Exceptional route + accommodations + service = brilliant biking trip Perhaps you are doing what I was doing a few months ago—looking for a self-guided bike trip organized by a... read morePerhaps you are doing what I was doing a few months ago—looking for a self-guided bike trip organized by a highly professional, local company in a stunning part of the world. Thanks to a friend who’d raved about her Creative Catalonia trip in 2018 I contacted Daniel and we developed a custom, 11-day ride that combined elements of shorter-trip itineraries.
From my first email asking about options to our final handshakes at the Girona train station at the end of the trip, Daniel and Lucy were consummate pros. They offered great bikes, an excellent orientation and helpfully redundant navigational tools (a Garmin, loaded smart phone, paper maps and trip notes). They booked us into lovely accommodations and snagged view rooms in each, with restaurant recommendations along the way. In the “going above and beyond” category, Daniel came to the hotel to clean/oil our bikes after an unusually wet and muddy day from Olot to Girona.
The scenery was wonderfully varied (mountains, valleys, seaside, medieval villages) and the bike routes a pleasure to peddle along. And the food! Thank goodness we were burning calories every day. I highly recommend cycling in Catalonia and letting Creative Catalonia organize the trip—so that your job each day is simply to make the wheels go round. read less

Girona to the Sea What an amazing guided bike tour! Lucy was a super host. She was prompt and guided us each day on... read moreWhat an amazing guided bike tour! Lucy was a super host. She was prompt and guided us each day on a unique ride around Catalonia. Lucy explained sites, culture and customs of the area. The rides along the ocean were beautiful and when we wanted to do more of the ocean she accommodated our request and modify our route without issue. She and Daniel thought of everything and the hotels were truly top notch. We will definitely be working on another (walking and/or biking) excursion with Lucy and Daniel of Creative Catalonia. Thanks!! read less

Not your typical bike tour This is a customizable self-guided tour.
At first blush, the cost of this trip seemed on... read moreThis is a customizable self-guided tour.
At first blush, the cost of this trip seemed on the high side but it had all of the elements we were looking for in a tour, it hit the high points we had hoped to see and set a reasonable daily distance.
We are very glad we chose to proceed and it turned out that the value received was outstanding.
Daniel and Lucy were lovely and we felt supported every step of the way.
We chose the length of time and area we wanted to explore and they planned everything. I mean everything (bikes, route, hotels, restaurant reservations, recommendations of things to see, etc.)
The hotels that they reserved for us were in the perfect location and we had a lovely room in each. In the hotels by the sea we had the best views and in all places the hotels were modern, clean, spacious (for the area) and seemed to be the top hotels in their respective area.
Food suggestions and reservations were also top notch. A reservation was made for us at a Michelin star restaurant in one hotel and in another the food was even better. We chose to do our own thing in one locale but that paled in comparison to their recommendations.
The bicycles were sturdy and very well maintained and the navigation was beautifully redundant. We received paper overviews, a Garmin and a mobile phone that all detailed the route. At one point I made the mistake of zooming out too much with the Garmin (don't do that) and lost the specificity we needed. We consulted the mobile phone they gave us and got back on course with very little wasted time (and effort).
There is no better way to explore the Catalonia seaside and medieval towns at your own pace and at your leisure than with Creative Catalonia's bike tours.
Highly recommended. read less

Medieval Villages This self guided bike tour was amazing! Daniel, our tour coordinator, was very thorough with maps, Garmin, phone with directions... read moreThis self guided bike tour was amazing! Daniel, our tour coordinator, was very thorough with maps, Garmin, phone with directions and history of every area we visited. Beautiful beach coves along the Mediterranean Sea, and fascinating medieval village towns inland. Four of us used E Bikes. They were fabulous! We highly recommend Creative Catalonia Bike Holidays and this particular tour. read less

GREAT BIKE RIDE WITH OUR GRANDSON Our 20 year old grandson is doing a semester of college in Barcelona and while visiting him we wanted... read moreOur 20 year old grandson is doing a semester of college in Barcelona and while visiting him we wanted to do a week's bike ride with him for his week off'
Right from our first contact with both Bike Tours.com and Creative Catalonia (Lucy and Daniel),.communicated directly with us helping find the best ride to fit our needs. We wanted to use our own tandem bike and they made sure it would work.
We finished the ride a week ago and we can't say enough for the support Lucy and Daniel gave us on the self guided ride. Also the scenery and historic beauty was excellent. Thank you for making our bike ride week with our Grandson so memorial. read less

Private Guided Road Bike Cycle Tour of Green Spain and Picos de Europa October 2019 This was a second private guided tour we have undertaken with Creative Catalonia, the first of which was in 2014.... read moreThis was a second private guided tour we have undertaken with Creative Catalonia, the first of which was in 2014.
Dan from Creative Catalonia (Creative Bike tours) kindly accommodated our needs and provided us with a truly amazing and memorable experience of cycling Northern 'Green' Spain and the must see Picos de Europa. The ability to have a private guided tour of 5 days through the Cantabria region, exploring quaint villages on quiet roads through green and lush regional and coastal routes of this magical area was nothing short of spectacular. The unique and boutique accommodation chosen was outstanding as was the service and hospitality we received from the locals. The guides sharing their local knowledge of culture, food, wine, and history made for a wonderful experience that we will hold fond memories for a lifetime. If you are looking for a personalised, professional and high quality service, I highly recommend Dan and Creative Catalonia. I rate their services higher than a 10 out of 10. read less

A cycling tour for ten! All from Perth (Western Australia) we were looking forward to this 8 day tour of Spain’s Catalonia Region. ... read moreAll from Perth (Western Australia) we were looking forward to this 8 day tour of Spain’s Catalonia Region. We were met by Daniel and Lucy (they are Creative Catalonia) who proved to be both engaging and very knowledgeable. They have lived here for 15 years and have developed a great business. They do self guided and guided tours (ours was guided). They worked with us to create an itinerary that gave us riding challenges, fantastic scenery, perfect accommodation, and great meals.
The bikes were Canyons and did the job very well...no complaints!
I would recommend highly this business for anyone who wants to cycle in Spain. It is a professional outfit with a deep knowledge of Catalonia and how to look after their clients. An easy Five Stars! read less

Fabulous experience My teenage daughter and I just finished the 5-day tour of the Costa Brava and medieval villages. What a... read moreMy teenage daughter and I just finished the 5-day tour of the Costa Brava and medieval villages. What a fabulous experience and an excellent company to work with! The are is stunning, with varied scenery from wheat fields to beaches. Most of the riding is on bike trail or small country roads. The hotels were all top-notch. We particularly loved the sleepy beach town of Llafranc, and the beautiful country hotel in Monells. The trip departs from the attractive small city of Girona, and I wish we had more time there as well. Daniel greeted us personally at the beginning and end of the trip, and provided us with thorough way finding materials which worked flawlessly. The quality of the gear was excellent, much better than the bike trip we had just completed in France. Very highly recommended. More read less

Fantastic Family Bike Vacation! Several years ago, my husband and I did our first cycling holiday with Creative Catalonia, and loved it. (It started... read moreSeveral years ago, my husband and I did our first cycling holiday with Creative Catalonia, and loved it. (It started a travel tradition for us--we've now done 5 cycling holidays and are planning more!). Wanting to plan a family vacation with our 2 young adult kids to celebrate some professional milestones, we decided to book with Daniel and Lucy, of Creative Catalonia, again. We wanted a comfortable and relaxing time with our kids, yet active and keeping to a mutually enjoyable schedule. The 8-Day Best of Catalonia was perfect! Its an inn-to-inn style, self-guided trip, with the outfitter moving our luggage for us each day. CC provided marked maps, turn lists, and gps, so it was nearly impossible (nearly 😉 to get lost. A few misturns and some construction challenged our navigation, but it all was good in the end and makes for interesting memories! Each hotel was lovely, and the mostly off-road cycle route was idyllic. First day is a challenging long, moderate climb if you've not been actively training, but we all eventually made it to the summit and had a great time flying down into the town of Olot. We were able to customize, and built in a couple of 2 day stops--one at the Mediterranean, Hotel Casamar in Llafranc, and at the end, at the beautiful Hotel des Arcs in Monells. We took a day off the bikes in Llafranc and had a lovely 6 mi RT walk along the coastal trail to the Cap Roig botanical gardens. And in Monells, the kids just chilled by the gorgeous pool and we did a short ride out to the ancient Iberian city excavation site. Daniel and Lucy went over and above expectations to answer questions and help with restaurant recs, train schedules and ticket-buying. They were always available by phone, WhatsApp, and even in-person mid-trip. The bikes were awesome--I wish I could have brought one home with me. They get some hard usage on some of the trails, but we had zero mechanical issues, so we know they are high quality and well-maintained. This is a fantastic way to spend time with family, see the beautiful Catalonian countryside, and earn your delicious Catalonian-cuisine calories at the end of each ride! Highly recommend Creative Catalonia to anyone looking for a fun, active vacation. Note: you can opt to tour on the bike trail system, as we did, mountain bike, road bike--and can choose to self-guide or have a guide. They are so willing to be flexible, I bet you could even do some sort of combination! Thanks, Lucy and Daniel! read less

A perfect biking holiday My husband and our 4 other friend's selected this bike trip for our annual ride. We met Daniel from Creative... read moreMy husband and our 4 other friend's selected this bike trip for our annual ride. We met Daniel from Creative Catalonia in Girona where he very clearly and precisely laid out our itinerary for the next 5-6 days. We were given a GPS, phone with map and a paper map. We were shown how to use our e-bikes. And off we went for the most beautiful daily rides and very nice hotels. The people at each venue were very helpful as well if we needed anything. The gorgeous Spain weather, of course, helped! I highly recommend this company and tour. read less