22 Day Grand Spain & Portugal Small Group Tour

Welcome to Spain. On arrival in Barcelona you are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel, with the rest of the day free to settle in and shake off the flight.This evening you meet your tour leader and fellow travellers for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, and the chance to get to know the group over a relaxed meal.Special InformationWe recommend booking flights that arrive into Barcelona no later than 4pm so that you do not miss the welcome dinner and the start of the tour.Arrival airport transfers are included as part of your package. You will be met upon arrival at the airport and transferred to your hotel.If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.If you are arriving early and have made your own arrangements prior to your tour commencing, airport transfers will not be included. However, if you are purchasing pre-nights accommodation as part of your Inspiring Vacations package, airport transfers will still be provided to the starting hotel.On departures carrying 10 or fewer passengers, your group will be accompanied by an experienced English-speaking driver-guide in place of a tour leader. Your itinerary, inclusions and local expert guides remain exactly the same.

This morning after breakfast, set out on a guided tour of Barcelona, driving the wide avenues of the Eixample past Antoni Gaudí's Modernist landmarks, among them La Pedrera and Casa Batlló. You climb Montjuïc hill for the view across the city and its harbour, passing the Olympic Ring, the Columbus Monument and the waterfront.The tour finishes at the Sagrada Família, Gaudí's unfinished basilica and the building most people picture when they think of Barcelona. You’ll go inside to see the forest of stone columns and the stained glass.Return to the hotel after lunch, with the afternoon at leisure to explore the city at your own pace. The Gothic Quarter is an easy walk from the centre, the shops of Passeig de Gràcia are close by, and the beach is a short taxi ride away. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsBarcelona guided sightseeing tourLa Pedrera and Casa BatllóMontjuïc hillSagrada Família, including entrance

After breakfast leave Barcelona and head northwest across Aragón to Zaragoza (approximately 4 hours), set on the banks of the Ebro. There is free time to see the Baroque Basilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, one of the most important pilgrimage churches in Spain.Continue to Pamplona, a Roman foundation better known now for the running of the bulls during San Fermín. You have time to walk the medieval old quarter and see the Gothic cathedral before the final leg north.This is a long day on the road, with comfort stops along the way. You’ll reach Bilbao in the evening, and we suggest dinner at the hotel or somewhere nearby, ready for a full day tomorrow.Inspiring HighlightsBasilica of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, ZaragozaPamplona old quarter and Gothic cathedralSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 7.5 hours.

After breakfast, take a panoramic tour of Bilbao, a working port city that rebuilt itself around the Guggenheim Museum. You have free time at the museum to take in Frank Gehry's titanium-clad building from the outside and to walk the riverfront around it.In the afternoon you drive along the coast to San Sebastián, home of the international film festival. See La Concha Bay and its Belle Époque promenade, then ride up Mount Igueldo for the view back across the bay, with free time afterwards to wander the old town.Return to Bilbao this evening for dinner at a local restaurant, built around pintxos, the small plates the Basque Country is known for.Inspiring HighlightsBilbao panoramic city tourGuggenheim MuseumSan Sebastián and La Concha BayMount IgueldoSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.The visit to the Guggenheim Museum is to the exterior and the surrounding riverfront. Entrance to the museum is not included.

After breakfast follow the coast west into the part of the country known as Green Spain, where the Atlantic keeps the hills damp and, as the name suggests, green.Stop at Castro Urdiales, a fishing town built around a medieval harbour with the Gothic church of Santa María standing over it, then continue to Santander, capital of Cantabria and set around one of the finest natural bays in Europe.Santander was the summer retreat of the Spanish royal family and still has the architecture to show for it. You’ll have free time to walk the seafront promenade and El Sardinero beach. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsCastro Urdiales medieval harbourSantander seafront and El Sardinero beachSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 3 hours.

After breakfast drive to Santillana del Mar, one of the best preserved medieval villages in Spain, where you visit the surroundings of the Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana. The whole village is cobbled.Carry on to Covadonga, tucked into the Picos de Europa and the spiritual heart of Asturias, with free time at the sanctuary and the Holy Cave.In the afternoon you travel to Oviedo, passing the pre-Romanesque church of Santa María del Naranco on the hillside above the city. There is free time to walk Oviedo's pedestrian streets and see its Gothic cathedral. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsSantillana del Mar and the Collegiate Church of Santa JulianaCovadonga sanctuary and Holy CaveSanta María del NarancoOviedo CathedralSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 3.5 hours.

After breakfast you head west into Galicia. Your first stop is Mondoñedo, an old episcopal town with a thirteenth century cathedral, quiet squares and a local almond cake worth stopping for.Continue to Lugo, the only city in the world still completely encircled by its Roman walls. There is time to walk a section of the walls and see the historic centre and the cathedral of Saint Mary.The last leg takes you to Santiago de Compostela, the end point of the Camino and the destination of pilgrims for more than a thousand years. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMondoñedo CathedralRoman walls of LugoSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.

This morning after breakfast a local guide takes you through Santiago de Compostela. The centrepiece is the cathedral, which you go inside to see, a building that layers Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque work over the tomb traditionally held to be that of Saint James.Outside, Obradoiro Square fills through the day with pilgrims arriving on foot after weeks on the Camino, which is worth sitting and watching for a while.You return to the hotel after lunch, with the rest of the day at leisure. The old town is compact, with granite streets, stone arcades and a covered market that is among the best in Spain. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsSantiago de Compostela guided sightseeing tourCathedral of Santiago de Compostela, including entranceObradoiro Square

After breakfast drive south into the Rías Baixas, the drowned river valleys of the Galician coast, known for their seafood and for Albariño, the white wine grown on the slopes above the water.You board a boat for a cruise on the Ría de Arousa, threading past the mussel rafts that fill the estuary, with a tasting of mussels and local Albariño on board.Afterwards you cross the border into Portugal and continue to Porto, set above the mouth of the Douro. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsRías Baixas estuary cruiseMussel and Albariño wine tastingSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 3.5 hours.

This morning after breakfast a local guide takes you through Porto, taking in the cathedral, the Stock Exchange Palace and the church of Santa Clara.Then join a cruise on the Douro, passing under the city's bridges for the view back at the tiled facades of the Ribeira and the port lodges lining Vila Nova de Gaia on the far bank. You finish at one of those lodges for a tasting of the wine the city built its name on.The rest of the day is at leisure and the evening is free.Inspiring HighlightsPorto guided sightseeing tourDouro River cruisePort wine cellar visit and tasting

Today is free to spend in Porto as you please.The Ribeira, down on the riverbank, is the obvious place to start, a tangle of narrow lanes and cafes below the Dom Luís I bridge. São Bento railway station is worth stepping into for the tiled panels in its entrance hall, and the Bolhão market a few streets away is where the city does its shopping.For a quieter afternoon, the gardens of the Palácio de Cristal look out over the river, and the cafes along Santa Catarina Street are a good place to sit and watch Porto go by. The evening is at leisure.

After breakfast you leave Porto for Aveiro, a coastal town laced with canals and known, inevitably, as the Venice of Portugal. Take a ride on a moliceiro, the brightly painted flat-bottomed boat once used to harvest seaweed from the lagoon.You continue to Coimbra, where a local guide meets you for a walking tour of the old university city. The university here is among the oldest in Europe and the medieval streets below it are steep and cobbled.The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMoliceiro boat ride on the Aveiro estuaryCoimbra guided sightseeing tourSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 2.5 hours.

After breakfast you drive to Batalha to visit its monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest examples of Gothic and Manueline architecture in Portugal.Carry on to Nazaré, a fishing town on the Atlantic with a wide beach below and a clifftop quarter above, and free time to look around.In the late afternoon you continue to Lisbon. Inspiring HighlightsMonastery of BatalhaNazaréSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.

This morning after breakfast a local guide takes you through Lisbon, a city built across seven hills above the Tagus. Drive out to Belém for the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery, both raised on the wealth of the age of discovery, and see the Monument to the Discoveries on the waterfront. The tour also takes in Marquês de Pombal Square and Liberty Avenue.Return to the hotel after lunch, with the afternoon at leisure. Alfama, the old Moorish quarter, is the part of Lisbon most people come for, a knot of lanes and staircases where the washing hangs across the street and the fado bars open after dark.The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsLisbon guided sightseeing tourBelém TowerJerónimos MonasteryMonument to the Discoveries

After breakfast leave Portugal and cross back into Spain, driving to Mérida. Founded by the Romans in 25 BC as the capital of Lusitania, Mérida holds one of the best preserved Roman sites in the country, with a theatre, an amphitheatre, bridges and temples still standing. You have free time to look around.From there, continue south into Andalusia to Córdoba (approximately 4 hours), once the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate and, for a time, the largest and most learned city in Europe.This is a long day on the road, with comfort stops along the way. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsRoman theatre and amphitheatre, MéridaSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 8 hours.

After breakfast you visit the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba with a local guide. The forest of red and white striped arches inside is one of the great sights of Islamic architecture, with a Renaissance cathedral built into the middle of it.Then walk the Judería, the old Jewish quarter, a warren of whitewashed lanes and flower-filled courtyards spreading out around the mosque.In the afternoon you drive on to Seville. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, including entranceJudería, the Jewish quarter of CórdobaSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 3 hours.

This morning after breakfast you tour Seville with a local guide. The city sits along the Guadalquivir, and its skyline is defined by the Giralda, the minaret turned bell tower beside the cathedral.You see María Luisa Park and the Plaza de España, the vast tiled semicircle built for the 1929 exposition and familiar from more than one film, then walk the Santa Cruz quarter, all narrow lanes, small squares and orange trees.Return to the hotel after lunch, with the afternoon at leisure to enjoy the city at your own pace. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsSeville guided sightseeing tourPlaza de EspañaMaría Luisa ParkSanta Cruz quarter

After breakfast, head south through Andalusian villages to Jerez de la Frontera, a town built on three things: sherry, horses and flamenco. There is free time to walk the historic centre, with its squares, palaces and old churches.Carry on to Ronda, which sits on a cliff split by the El Tajo gorge and joined by the Puente Nuevo, an eighteenth century bridge with a hundred metre drop beneath it.The rest of the day is free to explore Ronda's whitewashed streets. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsJerez de la Frontera historic centrePuente Nuevo and the El Tajo gorge, RondaSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 4 hours.

After breakfast drive down to Málaga on the coast and visit the city, which layers Roman, Moorish and modern Spain one on top of another. The Roman theatre sits at the foot of the Alcazaba fortress, with the Castle of Gibralfaro on the hill above.Then head inland to Granada, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada between the Darro and Genil rivers, where Moorish Andalusia and Renaissance Spain sit side by side.The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMálaga guided city visitRoman theatre and Alcazaba, MálagaSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 5 hours.

After breakfast visit the Alhambra with a local guide, the hilltop palace and fortress the Nasrid rulers built above Granada and the reason most people come to the city. You walk the courtyards and halls, with their carved plasterwork and tiled walls, then the water gardens of the Generalife next door, looking back across the city to the Sierra Nevada.In the afternoon you leave Granada for Madrid reaching the Spanish capital in the evening.Tonight gather for a dinner with your tour leader and the rest of the group.Inspiring HighlightsAlhambra, including entranceGeneralife GardensSpecial InformationYour travel time today will be approximately 6 hours.The Alhambra is a large hillside site visited entirely on foot, over roughly three hours, with stairs, ramps, gravel paths and uneven paving. There is little shade.

This morning after breakfast a local guide takes you through Madrid, starting in the old heart of the city: the Morería, the Habsburg quarter, Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Villa.You continue through Bourbon Madrid, past the Royal Palace, the Cibeles and Neptuno fountains and the Puerta de Alcalá, then out along the Gran Vía, the Paseo de la Castellana, the Salamanca district and the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.You return to the hotel after lunch, with the afternoon at leisure. The Prado and the Reina Sofía are both within walking distance of the centre, the Retiro park is a good place to sit, and the Mercado de San Miguel beside Plaza Mayor is worth a look. The evening is at leisure.Inspiring HighlightsMadrid guided sightseeing tourPlaza Mayor and the Habsburg quarterRoyal Palace and Puerta de AlcaláSpecial InformationIf the panoramic tour of Madrid cannot operate for technical reasons, the operator will substitute a one day Madrid hop-on hop-off bus ticket or a walking tour.

Your tour comes to an end in Madrid. After breakfast, and at the time advised by your tour leader, you transfer to Madrid airport for your departing flight.Thank you for travelling with Inspiring Vacations. We hope you had a memorable experience.Special InformationDeparture transfers are included as part of your package. You will be collected from your hotel at the appropriate time and transferred to the airport to meet your flight.If you choose to extend your stay (e.g., departing after the final tour date) and have booked your additional accommodation independently, this included service will be forfeited and no refund will be issued.If Inspiring Vacations has not provided your international airfares, please ensure you provide your flight details via your Traveller Hub portal no later than 90 days prior to travel so that your transfers can be confirmed.