Ask the Palace Tours reservation desk to describe the Costa Verde Express in one sentence and you will get this: six days of Atlantic Spain, four regions, and not a single motorway view. Here is the whole route, the way we brief our own travellers.
Bilbao and the Basque start
The journey opens under the titanium curves of the Guggenheim — our Bilbao excursion guide covers that first day in detail — before the narrow-gauge line slips west out of the city and the green begins.
Cantabria: Santander and the medieval coast
Santander's elegant bay leads to the prehistoric caves and cobbled villages of western Cantabria. This is where guests start photographing everything; our photographer's guide tells you which side of the train to sit on.
Asturias: mountains one day, harbours the next
Covadonga's lakes and basilica — walked through in our Picos de Europa guide — then Oviedo, Gijón and the white harbour of Luarca. Asturias is also where the cider starts flowing; see our drinks guide.
Galicia: the Cathedrals Beach and the finish line
Ribadeo brings Playa de las Catedrales at low tide, and the line ends where a thousand years of pilgrims have ended: Santiago de Compostela.
Both directions run each season — Bilbao → Santiago and Santiago → Bilbao, with live dates on each page. When you are ready, here is how booking through Palace Tours works.
