MOTO IBERIAN TOUR - to Spain's MARROQUI and Portugal's ROCA with motorcycle transportation included

We start around 12:00 after the motorcycle reception. At a distance of about 250 km, several places, each worth spending at least one day.... and in this trip in a few hours we plan to visit them all.

Certainly one of the most interesting will be the city built on the rocks - Ronda (https://youtu.be/SGcRqcpTQY0). We will visit the old town, the historic bullfighting arena, the most beautiful rock bridge and several other places, walking through the atmospheric streets. And on the way to Ronda, we will visit the Desfiladero de los Gaitanes National Park and the Path of the Kings (Caminito del Rey https://youtu.be/O5qE1lGEgCE), which unfortunately we will not enter, as the ticket is booked several months in advance with no certainty of entry on the appointed day, which is mainly determined by weather conditions. We will drive near the entrance to the path and spend a while surrounded by beautiful views.

At the end of the day, the southernmost tip of Europe - Tarifa, with its perpetually windy beaches and plenty of sail-powered water sports enthusiasts....

The Coast of Light, or Costa de la Luz, is made up of the wide, beautiful beaches of Andalusia, stretching for miles - from Tarifa to the border with Portugal. Inland, meanwhile, charming villages with white houses, forests of cork oaks, olive groves and large pastures where black bulls "Fernando" graze....
Clear sea, sunshine, delicious food and good fun - you will find here all the best of Spain.

By noon, it's time for leisure, walks, beaches (https://youtu.be/irwkv8iFoiY)...

Around 12:00 we will continue our journey, briefly to Cadiz, a city considered the oldest in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe still inhabited today. Cadiz was founded by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC . The city has a long and turbulent history. It was conquered by the Carthaginians, Romans and Moors... It was from here that Christopher Columbus set out on his second and fourth voyages to the New World. At the end of the 16th century, the famous royal fleet here was destroyed by the English, and the city was sacked.

In Cadiz, we will park at Genovés Park - the most famous public garden, located right by the sea, in the northern part of the city. In the park, rich vegetation (including: giant dragon dracaena, cypresses, agaves, palms, aloe vera, Japanese bush, fig tree, and many other species). The park is adjacent to the Old Town, so in about 2 hours spent there we will have the opportunity to feel the atmosphere of Spanish Havana and the joyful city (as it is sometimes called).

Today we will end the trip in Jerez de la Frontera - one of the pearls of Spanish Andalusia. We will spend a long evening enjoying the atmosphere and surroundings of flamenco shows, fiesta, corrida, museums, wine bars, bars and evening strolls through the streets of the old town.

We take off right after breakfast, no later than 8:30 we will be on our way. On this day the direction of Portugal... and on the way to - Sevilla, considered the most beautiful of the old cities in all of Spain, with the largest historic old town on the Iberian Peninsula, La Giralda tower, the Gothic cathedral La Catedral de Sevilla, the palace complex from the 11th century. Real Alcazar, the oldest corrida arena La Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza... This city is always crowded. We planned only a short stop and walk in the Spanish Square, a few photos, maybe a coffee and we move on.

The Algarve in southern Portugal is an elongated strip of fabulous coastline, stretching from the border with Spain to the western tip of the country, along the Atlantic Ocean.

Scheduled to cover about 450 km in a full day, of which about 200 km along the Algarve coastal strip with a destination in Sagres, and on the way Benagil - a fantastic place with the most beautiful cave... for accuracy - with many beautiful caves, many accessible only from the water.

We'll stop at Benagil beach, the location of the Taruga Tours tour office, which will give us more than an hour of unforgettable boating experience (https://youtu.be/aEiQkyofs2o)...

If Sagres in the evening yesterday did not satisfy our needs, today we will start the day right here.

We start from Cabo de Sao Vicente (Cape St. Vincent) right after breakfast. From there, we head north a little along the coast roads, a little in the center of the country - to the Tróia peninsula, where we will be accompanied by kilometer-long paradisiacal beaches. Clear and shallow water, golden sand and sand dunes forming a beautiful landscape - views like in Miami... From here by ferry to Sadubal and then by bridge across Lisbon. In Lisbon, drive past the Torre de Balem (a military structure from 1520 in the southern part of the city), at which we will stop for coffee and a few photos. Continue along the coast directly to the Sintra Reserve. Here in Sintra and the surrounding area we will spend another day, savoring the views and the unique atmosphere. There is no other place like it in Europe.

Portugal is not enough to drive through... Here you need to stop for a while. In our proposal we have chosen, not without reason, the SINTRA-CASCAIS Natural Park (https://youtu.be/_69Q90P6Gks).

The town of Sintra and its mystical hills dotted with fairy-tale palaces and extravagant villas have enchanted visitors for centuries. The Romans made the town an object of moon worship and called it "Cynthia" in honor of the goddess of the moon. The Moors who came after the Romans loved the place so much that they built a beautiful castle on top of the hill, a palace and several magnificent fountains around the city. Later, the city became the summer residence of the Portuguese royal family. It attracted rich aristocrats who built their villas and estates here.

Sintra is certainly a remarkable place, with some of the most famous palaces in Europe - the Pena Palace (https://youtu.be/yhVrT-uf2sE), a mix of history and fantasy, protected by the UNESCO. The park is also home to Cape Cabo da Roca, a wild and rugged cape that is the westernmost point of the European mainland. Until the Middle Ages, it was believed that these wind-swept cliffs of Cabo da Roca were the edge of the world. The desolate, wild landscape surrounding the peninsula, as well as the rough waves hitting the foot of the cliffs just off the rugged trail along the coastal paths, adds to the unusual atmosphere.

The attraction of the place is complemented by nearby Cascais, which is the best resort on the Lisbon Coast, with the most easily accessible beach for tourists vacationing in Sintra.

This is the environment in which we will spend the whole day.

We finish our taste of Portugal today, returning to Spain. Scheduled for today are two gems on the itinerary - the Oceanarium in Lisbon and Elvas with one of the wonders of European defensive architecture.

We set off after breakfast so as to reach Lisbon before 10:00 am near the Oceanarium.

Lisbon Oceanarium (https://youtu.be/d5xABHGB4m0)-the largest oceanarium in Europe, home to more than 25,000 sea creatures from around the world. The oceanarium was opened on the occasion of the 1998 Lisbon International Expo '98.

Elvas (https://youtu.be/5S4pt0TTTD8), a fortified city just across the border from Spain, is one of the wonders of European defensive architecture. Its origins date back to the 10th century, and its uniqueness lies in the intricate system of rings of dry moats surrounding the hilltop city. The defensive complex was built in the 17th century and remains to this day the largest structure of its kind in the world.

Heading to Córdoba - the capital of the province of the same name - right after breakfast and scheduled a few hours there.

The province of Córdoba, located in central and northern Andalusia, is the region that bears the greatest testimony to medieval Muslim culture in all of Europe. It was there that it reached its apogee. In the center of the region is a city that with its beauty and size eclipsed all the metropolises of the old continent.

The city of Córdoba in the 10th century was described as reflecting the architectural, intellectual, social and aesthetic achievements of all civilizations of mankind at the time. The artificial irrigation system made this metropolis resemble a large garden despite its dense buildings. For public use there at the time were about 300 mosques, 300 baths, 20 libraries (including the Al-Hakama Library with more than 400,000 manuscripts in its collection), numerous schools and 17 universities. Córdoba is on the UNESCO list due to its numerous and magnificent monuments that bear witness to the presence of many civilizations.

We will cover just under 300 km in a little over three hours by parking near the old center of Córdoba around 12:00 p.m. On the itinerary for our almost 4-hour stay are a few of the gems of the place (https://youtu.be/CWV-aNsi0Wk)

Around 5pm, maybe a little later, we will leave Cordoba, heading towards Granada. 

We start as early as possible, no later than 8:00 we should already be on the road. 

A visit to Granada - a city in Andalusia, which in the late Middle Ages was the center of the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula, and today is the provincial capital. Granada is said to be a unique city that anyone who finds themselves in it for the first time will fall in love with, without exception. Full of historical monuments UNESCO-listed and breathtaking landscapes is a unique attraction for those staying in the area.It is here that one of the most visited monuments in Europe - the palace complex of the Muslim Nasrid dynasty - is located. Alhambra. Along with the gardens next door at the summer residence of the Arab rulers, the Generalife, and the Albaicín district, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A tour of the Alhambra takes about 3 hours in the paid part, for which tickets must be booked in advance. (https://youtu.be/2xTnN3Ph7tg)

The stopover time in Granada includes the opportunity to visit the Alhabra for participants who have purchased tickets in advance (http://www.alhambra-granada-tickets.com/).

Around 2:00 pm, we set off for the Sierra Nevada (weather permitting, of course). Take the A-395 to the turnaround point near the Astronomical Observatory. A short stop for coffee and we return via a slightly modified route towards Granada and on to Almeria.

Ahead of us is a drive on the scenic A-337 from the north toward the coast, but only when weather permits.

In the late afternoon, perhaps towards evening, we should park near the Alcazaba fortress located on top of a hill in the center of Andalusia's capital Almeria (which looks most beautiful after sunset). It offers a picturesque view of all of Almeria, the coast and the sea. Construction of the fortress began after the conquest of the then settlement by the Moors in the 10th century, and it is one of the "must see" sites in Andalusia.

We take off right after breakfast, no later than 8:30 on the road. A lot of interesting and, above all, breathtaking places and beautiful weather almost guaranteed.

We're off to Cabo de Gata- the most beautiful and wild stretch of the southern Spanish coast. Framed by its borders as a national park and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, Cabo de Gata stretches for miles east of Almeria (https://youtu.be/4CdcbGojmkA).

We will drive through the only real desert on the Old Continent, and the centerpiece of the desert is the western town of Poblado del Oeste with several buildings characteristic of the wild west, including a saloon, sheriff's office, bank and church, Twice a day (12:00 and 17:00) in the square are staged movie scenes (Show Oeste) such as stunt chases or gunfights (https://youtu.be/N_nNiNWnzRY).

In the saloon at 1pm and 4pm you can see a cancan show (Baile del can can) performed by stylized dancers. OASYS Mini Hollywood couldn't miss an Indian village with wigwams. There is also an exotic zoo.

From here, depending on time and conditions, we set off on one of the many beautiful routes towards Málaga, where we end the adventure tonight.