SPain, Our Way
Join us on a Rick Steves' My Way Tour through Spain:
My Way tours are unique travel experiences in which Rick Steves travel experts organize and book your intercity travel, accomodations, and provide you with a tour advisor, but leave you free to do your own sightseeing and activities along the way. It's a "lightly guided" tour with plenty of opportunity to taylor your travels to your own desires and spend time with your chosen companions rather than a large tour group. Offering independent travel without the hassle of logistics, My Way tours are less expensive than a fully guided tour and provide flexibility to explore at your own pace.
Peruse this digital scrapbook of our 2025 My Way Spain in 11 Days
tour and be inspired to travel your own way!
Sunset from a quiet patio we discovered in Ronda
HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR JOURNEY
The view on a walk we took in Toledo
Bread... glorious bread
A quiet courtyard we stumbled upon in Sevilla
DAYS 0 - 2:
We arrived a day early (tour day zero) to get oriented and buffer for any travel delays and jet-lag. We booked a room at the same hotel the tour began from so we'd be in place without stress when our tour began the next day. We met our tour guide and group members, settled in and started to get a feel for Spain in this vibrant city.
BARCELONA
DAYS 3 - 4:
MADRID
The tour provided us with comfortable motorcoach travel from our hotel to the train station where we boarded a high speed train that whisked us off to Madrid. Our centrally-located hotel allowed us to explore her sophisticated neighborhoods, beautiful park, and treasure-filled museums by foot.
DAY 5:
TOLEDO
One of our favorite experiences of the whole trip - we opted to take a day trip to Toledo with winding medieval lanes and centuries of layered history. Following directions from our tour advisor (Luis- a Toledo native) we easily took a train to this hilltop city for the day. Our favorite meal of the tour was at a restaurant we stumbled upon across the river from the city with spectacular views and incredible food.
DAYS 6 - 7:
GRENADA
After traveling to sunny Andalusia with the tour group aboard our private motorcoach, we wandered through the white washed alleyways of Grenada to a viewpoint above the Moorish city. We spent a morning exploring cave dwellings and an afternoon inside the spectacular Alhambra palace and it's lush gardens, enjoying time together, just the two of us.
DAY 8:
RONDA
Ronda was our most memorable destination - a cliffside town with stunning views and a fabulous guitar concert. Our "wow" moment : cocktails and dessert on a quiet patio at El Morabito at sunset overlooking the countryside. A romantic setting for the two of us to celebrate our anniversary.
DAYS 9 - 11:
SEVILLA
The warm city of Seville charmed us with her purple jacaranda trees, streets lined with orange trees, and sultry flamenco music. A captivating city in which to end our travels.
Our reflections
TRAVEL LOGISTICS
Our hotel room in Ronda
TransportatioN AnD LODGING
The thing we appreciated most about doing a My Way Tour is that we got to choose exactly what activities and sightseeing to do in each destination and could do them at our own pace. All the transportation between cities was taken care of for us - a high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid, and a comfortable, spacious motorcoach to and from the hotels, train stations, and cities. We didn't have to worry about a thing!
The tour guide gives an orientation walk at the arrival to each new destination. This helped us feel comfortable with our surroundings and ready to lace up our shoes and get exploring almost as soon as we arrived.
Unique, centrally located hotels with character, comfort, and breakfast included were arranged for us in each destination. It was such a relief to just plan the fun parts of our days and leave the logistics up to the experts.
Our lunch in Toledo
Food and Drink
The food in Spain was delectable and our tour guide always had suggestions of what local delacacies to try and where to get them. We tried tomato bread in Barcelona, churros with chocolate in Madrid, marzipan in Toledo, and tapas in Granada. Starting our days with coffee and breakfast right in our hotel was convenient and set us up for a day of exploring local flavors. The rest of the days' meals were up to us - so we could eat where and when we preferred. And we ate well!
(see photos below!)
We had so many memorable meals! From a picnic sandwich at Parc Guell to a gourmet meal at La Ermitana in Toledo (our favorite dining experience) to drinks in the shadow of the Sagrada Familia at Casa Angela... We enjoyed tapas at the 4 Cats in Barcelona's Gothic quarter where Picasso and Gaudi were known to meet. (We found it more about history and ambience than food.) We loved strolling through the covered markets in many of the Spanish cities to admire the colorful displays of produce, meats, seafood and cheese, but we preferred to sit down to relax and eat our meals. However, we did occasionally grab an empanada for a hearty snack on the go! We tended to pick restaurants based on the view or atmosphere more than the cuisine, like the Italian restaurant we found in Madrid perfect for people watching (Trattoria Malatesta) at our shaded outdoor table. Or the slighly pretentious restaurant in Grenada with a stunning view of the Alhambra at sunset.
A brief tour of our favorite accomodations:
Our fabulous room in Ronda
BARCELONA • MADRID • TOLEDO • GRANADA • RONDA • SEVILLA •