Multi-Country · 30 days · Private and tailor-made
A Month from the Azores to Barcelona
Walk Chillida Leku's sculpture meadow near San Sebastián, hosted by the Chillida family.
Suggested length
30 days
Price guide
From $29,940 per person, excl. international flights, based on two sharing. Family rates for 2+ children under 21.
Includes hotels, private guiding, experiences and transfers
When
April to June and September to October
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American precision with local expertise · Planned from Europe since 2002 · 17,000+ American travelers · Never cancelled a journey
A month from the Azores to Barcelona, through Portugal and the length of Spain, unhurried and shaped around you.
- Walk Chillida Leku’s sculpture meadow near San Sebastián, hosted by the Chillida family
- Ride up to Sintra’s Pena Palace and its hilltop park with Luisa
- Watch the Milky Way over the Alqueva lake from the walls of Monsaraz
- Walk the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces with Israel in Granada
- Stand before Las Meninas at the Prado with Ana, an art historian
- Taste pintxos in San Sebastián, with txakoli, the Basque white, poured from a height
“Hi from Europe. After planning luxury travel from Iberia since 2002, we have key relationships across our destinations and the judgment to tailor trips wisely for our discerning clients. Get our experience, relationships and insider savvy on your side. See our reviews and request a custom itinerary.”
Dan O’Beirne, American Founder · Iberia-Based Travel Specialist · Travel Leaders Network member. As featured in USA Today, & Euro Business News · Game of Thrones location consultant.
A Journey Designed Just for You
Our resident experts wrote this itinerary as a starting point, and your planner shapes every day around your interests, pace and travel style.
What do our American travelers say?
The 30-day Spain and Portugal itinerary at a glance
The route spends 12 nights in Portugal and 17 in Spain. In Portugal you sleep two nights each in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel in the Azores, Porto, the Douro Valley, Lisbon (with a day in Sintra), Évora in the Alentejo and the Algarve. In Spain you sleep three nights in Seville, two in Ronda, two in Granada, four in Madrid, two in La Rioja, two in San Sebastián and two in Barcelona.
Two short flights and one high-speed train cover the longest gaps: Ponta Delgada to Porto (about 2 hours 20 minutes), Granada to Madrid by AVE (about 3 hours 30 minutes) and San Sebastián to Barcelona (about 1 hour 10 minutes). Licensed drivers handle every other transfer by private vehicle. Three days carry three hours or more on the road: Day 7 from the Douro to Lisbon, Day 16 through the white villages to Ronda, and Day 24 from Madrid to La Rioja.
April to June and September to October suit the route best. AEMET’s 1981 to 2010 averages give Seville a mean daily high of 23.4°C (about 74°F) in April and 26.0°C (about 79°F) in October, against 36.0°C (about 97°F) in July. IPMA’s averages for Lisbon over the same period show 19.8°C (about 68°F) in April and 22.5°C (about 72°F) in October.
Licensed guides we work with on this route include Susana and Tania in Porto, Luisa and Anabela in Lisbon, Andrés and Rosario in Seville, Israel and Rafael in Granada, Ana and Alicia in Madrid, Melanie in Toledo, and Irma and Mariona in Barcelona. Each is a highly educated local expert who cares about the people in their group. We request your guides by name, and your planner confirms who leads each day once your dates are set.
Why the route runs from the Azores to Barcelona
The route runs west to east because São Miguel sits in the Atlantic between North America and the mainland, and Azores Airlines flies nonstop to Ponta Delgada from Boston. From there a short flight lands you in Porto, and Portugal unfolds north to south: the port lodges, the Douro terraces, Lisbon, the Alentejo plains and the Algarve cliffs. The border crossing comes by road from the Algarve to Seville, so nothing doubles back.
In Spain the route loops through Andalusia, rides the high-speed train north to Madrid, then follows the road to the Rioja vineyards and the Basque coast. A one-hour flight replaces the long drive across the north to Barcelona, whose airport sits about 15 kilometers from the center for the flight home.
The angle is pace. A month lets every base hold at least two nights, with three in Seville and four in Madrid, so Córdoba, Toledo and Segovia become day trips without a hotel change. Sixteen of the 30 days carry no hotel change, and the three long road days come with planned stops. The route as written is a starting point, and our team shapes it around your dates and interests.
For the Portugal half of the trip, our Portugal destination guide covers the cities on the way and the regions around them.
Journey at a glance
Length
30 days
From
$29,940 per person, double occupancy
Family rates for 2+ children under 21
Route
São Miguel, Porto, Douro Valley, Lisbon, Sintra, Évora, Algarve, Seville, Córdoba, Ronda, Granada, Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, La Rioja, San Sebastián, Barcelona
Your planner adjusts every day to your dates.
Day One
Arrival on São Miguel, Azores
Your journey opens on São Miguel, the Green Island of the Azores. A licensed driver meets you at the airport, and the first afternoon stays light: a walk along the harbor front of Ponta Delgada, time to settle in, and a first taste of São Miguel pineapple, grown in glass greenhouses on the island since the nineteenth century.
Day Two
Furnas Valley and Terra Nostra Park
Your licensed driver-guide takes you east to Furnas, where fumaroles steam along the lake shore. Local cooks bury pots of cozido in the hot ground for almost seven hours, filled with beef, pork, chicken, cabbage and sweet potato, and lunch comes straight from the earth. After lunch, Terra Nostra Park spreads around the summer house of an American consul, with a warm, iron-rich thermal pool to float in.
Day Three
Flight to Porto and São Bento Station
Fly to Porto. Your licensed driver-guide starts the afternoon at São Bento station, where Jorge Colaço spent eleven years covering the hall with about 20,000 painted tiles. From there the walk drops through the old streets to the Ribeira waterfront, with the iron arch of the Luiz I Bridge overhead and the port lodges across the river.
Day Four
Port Lodges of Gaia and Serralves
Cross the Douro to Vila Nova de Gaia, where the port houses age their wines in cellars, and opt for a tasting in one of the lodges, a tawny poured in the cool of the cellar. In the afternoon, Serralves pairs Álvaro Siza's contemporary art museum with a park around an Art Deco villa. Where the weather suits, a private boat on the Douro ends the day.
Day Five
Into the Douro Valley
Head east into the Alto Douro, a UNESCO wine region of terraces cut into schist hillsides. At Pinhão station, 24 tile panels from 1937 show grape treading and the rabelo boats carrying wine downriver. The evening belongs to the quinta country around your hotel, with the river below and terraced vines running up every slope.
Day Six
A Quinta Visit and Lunch Among the Vines
Your licensed driver-guide takes you to a family quinta for a walk through the vines and a look at the lodge, with a tasting if you wish and lunch on a terrace above the river. The afternoon stays open for a vineyard walk or a slow river cruise, where available, as the light turns gold on the terraces.
Day Seven
South to Lisbon and Belém
A long road day brings you south to Lisbon, with a lunch stop on the way. In Belém, on the Tagus, stand before the Jerónimos Monastery and the Belém Tower, built to mark Vasco da Gama's voyage. Monks at Jerónimos created the pastel de nata, and the bakery beside the monastery has baked custard tarts from their recipe since 1837.
Day Eight
Sintra and Cascais with Luisa
Where your dates allow, Luisa, one of our licensed guides in Lisbon and Sintra, leads the day. King Ferdinand II turned a ruined monastery on the summit into the red and yellow Pena Palace and planted the park below with trees from North America, Asia and New Zealand. In the afternoon, the road drops to the sea air of Cascais, with a sunset sail from Lisbon as an option.
Day Nine
Évora and the Alentejo
Head into the Alentejo to UNESCO-listed Évora, where the Roman Temple of Diana stands at the top of town. Your licensed driver-guide walks you through lanes of low, lime-washed houses with tiles and wrought-iron balconies, bright white under the Alentejo sun. Lunch brings the region's olive oil, with its red wines if you like.
Day Ten
Monsaraz and the Dark Sky Reserve
Monsaraz, a walled medieval village with a castle, looks over Alqueva, the largest artificial lake in Western Europe. The skies around it became the first Starlight Tourism Destination in the world. Your licensed driver-guide spends the afternoon in the village and the cork oak country below, and where available, the evening ends with a stargazing session, the Milky Way overhead on clear nights.
Day Eleven
The Algarve Cliffs and Benagil
Drive south to the Algarve. The Seven Hanging Valleys trail follows the clifftops above the coves, and the walk is yours to take at any length. Below, the Benagil sea cave opens to the sky through a hole in its roof, and sunlight falls onto the sand inside. Where sea conditions suit, a licensed boat takes you along the coast to the grotto.
Day Twelve
Sagres and Cape St. Vincent
Head west to Cape St. Vincent, the southwesternmost point of mainland Europe, where a lighthouse from 1846 stands over the ruins of a Franciscan convent and the Atlantic breaks against the cliffs. At lunch on the coast, try clams cooked in a cataplana, the Algarve's hinged copper pan. The afternoon stays free for the beach or a coastal walk.
Day Thirteen
Into Spain: Seville's Alcázar
Cross into Spain and drive on to Seville. Your licensed guide leads a late-afternoon visit to the Real Alcázar, King Pedro I's Mudéjar palace, through the Courtyard of the Maidens, then walks you into Santa Cruz, the old Jewish quarter, where the painter Murillo lived. Dinner is tapas in the quarter's small squares.
Day Fourteen
Seville Cathedral, the Giralda and Triana
Climb the 35 ramps of the Giralda, the old minaret, for the view over Seville, then visit the cathedral, which holds the tomb of Columbus. After lunch, your licensed guide takes you to the Plaza de España, with a tiled alcove for each Spanish province, then across the river to Triana, home of Seville's potters and flamenco families.
Day Fifteen
Day Trip to Córdoba
Take the train to Córdoba, where your licensed guide meets you at the Mosque-Cathedral. Some 850 columns of jasper, onyx, marble and granite carry double arches striped in red brick and white stone, and the mihrab glows with gold and glass mosaic. Afterward, cross the Roman Bridge and try salmorejo, Córdoba's cold cream of tomato and bread topped with ham and egg.
Day Sixteen
The White Villages to Ronda
Climb into the sierra on a route of white villages: Arcos de la Frontera on its cliff edge, Grazalema inside its natural park, and Zahara de la Sierra below its castle, all whitewashed lanes and hilltop churches. The park shelters the pinsapo, a fir found only here and in northern Morocco. Lunch is in a village, and the day ends on Ronda's clifftop.
Day Seventeen
Ronda and the Tajo Gorge
Builders worked for 34 years on the Puente Nuevo, which rises high over El Tajo, the gorge the river cut through Ronda. With your licensed guide, walk the old quarter, where Hemingway spent summers, and see one of the oldest bullrings in Spain. From the cliff walk, you hear the river far below.
Day Eighteen
Granada and the Albaicín
Drive on to Granada. Your licensed guide times a walk through the Albaicín, past cármenes, whitewashed houses with walled gardens, to reach the Mirador de San Nicolás toward sunset, when the view takes in the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada behind it. Opt for dinner with the palace walls in view.
Day Nineteen
The Alhambra with Israel
Where your dates allow, Israel, one of our licensed guides in Granada, leads the day at the Alhambra. You hear water running through the Generalife courtyards before you reach the Nasrid Palaces, under carved stucco and wooden ceilings, and the Court of the Lions. The afternoon stays free for a rest or the lanes of the town below.
Day Twenty
High-Speed Train to Madrid
Take the high-speed train to Madrid. Your licensed guide starts at the Royal Palace, the largest royal palace in Europe, with 3,418 rooms, then continues to the Plaza Mayor, where 237 balconies look over the square and the painted Casa de la Panadería fills one side.
Day Twenty One
The Prado with Ana
Where your dates allow, Ana, an art historian, leads your morning at the Prado, from Velázquez's Las Meninas to Goya, El Greco, Titian and Bosch. The afternoon leads into the 120 hectares of the Retiro and the glass and iron Palacio de Cristal beside its lake.
Day Twenty Two
Toledo, City of Three Cultures
Toledo sits on a rock above a loop of the Tagus, where Jews, Christians and Muslims shared the streets in the Middle Ages. With your licensed guide, visit the El Tránsito synagogue, now the Sephardic Museum, and El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz in the church of Santo Tomé. Before the drive back, taste mazapán, Toledo's almond marzipan.
Day Twenty Three
Segovia and La Granja
Segovia's Roman aqueduct strides through the lower town on two tiers of granite arches, and the Alcázar rises on its crag above. Lunch brings cochinillo, roast suckling pig, carved in the Segovian way with the edge of a plate. In the afternoon, visit La Granja, the palace Philip V modeled on Versailles, with 26 fountains fed by gravity alone.
Day Twenty Four
North to La Rioja
A long road day carries you north across Castile to La Rioja, with a lunch stop on the way. Logroño rewards the drive in the evening on Calle Laurel, where many bars specialize in a single pincho, from mushrooms to stuffed peppers, each with a glass of Rioja if you like.
Day Twenty Five
Rioja Wineries and San Millán
In Haro, many of Rioja's best-known bodegas stand together beside the old railway station, and your licensed guide arranges a winery visit. The afternoon heads to San Millán de la Cogolla, where a monk added notes in Castilian and Basque to a Latin codex, the first known written Spanish. In Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the cathedral keeps a pair of live chickens from a pilgrim legend.
Day Twenty Six
San Sebastián's Old Town
Drive to San Sebastián, where most of the Parte Vieja was rebuilt after the fire of 1813. Where your dates allow, walk the meadow of Chillida Leku, hosted by the Chillida family, among more than forty of Eduardo Chillida's monumental sculptures. Then your licensed guide walks the promenade above La Concha beach, and the evening starts with pintxos at the bar counters of the old town.
Day Twenty Seven
Pintxos, Txakoli and a Gastronomic Society
San Sebastián's first gastronomic society opened in 1870, and members still cook for their families and guests in private club kitchens. Where available, your guide arranges a lunch as a member's guest. Through the evening pintxo bars, txakoli, a dry, lightly sparkling Basque white, pours from a height into tall glasses. Opt for a walk up Monte Urgull between meals.
Day Twenty Eight
Flight to Barcelona and the Gothic Quarter
Fly to Barcelona. In the late-afternoon light, your licensed guide walks you through the Gothic Quarter, where stretches of the Roman wall survive, to the cathedral and the Plaça del Rei, the old royal square. Our team recommends a table for a first dinner of Catalan cooking nearby.
Day Twenty Nine
Gaudí's Barcelona
Gaudí lies in the crypt of the Sagrada Família, and your licensed guide leads you from the Nativity Façade into the nave, where columns branch like trees to carry the roof. In the afternoon, head up to Park Güell and Jujol's mosaic serpentine bench, with the city and the sea spread out below.
Day Thirty
Departure from Barcelona
A late-morning flight still leaves time for a last coffee and a walk on the Passeig de Gràcia. Your licensed driver collects you at a time set around your flight, with VIP airport assistance on request.
Getting around
- Day 1: A licensed driver meets you at Ponta Delgada airport.
- Day 2: Ponta Delgada to Furnas, about 45 minutes each way.
- Day 3: Ponta Delgada to Porto by nonstop flight, about 2 hours 20 minutes.
- Day 4: A full day in Porto and Gaia, no hotel change.
- Day 5: Porto to the Douro, about 1 hour 15 minutes to Peso da Régua.
- Day 6: A day inside the valley, no hotel change.
- Day 7: The Douro to Lisbon by road, about 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Day 8: Lisbon to Sintra, about 30 minutes, then on to Cascais and back to Lisbon.
- Day 9: Lisbon to Évora, about 1 hour 35 minutes.
- Day 10: Évora to Monsaraz, about 50 minutes each way.
- Day 11: Évora to the Algarve, about 2 hours 30 minutes.
- Day 12: West to Sagres and Cape St. Vincent, back to the same hotel.
- Day 13: The Algarve to Seville, about 2 hours 40 minutes.
- Day 14: A day on foot in Seville, no hotel change.
- Day 15: Seville to Córdoba by high-speed train, about 45 minutes each way.
- Day 16: Seville to Ronda through the white villages, about 4 hours with stops. The direct road takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Day 17: A day on foot in Ronda, no hotel change.
- Day 18: Ronda to Granada by road, about 2 hours.
- Day 19: Alhambra tickets carry your name and a fixed Nasrid Palaces time, and the gate checks each passport.
- Day 20: Granada to Madrid by high-speed train, about 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Day 21: A day in Madrid on foot and by car, no hotel change.
- Day 22: Madrid to Toledo, about 1 hour each way.
- Day 23: Madrid to Segovia, about 1 hour 30 minutes, with La Granja the same day.
- Day 24: Madrid to Logroño by road, about 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Day 25: A day in the Rioja wine country, no hotel change.
- Day 26: La Rioja to San Sebastián by road, about 2 hours.
- Day 27: A food day on foot in San Sebastián, no hotel change.
- Day 28: San Sebastián to Barcelona by direct flight, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Day 29: Sagrada Família and Park Güell entries booked in advance.
- Day 30: Hotel to Barcelona airport with your licensed driver.
- In Portugal, a licensed driver-guide travels with you, with Luisa in Lisbon and Sintra. In Spain, a licensed guide leads each visit and a licensed driver handles every transfer.
What does a 30 day Spain and Portugal itinerary look like?
A 30 day Spain and Portugal itinerary has room for 13 bases with at least two nights in each, from the Azores to Barcelona. This one gives Portugal 12 nights across São Miguel, Porto, the Douro Valley, Lisbon, Évora and the Algarve, and Spain 17 nights across Seville, Ronda, Granada, Madrid, La Rioja, San Sebastián and Barcelona. Two flights and one high-speed train cover the longest distances, and day trips to Sintra, Monsaraz, Córdoba, Toledo and Segovia leave from bases where you already sleep.
How should you spend one month in Spain and Portugal?
Spend one month in Spain and Portugal by giving each region two or three nights and letting day trips do the rest of the work. The pattern on this route is a travel day followed by a full touring day in the same place, with longer stays where the day trips cluster: three nights in Seville for Córdoba, four in Madrid for Toledo and Segovia. Food and wine thread through the month, from cozido in Furnas and port in Gaia to the pincho bars of Logroño and the gastronomic societies of San Sebastián.
Spain and Portugal itinerary for 30 days: how many places fit?
Thirteen overnight bases fit into 30 days without a single one-night stop, and the day trips add Sintra, Cascais, Monsaraz, Sagres, Córdoba, the white villages, Toledo, Segovia and Haro. Adding a fourteenth base, such as Coimbra or Bilbao, pushes two stops down to single nights, so our team usually trades one region for another rather than adding to the count. Removing the Azores leaves 28 days and 12 bases on the mainland.
Thirty days, or a shorter Spain and Portugal trip?
Thirty days suits American travelers who want both countries in one trip and the time to sit down for lunch in each. A shorter route serves you better when you have two or three weeks, or when one country matters more than the other. The 14-day Spain and Portugal private tour covers Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville, Lisbon, Sintra, Porto and the Douro, the headline cities at two nights each, and fits a first visit with two weeks of leave.
The 14-day Barcelona to Lisbon tour runs from Barcelona through Madrid, Granada and Seville to the Algarve, Lisbon and Évora, close to this route’s southern half without the Azores, Porto or the Basque coast. With 25 days, our team shortens this route on request, keeping the Azores start and ending in Bilbao in place of Barcelona.
If one country is the priority, the 22-day Spain private tour spends its time on Madrid, Andalusia, the Basque Country, La Rioja and Barcelona, and the 21-day Portugal tour with the Azores adds Braga, Guimarães and Coimbra, which this route passes by. Every multi-country route sits on our multi-country trips page.
Who this journey suits
Recently retired couples with a free month, who want Iberia in one journey rather than three separate trips over several years.
Professionals on a sabbatical or a long break between roles, who value four nights in Madrid and three in Seville over a new hotel every morning.
Returning travelers who saw Madrid, Seville and Lisbon on a first visit and now want the Azores, the Alentejo, the Algarve, La Rioja and the Basque coast.
Food and wine travelers, since the route passes through the Douro, the Alentejo, La Rioja and San Sebastián, with tastings and lunches built into the days.
Families with adult children, where one or two family members join for a single leg and our team plans their arrivals and departures around the main route.
The people behind the route
Three people carry the days where depth matters most, each where your dates allow.
Israel, one of our licensed guides in Granada, leads Alhambra days. He builds the visit around the Nasrid Palaces time slot, so the Generalife and the Alcazaba fit around it at an easy pace.
Ana, an art historian, leads our Prado visits in Madrid. She shapes the morning around the painters you care about, from Velázquez and Goya to El Greco and Bosch.
Luisa, one of our licensed guides in Lisbon and Sintra, leads the Sintra day with a licensed driver alongside her, and knows the order of palaces and gardens to suit the day.
What the 30-day journey costs and what it includes
This 30-day journey starts from $29,940 per person, double occupancy. The from-price covers 29 nights in deluxe four-star properties selected for comfort, location and service. Five-star luxury properties are available by request. It also covers licensed guides on touring days, licensed drivers and private vehicles for every transfer and excursion, and the planning and in-country support of our team.
What moves the price: travel dates and season, hotel category, the number of travelers sharing vehicles and guides, single rooms, and added private experiences such as a sunset sail from Lisbon, a boat on the Douro, a balloon flight over the Rioja vineyards or a lunch at a San Sebastián gastronomic society. Our team prices each journey to your dates and party.
When the route looks close to the month you have in mind, speak with our team about your dates, your party and the pace you want.
Questions about the 30-day Spain and Portugal itinerary
How many days do you need for Spain and Portugal?
Two weeks covers the classic pairing of Madrid, Andalusia, Lisbon and Porto at about two nights a base. Thirty days covers 13 bases. It adds the Azores, the Douro Valley, the Alentejo, the Algarve, the white villages, La Rioja, the Basque coast and Barcelona, and still gives every base at least two nights. Seville gets three nights and Madrid four, which leaves room for day trips to Córdoba, Toledo and Segovia without a hotel change. If your time sits between the two, our 14-day and 22-day routes cover the middle ground, and our team adjusts any of them to your dates. The number of days matters less than the number of bases: a good rule is no more than one hotel change for every two or three days.
Is a month too long for Spain and Portugal?
A month suits travelers who want the whole peninsula at a steady pace. This route spends 12 nights in Portugal and 17 in Spain, and only three days carry three hours or more on the road: Day 7 from the Douro to Lisbon, Day 16 through the white villages to Ronda, and Day 24 from Madrid to La Rioja. Two short flights and one high-speed train replace the longest drives. Sixteen of the 30 days carry no hotel change, helped by four nights in Madrid and three in Seville. If a month feels long, the route divides cleanly: the Portuguese half from the Azores to the Algarve runs 12 days, and the Spanish half from Seville to Barcelona runs 18.
What is the best time of year for a 30-day Spain and Portugal trip?
April to June and September to October suit this route best, because the month spans the Atlantic islands, the Alentejo plains and the inland heat of Andalusia and Madrid. AEMET’s 1981 to 2010 averages give Seville a mean daily high of 23.4°C (about 74°F) in April and 26.0°C (about 79°F) in October, against 36.0°C (about 97°F) in July. Madrid averages 18.2°C (about 65°F) in April and 19.4°C (about 67°F) in October. IPMA’s figures for Lisbon show 19.8°C (about 68°F) in April and 22.5°C (about 72°F) in October. For a summer departure, our team plans early starts and long midday breaks in Andalusia and Madrid.
How do you travel between Spain and Portugal on this route?
The route crosses the border by road, from the Algarve to Seville, about 2 hours 40 minutes with a licensed driver. Within the month, two flights and one high-speed train cover the longest gaps: Ponta Delgada to Porto (about 2 hours 20 minutes), Granada to Madrid by AVE (about 3 hours 30 minutes) and San Sebastián to Barcelona (about 1 hour 10 minutes). Licensed drivers handle every other transfer by private vehicle, door to door, so luggage stays in the car and the day’s touring fits around the drive. Our team sends the full schedule, with every time and contact, before you leave home.
Why does the 30-day itinerary start in the Azores?
São Miguel sits in the Atlantic between North America and mainland Portugal, and Azores Airlines flies nonstop to Ponta Delgada from Boston. Starting there puts the island’s volcanic lake, hot springs and Terra Nostra gardens at the front of the trip, at a quieter pace than a capital city on the first morning. A flight of about 2 hours 20 minutes then carries you to Porto for the mainland. Two nights on São Miguel give you a full day in the Furnas valley, including the cozido lunch cooked in the volcanic ground. If the Azores do not fit your dates, our team starts the route in Porto, and the trip runs 28 days.
Is the 30-day route fixed?
No. The route as written shows one balanced order of bases, and our team shortens, extends or reorders it around your dates, interests and pace. Typical adjustments include a third night in Lisbon or Granada, a Douro stay moved to the harvest weeks, the Azores dropped for a Porto start, or an ending in Madrid instead of Barcelona. Each change keeps the same principle: at least two nights per base and no more than one long road day in a row. Travel days, guides and drivers, and in-route tickets all move with the change, so you receive a revised day-by-day plan and price.
How much walking does the itinerary involve?
Several old quarters on this route sit on hills with cobbled lanes and steps, including Porto’s Ribeira, Lisbon’s Alfama, the Albaicín in Granada, Toledo, Ronda and Segovia. The Alhambra visit also covers a large site on foot. Your licensed driver drops you at the top of a quarter where roads allow, so the walk runs downhill, and your guide sets the pace to your party. The Seven Hanging Valleys walk in the Algarve, about 5.6 kilometers, is optional, and a boat trip along the same coast covers the cliffs from the water. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking.
Do we need to book the Alhambra in advance?
Yes. Alhambra tickets are personal, and the Nasrid Palaces admit each visitor only during the time slot printed on the ticket. Visitors show an original ID card or passport at the entrance, and children aged 3 to 11 enter free but need a reservation alongside the adult tickets. Our team books your tickets as soon as your dates are set and builds the Granada days around the Nasrid Palaces slot, with the Albaicín on the arrival afternoon and the full Alhambra day after it. Where your dates allow, Israel, one of our licensed guides in Granada, leads the visit.
Are there free days on the 30-day itinerary?
The route as written plans every day, including a guided Furnas day on Day 2, so you never spend the first full day alone. Sixteen of the 30 days carry no hotel change, among them Day 4 in Porto, Day 6 in the Douro, Day 12 in the Algarve, Day 14 in Seville, Day 17 in Ronda, Day 21 in Madrid, Day 25 in La Rioja and Day 27 in San Sebastián. Any of these turns into a free day on request, and most travelers on a month-long route choose two or three. Our team keeps the driver on call for the day, so a free morning still includes a lift to lunch or a spa.
Who guides and drives us on the 30-day tour?
In Spain, a licensed guide leads each touring day and a licensed driver handles the vehicle, always two separate people. In Lisbon and Sintra, where your dates allow, Luisa, one of our licensed guides, works alongside a licensed driver. Elsewhere in Portugal, a licensed driver-guide, one person holding both licenses, looks after you. Where your dates allow, Israel leads the Alhambra day in Granada and Ana, an art historian, leads the Prado visit in Madrid. Our team plans the whole route, books every ticket and stays in contact through the month.
Who do we contact if something goes wrong or we want a change?
Your planner designs your journey with you and stays in touch after you land. For the fastest response at any hour, message your private WhatsApp group, where our 24/7 support team works alongside Rachel or Dan. Because we begin no more than five journeys per country each week, peak spring and fall dates fill early, and that limit is what lets us stay this close to every trip.
We keep a list of vetted four- and five-star hotels, well located and enjoyed by our past travelers and by our own team.
Examples for each overnight stop on this route. Choose a deluxe boutique hotel or a five-star stay, and your travel advisor matches each night to your wishes, the season and availability.
São Miguel, Azores
Boutique: Senhora da Rosa, Tradition & Nature Hotel. An 18th-century farm estate at the edge of Ponta Delgada, with an outdoor pool and spa.
Five-star: Octant Ponta Delgada. A modern seafront hotel near Ponta Delgada’s port, with a seventh-floor pool and bar over the Atlantic.
Porto
Boutique: Torel 1884. An 1884 palace near São Bento station, with rooms themed on Portugal’s voyages of discovery.
Five-star: The Yeatman. Terraced into the Gaia hillside among the port lodges, every room with a terrace facing Porto.
Douro Valley
Boutique: Quinta do Vallado Wine Hotel. An 18th-century house once owned by Dona Antónia Ferreira, plus a modern schist building among vineyards.
Five-star: Six Senses Douro Valley. A restored 19th-century manor near Lamego, above Douro vine terraces, with a large spa.
Lisbon
Boutique: Memmo Alfama. A design hotel on an Alfama lane, with a pool beside its wine-bar terrace over the Tagus.
Five-star: Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon. A 1959 landmark beside Eduardo VII Park, filled with mid-century Portuguese art and tapestries.
Évora and the Alentejo
Boutique: Albergaria do Calvário. A 16th-century olive-oil mill inside Évora’s old walls, now a 22-room boutique hotel.
Five-star: Convento do Espinheiro. A restored 15th-century convent near Évora, with arched patios and an underground wine cellar.
Algarve
Boutique: Octant Praia Verde. A hotel in the pine woods of the eastern Algarve, with a boardwalk to Praia Verde beach.
Five-star: Vila Vita Parc. A clifftop resort at Porches on more than 50 acres of gardens, with its own beach below.
Seville
Boutique: Hotel Casa 1800 Sevilla. A 19th-century mansion with a patio and a rooftop pool facing the cathedral and Giralda.
Five-star: Hotel Alfonso XIII. Built for the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition, a neo-Mudéjar palace of tiles and arches near the Alcázar.
Ronda
Boutique: Hotel Montelirio. A stately old house on the edge of the Tajo gorge, close to the Puente Nuevo.
Also consider: Parador de Ronda. The old town hall and market building on the edge of El Tajo, beside the Puente Nuevo.
Granada
Boutique: Parador de Granada. A 15th-century Franciscan convent inside the Alhambra precinct, with gardens facing the Generalife.
Five-star: Hospes Palacio de los Patos. A 19th-century palace beside a contemporary wing, linked by gardens, with a spa below.
Madrid
Boutique: Tótem Madrid. A restored 19th-century building on Calle Hermosilla, steps from Serrano’s shops in the Salamanca district.
Five-star: Rosewood Villa Magna. Reopened by Rosewood in 2021 on the Paseo de la Castellana, with a leafy front garden.
La Rioja
Boutique: Hotel Viura. Stacked concrete cubes beside the village church in Villabuena de Álava, with a rooftop terrace.
Five-star: Hotel Marqués de Riscal. Frank Gehry’s titanium ribbons over the Marqués de Riscal winery in Elciego.
San Sebastián
Boutique: Hotel Villa Soro. A protected 19th-century villa with a garden and old brick stables, five minutes from Zurriola beach.
Five-star: Hotel María Cristina. The 1912 Belle Époque landmark on the Urumea river, where film-festival stars stay each September.
Barcelona
Boutique: H10 Casa Mimosa. A listed 19th-century Modernista building on Pau Claris, on the same block as Gaudí’s La Pedrera.
Five-star: Mandarin Oriental Barcelona. A former bank on Passeig de Gràcia turned into a calm, pale-toned hotel with a rooftop pool.
What's Included
A personalized itinerary, built around you and your schedule
Hand-picked luxury and boutique hotels
Insider experiences, inspiring sightseeing and magical upgrades
Private touring with your own personal expert guide
Private luxury transfers from airports and train stations
Full breakfasts, plus food and wine tasting options
Your choice of activities on “Design Your Days”®
Expert advice, restaurant ideas and reservations
24/7 support and concierge service from Spain, Portugal and Morocco
Magical is an award-winning luxury travel agency
Private journeys with soul & stories
Excellent independent reviews
Your private WhatsApp group with our 24/7 team and Rachel or Dan
Hidden gems, insider fun & vetted hotels
Your private guide, deluxe vehicle & flexible pace
24/7 concierge-style support
Life is short, vacation memorably
American Precision, Local Soul
Our Unforgettable Trips Are Tailored Just For You
Hi from Europe,
Along with our local partners across Portugal, Spain, Morocco and beyond we believe that our clients deserve the truly tailor-made private luxury trips, not generic "one-size-fits-all" plans.
Get inspired with our sample trips then get in touch about an expert-made personalized custom luxury itinerary, just for you.
Kind regards,
Dan O'Beirne & the MPT team
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