Northern Spain Tours & Vacations

We visited Madrid, Toledo, San Sebastián, Bayonne, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Hondarribia, La Rioja, Barcelona, Montserrat, and the Penedes (Cava) region.

We loved our private guides, private wine tastings, and day trips outside of the big cities.

Zicasso's travel experts did a fantastic job in planning our trip to Spain. We used their services on the front end and back end of our Camino pilgrimage. They helped us to see Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, San Sebastián, and the Rioja wine country. Everything went very smoothly. It was a great trip, with great attention to detail. Muchas gracias!!

We had been planning a two-week trip to Spain for most of 2024, researching the different regions, the available transportation options, and the logistics of trying to fit everything we wanted to do and see into two weeks. Once we felt comfortable having an informed conversation, we contacted Zicasso. We had used them for a prior trip to Italy in 2021. We were provided with two quality companies to assist us with planning our trip. Both companies provided us with proposals and itineraries based on our interests.

We chose this Zicasso travel company and could not have been happier with their attention to detail, communication, and customer service. We originally were working with one representative and, over the summer, we received an email introducing our new travel consultant. She immediately contacted us to introduce herself and to let us know that she was there should we need anything before, during, or after the trip. We had a pre-trip video meeting with her to answer some minor logistics questions. Two weeks later, we landed in Spain.

All of the companies selected for our trip, from drivers, guides, and cooking instructors to wineries were fantastic! Travel is more than the things you see and do; it's also about the people you meet while traveling. We thoroughly enjoyed everyone we met. They made us feel welcome and tailored each experience to what we were interested in.

Since our travel consultant lives in Madrid and our final stop was there, we made plans to get together for a drink to discuss our experiences. As we were discussing the trip with her, we realized we were having a hard time picking just one experience, one guide, or one place that was our favorite in each city.

We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted from this trip to Barcelona, Granada, Córdoba, Seville, Ronda, Madrid, and Toledo. The travel company listened to our interests and took to heart what we hoped to get from the trip. They designed and executed a fantastic two-week itinerary based on our budget. We are already thinking about a trip to Northern Spain in the future and our first call will be to the same travel company.

It is hard not to be overly effusive in praise of the trip. The hotels, travel, guides, and itinerary were all wonderful. The trip was tailored to our needs and interests very well. We loved our app and Zicasso’s travel specialist checking in on us.

So what were the favorites for me? The Douro Valley, Córdoba, and Toledo. Not saying that I did not enjoy all the rest, but those were the standouts and might merit a return. I think being there during the Christmas season was special, though the crowds in Madrid were a little much for us. It was colder than we expected, but better than sweltering heat.

So what could I have lived without? The Metropol Parasol (recommended by someone else, not the travel company) was underwhelming and the Royal Palace in Madrid was not as interesting as other landmarks. The Alhambra and the Retiro Park in Madrid were more enjoyable.

That said, the travel specialist did a wonderful job accommodating our lifestyle and interests, making for a wonderful travel experience.

We were very happy to be matched with Zicasso’s travel consultant to arrange our travel plans. His expertise and thoughtfulness were obvious through every detail, and his suggestions proved to be the right ones in nearly every case. The transfers made the travel stress-free and smooth. The drivers were professional and most engaging, with only one slight mix-up on the location when departing Mallorca, but this caused no issue.

We returned to Zicasso because of our wonderful experience they arranged for our trip to Italy a few years ago, and this experience was equally fantastic. It was very assuring for my wife and I to receive the notices and updates from our travel consultant while our travel was in progress. He was prompt and detailed from start to finish. My wife speaks Spanish very well and loved the opportunity to interact and rebuild her vocabulary.

All hotels selected were excellent. The service quality was a standout at the hotel on Plaza de las Cortes in Madrid and the resort on Carrer de les Molins in Mallorca, in particular. The accommodation in Granada was beautiful, although just for feedback, the room location was not so good, having a full window wall at nearly ground level looking at people at a cafe — which meant keeping the blackout drapes pulled the entire time — and, consequently, a little noisy. That is just meant as a note if you book this hotel in the future. The lower levels at the back of the hotel should be avoided. That probably had more to do with what was available at check-in time, but just a note.

As we mentioned to our travel consultant during the trip, all four private tour guides we had were wonderful and very knowledgeable. The day trip to Toledo was a standout, as was the Alhambra in Granada. The horse show at the Spanish riding school fulfilled my wife's wish over many years and it didn't disappoint. Our guide in Granada stayed with us nearly an hour beyond her time (even though we mentioned the time to her). She replied that she enjoyed spending time with those who appreciated her city – and we did. We enjoyed her historical perspective very much and she seemed to enjoy it too. Our other guides were all terrific and it was evident they all enjoy their work and are proud of their cities and heritage.

We loved the horseback riding at the ranch with our guide in Mallorca. The staff there went above and beyond when my wife lost a bracelet on the trail (unknown where or when). We were nearly back at the hotel when we got a call that one of their staff had found the bracelet. The manager offered and dropped off the bracelet at the hotel that night on her way home, before we left for Barcelona. Great people!

The crowning point was ending our travel at the Sagrada Família at sunset — awe-inspiring! We really don't have any complaints or things we would change. There is much we would add, however, had we had more time (and money).

Thank you, Zicasso, and Zicasso’s travel company, for helping make a great memory for my wife and me.