Ultimate 7-day Private Tour of Spain 

Detailed Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Madrid - Enjoy an evening tapas tour

Overnight in Madrid

Suggested Hotel: Hotel Catalonia Gran Vía

Welcome to Madrid! Upon arriving at the airport, your personal tour leader (Ana Paula) and private driver (Hélder) will transfer you to your hotel in the city center. Take some time to settle in before heading out to explore.

Next, you'll meet your local guide for a walking tapas tour to get a genuine feel for the city and sample some of the best local dishes. You'll see Madrid through a local's eyes as you get a feel for its many districts and neighborhoods. The tour begins with a two-hour city walking tour, followed by delicious tapas in local and authentic bars in the Las Letras neighborhood at the historic heart of the city.

Take some free time to explore on your own before returning to the hotel.

In the evening, prepare to enjoy a feast dinner with a typical flamenco show at the famous Las Tablas.

After such a banquet, is time to return to your hotel to rest and prepare for the next adventure day! 

Day 2: Tour the Prado Museum and eat lunch at Spain’s oldest restaurant

Overnight in Madrid

Experience the best of Madrid’s culture and cuisine at its two most famous landmarks—the Prado Museum and Sobrino de Botín, the world’s oldest restaurant.

Spend the morning walking through the Prado and soaking up Spain’s complicated history. Your 1.5-hour tour will cover 20 masterpieces highlighting Spain’s storied past. Your guide will help you understand the characters and events that inspired these works of art with tales of intrigue, power, and mysterious love affairs. You'll learn about artists such as Velazquez, Goya, Bosch, and Titian.

Next up, you’ll enjoy a stroll through the gorgeous Plaza Mayor, well known as the stomping grounds for many of Spain’s literary greats. You’ll pop into century-old taverns (Cuevas) to open up your appetite and enjoy a traditional aperitif (Shopitos).

Finally, it is time to head to Spain’s oldest restaurant—Sobrino de Botín—for a three-course Spanish feast. Your guide will walk you through hidden escape tunnels and other history-filled secrets before sitting down to enjoy roasted suckling pig, which is made in their 300-year-old ovens, plus market-fresh vegetables and dessert. All of this, of course, is washed down with plenty of Rioja red wine.

After a fabulous lunch, the rest of the day is yours to continue exploring on your own.

Day 3: Enjoy a day trip to Toledo:

Overnight in Madrid

Toledo, a historic city that was once the capital of Spain in the 16th century. The layered city is perched atop a gorge overlooking the Río Tajo, its massive 16th-century fortress dominating the scene.

In the Middle Ages, Toledo was known as the "City of the Three Cultures," a place where—legend has it—Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities peacefully coexisted. You can see remnants of this in the old Arab, Muslim, and Christian monuments that still stand. These include the 15th-century Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes, the former Roman palace Alcázar de Toledo, and the Moorish Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, which dates to the 12th century.

Upon arrival, meet your tour guided for a private tour of the famous city’s landmarks.

When finishing, you will have some free time to visit some of the oldest tapas bars at the historical heart of the city to enjoy a light tapas lunch, before returning to Madrid to visit an interesting handcraft shop and learn how the typical wine saddlebags are made... and probably take one of them with you, before returnig to the hotel for refreshments before dinner.

Dinner will be served at one of the most typical taverns in Madrid: La Bola, where you will be able to enjoy the great Spanish traditional homemade food.

After such a delicious dinner is time to return to the hotel to rest and prepare to checkout on the next day.

Day 4 – Enjoy a trip to Cuenca an World Heritage Site and visit the astonishing “Ciudad Encantada” (Enchanted City)

Overnight in Cuenca

Suggested Hotel: Hospedería del Seminario

After breakfast, we will be picking you up at the hotel to start your journey towards Cuenca.

On this day you will be taken to one of the most beautiful and less known gems of Spain: the historical city of Cuenca and marvel in its astonishing Natural Park of “Cuidad Encantada”.

As you travel, enjoy the colorful landscape during the one-hour journey until you get to Tarancón for a brief coffee break. 

Your next, stop will be at “Ciudad Encantada” of Cuenca, where you will follow an English-speaking guide through this Natural Site of National Interest full of peculiar rocks and singular shapes. You’ll get the impression that you’ve wandered onto another planet! This park has also been a movie set for several films including Conan the Barbarian, starred by Arnold Schwarzenegger.

After, you’ll be taken to the hotel to check in and then have two hours of free time to enjoy typical “Manchega” food at the inviting terraces of Plaza Mayor in the city historical center, where  you’ll gaze at the famous “hanging houses”  before taking the road again towards a family managed vineyard Finca la Estacada for a private visit and tasting of its great La Rioja wines.

Is time than to return to Cuenca. 

Dinner at the hotel and rest. 

On the next day, prepare to checkout after breakfast.

Day 5 - Drive to Valencia - Enjoy a walking tour and a taste of paella

Overnight in Valencia

Suggested Hotel: Meliã Plaza

You'll start your 2,5 -hour drive south to the coastal city of Valencia. Upon arrival, you'll settle into your hotel and explore Spain’s third-largest city. In Valencia, you'll learn that old meets new as you view the futuristic buildings of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, designed by Santiago Calatrava. Other brilliant contemporary buildings grace the city, which also has Modernista buildings, museums, a long stretch of beach, and a large old quarter. Valencia, surrounded by its huerta, a fertile zone of market gardens, and is famous as the home of rice dishes such as paella.

To better savor the traditional dishes of Valencia, you will be heading to Casa Carmela for a typical “paella”lunch.

In the afternoon, you'll enjoy a  private tour as an introduction to the city's attractions. The 3-hour tour will start at the Central Market of Valencia which is the largest covered market in Europe. You can also visit the silk market building. Then, make your way through the city with your guide as you learn about its history of Roman, Moorish, and Jewish influences.

For dinner, you can't miss the city's paella, along with an incredible and fun  “Drag Queens” show which you'll enjoy at the iconic Tourangalila to say goodbye to Valencia in a memorable way!

Returning to the hotel and rest.

Checkout of the hotel after breakfast.

Day 6 – Meet Barcelona and start exploring...

Overnight in Barcelona

Suggested Hotel: Fairmont Rey Juan Carlos I

Awake early for your 4-hour trip to Barcelona. 

During this 4h10 min. trip on the way to Barcelona, you will stop at the gorgeous historic hamlet of Peñíscola, taking a break on the journey and learn about this important Templars castle which was also the last residence of the Pope of Avignon, when exiled after the Great Western Schism of the Catholic Church.

After finishing your visit you will proceed your journey to Barcelona.

When arriving and after settling into your accommodation, you'll enjoy lunch time in a family-owned restaurant tucked away in the fishermen's district where you'll taste homemade seafood and local wine. But first, you'll start with the famous "bomba", a glass of cava.

After lunch, you'll have the rest of the day free to start explore Barcelona at your own pace.

Dinner will be served in the iconic restaurant of your hotel, at the city center: The Terrace, to savor its great barbecue or smoked meat.

At the end of such an exiting day its time to return to your hotel and take a deserved rest to prepare for your last day in Spain.

Day 7 – Enjoy an Antoni Gaudí architecture tour ...

Overnight in Barcelona

Meet your guide this morning for a 4 hours city tour of Barcelona and its most popular attractions, including the iconic Sagrada Familia basilica. You will visit some of the city's most emblematic spots and hidden corners, as well as learn all about Gaudí and his jaw-dropping masterpiece, which is under construction to this day. 

Next, embark on a tour of Antoni Gaudí's masterpieces. Begin in Parc Güell, taking in performances by the local buskers who further add to the park's whimsical nature (expert tip, come here again in the late afternoon to catch the sunset over the city). From here, you’ll make your way to the early 20th-century

Dr. Seuss-esque Casa Milà, one of Gaudí's most exemplary works of civil architecture. 

Leaving Barcelona behind, you'll enjoy a typical Catalan lunch in a traditional restaurant followed by a guided visit of Gramona: hand crafted Cava winery at Sant Sardurni D’Anoia (the Cava capital), near Barcelona.

During your visit their guide will take you down several basement floors under the busy streets of the city.

The guide will also lead you through the silent underground maze of alleys lined up with Cava bottles resting and waiting to be disgorged, because you will see the manual disgorging of the bottles done live just for you, something which is not done in a lot of cava wineries anymore where everything is mechanized.

Don’t forget to buy a bottle or two to take home for that special celebration! 

After this interesting visit is time to return to Barcelona, to have dinner at your hotel and rest, preparing to leave on the next day.

Day 8 - After your final morning in Barcelona, your driver will transfer you to El Prat (BCN) airport in time to catch your flight.

End of Tour

Barajas Airport, Madrid (MAD)

El Prat Airport (BCN)

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Bottle of water
• Sunscreen and hat, in case of high temperatures

Tour inclusions:

• 7 hotel nights with breakfast;
• 2 dinners with show (Flamenco and “Drag Queens “shows);
• Entrance fees to the attractions mentioned in the tour itinerary;
• 2 wineries private guided visit with tasting (La Rioja and Cava denominations);
• 5 city private guided tours as mentioned in the tour program for Madrid, Toledo, Cuenca, Valencia and Barcelona;
• Private transportation with driver;
• Private airport transfers;
• Private tour manager and escort services;

Tour exclusions:

• International and domestic flights;
• Meals (except those mentioned above);
• Travel Insurance (optional);

Either paper or digital vouchers are accepted

• Cancellation of this tour is free up to 30 days before the tour start date. All amounts paid will be refunded. 

•  A 100% fee applies for a cancellation within a week previous to the tour start date.