BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAYS
The Wildest Pyrenees Mountain Biking Trails
The mountain biking across the Pyrenees is something special and the Spanish side is largely undiscovered by riders outside of Spain. Our Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holiday draws on our experience to link up the best mountain bike trails in the Pyrenees, link together the best shuttles and put them together in this fantastic tour. Many trails are old walking paths linking ancient villages, long since deserted, and the rides have an epic feel as we venture into the real backcountry of the Pyrenees.
“What can I say, we’ll be back! Loved every minute of it.
Steve (UK)
Easily the best mountain bike holiday (or any holiday for that matter) that I’ve ever been on. In fifteen years on mountain bike holidays, this is the best by a country mile”
Sierra de Guara and Some of Europe’s Least Populated Places
This mountain bike holiday will take you through Riglos, with its 500m red cliffs, Guara with a population density lower than Siberia, and finally into Zona Zero in Ainsa with it’s stunning mountain bike trails at the foot of the Pyrenees. This isn´t a point to point trip, rather a multi center holiday, designed to ride the best, and most diverse, mountain bike trails in the Spanish Pyrenees. During this week’s mountain bike holiday we generally get around 15,000m of descending with around 2,000 – 3000m of climbing. Overall this trip is organised in a very similar way to our High Pyrenees holiday.
Put simply this is some of the best mountain biking available on the planet.
PHOTOS | BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY
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Mountain Bike Holiday
- 7 nights
May
6 days riding
Transfers from San Sebastian
(Most people arrive via Bilbao or Biarritz)
15,000m descending, 3,000m climbing
Breakfast, 2 lunches, 4 evening meals
DETAILS | BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY
Overview
What’s Included?
- 7 Nights Accommodation
- Breakfasts, 2 Packed Lunches & 4 Dinners
- 6 Days Guiding
- Transfers from San Sebastian or Biarritz Airport
- Local Guides
- All Shuttles and Van support
- Guaranteed Single Room €300
“Awesome, Professional, Some of the best biking anywhere in the world. Great overall package on and off the bike. Spectacular scenery and incredible trails. We’ll be back (again) for sure.”
Gav (UK)
Biking
What is the Biking Like in the Backcountry Pyrenees?
Having groups with similar levels is key to our mountain bike holidays and something we spend a lot of time sorting before you arrive.
Each week we aim to run two groups with a guide, driver, van and trailer each to allow people to choose the group which best suits their level.
Ride With Groups At Your Level
We rate our holidays for fitness and skill levels and, to find out more about how we do this and an overview of the grades we use, check out our mountain bike holiday skills and fitness guide.
Skill Level
The terrain on our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday is technical from the start. Expect long, rocky descents with exposure. This trip is only suitable for advanced to expert riders.
Fitness
To enjoy our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday you need a good level of fitness. Some climbs will be sustained and may require pushing or carrying. What is most tiring though are the descents.
The sort of rider who will get the most from this tour will be very comfortable on any of the trail centre trails in the UK and maybe already have tried the Basque Coast mountain bike holiday. This trip is very similar to our High Pyrenees tour.
Logistics
LOGISTICS | BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES MOUNTAIN BIKE HOLIDAY
Arrival
Most people arrive to Bilbao Airport however Biarritz is also good. If you are flying via Madrid or Barcelona and be able to fly on to Hondarribia Airport for the shortest transfer.
If you are coming by car then the ferry to Bilbao or Santander is a good option from the UK. Additionally you can contact us for the most up to date advice.
From Paris you can take the TGV direct to Hendaye.
For the Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday you need to be with us before around 14:00 on the first Saturday.
Departure
Departures are very flexible. We can usually get you to San Sebastian in time to get a flight around 10:30am. Midday makes it a lot more relaxing for you though.
Accommodation
Accommodation
The accommodation we use for our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holiday will be a mixture of high quality local bed and breakfasts, upmarket hostals and stunning, “rider owned” apartments, all chosen for their character and to keep us closest to the very best mountain bike trails.
All accomodation has secure bike storage. We will have definite WiFi 5 nights, (2 nights it depends on the weather) and we will have access to clothes washing facilities on two nights.
Eating
We pride ourselves on the high quality of eating that you will experience on our mountain bike holidays! We love to eat and also enjoy trying the good wines and we relish the chance to share the great traditional Spanish places that we have found with our guests. We can’t guarantee that you will lose weight on our trips!
We include two packed lunches and four evening meals, on other days lunches will cost around €10-15 each day and dinners will cost from €15 to €25 each night.
Calendar
This trip will run in May. For a detailed schedule please check out our calendar.
Reviews
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The trip was fantastic from start to end. The guiding and standards of trails, food and accommodation were all perfect and made the backcountry experience totally authentic. Riding through abandoned villages and the terraced trails was incredibly memorable. And the guides and other guests made it too for me.
Riding holidays can sometimes be daunting for solo female travellers, but the guides worked hard to bring the group together and make sure all guests were included and had fun. The guides, the hosts at the accommodation and the other riders were all very inclusive and welcomed and encouraged all of us.
This was our fourth trip with BasqueMtb and it just keeps getting better and better! We love that they are always working on ways to improve their trips with everything from accommodation to quality of trails.
Best mountainbiking holiday ever. I want to go back since the very moment I stepped in the car back home.
Really really amazing trip, one of the Best European trips I've ever done.
FAQ´s
Here are some of the questions we are regularly asked about our mountain bike holidays. If you have any questions we are delighted to answer them, just get in touch.
Do you have an itinerary for your Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Holidays?
We don’t have set itineraries for any of our mountain bike holidays, we believe that the trails should be matched to the guests, however to give you an idea of what our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike tour looks like you can see an outline itinerary here: Backcountry Pyrenees Mountain Bike Tour Itinerary.
I don’t want to do a week’s mountain bike holiday, can I do a shorter break?
Unfortunately for our Backcountry Pyrenees holidays we can’t offer shorter tours due to the fact that at times during the trip we will be a long way from the airport.
What are the group sizes on a typical mountain bike holiday?
Our Backcountry Pyrenees mountain bike holidays run with a minimum of 4 people and a maximum of 14.
My partner doesn’t mountain bike but would like to join our holiday, is this possible?
The Backcountry Pyrenees trip isn’t really suitable for non-bikers. We would really recommend our Basque coast mountain bike holidays, near San Sebastian, if you want to come with non biking partners.
What is the weather like in that part of Spain?
The weather in the Spanish Pyrenees allows year round mountain biking. In winter the days are generally cold, however the skies are generally clear and this is a very dry part of Spain with around 330 days of sunshine a year. Temperatures are higher in autumn and spring, but you can expect general temperatures of around 10-20degC.
What bike / tyres / brake pads do you recommend for this part of Spain?
To try and make this subject a bit interactive we have a facebook page dedicated to this. Please have a look here, (and we always appreciate people liking our page!).
Our Backcountry Pyrenees bike holiday is a fun trip. It is intense and unrelenting but if you are looking for a challenging mountain bike holiday it will suit. It is very comparable to the High Pyrenees. There is some challenging climbing but around 80% of the riding is downhill. If you like the idea of riding long, wild trails and being out in the wilderness, with few amenities and just the mountains around you, this could be the mountain bike holiday for you!
Wild Riding
Long, technical and remote natural trails. The riding is rocky in general but hugely varied and above all fun. 1000´s of meters of descending each day.
Unlimited Shuttles
Unlimited uplift as on all trips. Our uplifts are carefully thought out to make each day a continous adventure.
Environment
An amazing geological wonderland. The trails cross these mountains, gorges and rock formations guiding you through a wild environment.
Experience
Drinks around open fires, amazing picnics in abandoned villages. These are the experiences you get on the Backcountry Pyrenees.
BACKCOUNTRY PYRENEES | RELATED PAGES
Before you book why not have a look at some of our Backcountry Pyrenees stories and related holidays?
