Having been to Spain on countless package holidays in the 90s and early 2000s, i’ve never really considered a tour there, but it has been growing on me ever since my short break in Barcelona.

This will be my second tour this year, but this time I’ll be two up as my girlfriend keen to see what this touring lark is all about.

I booked the ferry just weeks after getting back from Budapest, but probably should have waited as Brittany Ferries’ monopoly on the UK to Santander route has finally come to an end. LD Lines started a new route in November, and despite enjoying a £25 discount with Brittany, the LD Lines booking is still over £100 cheaper. Oh well.

With two days lost at sea timings for this tour are pretty tight. Spain is such a vast country with a wealth of sights, and attractions.

Having sought advice from ex-pats over at F650.co.uk we’ll be headed east taking in a little of the Picos before motoring on down to Salamanca. We were originally going to stay in Madrid, but with Salamanca being a big student town, and having some great history itself, we figured it’d be a better experience than the capital.

From there we’ll be blasting through the flat Extremadura, and spending a few days in Seville, which will serve as a base for some local exploration. The girlfriend wants to see Ronda, and I’m told of a great road down to San Pedro.

Next up is a stay in Granada with a trip to Sierra Nevada, or as far as we can get at that time of the year, then a few days to get back up North via Valencia.

It’s a shame we won’t be able to do more, but it’ll serve as a nice introduction to Spain, and as I want to visit Morocco at some point, I’m sure I’ll be back.