

But, it's a great spot, and in gran canaria they've expanded out from their base in Playa del Ingles and have now opened shops in Puerto Rico and Meloneras too. The one in Playa del Ingles is worth a visit though. Very impressive set-up, right by the beach.

Tenzor07

1bryan wrote: »

not cheap though. You'll pay 20-30 euro to go on one of those spins, though that's cheaper if you hire the bike from them too. Plus, they're Germans so they leave nothing to chance. You'll sign a 20-page contract indemnifying them from ANYTHING that might happen.

Austrians, and of course you have to sign an indemnity when taking part in any activity and hiring of bikes..

If I was going for a week/5 days there's no point in bringing your own bike..

For €159 you can get 5 days bike hire, 3 tours, now that's great value when you think of the cost of bringing your own bike, plane/taxi...

mr spuckler

i'm planning a trip with a group of mates to Mallorca in May, having cycled there briefly this year and absolutely loved it.

seems like there are plenty of options for whatever floats your boat, long gradual climbs, much steeper climbs, flatter quiet roads and amazing scenery

1bryan

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Austrians

I didn't know that. I always assumed they were German. Whoever they are, fair play to them, they've built an amazing business out there for themselves.

Hide behind the post

mr spuckler wrote: »

i'm planning a trip with a group of mates to Mallorca in May, having cycled there briefly this year and absolutely loved it.

seems like there are plenty of options for whatever floats your boat, long gradual climbs, much steeper climbs, flatter quiet roads and amazing scenery

Any recommendation on places to stay in Majorca? No shortage of options from websearch but if you have a reco would be great

mr spuckler

Hide behind the post wrote: »

Any recommendation on places to stay in Majorca? No shortage of options from websearch but if you have a reco would be great

yeah I stayed in Port de Pollensa this year and am going back to the same place. perfect location for access to cycling routes, loads of bike hire places, a lot of the hotels have bike storage facilities etc. the town seems to be popular mostly with cyclists and families and was busy in September, but not crazy.

we've booked for May next year and found that some places were already booked up, while the price of the place we booked went up by €100 for the 4 nights just after we booked.

this route from there to the lighthouse at Cap Formentor and back is around 40km and is simply an incredible cycle.

we'll be aiming for 1 or 2 spins like this when there next year.

el tel

Canaries or Majorca?
If you're soft core - Majorca
If you're hard core - Tenerife

The Noble Nudge

Just back from GC didnt really go to cycle but went into a bike hire shop in Mogán (Puerto Rico) to enquire as got the urge.
Chap wouldnt hire a road bike for a day but offered me a hybrid...
Carbon/Road bike minimum 3 day hire €22 a day but would leave at €60...didnt have my size so didnt bother. Lovely spot and plenty out and about. Asked one lad I seen and said it was very safe to cycle there.
Book in advance as they hired cars, motorbikes and push bikes.

1bryan

anyone going to GC should beware that the GC-500 around the south of the island is closed after Arguinegin so there's no access for bikes across towards Puerto Rico and Mogan, if coming from the Maspalomas side.

Still, lots of routes still happily open from the east side.

NBar

1bryan wrote: »

anyone going to GC should beware that the GC-500 around the south of the island is closed after Arguinegin so there's no access for bikes across towards Puerto Rico and Mogan, if coming from the Maspalomas side.

Still, lots of routes still happily open from the east side.

It's still not open and that's a lovely route, and does limit loops you can do a bit on that side of island Thought it would have been cleared by now

mamax

el tel wrote: »

Canaries or Majorca?
If you're soft core - Majorca
If you're hard core - Tenerife

Tenerife is very tough, spent a week there in the summer, hit the road about 7:30 every morning and climbed Teide to the top one day, very testing climb that one but there are plenty other routes if you like climbing, very easy to do a 100km spin and end up climbing 3000mtrs

SwissToni

NBar wrote: »

It's still not open and that's a lovely route, and does limit loops you can do a bit on that side of island Thought it would have been cleared by now

Sounds like there may be access for cyclists,

http://thecanarynews.com/2017/10/30/mogan-forced-to-close-part-of-the-gc-500-for-at-least-two-months/

mr spuckler

el tel wrote: »

Canaries or Majorca?
If you're soft core - Majorca
If you're hard core - Tenerife

proud to be a softie :cool:

MojoMaker

Any opinions on Lanza?

Exiled1

MojoMaker wrote: »

Any opinions on Lanza?

Can be very windy. However there are some great routes with mixtures of climbing, descending and flat. You just need to be careful with direction on occasions.

Sinbad_NI

MojoMaker wrote:

Any opinions on Lanza?

Wind blows in from Africa. If your staying on the east side it makes the run home more interesting. Saying that some really quiet roads with great tarmac and some interesting sightseeing out and about.

spyderski

SwissToni wrote: »

Sounds like there may be access for cyclists,

http://thecanarynews.com/2017/10/30/mogan-forced-to-close-part-of-the-gc-500-for-at-least-two-months/

That’s completely separate to the part that has been closed since June. The blocked part is right above Puerto de Mogán and is impassable. You can still head westwards by going up Soria and taking the broken road over to Presa de las Niñas.

keizer

MojoMaker wrote: »

Any opinions on Lanza?

Renners in PDC are good to rent bikes from.

Also check buenobike.wordpress.com - a guy form Clare who does road bike tours there.

1bryan

spyderski wrote: »

That’s completely separate to the part that has been closed since June. The blocked part is right above Puerto de Mogán and is impassable. You can still head westwards by going up Soria and taking the broken road over to Presa de las Niñas.

yeah, I believe that the remaining closure is due to a rockslide. They can be pretty severe in that part of the world. I heard early spring touted as the date it might reopen.

Go luck going across that broken road. 5km of hell!

Paddigol

Don't want to start a new thread so I thought I'd resurrect this one as there is some good advice in previous posts - any updated recommendations for Majorca? Specifically, 1) hotel and/ or 2) bike rental and/ or 3) tour groups?

lizzylad84

Flanders

Paddigol

lizzylad84 wrote: »

Flanders

Can't see myself catching much sun and sand there. Thanks all the same.

mr spuckler

I probably mentioned on previous pages - I've stayed in Puerto Pollensa twice, once with family once with mates. Stayed in Hoposa complexes both times, lovely pools, bike rental and excellent bike storage on site, beach maybe 200m away and town probably 700-800m.
The hotel part I think is called Villaconcha and apartments across the road I think were Montelin.

Then for cycling you've easy access to Cap Formentor and not too far from Sa Calobra and all the amazing climbing/scenery around that region.

mr spuckler

mr spuckler wrote: »

I probably mentioned on previous pages - I've stayed in Puerto Pollensa twice, once with family once with mates. Stayed in Hoposa complexes both times, lovely pools, bike rental and excellent bike storage on site, beach maybe 200m away and town probably 700-800m.
The hotel part I think is called Villaconcha and apartments across the road I think were Montelin.

Then for cycling you've easy access to Cap Formentor and not too far from Sa Calobra and all the amazing climbing/scenery around that region.

stayed in that hotel also, 2 years ago with the family, and did a bit of cycling, bike hired from the hotel, everything you need, will be going back ASAP!

fat bloke

Hôtel Panorama Porto Pollenca for that authentic pro tour 2 star vibe.
Basic, cheap, perfect!


Loadsa bike hire places, we've used a few of them. They all seem to know what they're doing. No complaints at all.

Paddigol

Thanks guys! The other half isn't entirely aware that my primary motivation for our holiday is a bit of cycling for me, so might have to bump up from the authentic 2 star option :pac:

Londonirish72

Mallorca for me. I spent a week in Lanzarotte about 5 years ago and it was ok. The main developed part of the island is quite built up and caters very much for the 9am pints and full English breakfast crowd. The interior is very pretty with good road quality but the wind is a huge factor here so you'd need to take it into account when planning your route for the day.

In Mallorca old town Pollenca is much prettier and has better restaurants though almost all the bike rental places are in Porto Pollenca - they are I think approx 8km apart. I appreciate that the port is a handier location but parts of it are quite ugly whereas Pollenca (old town) has some real charm and is lovely to stroll around in the evenings.

There's tons of great routes to try in Mallorca but if possible try these
Cap Formentor (as mentioned above)
Bike taxi to Andratx and cycle the Ma-10 back to Pollenca (this is arguably one of the most spectacular cycle rides in Europe)
Sa Collabra - most people cycle out the Ma-10 from Pollenca to get into the mountains but before the big climb there is a long low gradient uphill drag that is no fun if the wind is in your face. When I was there last we found a better route into the mountains. We cycled out the Ma-2200 out of Pollenca and took a right after 2-3km onto Cami Vell de Pollenca which is a beautiful quiet road that leads to Campanet, then Selva where there's a lovely (shaded) climb to Lluc and you are in the mountains proper then.

If you need a recovery day have a look at going south into the centre of the island. Again, more quiet country roads but it is mostly flat. There are some busy towns but I'm sure you can plan a nice route around them.

As for bike rental. Avoid Procycle Mallorca - they were a joke when I used them. The next year I rented a Pinarillo from the Pinarillo Experience and everything worked out much better. There is an English guy renting Independent Fabrication titanium bikes in Pollenca if you fancy something different.

mr spuckler

Londonirish72 wrote: »

Bike taxi to Andratx and cycle the Ma-10 back to Pollenca (this is arguably one of the most spectacular cycle rides in Europe)

I did this and it was pretty incredible. The bus transfer down p1ssed us off a bit as we weren't cycling until 9:30am if I remember correctly but the route was amazing.

Paddigol

Londonirish72 wrote: »

Mallorca for me. I spent a week in Lanzarotte about 5 years ago and it was ok. The main developed part of the island is quite built up and caters very much for the 9am pints and full English breakfast crowd. The interior is very pretty with good road quality but the wind is a huge factor here so you'd need to take it into account when planning your route for the day.

In Mallorca old town Pollenca is much prettier and has better restaurants though almost all the bike rental places are in Porto Pollenca - they are I think approx 8km apart. I appreciate that the port is a handier location but parts of it are quite ugly whereas Pollenca (old town) has some real charm and is lovely to stroll around in the evenings.

There's tons of great routes to try in Mallorca but if possible try these
Cap Formentor (as mentioned above)
Bike taxi to Andratx and cycle the Ma-10 back to Pollenca (this is arguably one of the most spectacular cycle rides in Europe)
Sa Collabra - most people cycle out the Ma-10 from Pollenca to get into the mountains but before the big climb there is a long low gradient uphill drag that is no fun if the wind is in your face. When I was there last we found a better route into the mountains. We cycled out the Ma-2200 out of Pollenca and took a right after 2-3km onto Cami Vell de Pollenca which is a beautiful quiet road that leads to Campanet, then Selva where there's a lovely (shaded) climb to Lluc and you are in the mountains proper then.

If you need a recovery day have a look at going south into the centre of the island. Again, more quiet country roads but it is mostly flat. There are some busy towns but I'm sure you can plan a nice route around them.

As for bike rental. Avoid Procycle Mallorca - they were a joke when I used them. The next year I rented a Pinarillo from the Pinarillo Experience and everything worked out much better. There is an English guy renting Independent Fabrication titanium bikes in Pollenca if you fancy something different.

Super info... thanks! Agree on Lanzarote - was there a couple of years ago on a non-cycling break - lovely roads, interior is nice, but seems to lack any real climbs and much higher chance of a windy spin. Will be very interested to see what Mallora is like...

mr spuckler

I'd suggest to go out early if possible, the road to Cap Formentor for example is best experienced early in the morning before traffic gets heavy. My first time there I headed out around 7am and had the road to myself (was in September). It's a simply incredible cycle and the view as you come around the corner to see the lighthouse is amazing.

The video here gives a nice sense of what it's like

We have a family place not far from Palmanova and I always use these guys for bike hire https://www.libertysport.es/

I have no idea what a "Denti" bike is, I have a feeling they buy in their own frames and build them up, but they are all carbon, with Ultegra groupsets and Fulcrum Racing 5 wheels. Although they aren't a sexy brand, they are all meticulously well looked after and the owner is an Italian ex pro (Danny) who makes sure you are all set up.

As London Irish says, the M10 is a stunning ride. I have only done it north to south to Esporles, which means I have only come down Puig Major, not up it. I'll leave that to the younger/fitter guys.

I have done the M10 Andratx to Esporles a few times and it is stunning, as is the Andratx - Es Capdella - Puigpunyent - Esporles. The Former takes you up coll de sa Bastida and latter es Grau.

Londonirish72

mr spuckler wrote: »

I'd suggest to go out early if possible, the road to Cap Formentor for example is best experienced early in the morning before traffic gets heavy. My first time there I headed out around 7am and had the road to myself (was in September). It's a simply incredible cycle and the view as you come around the corner to see the lighthouse is amazing.

The video here gives a nice sense of what it's like

I understand that they close this road to cars in high season and run a park & ride option instead, but I'd agree with Mr Spickler that you are better off doing this ride in the morning.

Paddigol

Planning to head over in mid September... starting to get a bit excited having read a few of the above posts... which means NPHET's ears are probably burning and an emergency meeting is being called to discuss how to f**k up my travel plans :pac:

mr spuckler

Paddigol wrote: »

Planning to head over in mid September... starting to get a bit excited having read a few of the above posts... which means NPHET's ears are probably burning and an emergency meeting is being called to discuss how to f**k up my travel plans :pac:

I was planning to go back in mid September but mates wanted to try somewhere new so we're off to Girona then instead. The worsening Covid situation has us rightly on edge! Hopefully you get there and have a great time, it's a simply amazing place to cycle.

Paddigol

mr spuckler wrote: »

I was planning to go back in mid September but mates wanted to try somewhere new so we're off to Girona then instead. The worsening Covid situation has us rightly on edge! Hopefully you get there and have a great time, it's a simply amazing place to cycle.

Girona sounds great too in fairness. If I was going purely for cycling I'd be very tempted, but need to throw in RnR/ beach means its somewhere like Mallorca or Canaries this year. Let us know how you get on in Girona if/ when we manage to get on a plane!

Sbefort

I can suggest Soller in Mallorca. I know the guys in Kilometro Cero Mallorca and they are really nice. They are the only place that rents out Pinarello on the island. They also have Specialized. They organise bike tours for all levels and they have a hotel/restaurant dedicated to cycling camps.

Paddigol

Sbefort wrote: »

I can suggest Soller in Mallorca. I know the guys in Kilometro Cero Mallorca and they are really nice. They are the only place that rents out Pinarello on the island. They also have Specialized. They organise bike tours for all levels and they have a hotel/restaurant dedicated to cycling camps.

Thanks for the info... will def look into them

griffin100

We spent a few days in Tenerife in November 2019 just before Covid and I would recommend it.

Stayed in an apartment in Costa Adeje we booked on Booking.com and flew with Ryanair. All we needed to bring were pedals. We hired Cervelo R3 discs and helmets from https://bikepointtenerife.com/

All in cost about €350.

Some great climbs (and descents) and routes in Tenerife, especially Masca and Teide.

Only problem is that nowhere is flat once you leave the coast , but the climbs are great, the scenery is stunning and there's very little traffic once you head inland. Lots of little towns and villages with no tourists and relaxed atmosphere - spent far too much time drinking coffee in the sun. We found drivers to be really patient and give lots of room so was really relaxed.

It was dry every day we were there and 22/23 degrees. I'm dying to get back.

Mr. Cats

Sbefort wrote: »

They are the only place that rents out Pinarello on the island.

There’s a Pinarello Experience rental shop in Porta Pollenca. Used them once and it was fine. Prefer to use local rental places though rather than ‘ex-pats’.