Overland to the start

London to northern Spain by ferry

No flights ~1–2 days travelling Bike friendly Trains + ferries

The simplest overland journey on this list, because it is barely overland at all: ride onto the boat in Plymouth or Portsmouth and ride off it in Spain. Santander puts you on the Atlantic coast with EuroVelo 1 running west into Galicia and the Camino heading inland, and it skips France entirely. Two nights at sea in exchange for no trains, no connections and no bike bag.

The chain

  1. 🚆
    London to Portsmouth by rail or road South Western Railway from Waterloo takes bikes; the terminal is a few minutes from Portsmouth Harbour station.
  2. ⛴
    Portsmouth to Santander by ferry Brittany Ferries · about 24h · bikes roll on
Ferry times here are typical crossings, not a timetable. Trains change with the season and the day of the week. The planner checks both for your dates and warns you when a train wants the bike bagged. Check anything safety critical with the operator before you travel.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax will time every train, check the bike rules on each leg, and build the rest of the tour around it. Free to start. No account needed.

Plan London to Santander live →

Book the legs

TourTrax never sells tickets. Each leg is booked with its operator directly:

Why go overland

Flying with a bike means a box, an oversize fee, and an hour on the airport floor with a multitool. Go this way and the bike stays built. Wheel it onto the ferry, hang it in the bike carriage, ride away at the far end. The travelling stops being the tax on the holiday and becomes the first two days of it.

This page comes from the corridor research that powers the TourTrax planner, written by a Cicerone guidebook author who travels this way. Have a look at the curated routes for where the chain could take you.