Spain Tours Vacation Packages

Both are possible here, which is unusual on these routes. Spain-only itineraries cover Andalusia, Toledo and the Mediterranean coast in depth, moving between southern cities that other routes pass by. Cross-border routes pair Spain with Portugal, or cross the Pyrenees into France, so you see fewer Spanish cities but more of the peninsula or the continent. The country list for each route is on the tour page.

Andalusia is the southern region, and the cities there sit far enough from Madrid and Barcelona that reaching them needs dedicated time rather than a detour. Seville, Granada and Cordoba are the main stops, with the Costa del Sol on longer routes. Because these itineraries run south rather than toward a border, they stay inside Spain, and they are the routes that cover the country most thoroughly.

Madrid sits in the centre and starts the widest range, including most Andalusia routes and the Spain and Portugal itineraries. Barcelona sits on the coast and starts routes running north into France as well as south through the country. Lisbon also starts routes that cover Spain, arriving from the Portuguese side. Some routes finish in a different city from where they started, which is noted on the tour page.

The two countries share a land border, so routes cross it without a separate journey and treat the peninsula as one circuit. A typical itinerary links Madrid, Seville and Lisbon, with Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Toledo or Alicante added depending on the length. These routes start from Madrid, Barcelona or Lisbon, and where you start changes the order rather than the cities covered.

Routes running north from Barcelona cross the Pyrenees through Andorra, which is a separate country and counts as one on the itinerary. On the French side they reach Lourdes, Bordeaux and Avignon before continuing toward Paris. These are the only routes here that link Spain with the rest of Western Europe by road, so they cover fewer Spanish cities than the domestic ones.

It depends on how far south you want to go. Three to five days covers Madrid with either Andalusia's main cities or the Mediterranean coast. Seven to nine days adds the Costa del Sol or pairs Spain with Portugal on one circuit. Ten days or more is what the Morocco route and the longest cross-border itineraries need. Route lengths are listed on each tour page.

Spring, from March through May, and autumn, from September through November, bring milder weather and thinner crowds at the major sites. Summer is hot inland, and Andalusia in particular reaches temperatures that make midday sightseeing harder than the itinerary suggests. Winter is mild on the southern coast but cooler in Madrid and the north. Available dates for each route are on the tour page.

The Alhambra in Granada and the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona both use timed entry and release tickets on their own schedule, so availability on a given day is not guaranteed. Where a route includes one of these, the operator arranges entry for the group rather than leaving it to individual travellers. Where it does not, the site is usually left as free time. Each tour page states which admissions are covered.