Spain Family Adventure (13 days)

In this 13-day itinerary, you have a chance to explore Spain’s cosmopolitan cities, taking in the culture, history, architecture and food. We’ve also included some time to enjoy the countryside, and embark on some adventurous activities, like hiking, canyoning, kayaking, and more. We’ve also incorporated lots of leisure time so that you can explore and enjoy your time in Spain at your own pace!

Daily Itinerary

Day 1

Details for Today

Arrive: Madrid

Madrid:

  • Walking tour of Madrid
  • Private tapas tour

Accommodation: Hotel Villa Magna

Arrival in Madrid! Our representative will meet you in the arrivals lounge and you will have a private transfer to your hotel.

Madrid is one of the world’s most vibrant and seductive cities. It is a city with a charming and infectious atmosphere that the visitor can immediately sense, feel a part of, and most of all, enjoy. A city that takes unabashed pleasure in its past traditions, it is proud to display a wealth of cultural treasures and architectural glories.

Late in the afternoon, indulge in a walking tour of Madrid followed by a private tapas tour…In a nutshell, tapas in Madrid means tradition, and this includes the atmosphere, not just the food. In nice small bars in the heart of Madrid’s charismatic old Austrias area, hearty sample food in manageable portions, helped down with some pleasingly potent wines, and amidst the joyous hullabaloo of the welcoming Madrileños…… just a perfect introduction to the vibrant lifestyle of the city and the culture of tapas!

Day 2

Details for Today

Madrid:

  • A Half-Day Private Walking Tour of Madrid
  • Visit the Prado

Accommodation: Hotel Villa Magna

Meals: B, D

After a good night’s sleep, head out and explore on A Half-Day Private Walking Tour of Madrid.

Enjoy a walking tour that includes some of the capital’s  most impressive  sights,  such as the Plaza de Oriente and the historic quarter, including the 17th-century Plaza Mayor, a magnificent Baroque square lined with arcades filled with picturesque cafes.

Walk through the peaceful Plaza de la Villa where the City Hall stands and the narrow streets of Madrid of the Austrias,  named after  the  Austro-  Hapsburg dynasty  which came  to rule  over in  1516. Much of  the  Austrias neighbourhood today is  a  gastronomic centre,  with traditional  favourites aplenty, including  the famous  Botin,  the oldest  restaurant in the world. The nuns of the Convento nearby occasionally offer their homemade cakes too!

The tour will also include an in-depth visit of the Prado  No  one would  dispute the  Prado’s  claim to  house one  of the  world’s  greatest collections of  paintings.  Over  8,600  in number and with a value beyond price, the pictures often overshadow the Museum’s other works. But the Prado is not limited to paintings alone.

It was conceived as a museum of painting and sculpture and has significant collections of drawings (over  5,000),  engravings  (2,000),  coins and  medals  (close to  100), over  700  sculptures  (both complete  and fragments), and almost two thousand objects d’art. Because space is limited, the museum displays only one-seventh of its paintings. The  construction  of  The  Prado  began  in  1785,  under  Charles  III,  to  house  the  Science  Academy  next  to  the  Botanical Gardens; nevertheless it was not until 1819, under Ferdinand VII, that it was used to display art, as “The Royal Painting Museum”. The Prado houses masterpieces from all the leading European Schools, and Spanish painting includes works from  the  Middle  Ages up  to the  19th  century.

Day 3

Details for Today

Madrid: 

  •  Tour around Madrid at leisure

Accommodation: Hotel Villa Magna


Meals:
B, D

Enjoy a day at leisure to revisit some of your favourite spots in Madrid, or explore new ones.

Day 4

Details for Today

Transfer to Toledo

Toledo:

  • Tour of Toledo’s “Mystery and Legends”

Accommodation: Parador de Toledo

Meals: B

There is another Toledo… A Toledo that doesn’t appear in the regular tourist guides, a Toledo that is beyond the profane sciences… a Toledo of Mystery and Legend weaved when night falls, and we lose ourselves in the fascinating labyrinth of its historic city center.

There, in its twisting and turning streets, narrow alleys and dark sheds, the secrets, and legends of an unforgettable city come alive. There  is a  different Toledo…  A  Toledo of  Templars,  of alchemists,  of necromancers,  of witches and sorcerers,  of forgotten caves where the  Table of Solomon is kept,  and of old parishes  holding the  secret of  the Holy  Grail…

This Toledo rises with the mental framework that dreams are made of, and as an ally of the Night, we invite you to get to know it better. Today you will meet your private driver at your hotel and depart for Toledo. The drive should take approx. 1 ½ hours.

Upon your arrival you will check in at the Parador de Toledo. This hotel  in  Toledo offers a unique panorama of the great silhouette, with its most fabulous jewels, the Cathedral, the Alcázar and the synagogues.

In the hotel, you can also enjoy the refreshing swimming pool and plan outdoor leisure activities. From the bedrooms, lounges, terrace and pool the beautiful views of the Imperial City dominate, while the interior is remarkable for its spaciousness and luxury. Comfortable furnishings combine with wooden beams, staircases and balustrades, and Mudejar elements in rugs  and tiles.

The dining  room offers  typical dishes  from  Castilla – La  Mancha,  such as  stewed partridge  Toledo style. Roast lamb, cream cheese and honey ice-cream, and marzipans. Late  in the  afternoon  (the later the better because  of the  heat)…..  Enjoy Guided  Tour of  Toledos Mystery and Legends!

Day 5

Details for Today

Transfer: Train ride to Zaragoza

Boltana/Pyrenees:

  • Afternoon and evening at leisure

Accommodation: Monasterio De Boltana

Meals: B

Today you will be transferred to the train station. Here you will take the AVE (high speed train) to Zaragoza.

Upon your arrival at the Zaragoza train station, your private escort/guide will meet you and drive you to your hotel in Boltaña. The drive takes approximately 2 hours.

Boltaña is located in the foothills of the highest section of the magnificent Spanish Pyrenees, perfectly situated for accessing all the most spectacular areas of the range.

Afternoon & evening will be at leisure.

Day 6

Details for Today

Boltana/Pyrenees

  • Hike in the National Park of Ordesa Canyon and Monte Perdido
  • Choices for afternoon activities: Kayaking,  white  water  rafting,  or  a  4×4 excursion  into  the  mountains

Accommodation: Monasterio De Boltana

Meals: B

After breakfast,  transfer by  4×4  to the trailhead for a hike in  the environs  of National Park of  Ordesa  Canyon and Monte Perdido.

Fabulous views guaranteed of the highest peaks in the entire Pyrenees. Final route selection will be determined based on local conditions, group fitness, etc.  One of  the great  advantages of  Ordesa is  that it offers a  variety of hiking  opportunities,  from the  relatively short  and easy to the very challenging.

In the afternoon, you have your choice of the following activities:  Kayaking  on  River  Ara  near  the  hotel,  white  water  rafting,  or  a  4×4 excursion  into  the  mountains.

Day 7

Details for Today

Boltana/Pyrenees:

  • Canyoning
  • Afternoon & evening will be at leisure

Accommodation: Monasterio De Boltana

Meals: B

After breakfast transfer to start of route (approx. 30 –50 min) for your canyoning excursion.

The orography and geological composition of the valleys in Sobrarbe provide a wide variety of canyon routes of  every kind and difficulty. Many rivers and canyons in Sobrarbe offer wonderful settings for this extreme sport. Enjoy the beautifully sculpted walls of the gorges in the northern valleys in our county, and those shady and spectacular gorges.

Afternoon & evening will be at leisure.

Day 8

Details for Today

Boltana/Pyrenees:

  • Via Ferrata
  • Afternoon & evening will be at leisure

Accommodation: Monasterio De Boltana

Meals: B

Today you will embark on another incredible adventure – Via Ferrata! Much  easier than  climbing,  these are relatively easy vertical routes. They will take  us to  beautiful places,  fully equipped to guarantee safety. Level  aimed  at those  who don’t  know  the  activity  or  have never practiced it.

Afternoon & evening will be at leisure.

Day 9

Details for Today

Transfer to Barcelona

Barcelona: 

  • Afternoon & evening at leisure

Accommodation: Hotel Arts Barcelona

Meals: B

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Lleida train station. The drive should take approx. 2 ½ hours. Here you will board on the AVE bound for Barcelona. The ride will take 1hour. Upon your arrival, you will check in at your accommodations at Hotel Arts Barcelona.

Afternoon & evening at leisure

Day 10

Details for Today

Barcelona

  • Explore around Barcelona

Accommodation: Hotel Arts Barcelona

Meals: B

Today you will enjoy a day at leisure to explore Barcelona on your own.

Be SURE to check out the important Gaudi sites –not to be missed are: Sagrada Familla and Parc Guell (among others!)

Day 11

Details for Today

Barcelona

  • Bike through the countryside of Girona
  • Sail on a yacht in the afternoon, with swimming, and a stop at Arenys de Mar

Accommodation: Hotel Arts Barcelona

Meals: B

Today you will enjoy a day of adventure combining Biking and Sailing.

Meet your driver and guide in Barcelona and together depart to Girona. The drive should take approx. 1 hour. Whether  it is  excitement you  are looking  for or  just a  bit of  peace and  quiet,  get up  on your  bike and  let yourself  be carried  away by  the beauty  of the  countryside and  the forests, the greenways,  the  coves  and the  inlets of  the  Girona counties.

The Narrow-Gauge Railway Route stretches out 39.7 km. With a smooth incline from Girona to Sant Feliu de Guíxols (15 m), its highest point is at Cassà de la Selva (136 m). Following the old narrow-gauge railway line from Girona to Sant Feliu, you can get to know two of Girona’s regions – the Gironès and the Baix Empordà – from the Ter River basin, crossing the Selva depression and ending in the Ridaura valley.

The most salient feature of the railway line trail from Sant Feliu de Guíxols to Girona is the smoothness of its slopes and curves. The route is formed by a winding line that was mathematically mapped out over the rugged terrain. The paving is of a  grainy granite sandtype  material that  blends in  nicely with  the terrain  it crosses,  although  there are  also urban sections at all the towns that it runs through.

After  leaving  Girona behind,  the route passes the  Selva depression,  characterised by  a  patchwork mosaic  formed by alternating croplands and forests. On clear days, you can enjoy an extraordinary panoramic view that encompasses the easternmost mountains of the Pyrenees range all the way down to the Montseny massif, including the coastal Serralada Transversal (El Far, Sant Roc, Rocacorba).

The second  half of  the section  crosses the  Ridaura valley,  which separates the  Cadiretes massif  to the  south from  the Gavarres  Massif,  and runs  gently down  to the  seaside town  of Sant  Feliu de  Guíxols,  the birthplace  of the  Costa  Brava place name, which offers breathtaking seascapes and views of the surrounding countryside. Upon your  arrival you  will board  a  yacht for  lunch.

You will have time for a swim in St. Feliu before departing for the sailing trip back to Barcelona. While en route, your skipper will also happily stop for you to hop off the boat for a dip in the ocean! Depending on weather and timing, the boat will likely make a stop at Arenys de Mar, which is a beautiful seaside town just up the coast from Barcelona.

In all, the sailing portion of your day will likely take 3-4 hours; it will be an enjoyable afternoon! Upon your arrival in Barcelona Port, your will be transferred to your hotel. The evening will be at leisure.

Day 12

Details for Today

Barcelona 

  • Free Day to enjoy Barcelona

Accommodation: Hotel Arts Barcelona

Meals: B

Enjoy a day at leisure in Barcelona!

Day 13

Details for Today

Transfer to airport for departure

Meals: B

Today, you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight home.

Accommodation

Hotel Villa Magna, Madrid, Spain

Arguably the best property in Madrid, the Villa Magna is a luxurious hotel that combines old world charm with modern elegance. Although the façade on this busy main street running through Madrid may seem surprisingly corporate (the 60s façade, architecture is protected by the City and cannot be touched), there is no mistaking the quality and impeccable service that ooze from every department in the Villa Magna. The leisure traveler is greeted with consistent politeness and above-and-beyond hospitality from the doormen to the cleaning staff to the bartender and the breakfast staff. Spacious rooms – many are connecting – with tasteful decor and furnishing. Great location for shopping as the major luxury and chain stores are located on Serrano right behind the hotel.


Parador de Toledo, Spain 

Set in a widespread, stone building, this hotel overlooking the old town lies 2.6 km from Puente de Alcantara arch bridge and 4.8 km from Museum of Santa Cruz, featuring artwork.The cozy, down-to-earth rooms and suites feature flat-screen TVs, free Wi-Fi and minibars, as well as balconies. A complimentary breakfast buffet is served in a restaurant offering seasonal cuisine.There’s also an outdoor pool. 


Monasterio De Boltana, Spain 

Set in a 17th-century stone monastery nestled along the Ara River, this luxury hotel with an annex is 6 km from the town of Ainsa and 7 km from the Church of Santa Maria. The warm rooms, suites and villas with refined decor have hardwood floors, free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs and minibars. Additional amenities include an outdoor pool, a spa and an exercise room.


Hotel Arts Barcelona, Spain 

Discover a luxury hotel on the Mediterranean in one of Europe’s most dynamic cities. A blissful retreat, cultural hub, meeting space and fine dining destination rolled into one. A place where exceptional service comes as standard, and every guest is made to feel part of the family. This luxe hotel occupies a high-rise building marked by a glass and exposed steel facade. It’s 2.7 km from Sagrada Família and Plaça de Catalunya.

Spain Family Adventure (13 days)