See as much as you can for your money with a two-week-long Grand Tour of Spain from Cosmos Tours. These tours depart from Madrid or Barcelona, and will show you the many faces of Spain via train, bus and walking tours. Going beyond the obligatory stops at museums and monuments in Barcelona and Madrid, a grand tour takes you to destinations outside the scope of the typical tour: Zaragoza in Aragon, Pamplona in Navarra, Bilbao in Basque Country and Granada in Andalucia. With a pricetag in the same range as many shorter tours, a two-week Grand Tour will give you a nice overview of Spain, especially for a first-time visitor.
AffordableTours.com
11150 Cash Road
Stafford, TX 77477
1-800-935-2620 or 1-281-269-2600
Fax: 1-281-269-2690
Globus
5301 South Federal Circle
Littleton, CO 80123
886-755-8581
globusjourneys.com
If you're limited in funds and time, short trips departing from Spain's major cities may be your best option. Spend some time in Madrid or Barcelona, and then book a four- to five-day trip to another part of Spain via train or bus. As a general rule, the closer the region in question, the smaller the expense, although some regions of Spain such as Galicia and Andalucia have cheaper places to eat, drink and sleep than more expensive regions such as Catalonia and the Basque Country. Top Tour of Spain through Viator offers short, budget tours departing from Barcelona, Madrid, and the popular resort area Costa del Sol.
Viator, Inc.
866-648-5873
Fax: 415-503-3970
600 Townsend St Ste 120
San Francisco, CA 94103-4945
www.viator.com
support@viator.com
If you are interested in a specific geographical area of Spain, or a certain aspect of Spanish culture or history, try a regional or themed tour. Many companies offer budget tours focusing on architecture, culture or regions of Spain. Sometimes, these tours are more reasonably priced than other tours because the distance traveled is substantially less. A wide variety of regional and themed tours are available, centered around such topics as Moorish Spain in Andalucia. There are also active walking or biking tours in northern Spain like those offered by Intrepid Travel and Gap Adventures.
Intrepid Travel
Wessex House
40 Station Rd
Westbury
Wilts BA13 3JN, UK
011-44-0-20-3147-7777
intrepidtravel.com
ask@intrepidtravel.com
Gap Adventures
Base Camp and Toronto Concept Store
19 Charlotte Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5V 2H5
416-260-0999
Fax: 416-260-1888
sales@gap.ca
