Northern Spain Explorer

Explore have clearly taken on board all of the comments made on previous versions of this trip and have now put together a really excellent itinerary. Each day was busy as we covered a lot of ground but there was plenty of free time to wander round the bigger places and we always arrived at each place in plenty of time for a tour and the opportunity to visit things that were of particular interest to the different people on the trip. Our tour guide, Renske, was really excellent. She made everything go very smoothly and did particularly good walking tours on arrival at each city so that we could get our bearings and she could point out the things to see and do. She also dealt patiently with the myriad of queries and the different interests of people in the group. Our trip was occasionally challenging because of the unexpectedly extremely high temperatures that were experienced at the end of June but even that didn’t take anything away from a great trip with a lovely group of people. For me, particular highlights were Zaragoza and Montserrat and also the beautiful Hopital de Sant Pau which was next to the hotel in Barcelona. We would probably never have seen that if we had not stayed in that area and it was also great to be within walking distance of the Sagrada Familia. I think that wherever you stay in Barcelona you will probably always need to use the metro to see some of the sights but it was easy to use (and much cooler than above ground!) and Explore even through in the metro tickets.

I enjoyed the trip but I still feel it needs tweaking! To really enjoy the fabulous places we visited it does need a couple of extra days and I think that 10 days would work better. In my opinion he visit to the anchovy and chocolate factory could certainly be left out! An extra day in both Zaragoza and Barcelona would have been appreciated as there was so much to see in both these cities but we had limited time. Hotels were pretty good - although the Barcelona hotel was not in the centre and although there was a metro to travel on - most took taxis to save time and energy - which of course added to the cost of the holiday. Unfortunately, the heat was relentless and on some days it was up to 39 degrees. I am glad I went a day earlier so I did not have to rush my visit to both the Guggenheim, The Museo de Bellas Artes and old town in Bilbao as we hardly spent any time there and the following day visited San Sebastian. Our Leader was great. She did everything to try and make our trip enjoyable.

The tour was really good, went to quite interesting places. Occasionally it would have been good to have had a little more free time in the towns and cities when the museums, art galleries and shops were still open- i.e. not just arrive at a place at say 5-6pm, then leave after breakfast the next day. Our leader, Cybelle , was excellent-organised, informative, friendly, fun.

The booking experience fell far short of previous trips. The itinerary needs changing to start in Bilbao and get on with enjoying Northern Spain. Arriving in Madrid then sitting on a train for several hours to get to Bilboa is a waste of time. We arrived in Bilboa and were penalised by the company for doing this. The chocolate tasting and anchovy tasting were too long and wasted a great deal of time which could have been spent in SanSebatian and Monseratt. The tour guide although very sweet was inexperienced and untrained in leading a tour. Her communication skills were poor. She gave no additional information other than meeting times and destinations. Great hotels in great locations. Fantastic architecture by Alveras and Gehry was nearly missed and several places of interest in Barcelona were not pointed out.

The itinerary spells out what you are in for and the trip delivers it. However, some tweaks would make this even better. Starting at Madrid and only being one night there before a 5 hour early morning train ride to Bilbao may not be the greatest start. Either have more time in Madrid as part of an extra tour or come earlier by yourself. Madrid is not really “Northern Spain” so maybe start the trip in Bilbao which is great. One negative is arriving in Bilbao on the Monday which is the day the Guggenheim Museum is closed. This is all stated in the itinerary so you know what you sign up for, BUT I believe the trip would be better served by having time to go in if you so wish. There are other great spots of interest in N. Spain - Zumaia, with interesting rock formations and Game of Thrones film location for example. Montserrat was wonderful but again timings made for late arrival and lack of time to grab the funicular up to the high peaks … more time could be allocated here. However, you do get a grand sweep of the area, see many interesting sites and try various wines and foods which literally give you a good flavour of the region. The guide does give good insights into where the “locals” go and she was very keen and enthusiastic. Enjoyable, but personally the frequent changes of hotel, whilst inevitable, were a bit of a drag, but then things a whistle stop tour. Good for an oversight of the region.