Discover Spain and Portugal

Itinerary

Day 1: Sunday 7 Sep 2025
Depart Adelaide
Travel from Adelaide to Madrid. 

Day 2: Monday 8 Sep 2025
Arrive Madrid
On arrival into Madrid transfer to the hotel and enjoy a welcome drink. Discover the charm and character of Old Madrid on a walking tour with a local guide. Take in the Plaza Mayor, stroll atmospheric alleyways and local squares before enjoying a drink and bite to eat in a ‘tapas’ bar. (D)
Stay: Melia Hotel Madrid*^{or similar} - 2 nights^*

Day 3: Tuesday 9 Sep 2025
Madrid
Enjoy a day of sightseeing with a local guide in Madrid. Drive through the Old Quarter, discovering the origins of the city. A highlight will be a visit to the Prado Museum. In the afternoon visit Segovia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which sits on a rocky outcrop between two rivers. Return to Madrid, to discover the buzzing nightlife, which can be found spilling out into open-air cafés and pulsing plazas. (B)

Day 4: Wednesday 10 Sep 2025
Madrid—Toledo—Salamanca
Today travel to Toledo, situated high above the River Tagus. Enjoy a walking tour through the city walls, along the narrow-cobbled streets with a local guide. Visit the Church of Santo Tomé, housing El Greco's famous painting.  Learn about the tradition of sword-making at a steel workshop. Explore the walled city of Avila to admire the impressive city still entirely enclosed within its 11th-century walls. Arrive in Salamanca, to see the golden stone and arcades of Plaza Mayor. Enjoy dinner at the hotel this evening. (B,D)
Stay: Alameda Palace Hotel*^{or similar}

Day 5: Thursday 11 Sep 2025
Salamanca—Porto
Cross the Portuguese border to reach Porto. Situated on the River Douro, the city is celebrated as the capital of Port wine. Arrive in time for a sightseeing tour of the city’s UNESCO-listed medieval Ribeira Quarter, the port and the remarkable bridges that span the Douro River. Next visit a local wine store for tastings and a tour. Continue your exploration of the city, admiring the multi-coloured houses, churches adorned with glazed tiles and iconic bridges. (B)
Stay: NH Hotel Collection*^{or similar}

Day 6: Friday 12 Sep 2025
Porto—Lisbon
Travel to Fátima, Portugal’s most renowned place of pilgrimage. Explore the pilgrimage site that attracts nearly seven million faithful visitors every year, the Basicila of Our Lady of Fatima.  Continue to the fortified town of Óbidos and walk within its walls, exploring the narrow, medieval streets where houses are covered with flowers. In the afternoon, arrive in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. (B)
Stay: Turim Saldanha Hotel*^{or similar} - 2 nights

Day 7: Saturday 13 Sep 2025
Lisbon
Enjoy a tour with a local guide along the spacious avenues of the Lower Town and beneath the hilltop Bairro Alto to the Terreiro do Paco, the finest square in the city. Visit Belém Quarter, then taste of the famous Pastéis de Belém from a traditional patisserie. View the modern Monument to the Discoveries and the historic Belém Tower. Visit the National Coach Museum, featuring one of the most prominent horse-drawn carriage collections in the world. For dinner tonight be immersed in the culture and tradition of Lisbon and savor a typical meal and listen to the melodic sounds of beautiful Fado singing. (B,D)

Day 8: Sunday 14 Sep 2025
Lisbon—Algarve
Today cross the River Tagus and head for the sun-drenched southern coast to reach Lagos, a fishing port nestled in the bay of Meia Praia. After free time to explore, continue to a resort hotel set within a magnificent 360-acre estate. A short walk away specialized Portuguese seafood restaurants hug the coastline, overlooking the Atlantic. (B)
Stay: Ria Park Hotel & Spa*^{or similar} - 2 nights

Day 9: Monday 15 Sep 2025
Algarve
Today enjoy a day at leisure. (B)

Day 10: Tuesday 16 Sep 2025
Algarve—Seville
Travel to Seville, a place of beautiful monuments, fine weather and the home of flamenco. Tour some of the city's most famous sites, including Maria Luisa Park, built in 1929 for the Ibero-American exposition, and  visit to the Seville Cathedral. Stroll through Barrio de Santa Cruz and hear how the Jewish community has shaped the city's history. Enjoy a dinner at your hotel this evening. (B,D)
Stay: Melia Hotel Seville*^{or similar} - 2 nights

Day 11: Wednesday 17 Sep 2025
Seville
Take in the sights on a walking tour of the preserved Moorish city of Cordoba. The highlight is undoubtedly the magnificent Mezquita, an 8th-century mosque with a Cathedral built inside. Enjoy an authentic hands-on cooking lesson. Learn about locally grown Spanish produce and then select ingredients to use later in a cooking class. (B,L)

Day 12: Thursday 18 Sep 2025
Seville—Gibraltar—Costa Del Sol
Head to Gibraltar, part of mainland Spain yet an overseas territory under British control since 1704. Visit the Rock of Gibraltar and St. Michael’s Cave. Travel along the Costa del Sol through high end resorts where the rich and famous holiday and soak in the views. (B)
Stay: Melia Costa Del Sol*^{or similar}- 2 nights

Day 13: Friday 19 Sep 2025
Costa Del Sol
Enjoy the day at leisure with a local restaurant dinner this evening. (B,D)

Day 14: Saturday 20 Sep 2025
Torremolinos—Alfarnatejo—Granada
Travel to Alfarnatejo, a quiet whitewashed village, with a population of less than 500 people, surrounded by stunning mountainous landscape. Take a walking tour in the town centre to see the 18th century Iglesia del Santo Cristo de Cabrilla. Travel to the oldest olive grove in the region and stop at the rural mill-factory to taste a selection of different oils, paired with locally made farmer bread. Continue to Granada to visit the magnificent Alhambra Palace, built as a citadel by the Moors in the 13th century, it is a wonder of beautiful gardens, fountains and stone cut like lace. (B)
Stay: Vincci Albayzin Hotel*^{or similar}

Day 15: Sunday 21 Sep 2025
Granada—Valencia
Today travel to Valencia, and pass through the Old City to see its ancient gates, and the City of Arts and Sciences. Visit the Bullfight Museum housing memories and bullfighting objects from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Valencia is home to one of the world's greatest dishes, paella. Meet the chef of a local family-run restaurant in the heart of the Old City and learn how to make this local specialty during a Cooking Demonstration. Later, indulge in the delicious flavours of this classic dish at dinner. (B,D)
Stay: Barcelo Hotel*^{or similar}

Day 16: Monday 22 Sep 2025
Valencia—Peniscola—Barcelona
Today follow the coast to Peñíscola to view the sea-lapped castle used in the film 'El Cid'. Continue along the Costa Dorada to the Cava Bodegas at Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. Enjoy a tasting as you learn the sparkling secrets of Spanish bubbly. Continue along the coast to reach Barcelona. (B)
Stay: Ohla Eixample Hotel Barcelona*^{or similar} - 2 nights

Day 17: Tuesday 23 Sep 2025
Barcelona
With a local guide drive along the Passeig de Gracia, adorned with elegant wrought iron street lamps and some of the most flamboyant Modernist buildings. Continue through the Eixample district to visit Gaudi’s extraordinary masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia. Tonight, join your fellow travellers to toast a wonderful journey, enjoying a Celebration Dinner with wine and flamenco at a local restaurant. (B,D)

Day 18: Wednesday 24 Sep 2025
Depart Barcelona
Transfer to the airport to begin the journey home. (B)

Day 19: Thursday 25 Sep 2025
Arrive Adelaide