Motorcycle rental in Costa Brava

Motorcycle rental in Costa Brava starts from €22.30 a day for a Honda CBF 250, and the middle of 44 models sits at €60.33. Below: how engine size and riding style move the price, which licence each bike needs, what the deposit and mileage limit mean for a trip, and where the bikes are picked up.

What a day on a rented motorcycle costs

Daily rates for motorcycles on this stretch of coast run from €22.30 to €165.58, and most of the 44 models sit well below the top of that range.

Three price bands across 44 models

The Rent-Trip section on this page brings together 44 motorcycle models for self-ride hire by the day, the week or the month, from 125 cc café racers to 900 cc adventure tourers. Their starting prices group into clear bands. Fifteen models start under €50 a day, eighteen between €50 and €100, and eleven above €100. Half of the models start below €60.33 a day, and the average is higher, at €75.91, because six large tourers and adventure bikes above €150 pull it up.

The cheapest and the dearest bikes

The entry price belongs to the Honda CBF 250 at €22.30 a day, followed by the Brixton BX 125 at €26.83 and the Yamaha SR 250 at €28.47. At the other end, the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT starts at €165.58, and three adventure bikes — the KTM 790 Adventure and both versions of the Husqvarna Norden 901 — share a starting rate of €157.31. The gap between the cheapest and the dearest model is about 7.4 times. In my view, the useful question is not which bike is cheapest but which is the cheapest one that fits your licence and your route, because those two filters remove more models than any budget does.

Weekly and multi-day rentals

The section covers three rental modes: by the day, by the week or month, and always self-ride, without a rider supplied. For a longer hire, multiply the day rate first and then ask for the weekly figure, so you can see whether it is lower. Seven days on the Honda CBF 250 at its day rate come to €156.10; seven days at the median rate come to €422.31. Some daily prices on the market are calculated for a four-day hire, so a single day on the same bike can be quoted higher than the rate shown on a card. Ask for the total for your exact number of days rather than a per-day figure on its own.

Engine size and the price ladder

Engine size is the first thing that moves the price, but inside each size group the spread is wide enough that style and age matter almost as much.

Price by engine size

125 and 250 cc: the entry rung

Ten models have engines of 125 or 250 cc, and their day rates stay between €22.30 and €61.12. The 125 group is all retro or off-road styling: the Brixton BX 125 at €26.83, the Yamaha SR 125 Café racer at €40.36, the Brixton Crossfire 125 at €42.52, the Brixton Cromwell 125 at €55.06 and the Malaguti XSM 125 enduro at €57.93. The 250 group adds the Honda CBF 250, Yamaha SR 250, Honda CB 250 and its café racer version, and the Brixton Felsberg 250 at €61.12. A small engine does not always mean a small price here: the Malaguti XSM 125 costs more than twice as much as the Brixton BX 125.

Mid-size 400 to 799 cc

Twenty-seven of the 44 models sit between 400 and 799 cc, and this is where the price spread is widest. Older classics and café racer builds start low — the Yamaha XS400 Café racer at €35.24, the Honda CB750 at €35.75 and the Honda CB500 Café racer at €38.37. Current models of similar size start much higher: the Yamaha MT-07 at €88.31, the CFMoto 450MT at €101.20, the Aprilia Shiver 750 ABS at €111.61 and the Triumph Scrambler 400 at €156.79. The Triumph has the smallest engine of that last group and the highest price, which shows that the cubic capacity alone tells you little about the rate.

900 cc and above

Seven models have engines of 900 cc or more, and five of them start above €100. The Yamaha Tracer 900 GT, the Husqvarna Norden 901 and Norden 901 Expedition and the Triumph Street Scrambler 900 all start between €156.26 and €165.58. Two litre bikes break the pattern: the BMW K100 RS Café racer starts at €53.27 and the Ducati Monster 1000 at €68.56, both cheaper than many 500 cc models.

Café racers, scramblers, trail bikes and tourers

The riding style of a model tells you more about its price than its brand does, and the section leans heavily towards retro styles.

Styles side by side

Café racers: the biggest group

Café racers make up 14 of the 44 models, and the middle of the group is €42.83 a day — the lowest middle of any style. Many of them are classic Japanese and German bikes in café racer form: the Honda CB750, CB500 and CB 250 Café racers, the Kawasaki KZ550 Café racer, the Yamaha XS400 Café racer and two BMWs, the K75 and the K100 RS. Brixton adds new retro models from 125 to 1,200 cc, with the Cromwell 1200 at €108.96 as the only café racer above €100. These bikes suit short coastal rides and town stops better than long motorway stages, and a rebuilt classic is a different machine from a current model with the same badge.

Trail and adventure bikes for inland roads

Searches for motorcycle hire around Girona often include the words enduro, trail and BMW, and the section answers that with seven trail and adventure models and two enduros. The Macbor Montana XR5 500 starts at €53.17 and the Honda CB 500X at €77.07. Above them come the Moto Morini X-Cape 650 at €89.29, the CFMoto 450MT at €101.20 and three bikes at €157.31: the KTM 790 Adventure and the two Husqvarna Norden 901 versions. For a route that leaves the coast for the hills inland of Girona, an upright trail bike with a larger tank is usually more comfortable than a low café racer, and the two enduros — the Kawasaki KLX650 at €48.80 and the Malaguti XSM 125 at €57.93 — are the cheapest way into that riding position.

Riding two-up

Seat count is stated for 15 of the models: 13 take two people, and two — the BMW K75 Café racer and the Yamaha XS400 Café racer — are single-seat bikes, so a passenger rules them out. For the rest, check the card or ask. For two riders on a longer trip, the sport-touring group is built for the job: the Yamaha XJ 650 Diversion at €81.85, the Yamaha Tracer 700 at €132.47 and the Yamaha Tracer 900 GT at €165.58. The Honda CB750 at €35.75 is described as a bike for long trips that takes two people, which makes it the cheapest two-up touring option here.

Licence categories and minimum age

Rental companies on the coast follow the standard European licence ladder, and the engine size of the bike you pick decides which category you need.

The A1, A2 and A ladder

Under the usual EU steps, the A1 category opens light motorcycles from age 16, A2 opens mid-size bikes from 18, and the full A licence comes later. Bikes larger than 125 cc need an A2 or A licence. Eight models in the section are marked as needing a full A licence, among them the Honda CB750, the BMW K75 Café racer, the Kawasaki KZ550 Café racer and the Brixton Crossfire 500. The Yamaha MT-07 is offered as an A2 model. If your licence is A2, check the card of the exact bike before booking, because two bikes of the same engine size can fall on different sides of that line.

125 cc on a car licence

Three of the 125 cc models — the Brixton BX 125, the Yamaha SR 125 Café racer and the Brixton Crossfire 125 — can be rented with a car licence (category B) that has been held for three years. This is the only route onto a motorcycle in the section without a motorcycle category, and it ends at 125 cc. The day rates for those three run from €26.83 to €42.52. The date of issue on the licence is what shows the three years, so have it with you at pick-up.

Riders from outside the EU

If your licence was not issued in an EU country, rental companies ask for an International Driving Permit alongside it. The permit is read together with your home licence, so the motorcycle category has to be on the licence itself. Arrange it before the trip, together with the licence it accompanies. For the Honda CB 500 F and the Honda CB750 the stated minimum age is 18; for any other model, ask for the age and licence requirements of the specific bike before you pay.

Deposit, mileage limit and what comes with the bike

The day rate is only part of what a rental costs, and three terms in the contract matter more than the headline figure.

Deposit and age on a mid-size bike

For the Honda CB 500 F, the stated terms are a motorcycle licence, a minimum age of 18 and a deposit of €300. The deposit is blocked when you collect the bike and released after it is returned without damage. Other models can carry a different deposit, so ask for the figure on the exact bike and how it is taken before you travel.

150 km a day and the cost of extra kilometres

One common set of terms in Girona limits mileage to 150 km a day and charges €0.35 for each kilometre above it. On a three-day hire that gives 450 km in total. A single 250 km day ride under those terms adds 100 extra kilometres, or €35 — more than the €22.30 day rate of the Honda CBF 250 itself. Plan the route before you choose the bike: for a long loop inland or along the whole coast, an offer with a higher mileage allowance, where one is available, can come out cheaper than a low day rate with a tight limit.

Helmets, lock and cover

• Helmets: the same set of terms includes two helmets with the bike, so a passenger does not need to bring one.
• Lock: a security lock is included, which matters when the bike is parked overnight in a beach town.
• Third-party cover: those terms include third-party liability cover up to €1,000,000; ask what covers damage to the bike itself and what the excess is.
• Mileage: 150 km a day is included, with €0.35 for each extra kilometre.
• Other companies: terms differ from one rental company to another, so read the inclusions of the offer you accept, not a general list.

Pick-up towns, season and comparing two offers

Where you collect the bike and when you ride it change both the choice of models and the price.

Girona, Lloret de Mar, Blanes and Platja d'Aro

Girona is the main base: 43 of the 44 models can be collected there, including every bike above €150. Lloret de Mar and Blanes, on the southern part of the coast, offer 25 and 21 models, and Platja d'Aro six. Twenty-five models are offered in more than one town. If you are staying in a beach town and want a large adventure bike, expect to travel to Girona for it, or ask whether the bike can be brought to you and at what price.

Low season and high season

Season changes the day rate more than most other factors. Typical prices run €25–35 a day in low season and roughly €45–70 a day in high season, with premium and large bikes at €70–100 or more. Comparing the middle of those two ranges, a high-season day costs roughly twice a low-season one. The rates on the cards on this page are starting prices without dates, so a quote for July or August can come in above them.

Same model, very different prices

One model can carry very different prices depending on who offers it and where. The Honda CB750 starts at €35.75 a day in one offer and reaches €102.68 in another; the Yamaha XS400 Café racer ranges from €35.24 to €117.57, and the Aprilia Shiver 750 ABS from €111.61 to €193.46. Behind such gaps there can be a different pick-up town, a different number of days in the calculation, different mileage terms or a bike that is "or similar" rather than the exact model. Two quotes are only comparable when those four points match.

What to ask before you book

• Exact model: name the bike from the cards on this page and ask whether the quote is for that model or a similar one.
• Dates and days: give the exact dates, so the total reflects the season and the length of the hire.
• Pick-up point: say which town suits you — Girona, Lloret de Mar, Blanes or Platja d'Aro.
• Mileage: ask for the daily limit and the price per extra kilometre.
• Licence and deposit: confirm the category the bike needs and the deposit amount before you pay.

Key points before you choose a motorcycle

Five figures to keep in mind

• Day rate: 44 models start between €22.30 and €165.58 a day, with the middle at €60.33.
• Engine and style: café racers have the lowest middle rate at €42.83, trail and adventure bikes sit at €101.20.
• Licence: above 125 cc you need A2 or A; three 125 cc models accept a car licence held for three years.
• Mileage: at 150 km a day and €0.35 per extra kilometre, a 250 km ride adds €35.
• Pick-up: Girona offers 43 of the 44 models; the coast towns have a smaller choice.