10-Nights Northern Spain from $2,812

Trafalgar

OFFER ID 1519209

Northern Spain
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.

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 Las Ramblas and the elegant Passeig de Grcia 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, Cervantes Monument 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

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.

10 nights from $2,812 per person

Valid for new bookings deposited March 24, 2025 – May 29, 2025 for travel from September 1 – September 30, 2025

*Promotion may not be combinable with any other offers, promotions, or discounts, and is subject to availability. Other restrictions may apply.

Itinerary

Click here for Full Itinerary Details

Itinerary Details

Trafalgar Tours: Northern Spain

Day 1 - Welcome to Barcelona
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.
Accommodations: Abba Sants Barcelona Hotel
Meals: Dinner

Day 2 - Discover Vibrant Barcelona
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 Grcia 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.
Accommodations: Abba Sants Barcelona Hotel
Meals: Breakfast

Day 3 - Journey to Pamplona
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.
Accommodations: Tres Reyes Pamplona
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 4 - Off to Culinary San Sebastián
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.
Accommodations: Tres Reyes San Sebastián
Meals: Breakfast

Day 5 - San Sebastián Your Way
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?
Accommodations: Tres Reyes San Sebastián
Meals: Breakfast

Day 6 - Scenic Landscapes, Quaint Towns and Oviedo Connect with Locals
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.
Accommodations: Exe Oviedo Centro
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 7 - Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela
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.
Accommodations: Santiago Plaza by Melia
Meals: Breakfast

Day 8 - Explore Santiago de Compostela
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.
Accommodations: Santiago Plaza by Melia
Meals: Breakfast

Day 9 - Onwards to Artistic Zamora and Salamanca
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.
Accommodations: Gran Corona Sol
Meals: Breakfast

Day 10 - Venture to Stylish Madrid Dive Into Culture
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.
Accommodations: Rafael Atocha
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 11 - Adiós Madrid
For now, it's a fond hasta luego to your newfound friends as our Spanish adventure comes to an end.
Meals: Breakfast

Featured Destinations

Madrid

Salamanca

The ancient city of Salamanca, famous for its university founded by Alfonso IX in the early 1200s, is well preserved, with turreted palaces, faded convents, Romanesque churches, and colleges that have attracted scholars from all over Europe. Nearly all the attractions are within walking distance of the Plaza Mayor. In its day, Salamanca was ranked with Oxford, Paris, and Bologna as one of "the four leading lights of the medieval world." The intellectual life continues to this day, and a large invasion of American students brings added life to the town in summer. Still a youthful, spirited place because of the venerable Salamanca University, the city has been named a "World Heritage City" by UNESCO, one of six such cities in Spain.

Excursions

Campo Charro Brave Bull Breeding

Flavors of Iberian Jamon

Santiago de Compostela

Oviedo

Santander

Pamplona

Also known by its Basque name of Iruna, Pamplona, Spain, is a proud, prosperous, devout and usually conservative town with city walls and cobbled streets. The city, 195 mi/315 km northeast of Madrid, is the capital of the green province-region of Navarra, which borders France.

The central square is the Plaza del Castillo, dominated by the Neo-classical Palacio del Gobierno de Navarra and also home to one of Spain's finest cafes, the Cafe Iruna. The streets of the old town fill the space between this square and the cathedral, largely Gothic in style but with a facade added in the 18th century. The other main sight not to miss is the Museo de Navarra in a converted hospital, which has some large Roman mosaics among its other historical and archaeological exhibits.

The town's sedate personality gets turned upside down during the fiesta of San Fermin that runs 6-14 July each year. Immortalized in Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, the fiesta's most famous event is the running of the bulls. Each day at 8 am, the brave, foolish or drunk take to the narrow, barricaded streets to run alongside (or away from) six fighting bulls.

Less dangerous (but still exhausting) are the other activities that run the full week of the festival, including parades of giant figures, marauding bands, fireworks, endless dancing and lots of drinking.

If you can handle only a day or two of such merriment, try to make it to the first day or two of the fiesta (the weekend is the busiest time). The celebration that explodes at noon on 6 July is an incredible sight (plan to be soaked by champagne).

If you hope to stay in the city, accommodations should be booked at least a year in advance—be sure to get a room facing away from the street because the noise is relentless. Temporary campsites are set up on the outskirts of the city, and shuttle buses provide transport into town. Note also that petty crime is rife at this time.

Pamplona makes a good base from which to explore the rest of Navarra. Highlights of the province are the restored fairy-tale castle at Olite, the carved portal of the church at Sanguesa, the medieval town of Estella (Lizarra), the pilgrim bridge at Puente La Reina, the two monasteries of La Oliva and Leyre, Javier Castle (birthplace of St. Francis Xavier) and, near the French border, the tiny town of Roncesvalles, a traditional starting point for pilgrims heading across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia via the Saint James' Way.

Barcelona

Barcelona, the self-confident and progressive capital of Spain, is a tremendous place to be. Though it boasts outstanding Gothic and Art Nouveau buildings, and some great museums – most notably those dedicated to Picasso and Catalan art – it is above all a place where there's enjoyment simply in walking the streets, stopping in at bars and cafés, drinking in the atmosphere. A thriving port and the most prosperous commercial centre in Spain, it has a sophistication and cultural dynamism way ahead of the rest of the country. In part this reflects the city's proximity to France, whose influence is apparent in the elegant boulevards and imaginative cooking. But Barcelona has also evolved an individual and eclectic cultural identity, most perfectly and eccentrically expressed in the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. Scattered as Barcelona's main sights may be, the greatest concentration of interest is around the old town (La Ciutat Vella). These cramped streets above the harbor are easily manageable, and far more enjoyable, on foot. Start, as everyone else does, with the Ramblas.

Excursions

Barcelona: A Walk Through Barcelona and The Sagrada Familia Park Guell for Families- 6 Hours

Art and Architecture in Barcelona (8 hours)

Gaudi’s Barcelona (4 hours)

Authentic Barcelona by Bike

Barcelona Sailing Journey

Exploring Cavas' Origin

From Market to Home with a Top Chef

Hike a World of Nature (7,5 miles)

Montserrat Discovery Hike (5 miles)

Montserrat from the Skies

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges

05/10/2025 - 05/20/2025

from $3,195 per person *

06/21/2025 - 07/01/2025

from $2,812 per person *

07/05/2025 - 07/15/2025

from $2,812 per person *

07/19/2025 - 07/29/2025

from $3,225 per person

08/02/2025 - 08/12/2025

from $2,838 per person

08/16/2025 - 08/26/2025

from $2,838 per person *

08/30/2025 - 09/09/2025

from $3,225 per person *

09/13/2025 - 09/23/2025

from $3,150 per person *

09/27/2025 - 10/07/2025

from $3,150 per person *

* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.

Prices Start At

from $2,812 per person

Length

10 Nights

Air City

Call for airfares from your city.

Vacation Rating

Deluxe

Remarks

Trip prices are per person, land only, based on double occupancy and reflect applicable discounts. Trip prices and discounts are subject to change. Airfare is additional. Tour prices, dates and itineraries are correct at the time of the website going live, however are subject to confirmation at the time of booking. Other restrictions may apply.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID

1519209

Reference this number when contacting our agency so we may better serve you. Also keeping this number handy will allow you to locate this document again quickly.

Request More Info!