Hike El Camino
- Visit Spain as a pilgrim, backpack on your back. El Camino de Santiago is an ancient pilgrimage trail in northern Spain. You are guaranteed unusual encounters and stunning scenery whether you hike all or part of the traditional 465-mile route from Roncesvalles on the French border to the tomb of St. James at Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. It's equally possible to bike the route or even drive it, but hikers have access to cheap or free lodging in the "refugios" along the way designed to house pilgrims. Switching from tourist to world-walker, you form strong bonds with strangers along the way and experience Spain's beauty with a clear, focused mind.
Bike a Vias Verde
- They were old, abandoned railway lines, fallen into disuse and then forgotten. But environmentally aware Spaniards spearheaded their recovery and reconditioning as safe and beautiful paths for cyclists. The more than 1,000 miles of Vías Verdes, or "green" paths, are fun and inviting for cyclists since all motorized vehicles are forbidden. Look for panels and signposts along the route that give you information about where you are and where you are heading. Stay in small, local guesthouses along your itinerary and mingle with the locals in the evening. You can find a Via Verde in any part of the country by using the Via Verdes itinerary guide. For example, the Olive Oil Greenway takes you on a 34-mile tour of olive orchards in the province of Jaén.
Visit a Desert
- Everyone has heard horror stories about the Spanish coastal towns in the country's sunny south where it's hard to find accommodations, but no harder than finding a spot to spread your beach towel. Buck the crowd and head in the other direction, centering your excursion in the Spanish desert. Bardenas Reales in the Navarre province will daze you with its austere beauty. Located just a few miles from the town of Tudela, the stark, semi-arid, lunar landscape of the region is decorated with wild rosemary and thyme that bloom brilliantly in the springtime. The clay, chalk and sandstone soils of the region have eroded into gullies, peaks and plains that take your breath away. Bardenas Reales is both a national park and an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, open to hiking and biking from dawn to dusk daily.
Bask in Basque Country
- No need to head to beautiful but expensive cities like Madrid and Barcelona to explore the cultures of Spain; the Basque Country on the northwestern coast of Spain has everything you could seek with a far lower price tag. That most glorious and lively of cities, San Sebastian, is an expensive base camp, but if you lodge in nearby Irun on the French border, you will find low prices and a glimpse of authentic Spain. For a true taste of the region, take the little Euskotren train from Irun to San Sebastian and wander around old town. Each bar is laden with plates of delicious little snacks (called tapas in Spain but pinxtos in Basque Country), and you simply point to what you want to try. If you hope to sunbathe, either visit the wide white curl of La Concha beach in San Sebastian or head south to one of the little beach towns like Getaria, with its wide, empty beaches and wonderful seafood. For the cultural snob, you can't do better than taking the Euskotren to Bilbao to explore the fabulous new Guggenheim with its ever-changing exhibits.
