4x4 Barcelona Adventure

Two nights out of Barcelona, guided, off-road in a 4×4 through the Penedes vineyards and the Garraf hills.

Off-roading within an hour of Barcelona is not the obvious proposition, but the Garraf and the Penedes are laced with farm and forestry tracks, and the half-day of training at the start means the vehicles are actually used properly rather than driven along gravel.

The first day starts with the airport transfer, a safety briefing and a practice track, then an off-road route through the vineyards to a local cellar for a visit and a marinaded brunch, more touring, and the evening at Sitges, a seaside town of white houses and narrow lanes with a long and lively history of its own. The second day is the real one: the Penedes valley with a river crossing and technical sections, a mountain picnic, and a ridge run with views across the valley to the sea in one direction and Montserrat and the Pyrenees in the other. The third brings a quad bike tour through the vines and lunch before the transfer back.

Barcelona airport transfers, the half-day of off-road training and vehicle familiarisation, two nights of hotel with all meals, three days’ use of a 4×4 and all the vehicle running costs are included; the optional wine tasting, flights, travel insurance and personal spending are not. The rate is based on four people to a vehicle. Spring and autumn are the best of it, since the Penedes in high summer is hot and dusty work. Three days with a training half-day built in makes this a sensible first off-road trip for anyone who has never driven a 4×4 off tarmac, and the wine region setting makes it an easier sell to a non-driving passenger than most.