Discover Madrid, Basque Country, Rioja, Barcelona holiday

Planet

The tap water is treated and safe to drink in Spain. We encourage clients to take a reusable water bottle to re-fill, rather than generating plastic bottle waste. Our local partner and tour leaders on tour try to follow a zero waste travel strategy whenever possible.

Wherever possible we build our itineraries using local transport. Two of the longer journeys, from Madrid to Bilbao and Zaragoza to Barcelona are taken by train - an inherently sustainable way to travel with low carbon footprint. It is also a wonderful way to travel and see the landscapes. The day trip to San Sebastian is undertaken by local bus. This means we use a locally owned charter bus for three days only.

All of our city tours are undertaken on foot, rather than hopping on and off a bus. This helps to minimise the environmental impact we have on the already polluted and traffic clogged city centres. It also enables the group to discover hidden sights and gain a greater insight into the local culture and daily life.

People

We purposely do not include evening meals on this trip. This allows you to eat out at local family-run restaurants which is both an opportunity to experience the traditional cuisine and specialities of this foodie region as well as helping to support the local economy. The wonderful food the tour leader will help the group find and try along the way is invariably grown or sourced locally and is simple in nature to showcase the quality fresh produce. This means less transportation and carbon footprint.

This trip visits a Rioja vineyard where we learn more about local life for a wine producer in the modern age and try some of the wine. Nourished by the Mediterranean sun and ideal terroir of the Ebro Valley, wines from Rioja are generally considered among the best in Spain as well as contributing their part to the rich cultural and culinary heritage of the region.

There will be the chance to purchase local food, drink and other souvenirs and artisan goods as we make our way across Spain, thus helping to support the many small and independent shops found in the places we stay in and visit.