Our expert team travels extensively throughout Spain and their local knowledge is unsurpassable. We have over 30 years experience in Spanish luxury villa rentals. Let's take a long and leisurely tour through the magnificent country that is Spain.
Choosing one of the luxury villas in Spain from which to launch ourselves on a tour of a country that is as diverse as its many regions is one of life's wonderful chores. Once you have found the perfect base for your Spanish adventure, you can begin to embrace the dramatic, stylish, modern, historic and exciting essence of this great land. Our professional concierge team will work with you to plan the perfect itinerary for your stay,
This is a nation like no other that stands alone, with great pride and distinction, charming the informed 21st century traveller. Having visited the destination many times, our dependable villa specialists are ready to answer all of our clients questions.
Spain has captured the imagination of artists and adventurers for many centuries. It is a bewitching combination of history, natural beauty, culture, food and much more. The Spanish influences have stretched around the world and everywhere from the Caribbean to Central and South America owe a great deal of its flavour and flair to this great imperial nation. Something so completely American as the cowboy owes the very horse on which he rides to the Spanish conquistadores who brought these noble beasts to the shores of the New World.
Spain is a vast country. It covers an area of over half a million square kilometres. It’s big. Its population of 46 million is distributed across 770 cities ranging in size from the most compact with 10,000 inhabitants increasing upwards to Madrid with a very manageable 3.2m. The dramatic geography of Spain allows vast areas of Spain to be very sparsely populated – permitting adventurous tourists to get out and about in nature and away from the more populous areas around the cities and coastlines. The two most famous mountain ranges of Spain are the Pyrenes to the North that form a natural border between Spain and France and the Sierra Nevada to the South that feature such high peaks that allow skiing in the region of Granada – the most southerly point in Europe at which to do so.
The jewel-like islands of Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera (known collectively as The Balearics) are some of the chicest and delightful destinations for travellers throughout the year. There is an internationally well-regarded party scene in Ibiza but you can be sure of finding so much more to enjoy across the islands for all ages and tastes.
The coastline of the Spanish mainland offers such a variety of vacation options that one soon discovers that Spain isn’t just a destination that you visit once for a couple of weeks. It is a country that will capture your imagination revealing with each new visit yet another glimpse of a country that through the centuries has evolved into a rich and heady destination unique and wonderful.
With close to 5,000 km of coastlines that meet the Atlantic, The Bay of Biscay, The Mediterranean, The Balearic Sea and the Straits of Gibraltar there are a wealth of incredible beaches with different marine experiences awaiting eager travellers. Diving, surfing, sailing and fishing are at their most enervating off the Spanish coastlines.
Within easy access of this coastal splendour are towns that still retain all of their medieval mystique that can be explored on foot. From the north-western destination town of Santiago de Compostela that is the finishing point on the famous Camino pilgrimage routes to the northern cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian, skirting the Pyrenees to reach the top of Spain’s east coast, there is a very different sensibility to life from what can be experienced further South.
It’s probably easiest to review Spain focussing on its autonomous communities – 17 in all – each having a personality and style that’s informed by nature, climate and the temperament of its native peoples.
The wildness of Galicia that hugs the Atlantic shores, is home to the ocean-going fishing communities of Spain. The coastline is wild and rocky but with lovely beaches that are hammered into being by the might of the Atlantic.
The Catalonia region, with its capital city of Barcelona, has its own language and culture and feels very much like it is a country within a country. There is architecture and art of the most breath-taking style to be found in this region and beaches and wild nature for visitors to this part of Spain. Valencia occupies the majority of the eastern coastline of Spain with the beautiful coastal city of Valencia as its capital.
But it’s probably the incredible autonomous community of Andalusia, sweeping from the Mediterranean to Atlantic coasts that is the area that draws the most interest for travellers looking for the complete Spanish experience.
Pretty much everything that we have come to consider Spanish ie. Flamenco, bullfighting, as well as most of the Spanish architectural styles, notably those in Marbella, all emanate from this region. Historically it was a Moorish stronghold when invading rulers from Morocco built fortresses and castles and established dynasties that ruled these southern shores for centuries. A trip around the Alhambra in Granada or the Mezquita in Cordoba are spectacular reminders of an Arabic past that influenced so much of the architecture found throughout Spain today.
To cope with the vastness of the country that is Spain, it has very usefully divided its coastal area into specific groupings. With names like Costa del Sol (the Sun Coast), to the Costa Tropical (of the Granada coastline), heading northwards to the Costas of Almeria, Calida, Blanca, Daurada and Brava it’s one long limitless stretch of coves and beaches that enjoy incredibly mild winters and balmy summers.
Where inland temperatures can reach up into the late 30’s Celsius, these coastal beaches, not forgetting the islands, benefit from the cooling sea breezes that keep the resorts in the late 20’sC, ideal for enjoying beach life. So, if you are lucky enough to be relaxing in one of the Spain luxury villas dotted along these coastlines you will have the perfect combination of weather to enhance your holiday.
Well, let’s be honest, there’s just nothing average about this country. But if you want a typical day-in-the-life guide, my recommendation is this. Choose one of the fabulous Exceptional Villas. Make this the base for your exciting exploration of what’s on offer. Start your day early – take in a morning swim either in your own pool or in the Mediterranean – it is a calm and moderate sea that suits water babies of all ages.
After this happy start to your day, you must stroll to one of the wonderful bakeries that operate in every little village or town. A really good café con leche or thick hot chocolate should be accompanied by the sugary and decadent breakfast treat that is churros. Then you are set up to take on an action filled day of swimming, surfing, sailing, fishing. Or perhaps, get onto some of the world’s best golf courses. It’s no surprise that Seve Ballasteros was Spanish or indeed that the wonderful Sergio Garcia is a master of the game. If the Scottish invented the game of golf then it’s true that the Spanish polished it to perfection. The courses of Real Valderrama and PGA Catalunya would be unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Why not let your visit to one of the luxury villas to rent in Spain include a round or two of world-class golf?
For the action men and women in your group, cycling and hiking are ideal pursuits. With numerous trails and tracks that weave throughout the coastal regions of Spain there are wide open spaces, free of cars, that are perfectly suited to those who like to get up close to nature. Some of the lower peaks of, say, the Sierra Nevada have a very alpine feel to them and you can easily get inland from the Costa Tropical and enjoy the cooler temperatures found as you hike up to take in the endless vista across the undulating terrain of Granada.
Shopping for leather goods, ceramics and artwork is another exciting pursuit. If you travel through some of the divinely picturesque villages known collectively as Los Pueblos Blancos (the White Villages) you will find artists’ enclaves like Ronda that offer art studios with unique and collectible pieces. The town of Deia in Majorca is another favoured place for artists to live. And of course, the white isle that is Ibiza has enticed writers and designers to its shores for decades too.
As evening draws in, you will want to find that romantic or atmospheric restaurant with a wide-open terrace that showcases the beauty of the mountains or ocean. Perhaps you are staying in one of Exceptional Villas luxury rentals Spain and have a chef to create a bespoke celebration dinner for you and your family. It’s so easy to find good food anywhere in this vast country. Spain is one giant garden. The most luscious of fruits and vegetables prepared in traditional Spanish styles accompany high-quality meats and the freshest of seafood. Flavour is always of paramount importance. Each meal is preceded by the Spanish tradition of a fino – that crisp, cold white sherry served with little morsels of choriza and local olives to get your appetite fired up for what’s ahead. The wines of Spain are terrific. Anyone who has enjoyed a rich Rioja will confirm the great standards that are now reached by so many Spanish vineyards.
All that remains to close out your day of perfection is to join some locals as they watch one of their soccer clubs do battle in La Liga. If you’ve ever wondered what passion is all about, just watching the flamboyant cheering as Real Madrid or Barcelona FC show their credentials, will explain to you everything you need to know about the pride and spirit of this great nation. It is this passion that permeates life in Spain and defines everything that makes this giant in Europe such a memorable and captivating country to visit.