Northern Crossroads
Eight nights loop from Madrid into the Basque north and across the French border, then back again. The routing moves from flexible city sightseeing in the capital to a coastline built on anchovies, txakoli, and Michelin-starred kitchens, closing each evening with a different bar, market, or grill.
The program
A loop, not a line.
Built for culinary, wine, and design-focused clients who want Spain's food and architecture culture without the southern circuit, with a day trip that crosses into France. The program opens and closes in Madrid, which keeps international connections simple at both ends. Every departure is re-sequenced and re-paced around the client brief; the routing below is the proven baseline Inbound Spain contracts against.
Madrid
The capital opens the loop on its own terms: a first evening in the old town, then a full morning built around whichever side of Madrid fits the client best.
Day 1 · Private arrival transfer and hotel check-in. Evening old town tapas tour with a local licensed guide.
Day 2 · A flexible morning: the Royal Palace, El Retiro park, a guided market tour with tastings, the Prado, the Reina Sofía, or a tour of Las Ventas bullring. Evening free, or flamenco show tickets on request.
Where your group stays: historic center, walkable to Puerta del Sol and the Plaza Mayor. Specific properties confirmed with the partner before contracting.
Bilbao
Bilbao rebuilt an industrial riverside around a single museum, then kept building. The Guggenheim anchors the visit, but the region's coast, less than an hour away, carries the day that follows.
Day 3 · Train to Bilbao. Afternoon Guggenheim visit with an expert guide. Dinner reservations at one of the city's noted restaurants.
Day 4 · Morning visit to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the islet chapel reached by 241 stone steps above the Bay of Biscay, followed by a txakoli winery tasting and lunch.
Where your group stays: Casco Viejo or the Abandoibarra riverfront, walkable to the Guggenheim.
San Sebastián
The program's culinary center of gravity, reached the long way, by way of a fishing port, a coastline of ancient cliffs, and eventually a market stall and a kitchen.
Day 5 · Private coach to San Sebastián, with a stop in Getaria: a visit to a family-run anchovy producer, then lunch at a charcoal-grill fish restaurant. A stop at the Zumaia flysch cliffs follows before continuing into San Sebastián. Evening free.
Day 6 · Morning market visit with a chef, followed by a hands-on Basque cooking class and the lunch it produces. Afternoon free. Evening pintxos tour with a local expert.
Day 7 · Full day in French Basque Country: a wine and cheese tasting in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, then the Biarritz market for oysters and free time for shopping. Return to San Sebastián with the afternoon and evening free.
Where your group stays: Parte Vieja, or a La Concha beachfront property for FIT clients.
Madrid
The loop closes where it began. No AVE high-speed line reaches San Sebastián yet, but a direct Alvia service covers the return to Madrid with no changes, timed to land a full evening free for a closing dinner before the flight home.
Day 8 · Direct Alvia train to Madrid, about 5 hours. Dinner reservations at a Madrid restaurant, or a farewell dinner.
Day 9 · Private departure transfers.
Where your group stays: historic center, the same district as the opening stay.
For advisors
Private to your client and re-paced around them. Net markup or gross billing, whichever fits your practice, on every booking. A dedicated local concierge is available airport to airport.
Request an FIT proposal →For operators
NET rates under per-series contracts, up to 8 departures a year. Holds at 24 travelers per group; a tour leader is recommended alongside local guides on every series departure.
Explore a group or series →On the ground
What Inbound Spain handles on this routing.
Operational detail for the partners evaluating this program for a client or a departure calendar.
Ticketing and allocations
The Guggenheim's timed group tickets are booked by Inbound Spain at contracting rather than assumed available same day. Madrid's Day 2 options, the Prado, the Reina Sofía, and Las Ventas among them, and the San Sebastián market and cooking session are each scheduled as fixed slots once the client brief confirms which to include.
Transport, door to door
Private transfers at both airports, a train between Madrid and Bilbao, a private coach for the Bilbao to San Sebastián leg with stops in Getaria and Zumaia, a private coach for the French Basque Country day trip, and a direct Alvia train for the San Sebastián to Madrid return, about 5 hours with no changes.
Guides and support
Local licensed guides in each city, drawn from Inbound Spain's vetted regional network, plus a market-led chef for the San Sebastián cooking session and a local expert for the pintxos tour. Pintxos evenings are split into clusters of 8 to 10 travelers per guide, and a 24/7 local concierge runs a shared communication channel across the tour leader, on-the-ground team, and partner office.
The boundary
Inbound Spain contracts hotels, ground transport, guides, listed entries, and listed experiences, including the French Basque Country day trip. The partner carries air, tour leader costs, unlisted meals, insurance, and gratuities policy.
Departure calendar
April through December. San Sebastián's mid-August Semana Grande tightens hotel and restaurant availability beyond a typical summer week. Series contracting works best at 10 to 12 months; FIT at 4 to 6.
Regions on this routing
Read the ground the program covers: the Madrid guide and the Basque Country guide carry client-fit and planning detail for each region. The French Basque Country day trip is outside Inbound Spain's contracted Spain supplier network and runs as a single excursion within the Basque Country stay.
Frequently asked questions
What partners ask about Northern Crossroads.
Can Northern Crossroads be re-sequenced or shortened?
Yes. Madrid's second day runs as a menu of options, the Royal Palace, El Retiro, a market tour, the Prado, the Reina Sofía, or Las Ventas, so the program adapts to a client's interests without changing the routing around it. Partners departing directly from Bilbao or San Sebastián rather than returning to Madrid can drop the closing Madrid night, and the French Basque Country day can be dropped for a tighter 7-night version without disrupting the rest of the loop.
Does the Guggenheim require advance booking for a group on this program?
Yes. The Guggenheim sells timed group tickets that Inbound Spain books at contracting rather than on arrival, particularly for departures in summer or around Bilbao's arts festivals. The museum visit is scheduled as a fixed afternoon slot on Day 3 with an expert guide, and dinner reservations at a noted Bilbao restaurant follow the same evening.
Which dates should partners avoid or price differently on this routing?
San Sebastián's Semana Grande, a nightly fireworks competition over La Concha in mid-August, tightens hotel and restaurant availability beyond a typical summer week; departures touching that week should contract at least six months out. The Gaztelugatxe visit and the Zumaia flysch stop are weather-dependent rather than date-dependent, so Inbound Spain builds a same-region indoor alternative into the plan for both rather than assigning fixed, unmovable dates.
How are hotels selected for Northern Crossroads?
Properties are proposed in the historic center of each base, Sol or Plaza Mayor for both Madrid stays, the Abandoibarra riverfront or Casco Viejo in Bilbao, and Parte Vieja or the La Concha beachfront in San Sebastián, then reviewed with the partner before contracting. Category and specific properties are confirmed per booking against the partner's brand and the client or group profile rather than fixed in advance.
What does the pace look like on Northern Crossroads in practice?
Moderate to active, and Madrid's second-day menu lets partners dial it up or down before the routing gets busier. The Gaztelugatxe walk climbs 241 stone steps each way, the San Sebastián market and cooking session runs a full morning on your feet, and the French Basque Country day covers three stops in a single outing. Each has a lighter alternative available, a coastal viewpoint, a seated cooking demonstration, or a shorter version of the France day built around one or two stops instead of three.
What lead time does Northern Crossroads need for FIT versus series bookings?
Private FIT departures confirm comfortably at 4 to 6 months. Group series contracting works best at 10 to 12 months out, which secures Guggenheim group allocations, restaurant reservations in Bilbao and Getaria, the market-led cooking session, and Madrid-Bilbao train and coach capacity alongside hotel inventory. A first itinerary draft and pricing follow within five days of a client brief.
Why does Northern Crossroads cost more per person as a private departure than as a group series?
Fixed costs, including private guides, the Madrid-Bilbao train, and private coach and transfer segments across two countries, are shared across fewer travelers on a private FIT departure, which raises the per-person rate relative to a full group series. The program runs privately for 2 to 7 travelers or as a series for 8 to 24. Exact per-person pricing depends on season, hotel category, and group size, and is confirmed at quoting, typically within five days of a client brief.
Is Northern Crossroads suitable for travelers with mobility limitations?
Most of this program is flat and paved: Madrid's core sights, San Sebastián's La Concha promenade, and Bilbao's riverside all work well for travelers with limited mobility, and Madrid's second-day menu can be steered toward its more level options, El Retiro over Las Ventas, for example. The exception is Gaztelugatxe, where reaching the chapel means 241 uneven stone steps each way with no accessible alternative route to the summit. Inbound Spain can substitute a coastal viewpoint of the islet for travelers who cannot make the climb. Partners should flag mobility limitations at the brief stage so the itinerary can be planned around them.
What happens if rain disrupts a day on this program?
The Basque north runs on an Atlantic climate, so rain is a more common planning consideration than the heat risk that shapes Andalusia's programs. Inbound Spain's local team can resequence an outdoor day, Gaztelugatxe, the Zumaia flysch stop, or the French Basque Country day, against an indoor alternative such as the Guggenheim, the San Telmo Museoa, or an extended market and pintxos circuit. There is no separate weather-cancellation policy outside the program's standard terms.
Can a group of up to 24 take part in the San Sebastián market and cooking session?
Yes, but a full group of 24 does not fit around one kitchen. Inbound Spain works with the market-led cooking partner to split larger groups into parallel stations or staggered sessions so each traveler still gets hands-on time rather than watching from the back of a crowded kitchen. Exact station capacity depends on the specific kitchen and market partner confirmed at contracting for the departure size.
Can a group of up to 24 experience San Sebastián's pintxos scene authentically?
Yes, but not as a single unit. A full group of 24 moving together overwhelms a Parte Vieja bar built for a dozen people standing at the counter. Inbound Spain splits larger groups into clusters of 8 to 10, each led by a guide through a different sequence of bars before regrouping for a final stop, which preserves the bar-hopping rhythm that defines the experience rather than replacing it with one seated meal.
Does the French Basque Country day trip require special documentation or border checks?
Spain and France are both part of the Schengen Area, so there is no border checkpoint or customs stop on the drive to Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Biarritz, and no visa is required beyond what a traveler already needs for Spain. Inbound Spain still recommends every traveler carry a passport or valid government-issued photo ID for the crossing. The day runs as a standard excursion under the same private coach and guide arrangement as the rest of the program, with no additional customs paperwork for the group.