With a reputation as one of Europe's premier cycling destinations, the city of Girona is where cycling camps in Spain tend to gravitate. While Girona is undoubtedly a great town, it's not on the coast, and it's the coast, the incredibly scenic intersection of the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea known as the Costa Brava, that makes northeast Spain so special. With this cycling camp, we've combined the best of both worlds, providing the same type of fantastic cycling you'll find in Girona from a stunning beachfront homebase in historic Tossa de Mar!
In addition to the idyllic setting and the epic views, we've limited the camp to only eight guests, ensuring a personalized experience with just the right balance of guidance and flexibility, along with a proper mix of time with the group and time on your own. Featuring fun road, gravel and mountain bike adventures, spectacular seaside recovery, and fantastic food, this cycling camp offers the best of northeast Spain in an unforgettable four-day package.
Still want to go to Girona? We've timed the camp to make it easy to tack on a trip to Girona at the end of the week to attend one of the world's biggest cycling festivals at Sea Otter Europe!
CAMP OVERVIEW: Expectations
If you're looking for a cycling camp that focuses on watts per kilogram and nutrition seminars, this is not it. While our daily rides will certainly get your heart rate up and there will be no shortage of delicious and nutritious food, we're more interested in showing off the stunning landscapes of this Mediterranean paradise than we are in personal training. The only metric we're interested in is FUN, and these roads are made for just that - a perfect combination of fast flow, challenging climbs, and glorious descents! And views. Never-ending, jaw-dropping views. The camp kicks off with a guided group ride on day one, but the next two days you'll have the option of sticking with the group or riding on your own. You'll also have some shorter route options on those two days. And then the last day we'll ride as a group again on a fun mountain bike ride led by the owner of the local bike shop and our partner in this tour, Tossa Cycling. Tossa Cycling will also provide support during each ride with strategically placed aid stations along the routes. They'll also be on call for emergency situations. As for meals, you'll fuel up for the daily rides at the amazing breakfast spread that the Golden Mar Menuda hotel puts out each morning. We'll have lunch together on the first and last days when we ride as a group, and you'll do lunch on your own the middle two days when there's more flexibility in distance and pace. Dinners will be together as a group each night as we swap war stories and feast at Tossa's best restaurants! As the itinerary below indicates, the rides are not terribly long but they do have significant elevation gain, some of which is quite steep, with grades tilting up to 20% in places. If you're not on an e-bike, those sections might require a little hike-a-bike. Come prepared for challenging climbs and embrace the adventure on these rides. After all, this is the Costa Brava - the Wild Coast!
Tossa de Mar
Tossa has it all: postcard-perfect beaches, an incredibly rich history dating back to the Romans, and a surprisingly wide array of shops and restaurants for a town this size. While the cycling is certainly the priority, rest assured you will not run out of things to see and do when you're off the bike! Check out visittossa.com for everything you need to know about this charming seaside village.
Massís de Cadiretes
Part of what makes Tossa so special is how neatly it's nestled between the sea and the mountains. To make this setting even more perfect, these mountains are actually a nature preserve known as the Massis de Cadiretes, offering endless miles of scenic hiking and mountain bike trails along with a beautiful network of gravel roads, all with big climbs and even bigger views! This unspoiled nature park will be our playground for the week.
The Coastal Highway
Search for popular cycling routes out of Girona and you will inevitably find a coastal loop that takes you on the road between Tossa de Mar and Sant Feliu de Guixols. While there are multiple variations of this loop, they all feature the same beautiful 12-mile stretch of road that hugs the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. It's a staple of any cycling holiday in northeast Spain and it's even featured in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (the one-week pro cycling race that takes place in the region every March). We'll take full advantage of this spectacular gem, incorporating it in parts and in its entirety on several of our routes.
Sea Otter Europe
Want more cycling on your trip? We've intentionally scheduled this camp to make it easy to combine with one of the world's biggest cycling festivals just down the road in Girona. Just a little over 20 miles from Tossa, Girona will be hosting Sea Otter Europe, featuring multiple rides & races for all levels, an expo with pretty much every cycling brand known to man, and tons of bikes for you to demo. We highly recommend wrapping up your cycling vacation with this incredible event!
SUNDAY: Arrival
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Your only job today is to simply make it to Tossa in time for dinner at 7:00 at the hotel. Check in starts at 3:00 p.m. If you arrive early, Tossa de Mar is loaded with things to do, from touring the Vila Vella (Tossa's old town with its 13th century walls) to exploring the many shops that line the streets of the central city to hitting the beach!
MONDAY: The Mediterranean
DISTANCE: 33 miles CLIMBING: 3900 ft MOSTLY PAVED: 80%
We'll kick off the camp with a spectacular ride that starts with the super scenic coastal highway between Tossa and Sant Feliu. After taking a break at the beach in Sant Feliu, we'll get our first taste of the gravel in this part of the world on a beautiful and challenging climb up to the iconic Sant Grau Shrine. When we reach the top, we'll be rewarded with an unbelievable never-ending paved descent, the kind you see in the Tour de France, with plenty of fun switchbacks and views of the Mediterranean the whole way down! After bottoming out at the coastal highway, we'll take a quick detour to a classic Costa Brava cove for lunch on the beach. From lunch, it's just a couple of miles along the coast back to Tossa, where you'll have time to play tourist, go kayaking, lay out on the beach or simply take a nap before regrouping for dinner in town.
TUESDAY: The Mountains
DISTANCE: 37 miles CLIMBING: 4300 ft MOSTLY GRAVEL: 80%
Views, views, and more views! Today's ride will take us up and over the mountains behind Tossa as we explore the endless gravel roads this region has to offer. While the grades will be challenging as we cross over the mountains, we'll also have the opportunity to cut loose on some relatively flat & fast hardpack roads around Caldes de Malavella, a quaint little town known for its Roman bath archeological exhibit. For this ride, you'll have the option of riding with the group or riding on your own. You'll also have the option of doing shorter options of the route: a 29-mile version (3800 ft of climbing) that skips Caldes de Malavella, and a 20-mile version (2900 ft of climbing) that goes into the mountains but doesn't drop down the other side.
WEDNESDAY: Best of Both
DISTANCE: 35 miles CLIMBING: 4200 ft PAVED/GRAVEL: 60/40
Today's ride serves up a beautiful mix of coastal scenery and mountain adventure, kicking off with a warm-up along the coastal highway before tackling the Sant Grau climb (which we will have had the pleasure of descending on Monday). The reward for the climb, besides all the great views on the way up, is getting to bomb down the north side of Sant Grau all the way to Llagostera, which is a blast to ride and will give us some nice views of the Pyrenees in the distance. Once we reach Llagostera, we'll hop on the Via Verde bike path, a former rail line that runs 60 miles from the Mediterranean to the Pyrenees. We'll skip the ride to the Pyrenees and simply use the path to connect to a killer gravel climb that will take us back up to the Sant Grau road. A few miles of paved climbing and you'll be rewarded with a five-mile gravel descent back into town that will have you stopping for pictures at every turn! Like yesterday's ride, you'll have the option of riding with the group or riding on your own. You'll also have the option of doing a 15-mile version of the route (2200 ft of climbing) that just goes up the Sant Grau climb and comes back down the five-mile gravel descent.
THURSDAY: The Fun Finale!
DISTANCE: ~17 miles CLIMBING: ~2000 ft
For the last day of camp, we'll take a break from the epic climbs and have a different kind of adventure, a super fun mountain bike ride (on super fun e-mountain bikes!) led by Tossa Cycling owner Lukasz Komar! Tossa has a wide variety of options when it comes to mountain biking, which will allow us to give you whatever challenge you want, whether that's full-send or just photo ops on an easy ride. After we've had our fill of the trails, we'll roll back into town for one final lunch before saying our goodbyes. Since this is the last day of the camp, you'll check out of the hotel before launching onto the trails. Celeste and I will have an apartment for the week (literally next door to the hotel), so you'll be able to drop off your luggage at our apartment prior to the ride. Our apartment will also be available for you to take a post-ride shower before heading out to Girona or Barcelona or wherever your next adventure awaits!
What's Included:
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4 guided bike rides (3 gravel and 1 mountain bike).
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4 nights lodging at a four-star seaside hotel with your own private balcony overlooking the beach (+$720 for single occupancy).
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4 dinners, 4 breakfasts, 2 lunches.
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SAG stops with snacks & drinks during the three gravel rides.
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MTB bike rental. While you're responsible for your own bike for the first three rides, we're covering the mountain bike rental for the last day.
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T-shirts compliments of Tossa Cycling!
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Pictures! As always, I will be taking as many photos as possible!
What's Not Included:
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Transportation to and from Tossa de Mar before and after the tour.
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Single occupancy. Pricing is based on double occupancy. Add $720 if you're bringing a non-cycling rooommate or if you'd like to have a room to yourself.
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Gravel bike rental. While the rental mountain bike for the last day is included, you will need to bring or rent your own gravel bike for the other three rides. Our partner bike shop, Tossa Cycling, has a great selection of rental bikes (gravel and e-mountain bikes) and is also available to receive shipped bikes and to build bikes brought on the plane as luggage. We can help with those arrangements and even roll it into the tour price if that would make it easier for you.
HOME BASE: Golden Mar Menuda
Located right on the beach and within an easy walk to the city center and historic walled district, the 4-star Golden Mar Menuda is the ideal home base for our cycling camp, with private balconies overlooking the beach from their Premium Sea View rooms along with a beautiful dining terrace. While there are plenty of reasons this cycling "camp" will feel like a first-class vacation, it's this beachfront hotel that will have you feeling properly spoiled! HOTEL WEBSITE
SUPPORT: Tossa Cycling
Lucky for us the only full-service bike shop on the Costa Brava happens to be in the best town on the Costa Brava, giving us the opportunity to offer our guests a wide variety of rental bike options from our seaside homebase and to have excellent support on our daily rides. They also serve the best coffee in town! (Post-ride recovery beer is available as well.) Thank you Lukasz for making this cycling camp possible! TOSSA CYCLING WEBSITE
How to Get to Tossa:
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FROM THE BARCELONA AIRPORT: Moventis runs multiple bus trips daily from the Barcelona airport to Tossa de Mar. The trip takes about 2 hours without any transfers and costs around $18 per person.
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FROM CENTRAL BARCELONA: Moventis runs multiple bus trips daily from central Barcelona to Tossa de Mar. The trip is only an hour and 20 minutes to Tossa de Mar and costs around $16 per person.
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FROM GIRONA: Moventis runs multiple bus trips daily from Girona airport to Tossa de Mar. The trip is less than an hour and costs around $14 per person.
Pre- and Post-Tour Travel:
Sea Otter Europe kicks off in Girona the day after our cycling camp ends, and we highly recommend incorporating that event into your trip. Even if you opt out of Sea Otter, Girona is an incredible city well worth exploring. And of course Barcelona should be on everyone's bucket list! As listed above, there is regular bus service to both Girona and Barcelona. The bus rides are inexpensive and relatively short. Another pre-camp event to consider is the La Vuelta, which finishes on September 13th.
How hard are the rides?
As noted in the itinerary section the ride distances are not long, but there is a lot of climbing, some of which is fairly steep. The full distance gravel rides could end up taking four hours or more. If you're concerned about the amount of climbing, please note that there are shorter options on the second and third day. E-bike rentals are also available.
What's the weather like in September?
Late September is typically warm and sunny, with highs in the mid to upper 70s and lows in the low 60s. On average, September only has four rain days.
Do I need to bring my own helmet & pedals?
Tossa Cycling can set up with whatever kind of pedals you need, and they can also provide helmets for free with your rental bike. That being said, it's nice to have your own helmet. We leave our pedals at home and bring our helmets & shoes. Helmets are lightweight and easy to pack around, and shoes can be stuffed with socks for efficient packing.
Where is the registration page?
We want to make sure the trip is as good fit for you before signing up, so we haven't posted a public registration page. If you're interested in joining us for the trip, email me and we'll go over the details and I can provide you with the link for registration.
How much is the deposit?
The deposit is $250 and will be charged when you register. The balance will be due June 1st. I'll send an invoice for the balance a few weeks prior to June 1st.
What's the cancellation policy?
Deposits will be refunded in full for cancellations before March 1st. Cancellations between March 1st and June 1st will forfeit the full deposit. Cancellations after June 1st will forfeit the full tour fee.
Have more questions? Ready to sign up? Email me at shannon@tennesseegravel.com
BACKGROUND: Why is Tennessee Gravel in Spain???
In the early 2000s, I did a lot of traveling in Europe. I wasn't a cyclist then, but I really enjoyed hiking and swimming - and history. The Costa Brava has all of these things in spades, with the crystal clear Mediterranean, an incredible coastal trail system, medieval castles, and ruins that date back to the Romans and Greeks. So when I first visited the region in 2002, I was hooked! In fact, I loved it so much that I spent several weeks in 2003 hiking the entire length of the Costa Brava, from just north of Barcelona all the way to the French border. The plan was to write a guide book on how to reach the tourist-free hidden coves along the coast. (Even back then I was mapping routes!) Sadly that plan was shelved due to some seismic life changes. A few years later I met Celeste and dove headfirst into cycling, eventually quitting my job as a city planner and starting Velo View Bike Tours in 2012, which led to extensive exploration in the U.S. but left no time for Europe. Interestingly, while I was becoming obsessed with cycling, so was the Costa Brava. Over the 20+ years since I did my hike, the Costa Brava has grown into one of the most sought-after cycling destinations on the planet. This amazing confluence of my current passion for cycling with my past love of this coastline made a return to Spain seem like fate! So in June of 2025 Celeste and I traveled to the Costa Brava with an eye to run tours there on an annual basis. While there, we met Lukasz Komar of Tossa Cycling and discovered all of the services and insight he had to offer. We returned in December to work with Lukasz to fine-tune the routes and smooth out the logistics, and now we're finally ready to run a proper tour in one of my favorite places in the world - a tour 25 years in the making!
