Departure Dates:

9th, 30th April 2019;

14th May 2019;

4th, 18th June 2019;

2nd, 16th July 2019;

6th, 20th August 2019; 

3rd, 17th September 2019;

1st, 15th October 2019;

5th November 2019;

3rd, 31st December 2019;

28th January 2020:

25th February 2020;

17th March 2020;

Itinerary:

DAY 01: TUE: Madrid - Arrival.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Evening transport to the Gran Vía district.

Welcome to Madrid! Upon arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to your hotel.
Check the informative panels in the hotel reception area for the welcome meeting with your guide and fellow travellers to receive information about the circuit. Towards the end of the day, we provide transfers to the Egyptian Debod temple, Plaza de Es¬paña and Gran Via; a vibrant district where you can dine at your preferred restaurant: Indian, Chinese, Spanish and Middle Eastern are some of the options.

DAY 02: WED: Madrid.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Madrid city tour. Stroll through the Retiro Park. Visit to the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas bullring. Night transfer

The day starts about 08.30 hrs with a comprehensive tour through the centre of Madrid including Paseo del Prado, Cibeles, Neptuno, the Gate of Alcalá, Plaza de Colón and Plaza Mayor. Visit to Retiro Park, an oasis in the city centre, where we will see the lake and the Glass Palace. Admission to Las Ventas Bullring included. This is one of the most famous bullrings in the world where we will learn about the tradition of “corridas” in the Bullfighting Museum. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

At sunset we provide a transfer to Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, an elegant and bustling area with many restaurants serving different exquisite cuisines (Indian, Middle Eastern, Muslim, Spanish, International) in which to enjoy a pleasant dinner. Return to hotel.

DAY 03; THU: Madrid- Caceres- Evora- Lisbon.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Mediaeval Cáceres. Chapel of bones of Evora.
We leave Madrid and travel towards Extremadura. In CACERES you can have lunch and stroll in the historic centre, one of the best preserved mediaeval and Renaissance open complexes in the world. Once in Portugal, we will stop in EVORA, a World Heritage city with its white streets, its Renaissance palaces and its cathedral. We will include entry to the impressive chapel of bones, built using 5,000 skeletons! LISBON, arrival at the end of the afternoon.

DAY 04; FRI: Lisbon.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Visit Lisbon. Transfer to Restauradores Square.

In the morning we have a sightseeing tour with a local guide (note: Ex¬planations may be given by our guide if the group has fewer than twelve people). We visit tra¬ditional neighborhoods, which take in the Belem district, which is the birthplace of the great Portuguese navigators who sailed the oceans in the Fifteenth Century. We shall look round the Monument to the Discoveries, Belem Tower, and the beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The afternoon is free so that you can explore this great city independently.
At the end of the afternoon, we include transportation to Restauradores Square , full of atmosphere with its bars and cafes from where we suggest you to take the ¨Elevador da Gloria¨ that brings you to the Upper district and its viewpoint.

DAY 05: SAT: Lisbon- Fatima- Porto.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fatima Shrine. Visit Porto and an old cellar.

We travel to the north of Portugal and visit FATIMA, an important sanctuary. We will continue on our way through PORTO, Portugal’s second largest city. Time for lunch and sightseeing tour of this city on the bank of Duero river and its historic centre included. We also include a visit to the old cellars. Free time.

DAY 06: SUN: Porto- Bom Jesus Sanctuary- Cambados- Santiago de Compostela.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Cable car to the Bom Jesus Sanctuary. Wine and Mussels tasting in boat trip. Visit Santiago de Compostela.

On this day we will travel through beautiful landscapes. In the city of BRAGA we will get on the world’s oldest cable car to go up to the Santuário do BOM JESÚS, where we will enjoy its gorgeous views. We recommend trekking back down in order to admire its beautiful stairway. We will resume our trip to Galicia. We will visit the historic town of CAMBADOS in Rías Baixas. We include a glass bottom boat trip where we will learn about the production of mussels and oysters. Wine and mussel tasting included. We will arrive in SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA at lunchtime. An afternoon tour of this town with a local guide is included. This town was a famous pilgrimage destination in the Middle Ages.

DAY 07: MON: Santiago de Compostela- Lugo- O Cebreiro- Leon- Oviedo.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Beautiful landscapes. Visit Oviedo.

We will travel along Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) to Castile. We will take some time in LUGO to visit its historic centre and Roman walls which were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will make a stop on route in O CEBREIRO, a small Galician stone village. Arrival in LEÓNat lunchtime. We will have time visit the Gothic cathedral with its stained glass windows and stroll through the historic center. We will later cross the mountains of the Cantabrian Range on our way to Asturias. Arrival in OVIEDO at mid-afternoon. We include (occasionally on Tuesday mornings) an hour-and-a-half visit of the city with a local guide. We will visit its 9th century cathedral, Calatrava Congressional Palace, Campoamor Theatre, Calle de la Rua.

DAY 08: TUE: Oviedo- Covadonga- Santillana- Santander.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Fantastic landscapes. Altamira National Museum. Panoramic city tour of Santander.

We will travel to Picos de Europa. We will visit Basílica de COVADONGA which is surrounded by beautiful scenery. We will resume our journey following the coastline to SANTILLANA, one of Spain’s most beautiful towns, and we will visit its well-preserved medieval quarter. We visit the National Museum and Research Centre of ALTAMIRA (ticket included) located in the vicinity of this town. We will later travel to SANTANDER, the region’s capital city, a coastal city with amazing views and beaches. We include panoramic city tour to discover this elegant city and its beautiful bay.

DAY 09: WED: Santander- Bilbao- Madrid.-
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS: Bilbao tour- Funicular climb to Artxanda viewpoint.

We follow the motorway along the Cantabrian coast; some of the scenery between the mountains and the sea is very beautiful. BILBAO, arrival in the largest city in the Basque Country. On arrival we include a funicular climb to the Artxanda viewpoint, where we have a great view of the city, and after which, with a local guide, we make a short tour of the city: Guggenheim area, old quarter, Cathedral… then there will be free time for some “pintxos”. After lunch, we leave Bilbao for Madrid. Arriving at around 21.00 hrs.

NB: If the number of travellers from Bilbao to Madrid is very small, the trip may be done by train or regular transport.
End of our services. Check the time of your flight in case you need an additional night.