Northern Spain
Experience Overview
Go beyond the normal northern Spain trip and immerse yourself in the region’s distinctive culture and history. On this trip, you’ll trace the footsteps of pilgrims, witnessing breathtaking landscapes and timeless traditions.
Highlights
Dining Summary
- 4 Dinner (D)
- 10 Breakfast (B)
Be My Guest
- Oviedo: Say salut to traditional Asturian cider and enjoy a local Be My Guest dinner and cider tasting with the Castañón family at their Cider Mill near Oviedo.
Dive into Culture
- Madrid: Visit the Prado Museum in Madrid, where you'll have time to admire its extraordinary collection of European art dating from the 12th to early 20th centuries.
Iconic Experience
- Barcelona: With your Local Specialist, see the elegant Passeig de Gràcia to take in some of the city's finest Modernist architecture. Journey past the beautiful façades of the Eixample district to see the exterior of Gaudi's extraordinary masterpiece, the mesmerizing Sagrada Família.
- Pamplona: Explore the historic heart of Pamplona, a city known for its medieval walls, lively plazas and rich traditions. Best known for the Running of the Bulls, it offers much more, from quiet alleyways to vibrant local cafes.
- Bilbao: Admire the striking exterior of Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, a modern icon of curved steel and glass that has transformed the city’s riverside. Designed by Frank Gehry, this bold building helped put Bilbao on the global art map.
- Picos de Europa: Admire the stunning lush scenery and distant rocky peaks of the Picos de Europa.
- Picos de Europa: Visit the holy cave of Covadonga and see the tomb of Pelayo, the first King of Asturias, who is celebrated for winning the Battle of Covadonga.
- Luarca: Stop along the Way of Saint James at Luarca to appreciate the natural setting and historic charm of this quaint fishing village.
- Santiago de Compostela: Join a Local Specialist on a visit to Praza do Obradoiro and admire the cathedral façade festooned with architectural frills.
- Zamora: See the cathedral of Zamora and the 12th-century Church of Mary Magdalene during an orientation with your Travel Director.
- Salamanca: See the handsome arcaded Plaza Mayor, the honey-colored cathedral and the 16th-century university buildings as you explore the city with a Local Specialist.
- Madrid: See the highlights of the city with your Local Specialist. Visit the Old Town, traveling along the elegant Paseo de la Castellana, past the Cibeles fountain, and Royal Palace.
MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
- Barcelona: In Barcelona, join the talented team at Mescladis, an initiative promoting work opportunities for victims of social exclusion. You will be introduced to local and seasonal flavors during dinner. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: 4 Quality Education and 10 Reduced Inequalities.
Must-see Highlights
- Explore Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Salamanca and Madrid
- Discover Pamplona, San Sebastián, Bilbao and Oviedo
- Visit the Holy Cave of Covadonga, the fishing village of Luarca, St. James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela and the Prado Museum in Madrid
- View La Sagrada Família in Barcelona, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Cathedral and University of Salamanca
Trip Details
Product Code: 19112
Tour Type: Group Tour
Accommodation: Deluxe
Transport: Private
Guide Language: English
Travel Styles:
Family, 55+
Tour Operator:
Trafalgar (CA)
Supplier Code: 226.348A
Starts: Barcelona, Spain
Finishes: Madrid, Spain
Duration: 11 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Whats Included
- An expert Travel Director and professional Driver
- Cherry-picked hotels, all tried and trusted
- All porterage and restaurant gratuities
- All hotel tips, charges and local taxes
- Breakfast daily and up to half of your evening meals
- Must-see sightseeing and surprise extras
- Audio headsets for flexible sightseeing
- Luxury air-conditioned coach with Wi-Fi in most countries or alternative transportation (such as rail journeys)
- Optional Experiences and free time
- On occasion, hotels of similar standard and location may be utilized
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $3,806 ($346 /day)
Itinerary
Trace the treasures of the north on this grand expedition from Barcelona to Madrid, easing yourself into la buena vida as only the Spaniards can. Take the day to delve into centuries of history and the cosmopolitan culture of Barcelona, rambling up Las Ramblas, people-watching in Plaça de Catalunya and admiring the whimsical architecture of Gaudí. This evening, you’ll meet with your fellow travelers and Travel Director for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience at Mescladis, enjoy a dinner of local flavors and produce, followed by an evening drive to see the city's iconic sights.
Accommodation: Abba Sants Barcelona Hotel
Meals: Dinner
Consider joining a morning Optional Experience to Montserrat, where you can visit the mountaintop monastery and the shrine of the Black Madonna, known in Catalonia as La Moreneta. Return to Barcelona for a sightseeing tour with a Local Specialist. Admire Gaudí’s stunning architecture along Passeig de Gràcia and take in the exterior of his unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Família. See the seaside monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus before taking time to explore Barcelona’s barrios at your own pace.
Accommodation: Abba Sants Barcelona Hotel
Meals: Breakfast
The feisty former capital of Navarre takes center stage. We follow in the footsteps of thousands of exhilarated runners and hot-blooded bulls today. See Pamplona's ancient city walls and Plaza del Castillo, the heart of the city where markets, tournaments and even bullfighting have taken place.
Accommodation: Tres Reyes Pamplona
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Today, journey to the sophisticated culinary capital of San Sebastián. See the beautiful Bahía de la Concha beach or stroll along la calle 31 de Agosto in the Old Town.
Accommodation: Tres Reyes San Sebastián
Meals: Breakfast
Enjoy a day at leisure to stroll along San Sebastián's boardwalk and with the city harbor filled with fishing boats and pleasure crafts, you can enjoy several sporting activities on its large sandy beach. Perhaps you'll want to explore the nearby French villages of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, also known as Little Paris, and Biarritz during an Optional Experience. Maybe stroll the promenade of the famous La Concha bay or enjoy the boutiques of the Old Town?
Accommodation: Tres Reyes San Sebastián
Meals: Breakfast
Your journey continues to Bilbao, where you’ll view the Guggenheim Museum, designed by architect Frank Gehry. Spectacular scenery unfolds as you pass the Picos de Europa and drive through charming market towns. Visit the grotto of Our Lady of Covadonga, a famous Marian pilgrimage site, and admire the basilica crafted from the marble of the surrounding hills. Later, you’ll connect with locals during a traditional dinner and cider tasting at a Be My Guest experience hosted by the Castañón family at their cider mill.
Accommodation: Exe Oviedo Centro
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
The Asturian fishing village of Luarca is our first stop today. Soak up its seafaring atmosphere en route to the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela, renowned as the end of the 'camino' pilgrimage route that has its origins dating as far back as the 9th century.
Accommodation: Santiago Plaza by Melia
Meals: Breakfast
Join a Local Specialist who will share insights into the 'Way of Saint James' and explain why thousands of people attempt the life-changing pilgrimage annually. Visit the vast Cathedral, reputed to be the final resting place of Saint James the Great, and the Plaza do Obradoiro, a square dominated by four architectural styles. Consider an Optional Experience to the Rías Baixas for soul-stirring views of the Galician coast. The region has long waterways stretching inland that are said to be the mark left by God's hand when he cleansed himself after creating the world.
Accommodation: Santiago Plaza by Melia
Meals: Breakfast
Journey through the lush Galician landscape and Castile-Leon to Zamora, a veritable open-air museum of Romanesque art. We continue to Salamanca – its golden-hued façades providing an air of mystery and majesty. We join a Local Specialist for a sightseeing tour including views of Spain's oldest university and the Cathedral, as well as a walk through the imposing Plaza Mayor, built in the Spanish Baroque style.
Accommodation: Gran Corona Sol
Meals: Breakfast
Traveling east, we arrive in the fiery Spanish capital, Madrid, for an afternoon of sightseeing with a Local Specialist. Dive Into Culture and visit the Prado Museum, which houses one of the largest collections of European art in the world. Then, see the Royal Palace, Gran Vía and the neoclassical Cibeles Fountain that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid. Tonight, join your Travel Director and fellow companions for a memorable Farewell Dinner with wine, toasting to a magnificent journey through northern Spain.
Accommodation: Rafael Atocha
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
For now, it's a fond hasta luego to your newfound friends as our Spanish adventure comes to an end.
Meals: Breakfast
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Tour Operator
Trafalgar (CA)
Family owned and run since 1920, The Travel Corporation (TTC) is the world leader in immersive travel experiences across an extensive range of travel categories. Each year TTC's 40 award winning hospitality and travel brands connect over 1 million happy travellers to the world. We give you access to the 12 DMC’s behind these brands, so you can build your business by capitalizing on the extensive experience, local expertise, and financial assurance of TTC. LOCAL EXPERTISE The world leaders in travel for over 100 years, we offer unparalleled local expertise with a global footprint. Our 12 DMCs, led by experienced in-destination teams, deliver experience rich travel solutions in more than 80 countries. Additionally, our market based teams are on hand to support across our 40 offices worldwide
In Business Since 1931
Reviews
Trusted Customer - Traveled, May 2024
Great Adventure Through Northern Spain--a bucket list travel item! The service was good, both in the booking of the trip and before and during the trip. Our original dates for the trip were cancelled due to low enrollment, but the agent worked with us to quickly get us on the later trip in May. The cities and towns we visited across Northern Spain were fabulous. Another day in Barcelona and Madrid at both ends of the trip would have been a plus, as we did not have enough time in those cities. Our Travel Director, *Personal information removed by Feefo*, was excellent--very professional, gracious and kind and very knowledgeable about each part of the tour. She made sure to get to know each one of us on the tour. She also provided extra help at the end of the trip for two of us who needed private transport to the airport. She was always available for questions and advice on how to spend free time. Our driver *Personal information removed by Feefo* was also excellent--level headed, professional and an excellent driver. He did his best to get us as close to our destinations as possible when we were in small towns and villages. I would travel with these two again in a heartbeat! Trafalgar could include a few more tours within the base cost of the trip. The optional excursions I took were all fabulous but they add up in price making the overall cost of the trip high.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/17/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, December 2024
It was great, I liked most of the towns that we visited specially Barcelona and San Sebastian.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 01/16/2025
Trusted Customer - Traveled, October 2024
Northern Spain - a good tour director makes all the difference. The initial reservation process was easy. It was also easy to add extended days and hotel reservations. The stops on the itinerary were lovely and varied but what made this trip so pleasant were the tour director and the bus driver. We had fun despite the rain. One thing I was surprised by was the amount of public smoking. This has nothing to do with the itinerary but did affect our restaurant choices when we were on our own for meals.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/15/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
Pros and cons of Northern Spain Tour. Trafalgar’s service was very good. Should have chosen a smaller group for the tour and less coach time between destinations. Tour leader, Helder and coach driver, Rui were top notch! Would have preferred hotels in town for ease of sightseeing on your own or even just going for a meal. Slower pace with specialists at sights to accommodate older, less mobile guests. Loved Northern Spain. Would have liked smaller group and more 2 night stays in places. Prefer smaller towns like Santander and Avila to the hustle of Barcelona and Madrid. Hotels in town center and more and better meals included. We are vegan and it was a challenge to find something substantial to eat. Loved our tour leader, Helder and our driver, Rui. They were articulate, caring and very much in charge of our well being and enjoyment. We, as older folks, will not do a land tour again. We prefer the pace of a river cruise where all meals are included and you unpack once. Glad we did Northern Spain but land tours are better suited for younger folks. Thank you. Also, direct flight home would have been much preferred but was unavailable.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/21/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
An unforgettable experience. Helgar the tour director and the driver were great. Trip was seamless. Helgar was the best TD I have had to date. His advice and the info he provided was the best! Totally different from Southern Spain. An unforgettable experience!!! Loved the mountains, beaches, cliffs, and valleys. Very green. Adored all the stops.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/19/2024
Edward Neate - Traveled, September 2024
Excellent tour director and driver. Highly recommended!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/22/2024
Helen Sanchez - Traveled, September 2024
Northern Spain-Magnifico! Trafalgar provides affordable and fun travels all over the world. We are looking forward to our next adventure hopefully in 2025! We liked all the places we visited on this trip. We participated in all the wonderful options. Our Travel director Helder Almeida was excellent as was our driver Rui Miguel. We have been bragging about our trip to family and friends and highly recommend Trafalgar to everyone!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/20/2024
Barbara Roos - Traveled, April 2025
Great tour of Northern Spain - Some beautiful scenery. Very good. Lovely accommodations. Our bus driver *Personal information removed by Feefo* was great too! We saw and learned a great deal and had what I felt was enough free time and choices. Our guide *Personal information removed by Feefo* was great - knowledgeable, personable, and could anticipate our needs. We had a nice group - 29 persons which wasn't too large.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 04/22/2025
Noel Manigbas - Traveled, October 2024
Great experience with Trafalgar's Northern Spain Tour . Efficient, professional, attentive. The geographical coverage of the Package is very good. Been wanting for long to explore those places in Spain. The optional tours/activities in Santander & Santiago de Compostela wherein both we had dinners were excellent. Our Tour Director, *Personal details removed by Feefo* , was very engaged, attentive, and responsive to our needs/extra requests and many times entertaining to the delight of many tour participants.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/18/2024
Barry & Leila Fenberg - Traveled, October 2024
Our amazing tour direct, HELDER ALMEIDA . Excellent! This was a phenomenal trip for me and my husband, Barry and all due to our tour director Helder Almeida. All of the Trafalgar trips that we've gone on have been very good, but this one was truly phenomenal! Helder was with us every step of the way and treated all of us like family and truly cared about everyone. He was very knowledgeable and always in a great mood! We loved the way he made this trip personal by talking about his family too. Everyone on our tour commented to us about how amazing Helder was. We want him on all our Trafalgar tours moving forward! :-) He put all of us in a great mood no matter the weather or the time of day. Words honestly cannot describe how indebted we feel towards our amazing Helder. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS! P.S. We really enjoyed the towns and little stops along the way. Covadonga was beyond beautiful.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/26/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
The tour was Good; I enjoy all the cities I visit; I would prefer if we have spent more time in San Sebastian. the Travel Director & the Couch Driver were excellent!! very professionals: Excellent customer services were always first priority for both of them *Personal information removed by Feefo* and *Personal information removed by Feefo*. *Personal information removed by Feefo* Give lots of interesting information about all the places we visited. 5 STARTS FOR OUR TRAVEL DIRECTOR!!!! In another note , the hotels in Oviedo; Salamanca and Madrid were not good (not for a Trafalgar Tour) these hotels were run down. This was my 4 time I choose Trafalgar Tour. Never experience 3 stars hotels like this one I suggest reviewing these Hotels to avoid despoilment to your future guest. The tour itself was Very Good, beautiful landscapes and beautiful Beaches in Santander.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/24/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, April 2025
Bus tours can be fun. The service was quite good. I might suggest that when the lodging is out away from the town, that others not going on an excursion get to ride the bus into town with the excursion. The hotels were particularly good on this tour, although each shower was a mystery ,at first. Learning about several different cultures in Northern Spain was interesting. We especially enjoyed our time in some of the smaller towns with the local experts. As we have experienced on other tours, sometimes stops in the smaller places are too short. Maybe fewer stops, but more in depth would be better.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 04/17/2025
Nora - Traveled, May 2024
For me, it was the perfect mix of guided sightseeing and free time. Our tour guide *Personal information removed by Feefo* was phenomenal; she went above and beyond to ensure we all had the best experience in each city!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/25/2024
Whitney Harper - Traveled, May 2024
The tour guide, *Personal information removed by Feefo*, was excellent and made the tour extra fun. She knew a lot about the history of the country, made us play fun games on the bus and was an overall delight to be guiding our tour.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/26/2024
Norma Garcia - Traveled, October 2024
Awesome! Excellent, amazing!! Great experience, familiar environment. We had the opportunity to have the greatest tour guide! Yes, I recommended to all friends and families.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/23/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, September 2024
Excellent itinerary, super-fresh seafood, good wines, coffee, and countless highlights! Excellent Travel Director!! Many Highlights, just mention a few here: Bull Runs in Pamplona with huge brass sculpture of running bulls and fell men; prehistoric arts in the Neo Caves of Altamira; modern Guggenheim Museum with unique museum design, exhibitions, and lovely features, "pappy", "Spider", "Tall Tree with silver balls of 43 axis; El Capricho villa designed by Antony Gaudi'. one of his few art products outside of Barcelona, St. James the Great Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, and many others... You have to see and experience!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/22/2024
Mattie Brown - Traveled, September 2024
Wonderful trip. This is a wonderful tour to see Northern Spain. The tour to Northern of Spain was a very educational trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/21/2024
Trusted Customer - Traveled, June 2024
Northern Spain and its best. We were made to feel that our needs, concerns, and desires were always came first. Both our tour director, Kirsti , and our driver, Dino, were professional, yet friendly. They were helpful and informative. any questions or needs we had were taken care of. Because of their enhancement of our experience, we are not only planning to book another tour with Trafalgar, but plan to recommend them to friends and family.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 07/16/2024
Frances O'Neill - Traveled, July 2024
A trip to remember and repeat! Great care of the travel group, food and accommodations were excellent! Fantastic tour leader and coach driver. Very well organized and lots of pre-trip support given. Fantastic trip . Saw so much and Marvelous experiences. So well taken care of by the team. Would love to repeat the experience!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 08/21/2024
Helen Loflin - Traveled, June 2024
Highly recommend. Super organized. Amazing itinerary with so many special sightseeing opportunities.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 07/15/2024
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