16 Day Best Of Northern Spain And Portugal

Welcome to Spain! You’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel.

You’ll meet your tour guide and fellow travellers tomorrow morning. The rest of the day is free for you to relax or explore this energetic city. Make like a Madrileño and take a paseo por la noche, a cherished evening stroll. Puerta del Sol, the heart of the city, is a busy plaza where you can find street performers, loads of restaurants and shops and the iconic statue ‘The Bear and the Strawberry Tree’.

Gran Vía, also known as the street that never sleeps, is the main shopping and tourist artery in the center of the capital. On this lively strip you’ll find great restaurants, theater, shopping and more. Look up – the buildings are exquisite. Calle Cava Baja is the city’s famed tapas street. Patatas bravas, anyone?

Check in: Passengers will be arriving at various times throughout the day from as early as 6am through to late evening. If arriving prior to standard check-in time, which is generally 3pm local time, you are welcome to leave your luggage with hotel reception and explore your surroundings until check-in becomes available, as there are generally no scheduled activities on Day 1 of the itinerary. The hotel may grant early check-in, however this is strictly subject to availability and at the hotel’s discretion.

This morning, meet your tour guide and the rest of your group. Enjoy breakfast before heading out to explore Madrid on a guided city tour.

Explore Barrio de la Morería, the Habsburgs District, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa; the Madrid of the Bourbons and the complex town planning schemes of Charles III, the Royal Palace, Cibeles and Neptuno Fountains and the Puerta de Alcalá. 

Continue on to contemporary Madrid with areas such as Gran Vía, Castellana, the district of Salamanca, Plaza Castilla and Parque del Oeste, as well as commercial and financial areas of Modern Madrid, the emblematic Las Ventas Bullring and the Santiago Bernabéu Football Stadium.

This evening, join your fellow travelers for an authentic Welcome Tapas Dinner at a local restaurant.

Say goodbye to Madrid for the time being and depart north towards Burgos. Enjoy Free time to visit the 13th century gothic Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos, the third largest in Spain and where construction began in 1221.

Continue to Haro, located in the heart of La Rioja, the famous Spanish wine region. Among the vineyards, visit a traditional family run cellar. Taste some of the range of world famous Rioja Reds. Our next stop is Bilbao.  

Check into the hotel, freshen up and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant where typical “pintxos” are served.

Enjoy a brief Bilbao city tour and discover its most recent developments. 

Stop and spend some time at leisure to explore the esplanade where The Guggenheim Museum is located. Admire this modern architectural delight. 

This afternoon, continue to San Sebastian, famous for its beach, food and International Film Festival. Enjoy a panoramic city tour of this bourgeois city. View the extraordinary landscape dominated by the bay and the magnificent La Concha beach from a lookout on Mount Igueldo. Later enjoy  free time to stroll through this elegant city. This evening you will return to Bilbao.

This morning you will board the coach bound for Asturias, famous as the part of Spain never conquered by the Moors. It is a stunningly green region full of dramatic coastlines, with rustic mountain villages and gorgeous aspects. Proceed to the pretty fishing village of “Castro Urdiales” where there is time at leisure to explore. 

Later depart to Santander, a port city located between the sea and the mountains, well known for Sardinero Beach. 

Continue to Santillana del Mar, home to architectural treasures such as the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana - a Jewel of Romanesque Architecture.  

Next stop is Covadonga. Enjoy some free time, visit the Marian shrine devoted to the patron of Asturias, Our Lady of Covadonga. This shrine rose to prominence after the Battle of Covadonga around 720, following the first defeat of the Moors during their invasion of Spain

Afterwards, depart to Oviedo, where you will see on a series of hills the beauty of Saint Maria de Naranco Church, Jewel of the pre Roman Asturian architecture. Explore the pedestrian streets of Oviedo before joining your fellow travelers for dinner at a traditional cider house.

Today we’re bound for Galician lands. En route to Lugo you will make a short stop at Mondoñedo, to visit the 13th century Cathedral and taste the delicious “Mondoñedo cake”. 

Continue to Lugo. Time at leisure to explore the stunning city walls, built by the Romans during the 3rd and 4th century, are one of the finest examples of Roman wall construction in Europe.  

Later, approaching Spain's holy land, it was declared a World Heritage site as the most important center of Christian Pilgrimages in Spain.

Join a Santiago city tour, visiting Praza do Obradoiro, the city's main square. Next to The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, one of the most important religious structures in Spain. The cathedral marks the end of the 790 km Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route

Rest of the day at leisure to explore the narrow cobblestone streets.

Depart towards one of the most marvelous areas of Galicia, the Rias Bajas (Spanish Fjords). Continue to the Ria de Arosa, where we will do a cruise, with tasting of the typical wines and mussels. 

Bond for the Portuguese border to reach Porto. Located along the Douro River estuary in northern Portugal, Porto is one of the oldest European towns, and proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996.

This morning we will enjoy a guided sightseeing tour of Porto. Admire the Cetedral de Portol, known locally as Se, this hilltop cathedral was built between the 12th and 13th Centuries. We continue to the British Classical styled old Stock Exchange building and seemingly austere Santa Clara church. Inside is a masterpiece of gilded woodwork.  

Later we enjoy a Douro River Cruise before tasting a range of local tipples at the famous Port Wine Cellars. The rest of the day is at leisure to make your own discoveries.

Enjoy a free day in Porto. Optionally, you can visit Guimaraes, one of the oldest cities in Portugal, cradle of the Portuguese nation, whose historic center is considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. 

After breakfast, we depart for Coimbra, one of the oldest universities in Europe and the birthplace of Fado. 

We continue to Fatima, one of the most important Christian pilgrimage sites in the world. Made famous in 1917 when the Virgin Mary was said to have appeared to three shepherd children over several visits. Pilgrims flock here to visit its impressive Basilica and the Cova da Iria where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. We visit the Chapel of the Apparitions in the heart of the sanctuary where the tombs of the three children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta rest.

This evening (availability pending) attend the procession of the candles.

Visit the Batalha Monastery This morning, a masterpiece in the Gothic and Manueline style . We continue to the picturesque fishing town of Nazaré, enjoying some free time exploring before heading off to yet another World Heritage site at Alcobaça with its Gothic church and Cistercian monastery, whose origins date back to the 12th Century. Continue on to Lisbon for the evening.

After breakfast, join a city sightseeing tour of the ancient Olissipo. Drive through its

main squares and avenues, visiting Belem Tower, Jeronimos Monastery, the Coach Museum, Monument to the Discoverers, Marquis of Pombal Square and Liberty Avenue. 

This afternoon is at leisure to catch the nostalgic corners of the Alfama Quarter, the old city gathered next to its Castle, with buildings nested in narrow twisting Ruas, housing genuine “tabernas” where locals gather. 

Tonight enjoy a typical Portuguese dinner visiting one of the oldest Fado venues in the city and located in one of the most interesting cultural neighborhoods in the area.

Today we head for Andalusian soils, back in Spain, drive to Caceres, considered a World Heritage site because of the city’s blend of Roman, Islamic, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture. Walk through Plaza Mayor and the Old Town with its famous Medieval Quarter. Later today we will return to Madrid.

Enjoy one last delicious breakfast this morning, before your adventure comes to an end after checking out of your hotel. 

Madrid is a glorious city to explore – we recommend spending a couple of extra days to make the most of it. If you do extend your stay, we can help you organise additional accommodation.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this extraordinary journey.

Check out: Check-out time is generally anywhere from 10am-12pm. You are welcome to leave your luggage at hotel reception and spend your final moments of free time exploring the area or, alternatively, speak with hotel staff if you would like to extend your check-out time. This service is subject to availability and will likely come at an additional cost.