2023 PICOS MOUNTAINS + RIOJA WINE REGION TOUR

DATES: 10 DAY TOUR 2023 May 14th-23rd ( 10 days/9 nights )

COSTS SHARING A DOUBLE/TWIN ROOM AND FERRY CABIN

COSTS: €tbc per person, based on two people per car sharing a ferry cabin and hotel bedroom

TBC euros/car reduction if no ferries are required

COSTS SHARING A CAR BUT SINGLE ROOMS AND FERRY CABINS

COSTS: € TBC per person, based on two people per car but with separate ferry cabins and separate hotel bedrooms

TBC euros/car reduction if no ferries are required

COSTS FOR A SINGLE PERSON WITH A SINGLE ROOM AND FERRY CABIN

COSTS: €tbc per person, based on a single person in a car with a ferry cabin and a single hotel bedroom

TBC euros/car reduction if no ferries are required

The prices are in euros due to the uncertainty of predicting sterling to euros conversion rates

CABIN UPGRADE OUTWARD FERRY

Increase for an upgrade to Deluxe cabin from Club Cabin £135 per cabin on the outward ferry

Increase for an upgrade to Commodore cabin from Club Cabin £174 per cabin,

CABIN UPGRADE RETURN FERRY

Increase for an upgrade to Deluxe cabin from Club Cabin £135 per cabin on the return ferry

Increase for upgrade to Commodore cabin from Club Cabin £174 per cabin

The tour costs include the following:

Accommodation in 4 star or stylish hotels ( 7 nights )

- Breakfast daily
- 3-course dinners, ( 7 nights )
- Overnight Brittany ferry from Plymouth to Santander with club cabin
- Return Ferry Santander to Plymouth with club cabin
- Dinners on ferries
- Rally plate
- Comprehensive road book with daily itineraries and detailed route notes
- Highlighted Michelin map of Northern Spain
- Copy of the DK Eyewitness guide to Northern Spain

NOT INCLUDED ARE THE FOLLOWING :

Lunches, snacks, coffees, etc.
Drinks with dinner including bottled water and coffee
Entry to places of interest
Autoroute tolls

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

A 10-day tour to the stunning Picos Mountains and the Rioja wine region in Northern Spain. Our tour starts on Sunday afternoon when we catch the overnight ferry from Plymouth arriving in Santander at 14.00 pm on Monday afternoon. We then drive southeast to the Rioja wine region where we spend two nights in a stylish hotel. The next day we explore the local Rioja wine region visiting wine caves and museums. On the third day, we drive west on a scenic mountain route to Fuente De in the heart of the Picos mountains region where we spend a night in a Parador hotel at the foot of a cable car. The following day there is an option to take the cable car up the mountain before we drive north into the Picos mountains to Panes then turn west along the northern Picos to Cangas de Onis where our Parador hotel for the next two nights is located. The next day we drive south on a scenic road down to Riano before exploring the heart of the Picos mountains. We then return northwest to our Parador Hotel in Cangas de Onis. The next day we leave the Picos mountains and drive to Ribadesella on the coast and our lunch stop. In the afternoon we drive 17 miles west via Colunga to Luces where our 5 * Relaix et Chateaux hotel for the next two nights is located. The following day we relax around our hotel. On our final day, we take the motorway east to Santillana del Mar, our lunch stop, before arriving in Santander to catch the 5.00 pm ferry to Plymouth which arrives the following day, Tuesday, at 2.00 pm

Day 1 Sunday 15th May afternoon ferry 16.45 from Plymouth to Santander, northern Spain

Our afternoon ferry leaves Plymouth at 16.45 and arrives Monday at 2.00 pm in Santander

Day 2 Monday 29th August

Santander to Ezcaray, ( 130 miles )

Our ferry arrives in Santander at 2.00 pm

After disembarking in Santander we head southwest on the motorway to Santo Domingo de la Cazada. From here it's just a few miles south to Ezcaray, a sleepy village in the Rioja wine region.

Here our hotel for the next two nights is located.

The hotel is opposite a church

Tonight we eat in the hotel's traditional restaurant

Day 3 Tuesday 30th August

Ezcaray, local excursion Rioja wine region ( 60 miles )

After a leisurely breakfast, we enjoy a local excursion in the Rioja wine region. We initially drive north for 10 miles to our morning coffee stop, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, a pretty medieval town.

We then drive 20 miles to Laguardia in the Rioja wine region.

Next, we visit the nearby Bodegas Ysios housed in an amazing building designed by Santiago Calatrava

Here there is an option at 1.00 pm to enjoy a guided tour.

We then drive 15 miles east to Briones where we visit the Museum Vivanco dedicated to wine production.

Our afternoon coffee stop is 6 miles away in Estacion famous for its local bodegas where we can visit local wine producers.

Late afternoon we return 20 miles to Ezcaray.

Dinner tonight is in the hotel's a la carte restaurant

Day 4 Wednesday 31st August

Ezcaray to Cervera de Pisguera ( 115 miles )

We leave Ezcaray and drive east into the Sierra de Demanda mountains for 40 miles to Burgos where we then take the motorway north for 5 miles before joining a country road to our morning coffee stop, Montorio, a sleepy village nestling in the hills.

After coffee we continue north, deviating to drive through the pretty village of Urbel del Castillo.

Our route then takes us via Cervera de Pisguera north into the Picos mountains to Fuente De where our Parador hotel is based at the foot of the mountain with a cable car.

Here, there is an option to take a cable car up to the mountain summit from where there are stunning views of the Picos Mountains.

Dinner, tonight, is in the hotel's restaurant.

Day 5 Thursday 1st September

Fuente De to Cangas de Onis ( 115 miles )

We then return to Potes then turn north along the eastern slopes of the Picos to Panes.

Our route from Panes takes us west along the northern Picos towards Cangas de Onis deviating to Covadunga our afternoon lunch stop.

If the road is open, there is an option to drive 8 miles into the mountains on a scenic mountain road to a lake in the heart of the Picos mountain range.