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Join Spanish Journeys on Spain’s ancient pilgrimage route whether its renewal you seek or just some really good cheeses.
- Arrival, rental car pick-up, and check-in. We’ll provide you with details on enjoying lunch or sightseeing on the way to the first casona on our Camino.
- Afternoon free time – consider a short self-guided walk near the inn.
- Your guide meets you for a glass of wine and an introduction to the Camino.
- Relax and enjoy a simple country supper at the inn.
- Breakfast.
- Set out for the northern coast to walk part of the Camino known as the El Camino del Norte. This half-day self-guided route parallels a stunning stretch of the Asturian coastline, passing through charming hamlets with views to the sea. Later you’ll have a taxi transfer to get you back to your car.
- Lunch: On your own, with suggestions on the best places to feast on this lovely coast’s excellent seafood.
- Make a leisurely return to the inn, stopping, perhaps, to sample local specialties at a shop in Ribadesella or to visit a cider press near Llanes en route “home.”
- Another rustic supper at the inn.
- Breakfast.
- Set out for the beautiful valleys, farmland, and high mountain terrain of the Picos de Europa on a quest for the famous blue cheeses of Cabrales.
- Learn about how these mountain cheeses are made, have a tasting, then take a guided walk to a natural cave where they are aged.
- Lunch is included today – you’ll choose between rustic (an alpine family-run roast lamb and kid spot) and refined (a gorgeous tasting menu of regional specialties).
- Again there are things to see on the way back to the inn. Suit yourself: a self-guided walk or sit and watch the sunset at Covadonga Lakes.
- Relaxed supper at the inn.
- Breakfast and check-out.
- To Oviedo, capital of an important medieval kingdom whose 9th century king, Alfonso II made the first pilgrimage on the Way of St. James. You’ll take a self-guided stroll around this lovely university town’s old quarter market and Cathedral.
- Meet your local guide for visits to two spectacular very early Romanesque churches: Santa María del Naranco and San Miguel de Lillo. If you saw the film “Vicki, Christina, Barcelona” these wondrous buildings form a backdrop to Javier Bardem’s double date in Oviedo.
- Lunch: On your own but in the company of a local guide to help you navigate the array of tapas on Oviedo’s lively ciderhouse row, “El Bulevar de la Sidra.”
- Continue west by car into the territory of El Camino Primitivo – the oldest routes on the pilgrimage route. Take it slow: there are historic villages and monasteries to see along the way, an intriguing ethnographic museum, quirky local bars for an afternoon pick-me-up or beautiful one to two hour walks.
- Evening arrival at your next country inn, with a welcoming dinner at the local restaurant just down the way.
- Breakfast.
- Set out on a self-guided half-day walk on this most historic part of El Camino – there are many great trails here to choose from.
- Lunch: On your own, with our suggestions on places for buying picnic provisions (or directions for sneaking up to the coast for more of that fantastic seafood).
- Evening free time to rest, read, or play music – the inn has a piano and even offers optional music classes for guests (the proprietor is a classical guitarist).
- Another simple local supper.
- Breakfast and check-out.
- Set out for the final approach to Santiago de Compostela and make a pilgrim’s arrival into the city (a more urban landscape, but tradition holds that one must cover at least the last 5km on foot!).
- Follow a self-guided walk into the city’s historic quarter, visiting the Cathedral and the Santiago, St. James, reliquary – this is where pilgrims traditionally conclude their quests.
- Lunch: On your own, with our suggestions on places for buying picnic provisions for the walk or trying the octopus at a traditional, family-run bar in Santiago.
- You’ll transfer by taxi back to pick up your car in the afternoon, then check into the lovely boutique in the old city.
- Evening free time to explore and dine – we’ll offer recommendations.
- Breakfast.
- Explore the “Rías” – these are the “drowned valley” inlets similar in structure to fjords – of Galicia’s west coast, following in Calvin Trillin’s footsteps to Padrón, the pepper-growing area.
- A celebratory end of Camino lunch, including a tasting of the region’s wondrous little green peppers (some are sweet, some are hot!).
- Then on to tour a bodega where you’ll learn about the wines of the d.o. Rias Baixas and taste some albariños – among the most delicious whites produced in Spain.
- Evening in Santiago and supper on your own, again with recommendations.
- Breakfast and checkout, return to Bilbao for departure.
- Let us know whether you’ve arranged a one-way rental and are flying back to Bilbao (or elsewhere) or will be making the drive back from Santiago (fast roads route takes about 6.5 hours). We’ll help you with directions as needed.
- As with time before the tour begins, let us know if you want advice on visiting the Basque Country before your return to the US.
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