Meeting at our hotel in Madrid at 1:00 pm with the team of guides that will accompany us on our trip. Here we will introduce the group and provide an overview of the tour. After which we will leave for a panoramic tour of the capital of Spain by bus. We will visit the most emblematic places of the city and stroll through its historic centre. After the visit, we will enjoy a welcome dinner at a famous restaurant in Madrid, to continue getting acquainted, before the beginning of our journey. Return to the hotel.
Departure on our bus after breakfast, journeying towards San Sebastián. We will stop in Burgos, to visit the historic centre and its famous Gothic cathedral with an audio guide provided. Lunch downtown in a restaurant in Burgos, to enjoy a typical Castilian meal. In the afternoon, arrival in San Sebastian and accommodation. Free time to enjoy San Sebastian and a leisurely dinner.
In the morning, we will visit this beautiful city of the Basque Country with a local guide, after which we will partake in a tapas tour, during which you can taste the famous Donosti pintxos. Free time this afternoon to explore the city. Transfer and dinner at the famous Gipuzkoa restaurant, with a Michelin star.
Today we finally put our feet on the Camino de Santiago Norte. The stage is short, but of great beauty, leaving from the hotel, we will visit the beaches of La Concha and Ondarreta and we will ascend Mount Igueldo to admire the beautiful views of the city (5kms). After the walk we will go to Bilbao, accommodation in the 5 ***** downtown hotel. Free time to enjoy lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit the Guggenheim Museum, (with audio guide provided), being able to admire both its permanent exhibition, as well as the temporary exhibitions, and admire the magnificent building by Frank Gehry. Dinner in downtown restaurant of a typical Basque menu.
Today our journey along the Camino de Santiago, takes us to Cantabrian lands, a beautiful stage of (8,5km), from Otañes to Castro Urdiales, with a breathtaking arrival to this coastal town. Free time for you to have lunch, and then we will visit the world famous Altamira Caves, home to the best Neolithic cave paintings, (visiting the neo cave and the museum, with a guide). After this interesting visit, we will go to our lodgings in the beautiful town of Santillana del Mar. Accommodation and dinner at a hotel in the historic centre of Santillana.
This morning, we will begin our stage in the town of Comillas, where we will make a brief visit to the exterior of the Palace of Sobrellano and Capricho de Gaudí. The walk will take us along the coast through incredible landscapes to the town of San Vicente de la Barquera (8km), where we will enjoy a well-deserved lunch at the restaurant with two Michelin stars. After lunch, we will enter the Picos de Europa National Park, to visit Potes and the Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liébana, where the relic of the Lignum Crucis, the largest piece of the cross of Christ and which for centuries was the fourth holy place of Christianity after Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.
After breakfast, we will ascend on the cable car of Fuente De, to admire the best views of the Picos de Europa. After descending from the cable car, we will continue our trip to the capital of the Principality of Asturias, to stay in a 5 ***** downtown hotel. Free time for you to take a lunch break. Later, in the afternoon, we will visit Oviedo with a local guide, to get to know its historic centre and, above all, the interesting Cathedral of San Salvador. Visit the Chapel of the relics and the relic of the Holy Face (Shroud of the face of Christ, originally part of the relic of the Shroud of Turin and which was separated from it and is now stored in the Cathedral of Oviedo).
Today we walk our last steps through Asturias and we will finally enter Galicia. We will walk the section between Soto del Barco and El Pito (9 Km). A simple and beautiful stage with stretches in the middle of nature. After finishing the stage on foot, we will visit one of the most beautiful coastal towns of Spain, Cudillero, where we will enjoy a magnificent lunch in a typical sailor restaurant. After lunch, we will go to the port of Figueras, where we will embark as the pilgrims of the Middle Ages, in a private boat that will cross the Ría de Ribadeo to finally disembark in Galicia. Dinner and accommodation at Ribadeo hotel in rooms with sea views.
After enjoying a beautiful sunrise from the Parador we enter Galicia, to undertake our stage on foot, from the outskirts of Bahamonde to Miraz (12 Km) and begin to become familiar with the Galician lands, their villages and their people. A very beautiful stage known for its forests and magical places. Picnic lunch in Miraz. After lunch, we move to the capital of the province, Lugo, where we will visit its Roman Wall of the 3rd century, (a World Heritage site), as well as the Cathedral. As you walk around the streets of Lugo you will get a taste of the daily life of its inhabitants. We will enjoy an exclusive tapas tour through in the medieval village. Accommodation in a 4 **** hotel in the historic centre of Lugo.
On this day we will walk to the very gates of Santiago de Compostela. Leaving from Pedrouzo to Lavacolla (10km). We will then visit Monte do Gozo, a place from which we will see the towers of the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, and feel the emotion that so many millions of pilgrims have experienced over the centuries, as they see their goal insight. Lunch at a local restaurant. Without leaving the Monte do Gozo area we will journey to our typical Galician rural accommodation. In the afternoon, we will have a Cooking Class in this beautiful lodging, learning from the hands of an expert cook with dinner included.
Finally, our big day arrives, the arrival in Santiago. Starting from Monte do Gozo we will travel the last 5 kilometres to reach the Cathedral and attend the Pilgrim’s Mass, after which we will admire the famous Botafumeiro flight (if operational). Then, we will arrive as medieval pilgrims to our lodging in the Parador de los Reyes Católicos, in the beautiful Plaza del Obradoiro, where we will enjoy the afternoon free, to explore this World Heritage city. At night, we will have a very special farewell dinner full of surprises, where we will receive our certificate of visit to the Cathedral, issued by the Cathedral Chapter. Accommodation at the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos.
After breakfast, we will have a complete visit of the historical centre on foot with local guide, to know the corners and the history of this Holy City created around the Sepulchre of the Apostle. We will finish this tour with a visit to the roofs of the Cathedral, where we will know all the secrets of the construction of this magnificent temple that took centuries to complete. After these visits, we will go to the perfect epilogue of our pilgrimage, Finisterre, the end of the world baptized by the Romans and that today is the final goal of many pilgrims, who continue walking until the end of the world known in antiquity. We will have a lunch in the port of Finisterre in a restaurant with the best products from the Galician coasts, after which we will visit the lighthouse, its cliffs and the famous 0 kilometre of the Camino de Santiago. Before returning to Santiago, we will make another brief stop in Muxía, another Jacobean landmark, and its Sanctuary of the Virgin of La Barca, where the Virgin Mary appeared to Santiago on a stone boat out at sea when he was preaching on Iberian lands. Return to Santiago and accommodation. Free time to shop (if you wish) or take a walk through the streets of Santiago where you will be spoilt for choice as to where to stop to enjoy dinner.
Farewell and end of our services. Buen Camino!!