Away from the Crowds

31/10/2024

"We really enjoyed the trip: the landscape in spring, the nature, the towns and cities, the routes, the Paradores obviously, the contacts with the Spanish people... We were also very lucky with the weather. Neither intense heat nor heavy spring rain. Taking this trip at the end of April was ideal. It is such a beautiful and interesting excursion that you will surely want to repeat this trip. It's worth it!"
Dr Ulf Heyden, Germany

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-extremadura-the-paradors.html

27/10/2024

"Thank you for the perfect organisation and letting us discover Spain in an original way!" Sportive greetings Luc and Brigit, Brakel, Belgium.

"For the second time we had a very good experience with 'Senderos y Pueblos'! The mix of landscapes, variations in hotels, the fantastic clear roadbook, the kms, everything ok ....Looking forward to another Spain experience!"

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-across-pico.html

24/10/2024

Sometimes the boss gets out and enjoys the opportunity to meet Aftc friends!!
Here, we spent a lovely morning with Alan and Tricia Botteril from the UK, sending them off on their Salamanca cycling adventure.

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-roman-route-to-salamanca.html

17/10/2024

"This company is by far the best in Europe"
Vanda & John Tillotson, UK.

"La Rioja - Vineyards and Medieval Towns. This trip was an absolute delight from start to finish. We cycled through vineyards and small towns on quiet roads and dirt tracks at the tail end of the vine picking harvest. We had time to explore, and sit in cafes, to absorb the culture. Every evening we arrived in the most fabulous 4* monasteries, convents or local hotels full of character. All hotels welcomed us as cyclists and some even had Bike Friendly secure rooms. The route was exceptionally well chosen and introduced us to not only medieval towns but also the Camino de Santiago."

¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you so much! Aftc

13/10/2024

Here are the runners-up from our September Photo Competition. We love the photo of Michal cooling off in the crystal clear river in Extremadura, Marion jumping through the waves in the Green Coast, Catherine's fabulous Griffon Vulture and Marion admiring the view in Cantabria!
Thanks so much to all who participated, we love receiving your photos!

Check out our cycling and walking holidays ://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/

09/10/2024

Congratulations to our Aftc friends Catherine and Michal for winning 'Photo of the Month' for September! They completed our luxury Extremadura tour in early September...never has a chilled beer tasted so good!
We love the blue sky, colourful houses, the locals sitting in the decorated square chatting, the bikes and the prize at the end of a challenging day in the saddle!

Check out this fabulous holiday @
https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-extremadura-the-paradors.html

07/10/2024

Our friends Simon and Sharon have been travelling with us since 2015 and have done an amazing SEVEN trips with Away from the Crowds! What a recommendation!!
This year they enjoyed their cycling adventure in La Rioja and sent us lots of fabulous photos, as they always do! We love receiving your photos, putting names to faces and seeing you enjoying the holidays that we work so hard to create!

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-to-la-rioja.html

22/09/2024

We're enjoying receiving all your entries...keep them coming throughout September!

📷The photo competition is open to all who travel with us in 2024. No expert photogrpahy needed. We love images that tell a story, preferably featuring bikes, cyclists or walkers!
📷The winner will receive an Digital Photo Frame (or an AFTC Voucher)
📷Your photos and videos will go forward to the 'Photo of the Month' and will be posted on our social media.
📷For further information: [email protected]

18/09/2024

Adrienne and Marcus had a great time 'Away from the Crowds' discovering the Roman Route of Salamanca and the surrounding mountain villages.
On this trip, you'll visit the stunning monumental cities of Avila and Salamanca then get off the beaten track to discover towns, villages and hidden hamlets that most tourists don't get to! Authentic travel...Away from the Crowds!

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-roman-route-to-salamanca.html

15/09/2024

Looking for a last minute autumn cycling break? Asturias, Northern Spain...

Hi, we have just returned from our ‘Mountains to Sea’ holiday and wanted to let you know how great the whole trip was - organisation before and during was exceptional, routes were beautiful (what a stunning area), hotels were all very unique and full of character, and everyone we met along the way were helpful and cheerful. We had a fantastic holiday with extra days at the beginning and end.
Thanks again
Fiona & Richard Hartley, UK

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-across-pico.html

12/09/2024

Presenting our AFTC photo of the month for August...
Thanks to Adrienne and Marcus from Bath, UK.
This fabulous photo captures a traditional celebration in the village of Candelario, on the Salamanca-Roman Route cycling holiday. Aftc travellers often experience local processions and celebrations as we take them through villages steeped in tradition and history!
Here you see the respresentation of a traditional village wedding which takes place in Candelario every August. The whole village enjoy traditional music and dance, processions and comunal meals, dressed in typical costumes!

Away from the Crowds is an alternative travel agency specialising in nature and cultural tours away

24/08/2024

It's not too late to book the Perfect Autumn Cycling Adventure: La Rioja

"The ride as a whole was almost overwhelmingly rich culturally and historically, the La Rioja area fascinating and lovely with vineyards, bodegas, ancient towns and of course wonderful wine. ... we were delighted to be surrounded by wildflowers and birdsong for much of the ride – and the weather was lovely. The quality of the trip was maintained from start to finish, the communication, organisation and attention to detail was excellent throughout...we cannot praise it highly enough. The accommodation... was invariably spectacular, of excellent quality...
A big thank you to all at Away from the Crowds, we are sure we will be back"
Peter and Gunilla, Hertford, UK.

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-the-best-of-la-rioja.html

18/08/2024

Looking for an autumn adventure?
Extremadura, the perfect place for a sunny Spanish cycling adventure...with a touch of luxury!

Come and discover this fascinating area that oozes history, delights the culture vulture and enthralls the nature enthusiast! You'll be enchanted by the outstanding Parador hotels in beautifully restored historic monuments, set in the sweeping landscapes of central Spain, full of springtime wildflowers. You'll explore the birdlife paradise of Monfragüe National Park and lose yourself in the cobbled streets of the UNESCO city of Caceres, Jarandilla de la Vera and Plasencia. The perfect combination of cycling, exploring and relaxing.

Our travellers agree that the Monastry of Yuste is a particular highlight: "such a peaceful place steeped in so much history that it seems like Charles V has just left." You'll mix with the locals and see few foreign tourists, if any! Your host in Monfrague, Carmen, has been voted a “national treasure” by our travellers! They also agree that extra nights is a must, to give you the opportunity to really explore on foot and by bike-having time to steep yourself in history or simply enjoy a chilled beer in the 'plaza' as the swifts dance above you... What are you waiting for?!!

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-extremadura-the-paradors.html

16/08/2024

Happy Weekend everyone, cheers! (Any more languages?!)

A glass of chilled Albariño by the magestic Miño river...'Galicia Paradores tour' (launch coming soon!!)

13/08/2024

Thanks to John and Katy Palmer from Teddington, Uk for this lovely review of our Extremadura route:

"We appreciated the thought and care that has gone into providing the routes and accommodation along the way. It was all very slick and operated without any hitches – the bags magically appeared each day in our accommodation. The staff at all the locations were clearly very “switched on” to the cyclists from AFTC. The facilities for stowing the bikes were excellent and the staff were very accommodating on the occasions where we arrived a little earlier than intended...All the Paradors - and the Palacio Viejo De Las Corchuelas at Montfrague - were excellent. Carmen at Monfrague is a “national treasure” I should think! We felt privileged to stay there!

The bikes were perfect for the journey – the specifications were very good – disk brakes, derailleur gears etc. All this information was helpfully provided by AFTC in the documentation and it was very handy knowing what to expect. We did pack our own saddle for one of the bikes and this worked well – if you have a saddle you know you are used to, and you know you may get saddle sore this is a possible way of avoiding potential problems. Swapping saddles was simple with the tools provided.
.. I don’t think there is anything for AFTC to improve...Thanks to all the staff at AFTC ... for a very successful and memorable holiday. We will of course be recommending AFTC holidays to our friends and family!"

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-extremadura-the-paradors.html

06/08/2024

Here are some of our other favourite photos from the photo competition this month...

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/index.html

04/08/2024

All our travellers love our Extremadura cycling route. Maggie and Andrew Higgins from the UK had this to say...

"Our only regret is that the trip was not longer – we would have loved more days cycling! We look forward very much to returning soon for another cycling adventure in rural Spain, hopefully next time with (our friends). We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Senderos y Pueblos for organising a truly memorable holiday."

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-extremadura-the-paradors.html

02/08/2024

Announcing 'Photo of the Month, July.'
A HUGE thank you to Simon and Sharon Wilkins from Huddersfield, UK. This lovely couple have been travelling with us since 2015 and have done a tremendous 8 Aftc holidays! They took this shot while enjoying the 'Burgos to La Rioja' tour. We love this photo that captures the 'Slow Travel' spirit of Aftc with a touch of humour and originality!

¡Muchas gracias amigos!

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-to-la-rioja.html

31/07/2024

Cycling Holidays in the Sun, since 2008

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/

29/07/2024

What a great photographer Edna is! We really think she's captured the spirit of Andalucia with these fabulous shots! It's hardly surprising she won our 'photo of the month' back in April! Which one's your favourite?!

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-sevilla-to-cadiz.html

21/07/2024

Vibrant Valencia - an adventure full of contrasts! "Full marks and thank you again...

These (photos) are just a brief example of what was for us all a great trip...We all enjoyed the quality of rooms you had arranged for us, as well as the variety of cycling - beach, hills, quiet countryside and busy resorts... (We had a) specially lovely meal at the fish restaurant in Valencia on Karen’s birthday... And a surprise memory was a truffle speciality meal at the hotel/restaurant in the mountains..."

Tony Barry, Karen Yates, Julia Newton and Mark Hindley, London, UK.

https://www.awayfromthecrowds.com/cycling-valencia-and-the-costa-azahar.html

18/07/2024

"OKAY, you guys are going to get an earful from us … a good earful!

Can I please tell you how ONCE AGAIN you gave us a life changing, incredible trip?

Yes, the weather was tough... Our first day was tricky because we got caught in huge downpours ... Because of that, we skipped the section from Olot to Los Hosteles and took a cab instead. But when the next day was just as rainy, we just decided to go for it to Girona …. And …. both boys loved every single second. Even every single soaking wet, muddy second. Our poor 8-year-old is particularly tiny and so his bike was very small and it took us 5-6 hours to get from place to place, and still… not one complaint. Only joy. The boys felt such a sense of accomplishment and (finally) fell in love with cycling. The sights, the smells, the pathways, the surprising moments of playing soccer with school kids in Cassa de la Selva. On the last day, we found ourselves having an incredible dinner at an experimental Italian restaurant on the sea already browsing your catalogue for our next adventure. (Alicante, I think!)

We are so grateful to have rediscovered your services!"

Courtney, Peter and the boys, Colorado, USA

15/07/2024

Back in 2011, Peter chose the Ermita de San Frutos in Segovia as the perfect location to pop the question to the love of his life, Courtney whilst on an Aftc Vespa holiday 💖💖As you can imagine, they've always had fond memories of their special Aftc adventure and we were delighted to receive a message from Courtney saying that she'd just found us again and they wanted to return to Spain for another Aftc adventure with their kids! They've just done Cataluña, watch out for our next post with their review!

13/07/2024

Many of our travellers are surprised by how courteous Spanish drivers are with cyclists! Most drivers will pass you at a reduced speed and leaving you plenty of space.
We love this photo from Tony Barry while cycling in vibrant Valencia!

11/07/2024

Here's some more of our favourite shots form the AFTC IIII Photo and Video Competition. Thanks to all our travellers for taking part, it's always such a hard decision! If you're about to travel with us and you'd like to receive details and tips for participating, please just get in touch!