La Volta: Spain & Portugal 2027

Nine nights round northern Spain and Portugal, navigational rather than guided, in the guest’s own car, reached by ferry from Plymouth, with the price quoted on application.

The ferry is what makes the arithmetic work. A Sunday evening sailing from Plymouth puts the car in Spain by late Monday afternoon, which saves two days of French motorway at either end of the trip.

The first night is in the Parque Natural Montana Palentina after a scenic run from the port, then seven days of driving the best roads through the Picos de Europa, a limestone massif rising to two and a half thousand metres within twenty miles of the sea, and on into Portugal for the Serra da Estrela, the highest ground on the mainland. The overnight stops are different every night, which gives the trip a touring shape rather than a radial one, and the navigation follows the operator’s usual pattern: a printed booklet, QR codes linking to Google Maps and a preprogrammed satnav on loan.

The return ferry crossing, hand-picked hotels throughout with parking, the tour booklet and the loan of a satnav are included; fuel, the car, some meals and a single supplement for solo travellers are not. The price is given on application. Late spring and early autumn are the seasons, since inland Spain and Portugal in high summer are extremely hot. Ten days makes this the longest trip the operator runs and the one with the least traffic on it: northern Spanish mountain roads are as empty as anywhere in western Europe.