Cycling Calpe and the Costa Blanca:
your ultimate guide

Calpe cycling routes

Cycling Calpe and the Costa Blanca is all about the hills and mountains that form its craggy backdrop. Twisty roads weave up rocky mountain passes and offer far-reaching views over the coastal plains and valleys below. There’s little in the way of forest, so for much of every climb, you’re treated to fabulous panoramas.

Calpe’s bike routes aren’t the top choice if you’re looking for flat, easy riding. Flatter areas do exist, but the geography means they’re along the coastal plains. The coast is densely populated; don’t expect quiet roads.

Want to get inspired?

Check out our Costa Blanca cycling routes, below!

Serra Gelada, Calpe

54km 830m

Coll de Rates (from Parcent) and Port de Bèrnia loop

119km 2260m

Cumbre del Sol, Playa de la Granadella and Dénia loop

110km 1663m

Guadelest and Vall d’Ebo loop, Calpe

138km 2560m

Puerto de Tudons and Coll de Rates (including the secret summit)

155km 3350m

Tips for cycling in Calpe

And finally… don’t miss our top tips for cycling in Calpe.

Coffee rides

If you’re looking to meet other cyclists in the region – or you’re just after a coffee run kind of a bike ride while you’re in Calpe, check out the cycling focused coffee shops in the Calpe region. More details below.

The Serra Gelada ride above is also worth a look – it heads to D’Origen near Alicante.

Accommodation

If you’re coming to Calpe for cycling, you’ll want to focus your accommodation search between Dénia in the north and Benidorm in the south. This is the part of the Costa Blanca that’s of most interest to cyclists. Just a few kilometres inland from the coastline you find some of the best cycling routes in the Calpe area among the magnificent natural parks and mountains.

This stretch of coastline is a hugely popular beach-focused tourist destination during the summer months. This means there’s loads of accommodation, and many of the hotels offer excellent deals in winter and spring.

So, where are you going to stay for cycling in the Costa Blanca region?

(For the in-depth low down on where to stay, read our article sharing the best cycling hotels in Calpe).

Large hotel on the coast?

Most people coming for cycling in Calpe, Spain and the Costa Blanca, stay on the coast in places like Calpe and Dénia. The advantage of these towns is that there is plenty of bike hire, you’re close to the mountains, accommodation is reasonably priced in winter and (if relevant) you’re close to the beach. However, be aware that you’ll inevitably have to cycle the coastal roads, which are busy with traffic.

Our selection of the best hotels for cyclists in Calpe is here.

Or small, inland hotel?

The alternative to a large hotel on the coast is a small hotel in an inland village: for example Guadelest and Benissa.

Many of these villages/small towns are very picturesque, with ancient winding lanes topped by a castle or pretty church. The hotels tend to be small and boutique, and you’re surrounded by quiet routes ideal for some Calpe road cycling. The downside is that you’ll probably have to do a fair amount of climbing from the door at the beginning and end of each day.

Our selection of the best hotels for cyclists inland is here.

Our choice: Gran Hotel Sol y Mar, Calpe

We stayed in a sea view room on the seventh floor of the four-star Sol y Mar hotel on Calpe’s seafront. It’s a large, glassy structure, with a prominent location on the promenade adjacent to the beach.

Check prices for Hotel Sol y Mar here

What we loved

• The views from our balcony, over the beach and out to the Peñón de Ifach rock. The room was a decent size, and the bed was huge and very comfortable.
• Tasty breakfast, with lots of choice. Highlights for us were the Nespresso machine for a decent coffee and the freshly squeezed orange juice. There’s also a wide selection of food including meat, cheese, fruit, yoghurt, pastries cereals and cooked options. There’s even cava on offer, should you wish?!
• The car park under the hotel made parking a breeze. We stored our bike in the car, though there is a bike centre with workshop area, for basic repairs, and a locked storage area.
• The hotel is well located. It’s a short stroll to lots of restaurants, and you’re right on the beach.
  Good layout of the living areas. The kitchen has a good table with room for eight adults and a partially separated sitting room that you can see through a divider. There is also an additional seating area and dining table which we didn’t use very much.
• The Calpe bike rental shops are all within a few minutes walk.
• The outdoor pool (unheated) and beach club are attractive, if rather bijou compared to the size of the hotel.
• 700m² spa with pools, jacuzzis, Turkish bath, showers, ice fountain, sauna and relaxation room. Treatments are also available.

Downsides

• There is an additional charge to use the spa (when we visited it was 29 euros/day at weekends). Car parking in the garage under the hotel is also an additional charge (14 euros/day when we visited).
• The hotel is adults only. For family-friendly accommodation, stay at Suitopia, Sol y Mar’s sister hotel opened in 2017 (it looks lovely!).
• If we’re being very picky, we found the bedroom corridors dimly lit and thought some of the decor felt a little tired/uninspired.

Conclusion

We’d happily suggest the hotel to friends heading of cycling in the Costa Blanca area, and would return.

Still not sure where to stay in Calpe? Read this in-depth article on Calpe’s best cycling hotels.

Costa Blanca bike hire

There is a good range of bike hire outlets in this area of the Costa Blanca. Not all of them are obvious from a quick google search for bike rental in Calpe, but they are there!

We hope that our list helps with your planning, but please note:

• We haven’t used these ourselves.
• This information is offered as an indicative guide only: we periodically update it, but prices, services and bike brands may change. Please let us know if you find anything that is incorrect so we can put it right.

Undecided on whether to hire a bike or bring your own? Read this now.

Tips:

• Book your bike in advance, particularly in peak season (March to end of April/mid-May).
• Remember to bring your pedals, shoes and helmet. This packing list may help!
• Check which way around your brakes are set before you ride away (i.e. whether the front brakes are on the right hand (as is usual in the UK) or on the left (as is usual elsewhere in Europe)). Also, take a look at our list of things to check before hiring a bike.

When to go

The Calpe region boasts more than 300 days of sunshine per year (or even 325 hours if you read some reports). The World Health Organisation says the Costa Blanca climate is one of the best in the world.

Calp cycling is viable all year around, although the temperatures in summer mean you’ll need to head out early and plan your route carefully.

The most popular time for cyclists to visit Calpe is between February and May, with peak cycling season being March to the end of April or mid-May.

Between late January and early March, it’s almond blossom season and many valleys transform into a sea of pink.

It’s also worth considering timing your visit around one of the festival days. On 19 March it’s the Fallas festival. In many towns and villages, enormous colourful floats made of wood and papier-mache are paraded through the streets before they’re burned on a bonfire at midnight to mark the beginning of spring. This is accompanied by fireworks.

Getting around the Calpe region

Having a rental car opens options for inland family, shopping, dining, rest days, a support vehicle, recceing new routes and non-cycling friends/partners.

Tips and articles

Training camps on the Costa Blanca

In this article we speak with Elitecycling who run Costa Blanca cycling holidays and training camps from Albir. Worth a read if you’re considering a cycling holiday with a training focus.

Cycling-friendly coffee shops

A few cycling-focused coffee shops have sprung up in the area. They’re a great place to meet other cyclists – and perhaps the odd pro too!

• Service Course by Baguet Bicycle Center, Calpe
• Musette Cafe, Alcalalí
• Cafe Ciclista, Denia
• Velosol Cycling bar, Jalon (note that it often closes for two weeks at the end of August!)

Maps and books

We used Marco Polo’s Costa Blanca guidebook to help plan our trip. The section on Costa Blanca is only 21 pages long, but it packs in some useful information on the main towns.

If you like a physical map, Michelin’s Costa Blanca 1:130,000 may be what you need.

Good to know

Confused about the different names for some of the towns? Calpe is the Spanish name, Calp is the Valencian name. The same goes for Javea (Spanish)/Xabia (Valencian) and Jalón (Spanish)/Xaló (Valencian). Our guides tend to stick with the Spanish names.

Parking spaces marked with blue lines means you need to pay. If you see yellow lines, parking is prohibited.

If you see free chairs at a table occupied by someone else in a busy restaurant/café, don’t ask to sit down. It’s not a habit that’s common in Spain and will make Spanish people feel uncomfortable.

It’s worth knowing that both Calpe and Dénia have attractive old towns hidden away behind the urban sprawl (more on their history, here). If you’re staying in one of the towns and have any time off the bike, it’s worth searching out the old towns. The castle in Dénia doesn’t close until around midnight in July and August, so plenty of time after your ride!

Highway code and travel information

As ever, it’s a good idea to check current travel information before you book and travel. For UK visitors, the UK government travel information pages for Spain are here. You should also read and follow Spain’s highway code.

Enjoyed our guide?

We’d love to hear from you – comment below or drop us a line.

Want more? Don’t miss our guides to the best Costa Blanca cycling routes in the road rides section above.

Want to check out some other destinations? Don’t miss our overview of Spain for cyclists, our pick of the best cycling destinations in Spain. Also check out our guides to Girona and Costa Daurada to the north and Murcia and Almeria to the south. Or search by the month you want to travel or cycling destination you want to visit, here.

Clare Dewey is a cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com in 2018 to help make it easy for cyclists to explore the world by bike. Today her mission is still inspiring cyclists to discover new places on two wheels – and doing what she can to make sure they have the best possible time while they’re there. Clare has visited 50+ destinations around the world, many of them by bike.