4 Day Customized Mountain Bike or Road Cycling Holiday in Costa Tropical, Granada

Next Level Cycling organizes custom cycling holidays for small groups and they offer packages including bike rental, accommodation, transportation, and guided tours for both mountain and road bikes. With them, you can choose to go mountain biking and road cycling during the same cycling holiday if you want. Be it spring or autumn or even during the hot summer months or sunny winter days, get out on a bike and go for a ride. It is great cycling weather in Costa Tropical all year round.

Costa Tropical is a very cycle-friendly destination, with both plenties of tracks in the mountains perfect for mountain biking and quiet roads for road cycling. Enjoy stunning mountain sceneries and gorgeous fruit valleys from the saddle. Mountain biking in this part of Andalucía is mostly cross-country, which offers challenging endurance climbs with stunning views as a reward. The numerous dirt tracks and adventurous single trails mixed with some technical descents help keep the adrenaline level topped up.

Road cycling offers smooth road surfaces along the coast and in the mountains with hardly any traffic. There are plenty of beautiful whitewashed villages along the roads where you can enjoy a well-deserved “café con leche y una coca cola” during your break in the sun. The area has a wide range of tarmac roads throughout the impressive mountain range of the Sierra de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama to Montes de Malaga, and the Sierra Nevada.

Next Level Cycling always tailors the rides to suit your ability and fitness level, but at the same time, they want you to experience the best cycling routes you have ever ridden. This usually means a bit of effort on the climb, although this is more than made up for on the exhilarating descents that follow. Depending on your fitness and requirements, they are able to customize your cycling holiday to meet your requirements. They have a great selection of rides varying in length from 20 to 175 kilometers that have anything from 500 to 4500 meters of climbing.

Remember that they want you to get the most out of your cycling holiday with them, so all rides can be extended. Most rides can also be cut short too. All you need to do is ask your guide! The only thing they cannot do is make the rides flatter. But you can be sure that your guide will find the best rides for your ability.

They are trying to keep the groups small, with a maximum of eight riders. Usually, they cycle from the front door, but some days, there will be a short transfer to let you explore further afield. The total riding time is usually between two and eight hours depending on your requests. Riding days are usually from 10 a.m. to around 4 p.m.

Here are some examples of the rides, and yet there are plenty more. You can either choose one of these rides or your guide will find the best ride adapted to your level. Below you will find some tour examples for easy, medium, and expert levels that you could choose.

Vuelta 1 - MTB Medium (La Herradura)

This medium tour takes you through the valley above La Herradura with a nice combination of gravel and tarmac roads. The valley is full of various kinds of fruit trees such as avocado, mango, cherimoya, orange, almond trees, and more. On a nice day, you can see the top of Sierra Nevada.

• Elevation gain: 900 meters
• Distance: 33 kilometers / 20 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 3 hours

Vuelta 2 - MTB Expert (La Herradura - Río Seco - Río Verde - Otívar – Almuñécar)

During this expert tour you will discover the beauties of the mountains of Costa Tropical. It is a combination of bad steep gravel roads and a few tarmac patches with a focus on climbing. This tour takes you through two different riverbeds: Río Seco and Río Verde. There is an option to have a quick refreshing dip at the pools of Río Verde.

• Elevation gain: 2,000 meters
• Distance: 60 kilometers / 37 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 5 hours

Vuelta 3 - MTB Expert (Acebuchal - Canillas de Albaida – Competa)

This expert tour climbs some of the white gravel roads that are located above Competa within the unspoiled mountains and natural park of Sierra Tejeda, Almijara, and Alhama. Stunning sceneries and a lot of gravel roads. The tour starts in the small beautiful village Acebuchal locally known as “The Lost Village” or “Pueblo el Fantasmas”, the village of ghosts.

• Elevation gain: 2,800 meters
• Distance: 61 kilometers / 38 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 5 hours

Vuelta 4 - MTB Medium (Lentegí - Guájar Alto)

This is a medium tour on gravel roads with stunning views of the valley of Los Guájares. Spectacular sceneries with the Sierra Nevada in the background and a landscape consisting of limestone peaks and ridges and plenty of pine trees. The tour takes you through the beautiful and yet largely undiscovered “pueblo blanco”, Guájar Alto.

• Elevation gain: 1,600 meters
• Distance: 42 kilometers / 26 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 4 hours

Vuelta 5 - MTB Easy (La Herradura)

This is a nice introduction tour to mountain biking that takes you through the lower parts of the valley above La Herradura with a lot of fruit trees and a nice combination of tarmac and gravel roads.

• Elevation gain: 500 meters
• Distance: 20 kilometers / 12 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 2 hours

Vuelta 6 - Road Expert (a tour around the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Natural Park)

This is an epic tour around the Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Natural Park that includes stunning climbs and descents. You will cycle through lots of different landscapes during the day, all of them stunning in their way. There will be climbs through limestone peaks, an inland atmosphere of the northern part of the tour, and beautiful lakes, and the final part will be cruising back along the coast.

• Elevation gain: 3000 meters
• Distance: 175 kilometers
• Moving time: Approximately 8 hours

Vuelta 7 - Road/MTB Easy (La Herradura - Nerja)

This introduction tour takes you along the beautiful coast between La Herradura and Nerja through Acantilados de Maro-Cerro Gordo Natural Park. It comprises sheer cliffs with beaches and hidden coves that are difficult to access. There are plenty of options to visit deserted beaches along the road. Expect 100% tarmac roads except going up and down to the beaches.

• Elevation gain: 500 meters
• Distance: 40 kilometers
• Moving time: Approximately 2 hours

Vuelta 8 - Road Expert (Ítrabo - Pinos del Valle - Salobreña)

Enjoy this expert tour with steep climbs and fast descents on sweeping curving roads with almost no traffic. The tour goes through a beautiful landscape with spectacular views.

• Elevation gain: 1800 meters
• Distance: 116 kilometers
• Moving time: Approximately 5 hours

Vuelta 9 - Road Expert (Competa)

The beautiful mountain village named Competa makes a perfect stop for a genuine tapa and café con leche. The steady climb uphill promises a curvy roller coaster experience after the coffee break.

• Elevation gain: 1700 meters
• Distance: 100 kilometers
• Moving time: Approximately 5 hours

Vuelta 10 - Road Medium (Almuñécar - Otívar - Lentegí)

On this ride, you will climb up a road frequently used by "Vuelta de España". This beautiful area is full of tropical fruits and you will pass through two white-washed villages, Otívar and Lentegí. At the top, a "café con leche" with a beautiful view over the tropical fruit valley "Río Verde" is served.

• Elevation gain: 900 meters
• Distance: 52 kilometers / 32 miles
• Moving time: Approximately 3 hours

Fitness levels

You need to be reasonably fit, which means you have to practice some kind of cardiovascular training regularly and have no medical or physical condition which would adversely affect your ability to participate. You also need basic cycling skills regarding balance and shifting gears.

Bike information

You are always welcome to bring your own bike with you, however, you will have to bear with the ever-increasing airline luggage charges and excess baggage risks, coupled with the inconvenience of bike transport and fear of your bike not arriving when expected or not arriving in the same condition as you packed it.

It is recommended that you seriously consider the bike rental option, and just bring your pedals and possibly saddle to fit them to the hire bike making sure that the bike is set up for your maximum comfort and cycling efficiency. If you decide to bring your own, you must have a well-maintained bike in good condition for either mountain biking or road cycling. Make sure it is fitted for Spanish mountains, especially tires and brake performance is essential.

Do not forget to bring a puncture repair kit, spare inner tubes, a full set of replacement brake pads, and tools specific to your bike. Cycling shoes and SPD pedals or similar are strongly recommended.

The rental bikes come with flat pedals, a pump, and a saddle pack with one spare inner tube and a set of tire levers. A helmet is included in the price when you rent a bike, although it is suggested that you bring your own for a good fit.

All bikes are fitted with flat pedals as standard. You are welcome to bring along your own pedals and Next Level Cycling will gladly help you to fit them correctly to your bike. If you want to travel light, Next Level Cycling can provide you with Shimano SPD and Look Keo pedals.

Difficulty levels

Beginner:

• Can cycle for 2-3 hours
• Assistance required
• Comfortable with curves and leans
• Basic experience with unsurfaced roads
• Short distance ascents and descents

Intermediate:

• Can cycle for 3-4 hours
• Average riding experience
• Little assistance required
• Comfortable with extreme curves and leans
• Average experience with unsurfaced roads
• Steep ascents and descents

Advanced:

• Can cycle for 5-6 hours
• Extensive riding experience
• Assistance on demand (if required)
• Experienced with riding a variety of bicycles
• Comfortable with any terrain and weather conditions

This cycling holiday will be held in Spain, covering places including La Herradura, Río Seco, Río Verde, Otívar, Almuñécar, Acebuchal, Canillas de Albaida, Competa, Lentegí, and Guájar Alto.

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A breakfast buffet will be served every morning for you. You will also be provided snacks and water each cycling day.

• 3 days guided cycling
• 3 nights accommodation
• 3 breakfast buffets
• Airport transport
• Services of an experienced English-speaking guide
• Secure bike storage
• Access to bike workshop
• Services of a helpful mechanic
• Water and snacks provided each cycling day
• Online photo album

• Flights to and from Malaga
• Participant insurance
• Spending money
• Lunch and dinner meals
• Any local charges for hotel services such as laundry, telephone calls etc

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 15% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.