Spa holidays in Galicia (Spain)

Itinerary

Day 1

• Arrival to the area and transportation to the spa hotel
• Hotel check-in starts at 4pm. You can access the natural hot springs pools.
• Dinner at the hotel

If you arrive to Ourense city in your own car, we recommend that you visit the city and specially its downtown district. If you arrive by public transportation to Ourense or any other city in the vicinity (including the Airport of Santiago de Compostela, the Airport of A Coruña, the Airport of Vigo, or the Airport of Porto) we can pick you up and drive you to the hotel (please select the option that applies in the reservation section).

During the afternoon, you can access the hotel spa area (including the natural hot springs pools). Dinner is served in the hotel restaurant.

Day 2

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Spa treatment
• Lunch at the hotel or local restaurant
• Visit to Ribadavia and a local winery
• Dinner at the hotel or local restaurant

After breakfast, you will be able to enjoy a spa treatment included in this package (hotel employees will give you several options), and the spa natural hot springs pool.

We will go to a local restaurant for either lunch or dinner, unless you prefer to have both meals in the hotel restaurant.

Ribadavia

We will visit the original headquarters of the already extinct Kingdom of Galicia, a city filled with history and deeply linked to the wine of Ribeiro. Its Jewish district is the most important of Galicia for two reasons, its perfectly-preserved condition and its historical importance. Also, we can visit the Castle of the Sarmiento. In this city there are two renowned local festivities, the Festa da Istoria (a rennaisance festival) and the Feira do Viño do Ribeiro (a wine festival).

After visiting Ribadavia, we will visit a local winery where we will do a wine tasting. After that, we will either head back to the hotel and have dinner there or have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 3

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Spa treatment
• Lunch at the hotel or local restaurant
• Visit to Pazos de Arenteiro and a local winery
• Dinner at the hotel or local restaurant

After breakfast, you will be able to enjoy a spa treatment included in this package (hotel employees will give you several options), and the spa natural hot springs pool.

We will go to a local restaurant for either lunch or dinner, unless you prefer to have both meals in the hotel restaurant.

Pazos de Arenteiro

In this beautiful village, located next to the Arenteiro river, you can see several pazos (typical Galician palaces where rich families lived), built between the 16th and 17th century. It is a wonderful place for a short walk, where we will pass by the ruins of a medieval bridge that can still be crossed on foot.

After visiting Pazos de Arenteiro, we will visit a local winery where we will do a wine tasting. After that, we will either head back to the hotel and have dinner there or have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 4

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Spa treatment
• Lunch at the hotel or local restaurant
• Visit to Carballiño and to the Monastery of Oseira
• Dinner at the hotel or local restaurant

After breakfast, you will be able to enjoy a spa treatment included in this package (hotel employees will give you several options), and the spa natural hot springs pool.

We will go to a local restaurant for either lunch or dinner, unless you prefer to have both meals in the hotel restaurant.

Carballiño and Monastery of Oseira

Carballiño is well known for its gastronomy, specially for its octopus dishes. Despite not being close to the sea, the best octopus cooks in Spain have traditionally been from this municipality. They even have a local gastronomy festival called Festa do Pulpo (the Octopus Festival), were boiled octopus slices served in wooden plates is the star dish. Not far away from Carballiño we will visit the Monastery of Oseira (Mosteiro de Oseira), the only monastery in the region that is still used by monks for its original purpose: living a simple life seeking for peace. This monastery is a common stop for those doing the pilgrimage of Saint James.

After the tour, we will visit a local winery where we will do a wine tasting. After that, we will either head back to the hotel and have dinner there or have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 5

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Spa treatment
• Lunch at the hotel or local restaurant
• Visita a O Val, O Zaparín y 1 Bodega
• Dinner at the hotel or local restaurant

After breakfast, you will be able to enjoy a spa treatment included in this package (hotel employees will give you several options), and the spa natural hot springs pool.

We will go to a local restaurant for either lunch or dinner, unless you prefer to have both meals in the hotel restaurant.

O Val y Zaparín

This day we will visit the high part of the Ribeirio, where we will enjoy excellent views of the Valley of San Mauro and the Valley of San Vicente, where the most part of the village of A Arnoia is located.

Once we reach the top, we will visit the Sanctuary of Nosa Señora do Val, of baroque architecture (not very common in the region), with a big exterior wall that was never finished. This sanctuary was built at the top of a mountain that has no other buildings in the vicinity, so it is very impressive to find such a big sanctuary in such an isolated location!

Afte that, we will visit the small village of Zaparín, that has two must-see things:

• A Roman altar stone with the Latin engraving "Diis Ceceaicis iriba Marcus Aeturi". It is a pagan altar, very rare, with a Latin cross sitting above it
• The remains of a tiny village that was abandoned decades ago, and mother nature has claimed back by now, creating a stunning scenery

After the tour, we will visit a local winery where we will do a wine tasting. After that, we will either head back to the hotel and have dinner there or have dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 6

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Check-out before 12:00pm
• Visit to Ourense

For the early birds, after breakfast you can enjoy the spa natural hot springs pool before check-out time (12:00pm).

If you haven't had time to visit Ourense city, we recommend you to visit it after checking out (if you drove to the hotel on your own). Its downtown district has several interesting places to visit: the cathedral (the second most important in Galicia after the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela), the Burgas natural hot springs, town hall main square and the Calle del Paseo (a pedestrian street that crosses all downtown and is filled with shops and cafes).