Crossing Gran Canaria
6 nights / 7 days – Small groups of between 4 a 8 people
price and dates on request
“Crossing Gran Canaria”
Crossing Gran Canaria is a total immersion in real local life. You will hardly believe that you are biking in Gran Canaria… We stay for 2 nights at 3 different locations while luggage follows. You’ll imagine yourself in a different world each time. From a historic finca among the fruit trees, a rural hotel in the center of Tejeda to a luxury hotel on the rugged coast of Agaete. We combine all of that with biking on exciting single trails, camino reales, and fire roads with incredible panoramic views. Enjoy typical meals prepared by warm, welcoming locals. This choice is a perfect mix of great mountain biking, unique accommodations, and delicious cuisine.
Itinerary “Crossing Gran Canaria”
Day 1
Your guide awaits you at the airport and escort you to the first location: Las Vegas. Yes, you read that right, Las Vegas, a small town near Valsequillo. We will stay in Bejamin’s historic farm “Finca Don Emilio”. For those who can’t wait to get on their bikes, we can do a first local tour to get used to your bike. But you can also just make the switch to local life and walk among the fruit trees and vineyards, the sheep and goats, and explore this beautiful finca. The view is so beautiful that you’ll feel relaxed immediately. We’ll try Margarita’s homemade cheese with freshly baked bread from the wood-fired oven and taste Bejamins 100% self-produced natural wine. The dinner will be a farm experience to never forget.
Day 2
We start riding from the idyllic town of Valsequillo where we climb towards some beautiful single trails. Over Montaña de Las Palmas, with a beautiful panoramic view on Telde, we head towards bike park Tara on flowy single trails down to the old town of San Juan. We have our lunch here before diving into the Baranco Real de Telde.
With a real jungle feeling, over thick boulders and between high massive rocks, we bike towards Valsequillo again. We climb old camino reales through the orange, lemon, and mango trees, where wonderful blossom scents will surround you! We arrive back at Finca Don Emilio around 4 pm, where a nice fresh beer awaits us. It’s time to enjoy a shower, steam bath, and jacuzzi with an incredible view. Dinner will be enjoyed in a local restaurant
Day 3
After breakfast, we load the luggage into the shuttle and leave for our next location. Today is the Queen stage that will require all our strength. We are literally Crossing Gran Canaria and climbing to the Pico de las Nieves along beautiful fire roads with spectacular views. At the Caldera de Los Marteles we enjoy our lunch with a view. Once we have reached “Pico de Las Nieves” the reward awaits us. A descent on exhilarating single trails towards Cruz de Tejeda and on to one of the most beautiful villages in Gran Canaria: Tejeda. Our accommodation: Hotel Rural Fonda de la Tea. After a refreshing shower, we have a well-deserved dinner in a local restaurant.
Day 4
We start the day with a gentle climb to Cruz de Tejeda along the road, to save energy. You’ll thank us for that later. In Cruz de Tejeda the climbing continues a bit more but on some challenging single tracks. All of this is rewarded with an amazing trail descent towards Artenara, where it’s time for lunch in the cozy village. We continue our trip down on exciting single trails and flowy pistas, with very nice views of the Roque nublo and the Roque Bentayga. After almost endless switchbacks down in the valley, we make the final steep climb back up to Tejeda. You’ll feel the long day in the saddle… We close the day with a delicious dinner in the idyllic center of Tejeda before we head off to a good night’s sleep.
Day 5
Today we move to Agaete! Depending on the energy level, we climb to Cruz de Tejeda over the road or on a lot more challenging off-road. All types of terrain and a completely different landscape will surprise you once more. Narrow shepherd paths lead us to Bascamao for lunch in a cave restaurant with another stunning view. Our “Advanced level” climbs back up a bit to cross a few calderas towards the enduro course of Agaete.
The “Intermediate level” keeps more flow and connects to the last single trails of the day along a beautiful scenic descent. These last trails bring us to the piscinas naturales of Agaete, where drinks await us at the beach bar. In the luxurious hotel Roca Negra, you can recover in the relaxing spa or enjoy a well-deserved massage. Don’t miss the sunset here because it’s breathtaking! We have dinner in an ocean view restaurant where freshly caught fish is on the menu.
Day 6
For the last day of riding, we’ll go a bit easy on you… We start riding along a nice single trail and make the connection with Galdar , the old capital of Gran Canaria. It is without a doubt worth a visit and a coffee. Over thick boulders, we head to “Playa de Bocabarranco” where lunch is served in a cozy local restaurant along the beach. Next up: a mix of cool single trails, flowy and rough pistas, and small connections over the road with one consistency: a mighty view of the rough coastline.
We pass through a tiny fisherman village that appears straight out of a fairy tale and have a break at the Faro de Punto Sardina. A steep narrow track over the mountain ridge brings us to more ocean-side trails, the occasional bike-hiking, past a hippie house in the valley to end with a blast on the trails of the campionata de Gran Canaria. Dinner tonight in the city again but this time with an Italian twist.
Day 7
All fairy tales come to an end, and unfortunately, we have to say goodbye today. No biking but maybe sleep in, have breakfast a little later, and just enjoy life…
Don’t worry about bringing bikes back to the rental company or anything like that, we take care of it. Just enjoy your holiday until the last minute!
The shuttle will pick you up around 12h to take you back to the airport on time, so no stress.
Pictures “Crossing Gran Canaria”
What’s included in “Crossing Gran Canaria”?
- Airport transfer to the first accommodation + back to the airport
- Accommodation for 2 nights on each of the 3 locations
- Finca rural Don Emilio in Las Vegas
- Hotel Rural “Fonda de la Tea” in Tejeda
- Hotel “Roca Negra” in Agaete
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners on riding days (on arrival-day dinner is included and on departure-day breakfast is included)
- Water at the start of each ride to fill up bottles and drinking bladders
- Pick up and return of rental bikes
What’s not included in “Crossing Gran Canaria”?
- Flights to Gran Canaria and back
- Drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) during the day and with the meals (except for coffee or tea at breakfast)
- Travel, cancellation and accident insurance
- Rental bike
Optional
- Single use of a double room is a supplement of 400€ for the whole stay
Required skill & fitness level explained
Foremost, an important reminder: riding an E-MTB does not substitute for any lack of skills or fitness. Our tours are designed for the best E-MTB experience, so you should expect to make the same physical effort as you would on a regular MTB. The extra engine support simply compensates for the extra challenges in our tours. As for riding skills, you need at least the same riding skills with an E-MTB as you need with a regular MTB. We ride our tours in general in ECO-mode except for very steep or technical uphill parts to have the best chance on a battery that makes it through the day.
We offer “Crossing Gran Canaria” in 2 different skill levels because we (can) ride with 2 guides, so groups can split up to make each of you feel comfortable. Let’s say that an average tour covers about 70% of the same routes in both levels, and 30% makes the difference. Sometimes an extension is possible for advanced level.
Crossing Gran Canaria is NOT possible for inexperienced or beginner riders.
Intermediate level
We expect you to have at least 2 years of experience riding MTB or E-MTB and taking your bike off-road at least once a week during the season. You feel comfortable riding wider off-road tracks and flowy single tracks. Small rocks don’t frighten you, and you’re not afraid of trying something a bit more technical with the correct guidance. But you feel comfortable knowing that you can choose to walk a tricky technical section. Physical-wise, you consider yourself fit enough to be on the E-MTB for about 6 hours a day (picture breaks and a 1h lunch included) for 5 consecutive days. You don’t mind the (longer) climbing, as long as you can go on an easy pace.
Advanced level
We expect you to have at least 2 to 3 years of experience riding MTB or E-MTB. You take your bike out on the trails at least two or three times a week in the season. And you feel comfortable on most types of terrain: loose, rocky, root sections, exposed single tracks, tight switchbacks… Improving your skills is something you look forward to. Moderate rock gardens and taking small drops are no problem, but where it gets too crazy, you don’t mind walking a section. Also, climbing and descending steeper single tracks and small jumps don’t scare you, but just make you smile. Physical-wise, you consider yourself fit enough to be on the E-MBT for about 6 hours a day (picture breaks and 1-hour lunch included) for 5 consecutive days. A fair amount of (technical) climbing is absolutely no problem.
What to bring
We will send you a full pack list about 4 weeks before arrival, so you’ll be well-prepared for your winter adventure.