The Grand Spanish Tour
from $27,200 per person
Spain guide
A guide to luxury travel in Spain
When to go, our itineraries, and Spain's leading destinations, hotels and experiences.
By Ramin Jafari · Facts checked
Spain is at its best from April to June and in September and October, almost everywhere. This guide starts there, then gives our sample itineraries, the five cities with guides of their own — Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Mallorca and San Sebastián — and the hotels and experiences we arrange. Avelia plans private, tailor-made trips across Spain, from flamenco in Seville to the tables of the Basque Country; take this page as the starting point for yours.
At a glance
- Best seasons
- April to June and September to October, almost everywhere
- Recommended stay
- Ten days for one region; two to three weeks to cross the country
- Itineraries
- Five here, from ten days to twenty-one
- City guides
- Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Mallorca, San Sebastián and Granada
When to go
April to June and September to October suit almost the whole country at once. Spring brings Holy Week and the ferias of Seville and Jerez; summer belongs to the north, the coasts and the islands, while Seville averages 36°C (97°F) in July; autumn is the harvest in the wine country; and winter is mild in the south and the islands, with the museums of Madrid without the queues. Our best time to visit Spain goes region by region.
Itineraries
Our Spain itineraries
Sample journeys across the country, each a starting point we then plan around you.
Luxury Spanish Honeymoon
from $16,800 per person
The Charm of Andalusia
from $9,800 per person
Spanish Family Adventure
from $9,400 per person
More, and every day of each, in all our Spain itineraries; the Catalonia Experience is with Barcelona, below.
Where to go
Five cities with guides of their own
Each has a family of guides: what to do, where to eat, when to go and a few days planned day by day. For the rest of the country, see our Spain’s luxury destinations.
Catalonia, on the sea
Casa Batlló, on the Passeig de Gràcia Barcelona
- Best months
- April to June and September and October; July and August for the beach
- Stay
- Four or five days
Gaudí’s city on the sea. We reserve the Sagrada Família with an architectural historian as soon as your dates are fixed, for it books up weeks ahead, and the Passeig de Gràcia’s shops can be seen with a personal stylist, on request; then the Boqueria with a chef, and a sail along the coast at dusk. Our ten-day Catalonia Experience adds the Costa Brava.
The capital
The Almudena Cathedral, Madrid Madrid
- Best months
- March to May and September to November
- Stay
- Three or four days
The Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofía on one boulevard, the Royal Palace, the Retiro, and long dinners. The Prado takes private visits before it opens and after it closes, on request and subject to the museum’s conditions; the city’s Michelin-starred tables we reserve ahead.
Andalusia
The Giralda and the Cathedral Seville
- Best months
- March to May, and October into early November
- Stay
- Three or four nights
Flamenco in the city it comes from, and the Real Alcázar and the Cathedral with a private guide, the Alcázar early in the day, before the busiest hours; then sherry and jamón at a bodega, and a carriage through the old town at dusk.
The Balearic Islands
Cap Rocat, on the Bay of Palma Mallorca
- Best months
- March to May and September to November
- Stay
- Five to seven nights
Coves and clear water, the mountain villages of the Serra de Tramuntana and Palma’s Cathedral. We arrange a private yacht or catamaran with a skipper for a day of quiet coves, and houses such as Cap Rocat, a 19th-century fortress on the Bay of Palma.
The Basque coast
Pintxos on the bar San Sebastián
- Best months
- March to May and September to November; June to August for the beach
- Stay
- Three or four nights
The Basque Country’s table. A pintxo route through the Parte Vieja with a local food guide, a cooking class with a professional chef, and, on request and subject to availability, lunch in one of the city’s private gastronomic societies.
Experiences
Experiences we arrange
Flamenco. A tablao or a private performance in Seville or Jerez, with someone who can explain what you are watching: our private flamenco in Seville.
Food and wine. The tables that are hard to book, cooking classes, and tastings with the people who make the wine: our culinary and wine tours, and a day among the bodegas of Haro and the Rioja Alavesa in our wine tasting in Rioja.
Architecture and culture. A private guide for the monuments and museums, and visits outside opening hours at some of them, on request and subject to what each allows: our private architecture and cultural tours.
For a family. Days that hold every age, short drives and hotels that suit children: our luxury family trips to Spain.
For two. A honeymoon or an anniversary, planned for the two of you: our honeymoon trips to Spain.
Hotels
Where to stay
Palaces in the old cities, houses on the sea, estates in the wine country: the hotels we would choose, with a page for each.
Los Jerónimos
Mandarin Oriental Ritz
A five-star Belle Époque palace between the Prado and the Retiro, with afternoon tea in the Palm Court and a garden open all year, weather permitting.
Barceloneta
W Barcelona
The glass sail at the end of Barceloneta, with its own way onto Sant Sebastià beach, pool decks over the sea and a spa.
Santa Cruz
Hotel Alfonso XIII
Landmark grandeur: Seville's famous 1929 grand hotel, with a colonnaded courtyard restaurant and an outdoor pool.
Thirty-one of them, region by region, in our luxury hotels in Spain; the city’s own in the best luxury hotels in Barcelona; and ten smaller houses in our journal’s boutique hotels in Spain.
Planning with us
Why plan with Avelia
One person, from start to finish. Ramin Jafari plans every trip from Málaga, where Avelia is based. He starts with where to go and in what order, then chooses the hotels, and only then fills the days; he reads every enquiry himself and stays your contact while you travel.
Financially protected. Avelia is a travel agency registered in Andalusia, C.I.AN-298290-2, and your payments for a package trip are covered against our insolvency by a guarantee with AXA. Our page plan with peace of mind explains what that covers and what it does not.
Where to begin. Our luxury trip planning page sets out how a trip comes together, from the first conversation to the journey home.
More Spain guides
- 12 treasures of Spain
Twelve places to see once in a lifetime, from the Alhambra to Teide.
- A guide to Spanish gastronomy
Spain's food and drink, region by region, from tapas to sherry.
- The best wine regions of Spain
The wine regions worth a journey, from Rioja to the Priorat.
Plan your Spain trip
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. Everything else we can work out together.
Plan your Spain trip Our Spain page
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