Picos Self Drive Holiday » Itinerary

We are proud to say that this holiday to the Picos was chosen by BBC1’s Holiday programme as number one in their Ten Best ‘hidden gems’ around the world.

The beauty of a self-drive holiday with Pura Aventura is that it is an independent holiday but without any of the guesswork – no more stumbling across the best restaurant on the last day.

Your holiday starts with a day of private guiding in order to get you settled in and used to the area. From then on you are free to choose what you do each day. We send you armed with Pura’s own in-depth local information, walking notes and detailed maps so you are never short of options.

For walkers, it is a perfect environment because of the sheer variety of scenery and walking routes. The Picos de Europa National Park is a little known mountain range along the central north coast of Spain. It is generally considered to be one of the most beautiful areas of Europe.

There are walks to suit almost any ability level – indeed many of the walks are out and back along the same path so you can simply shorten or lengthen to suit.

All in all, we think that the Picos make a wonderful setting for an active and comfortable holiday. Below is a suggested itinerary covering eight days to give you a good flavour of the region but it can be lengthened or shortened to suit you.

Arrive in northern Spain. Collect your car at the airport and drive 1½hrs to your charming hotel near the coast.

Your Pura guide comes to meet you this morning and take you out into the mountains. Walk along sections of amazingly well preserved Roman road cutting across the high Picos mountains.

Walk the most famous route in the Picos: the Cares Gorge. The path runs along the wall of the gorge, cut into the rock, narrowing to just two metres in places.

At the heart of the concept is an independent holiday with the guesswork taken out.

What is a Pura Self Drive Holiday?
At the heart of the concept is an independent holiday with the guesswork taken out.

What is included?
What Pura do is book your cars and hotels so that you have the basic structure of your holiday set out. We then give you the information to fill the days in a way that suits you best. That means that you travel with detailed information about the areas you are visiting. This ranges from advice on the best beaches, market days, our favourite restaurants, what to do on a rainy day, etc.

You also have a series of walking scale maps with our own walking notes. You will invariably have more walking notes than days to walk so you can choose which ones to do and which ones to save for a return visit.

To help you make the best choices, at the start of your trip you spend a full day with a Pura guide.

How tailored is it?
Here in the UK we tailor the itinerary to your needs as closely as possible. Of course, once you are actually on holiday you can choose to stick to the letter of the itinerary or change it as you go along.

Your Pura guide also helps you map out the best possible holiday according to weather forecasts, local festivals, your energy levels, etc. They can also help you make any calls you need to book optional activities. Think of it as a bit of fine-tuning. Freedom and flexibility without the guesswork.

What about the cars?
The cars we book for you are good sized cars. Because you are generally going into mountain environments, we make sure that the cars are suitably powerful.

And hotels?
The hotels we use are generally small and family run. The standard varies from luxurious, boutique style to simple, comfortable rustic type places. Rooms are en suite.

We always believe that when you wake up you should know where in the world you are so we place character, location and comfort at the top of the list. If you want uniformed staff, look elsewhere!

Walk along the rolling hills of the coast to find sandy coves and beaches. What makes this stretch of coastline so unusual and special is that you can see the high mountain peaks, some up to 2,600m, whilst standing with your feet on the sand.

Change hotels today as you leave the coast and the northern mountains to enjoy the lush eastern Picos from the Liebana Valley. Drive though the narrow, winding Hermida Gorge to stay in a small inn near the town of Potes.

Set off walking on ancient trails across the meadows that join the nearby villages. Walk a steep uphill route to a small shrine, site of a popular annual pilgrimage, set on a natural balcony with views over the valley and mountains beyond.

Take the cable-car at Fuente Dé for a spectacular three minute ride up 1,000m to the upper reaches of the mountains and a walk up to one of the highest peaks.

Head back to the airport for your journey home.