13 Days Madrid to Barcelona.
Highlights Include: Madrid, Salamanca, Lisbon, Seville, Olive Oil and Wine Tasting in Seville, Granada, Valencia, Barcelona.
The Best of Spain & Portugal
DAY 1 ARRIVE MADRID, SPAIN: Welcome to the Capital of Spain. Meet an assistant on arrival at the airport and transfer to your hotel. Today for your welcome dinner you will have a Tapas tour – visit and tasting tapas in 3 places with your local guide. (D)
DAY 2 MADRID: After breakfast, meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby for a private group city tour of Madrid. As the capital of Spain, Madrid is a city of great cultural and political importance. By the end of this tour, you will have gained a complete vision of Madrid. Enjoy panoramic sightseeing of the old part of the city. Entry tickets to Royal Palace included, the 18th century left its neoclassical mark on the splendid Royal Palace complex, the Sabatini Gardens and Campo del Moro, located in the city center. The church of San Francisco El Grande, the fountains of Paseo del Prado, the Toledo Bridge, the Prado Museum, and Puerta de Alcalá are also good examples of this splendid style. Your evening is free and at leisure. (B)
DAY 3 MADRID / SALAMANCA: After breakfast, depart Madrid and begin your journey towards Salamanca whose historic quarter has been declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. In the evening meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby for a Salamanca tour where you will see Salamanca University, the first to be founded in Spain and is also one of the oldest in Europe. In its heyday it was one of the most highly regarded European universities. This city saw the production of the first Grammar of the Castilian Language in the 15th century. Entry tickets to Casa de las Conchas in the Gothic style. This civil building attracts the traveler’s attention due to the over three hundred shells which cover its outer walls. (B)
DAY 4 SALAMANCA / LISBON: After breakfast, depart and make your way towards Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
Hotel Name: Fenix Urban. (B)
DAY 5 LISBON: After breakfast, meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby for Lisbon city tour. On the right bank of the broad Tagus river estuary, the capital of Portugal graciously reclines over rolling hills. This is a spectacular geographical location and does much to explain the cosmopolitan history of the city. Its exceptional natural light, which has long inspired writers, photographers and filmmakers, and the medieval districts bestow Lisbon with the peculiar atmosphere of a city perched somewhere between the European north and the Mediterranean south. Entry tickets to Jeronimos Monastery and Belem tower. In the afternoon, enjoy a Fado show with wine tasting. (B)
DAY 6 LISBON / FARO / SEVILLE: After breakfast, depart Lisbon and head towards Seville. Pause in Faro where you will have some free time for lunch. (B)
DAY 7 SEVILLE: After breakfast, meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby for private city tour of Seville. Entry tickets to the cathedral included, one of the world’s most beautiful Gothic temples. The dimensions of this cathedral make it the third largest church in the world. After the Santa Cruz quarter, you will pass by the Reales Alcázares (Royal Fortresses), Archive of the Indies declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, we will reach the River Guadalquivir, where you will see the Torre del Oro, of Arab origin, which dates back to the 13th century and was part of the ancient walls. To end the city tour you will join a river cruise along the Guadalquivir. In the evening time for one of the Spanish´s great attraction is without any doubt, its cuisine, which is one of the best in the world for both quality and variety. You will taste Spain: You can choose to taste the famous Ibérico ham or the season’s first Olive Oils or the good Spanish wine, the jewelry of our gastronomy. (B)
DAY 8 SEVILLE / GRANADA: In the morning, after breakfast, depart Seville and head towards Granada, one of the nicest cities of Spain. In the evening, enjoy a Flamenco show in the caves of Sacromonte, a mountain where the Romani people lived centuries ago. On your return to the hotel, enjoy a panoramic view of Alhambra Palace. (B)
DAY 9 GRANADA / VALENCIA: After breakfast, meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby and depart on a Valencia city tour. Valencia integrated into an industrial area on the Costa del Azahar, Valencia’s landmark is undoubtedly the City of Arts and Sciences, an avant-garde and futuristic museum complex. Entry tickets to Cathedral: The Cathedral, in the Gothic style, is Valencia’s largest church, and its Miguelete Tower is one of the emblems of the city. Afterwards, visit Lonja: the jewel of European Gothic civil architecture, built in the 15th century, the Silk Exchange is Valencia’s monument par excellence. (B)
DAY 10 VALENCIA / BARCELONA: After breakfast, depart from Valencia and transfer to Barcelona, the Catalonian Capital! (B)
DAY 11 BARCELONA: After breakfast, meet with your local guide in the hotel lobby for private group city tour of Barcelona. The variety and wealth of Barcelona’s heritage provide a number of attractive routes through its various districts. This way, the traveler will get to know the most typical monuments of this cosmopolitan Mediterranean city. You will visit the façade of the Cathedral, entry tickets to sagrada Familia included: a unique creation that has become Barcelona’s most universal symbol. The visit continues to the Olympic Village, the Columbus monument, and then on to the Montjuïc Mountain, where you will be able to see the Olympic Stadium and Sant Jordi Palace. Free evening at leisure. (B)
DAY 12 BARCELONA / MONTSERRAT / BARCELONA: After breakfast, meet with your local guide and depart on an excursion to Montserrat. Montserrat is a mountain, a sanctuary and a monastery founded in the 11th century, and is located in a Natural Park 60 km to the west of Barcelona. Enjoy a visit to a local winery and tasting of Penedes wine.
Tonight, enjoy a farewell Paella dinner in a restaurant on the beach area. (B/D)
DAY 13 BARCELONA / USA: After breakfast, transfer to the airport for your return flight home. (B)
Customize to Suit
The above suggested itinerary can be customized to suit; more or less meals, different cities and/or sightseeing based on your clients’ interests. You name it, our expert group specialist professionals will put it together for you. Please call 1-800-818-8455, or simply complete the group request form, and we’ll get back to you with your proposal.
Inclusions
- Private group airport transfers on Day 1 and Day 13
- Twin-bedded rooms in 4- or 5-Star hotels; hotel taxes, service charges and baggage handling
- 12 breakfasts
- 2 Dinners, including Welcome dinner Tapas tour and a Farewell Paella dinner in Barcelona
- Ham, Olive and Wine Tasting in Seville
- Services of English-speaking local travel experts
- Transfers by luxury, air-conditioned coach
- Sightseeing, special features and scenic highlights as indicated in the itinerary, including admission charges
- Portfolio of travel documents
- 24-hour emergency customer service while in Europe
Private Departures
Please Call 1-800-818-8455 for Group Rates on this Custom Group Journey
This suggested itinerary can be customized to suit; more or less meals, different cities and/or sightseeing based on your clients’ interests. You name it, our expert group specialist professionals will put it together for you. Please call 1-800-818-8455, or simply complete the group request form, and we’ll get back to you with your proposal.
Group Discounts
On custom journeys, discounts vary depending on group requirements. Typically, travel with a group of 20 and the 21st traveler receives a 100% discount* off the land portion of the vacation price. A second traveler receives a 100% discount* off the land on a group of 40 paying passengers.
*Per person prices are land only and based on two people sharing a room. Above dates represent “land start” date. Air: Please note that airfares are not included in the prices above. Journeys Connect can quote you the lowest possible GROUP airfare available on the day that you book. Minimum of 10 seats from same gateway. Less than 10 air seats will require full payment at time of booking. Single Room Supplement: On Request. Triple Room Reduction: On Request. Group discounts cannot be combined with our Triple Room discounts. Not valid on Specialty, Customized Vacations or River Cruises, optional extensions, extra nights, airfares, taxes and fees, flight supplements, or airport transfers. Other restrictions may apply. All passengers’ names must be advised before the discount is applied. *Group discount is on a twin-share basis only.
Contact Journeys Connect
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Travel professionals, please call and speak with one of our Group Specialty Professionals:
1-800-818-8455