Intimate Exploration of Spain: Couples Autumn Vacation

What to expect on this itinerary
Fall in love with the charms of Spain this October with an epic 7-day journey through this illustrious country. Vineyards line the rolling plains of the illustrious Basque Country, the sea sparkles in the sunshine, and the cobbled streets of small villages and major cities still hold the secrets of centuries' past. Experience the fervor of local festivals and internationally acclaimed landmarks when immersed in the vivacious energy of Spain.
Customizable Itinerary
Barcelona – Barcelona’s Jazz Festival
When you land in Barcelona, you will meet your guide and transfer to your luxurious accommodation. After settling into your new surroundings, you can begin to explore the city at your own pace. First, you should check out the city's vibrant Jazz Festival, which takes place each October throughout the city. Then, you can amble through the Raval neighborhood before settling in for a luxurious dinner along Barcelona's port.
What's Included:
Barcelona – Wine Tasting in the Countryside
Girona – Traditional Music and Dance
San Sebastian – Evening Film Festival
San Sebastian – Basque Country & Pinchos Tasting Bar Crawl
Valencia – Valencia Day and Beach Outing
Valencia – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Touch down in Barcelona and dance the night away during the city's annual jazz festival
- Amble along the illustrious cobblestone streets of Barcelona's Gothic Quarter and sip red wines in the Catalan countryside
- Join in on the fun during Girona's Fires de Sant Narcis festival and tour the city's Arab baths
- Travel to the shimmering coastline of San Sebastian to relax on the beach before attending an annual film festival
- Hike through the lush Basque Country landscape and follow your guide on an eclectic pinchos crawl
- Step inside the vivacious markets of Valencia and sample authentic paella by moonlight
- Stroll through Barcelona's Park Guell and shop along the city's bustling Las Ramblas boulevard
Detailed Description
Beautiful beaches, ornate architecture, tantalizing cuisine, and a vibrant culture draw travelers to Spain throughout the year. From big city life in Madrid and Barcelona to the quaint villages of Andalucia and Catalonia, there is an infectious energy and hospitality for all to enjoy. Spain boasts a variety of festivals during the month of October, making a visit during this month especially enticing.
As you land at Barcelona's International Airport, you will catch glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea. Soon, you will arrive in the downtown area, where you will have a guided city tour before dancing the night away during the annual Jazz Festival. On your second day in Barcelona, you will marvel at the whimsical architecture of Antoni Gaudi at La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, and Casa Batllo. Later that afternoon, you will venture to the rolling plains of rural Catalonia to partake in a delightful wine tasting.
Over the next few days, you will break away from the non-stop action of Catalonia's capital city to appreciate the mesmerizing landscapes of Girona, Basque Country, and Valencia. In Girona, you will stroll through the downtown streets, where stoic examples of Moorish, Jewish, and Christian architecture converge. The same day, you can attend the vivacious Fires de Sant Narcis Festival, during which local performers demonstrate the human tower event. The following day, you will continue to the Basque city of San Sebastian, which is best known for its Michelin-starred restaurants and ideal surf conditions. Here, you will explore the city by day and attend a film festival at night. To experience the true beauty of Basque Country, you will embark on a hike above San Sebastian before returning to the city in the evening for a pinchos tasting event at several local eateries.
Finally, you will fall in love with city life after boarding a short flight to Valencia. Here, you will visit the pristine beaches of the Mediterranean and sample the region's revered paella dish. Then, you and your partner can link hands and return to the downtown area for live music and dance as part of the annual Valencia Day. When you return to Barcelona, you will stroll through Park Guell, which is one of Gaudi's most impressive masterpieces, before transferring to the airport for your flight home.
Starting Price
$2,800 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 2733 reviews
The trip was great. Zicasso’s travel specialist and her crew put together a great itinerary and left us plenty of downtime, so we were not exhausted each evening. The drivers were good and, although not guides, offered plenty of history along the way. All the guides were exceptional.
We loved all the hotels, especially our hotel in the mountains. That was very special.
The travel specialist had obviously passed along the note that we did not want to go shopping, like sometimes happens with the guides.
The food and restaurant suggestions were all good.
Overall, it was a very well-planned and articulated agenda. The software that they use to keep in contact worked very well once I understood it! Lol.
My only comment was that on trips in the past, the beginning of the trip started with a personal stop at our hotel by a representative from the company. I understood later that their headquarters is in a more remote area. But if I was a new traveler, I would have enjoyed putting a face with the name. Fortunately, the package they left at the hotel did indeed have all our tickets and passes.
I would definitely recommend this travel company and would use them again.
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I went on a two-week trip through France and Spain, and my experience with Zicasso’s travel specialist was amazing! She was incredibly responsive and communicative, and made sure my trip went as smoothly as possible.
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It was a fantastic trip. Great activities were planned. It was seamlessly executed.
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Zicasso’s travel company took care of all our needs and if we needed to make changes or find reservations at great restaurants, they responded quickly and set us up in some fantastic restaurants.
The guides and drivers were all super-knowledgeable and nice. We would definitely use the travel company again for trips to Portugal and Spain, and also use Zicasso to help us find tour companies in other countries.
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Flawless doesn't begin to describe how incredible and meticulous the planning and taste that went into designing our Spain and Morocco trip. I reached out to Zicasso’s travel specialist far in advance, describing a dream vacation for my husband and me that included a near-impossible amount of locations to cover through both countries in only two weeks. We had tried coming up with an itinerary with another planner prior to meeting the travel specialist, but it did not work out. When we shared our vision with the travel specialist, he materialized it on paper in a way that made sense and even made adjustments that fit within our budget. We got to see every location with enough time to savor each.
The order of travel from Barcelona to Andalucía to Morocco was an intricate weave that told a story of cross-cultural exchange. We started off with Gaudí architecture and the Sagrada Família, sunsets at the Puente Nuevo, Alhambra, and Córdoba, marveled at the grandeur of the mosque cathedral, savored seafood paella and Picasso art in Málaga. We finished off road-tripping in Morocco, starting from the blue city of Chefchaouhen, continuing our journey through Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. It was nothing short of magical.
We will never forget the beauty of the sun rising above the Atlas Mountains, private candlelit dinners on our private terrace in the riads, the colors of the souks, and the hospitality of our Moroccan hosts. Each riad was carefully selected and far exceeded our expectations. And of course, our driver in Morocco was an absolute delight and went above and beyond. Besides providing transportation, he acted as a friend who showed us the ins and outs, helping us see Morocco in a way that we would not have if we went in a large group or had chosen to come alone. Overall, my husband and I cannot recommend our travel specialist enough.
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Zicasso’s travel company designed a fabulous 17-day Spain and Portugal tour for us. It was a pleasure to work with our travel specialist during the entire design process. First, the travel specialist spent time talking to us over the phone so she could get to know what each of us wanted to get out of the trip. Armed with that information, she was able to come up with a recommended agenda. We went back and forth a few times until she designed a trip that suited both of our interests. This trip turned out to be the perfect balance between learning about the history of the area, experiencing the culture, and enjoying our surroundings in rural and urban environments.
The week before we left on the tour, we reviewed our entire trip with the travel specialist over the phone. She wanted to answer any questions we may have had and to make sure we understood how to use our trip app. The trip app made it easy to see what we were doing each day. It contained descriptions of each tour and what was significant about the sites we were visiting. We had access to all our tickets through the app. There were Google Map links, so we could easily navigate to the location we needed to be. Recommendations for various restaurants and other things to do in the area were also included in the app.
The travel specialist provided her contact information and back-up contacts in case we needed anything during our trip. She made it clear to us that if our guide or driver was more than five minutes late to contact her. The travel company was there to support us 24/7.
The travel specialist pays attention to details. I highly recommend the travel company for designing a trip to Spain and Portugal.
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