Best Northern Spain Tour Available!

I picked this tour after researching everything available because I thought it had the best itinerary (in my opinion). I had taken a tour of Southern Spain years before and there are plenty of Southern Spain tours but not so many of the North. But you haven't really seen Spain if you have only seen the southern part. The north is very different in sceneary (very green ) , language ( three different regional languages spoken besides Spanish) , food ( a seafood lovers dream) and people ( Celtic history) . I had high expectaions and this Go Ahead tour lived up to them. We started in Barcelona which is a delightful city with so much to see that one could easily spent a week there. Our tour director was awesome - had a warm and lively personality, was very knowledgeable and highly organized - and made the trip fun. The tour had a good mixture of big cities and small villages, old and modern. I enjoyed reading Ernest Hemingway novels (some of them set in Spain) and now have a picture of me at Cafe Urina which he frequented in the 1920s. I especially loved the boat tour in the Galicia region. We were with locals and Portugese day trippers who sang and danced in the aisles! It was delightful. All in all an awesome trip!

Excellent Tour Unusual Tour

This trip had a very interesting itinerary. Raffi, Tour Guide was outstanding and went the extra mile to make this a memorable trip. The unlimited wine at provided dinners was welcomed. This is a side of Spain less seen.

north spain

tour was hectic with excellent guide cons too many people...tight bus included meals not good early arrivals not picked up at airportpros good tour good sightseeing excellent area... well done except for above

wonderful itinerary

Barcelona is a great city. The trip had great art and museums to view.

Northern Spain

GoAhead might consider limiting the group size to no more than 25....This one was way too large.

A Different view of Spain

I re-read For Whom the Bell Tolls while on this trip. It was thrilling to be in so many of the places mentioned in the story. It added so much to my understanding of the historical period portrayed by Hemingway.

Northern Spain is under-visited

I have been looking for some time for a tour to Northern Spain. This is it. The recent release of the film "The Way" certainly enhanced the journey for me. My family crest contains silver scallops, indicating that some family member in the past has made the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The tour of the Altamira Ice Age museum was a once-in-a lifetime experience. Cave art is one of my passions, and this is the Sistine Chapel of cave art. We could have used a few more days in Barcelona - there is so much to see, and a visit to the Dali Museum would have been nice. I liked it that most of our meals were on our own - allowing us to explore local foods and eat at the places the locals frequent. A suggestion for improvement would be to not start in Barcelona. There is so much to see and do there, and arriving with jet lag lessened our appreciation of this wonderful city. Another suggestion might be to omit the Altamira Hotel in Santillana del Mar. They were digging a sewer in front of the hotel. The room I had was unacceptable. It was tiny and had only a 2x2 foot shuttered window 6 feet off the floor. A third suggestions might be to limit the number of travelers per trip. Although our tour leader was exceptioonal, and was able to handle some serious problems quickly and effectively, I think that 40 people on a tour is just too many. I base this on nearly 35 years of overseas travel experience, but would be happy to discuss it with the company if you wish. With these exceptions, I would certainly recommend this trip to others, especially those who want to avoid the hordes of tourists on the Costa del Sol. In Barcelona we felt safe using the subway, although when an overhead announcement was made to watch for pickpockets, everyone patted their pocket or wallet where their valuablew were kept. A pickpocket's Merry Christmas!!

Barcelona and Northern Spain

Every thing I had hoped for and more! Tour vehicle, driver, tour director were top notch. Tour director was probably the best of any we have had in over 30 years of touring. Accomodations were good and centrally located. Timing and pace of tour was realistic. Promotional materials do not do justice to some locations in terms of what to expect and enjoy. Tour could well be titled "Eating and drinking through the best of Spain."

A wonderful, interesting tour

I would recommend that your company explore the possibilities of more varied tours in Northern Spain. There is so much to see...so much history...that we only skimmed the possibilities. This tour was great and our tour guide was excellent. I would consider a return trip if new areas were opened up to visit.

Enjoyed Northern Spain

I enjoyed the Cities and Towns visited. The pace of the tour was also good.