El Cavino is a seven-day wine tourism and hiking trip. Each day, we walk a section of El Camino de Santiago or the GR14 Gran Recorrido along the banks of the Río Duero in regions with a wine Denomination of Origin (DO), ending with a winery tour, tasting and lunch.
The final destination of our hikes on El Cavino Clásico and El Cavino del Norte is Santiago de Compostela. We arrive in Plaza del Obradoiro, the famous city square with its equally famous cathedral, and stay at Parador de los Reyes Católicos.
On El Cavino Gran Reserva we walk along the banks of the Río Duero through Spain, then head to Portugal on a cruise of the Duero, arriving in the city of Oporto.
Each morning starts with breakfast at the hotel where we spent the night, followed by a hike through a Denomination of Origin (DO) region. At the end of each walk, the El Cavino bus takes us to a winery for a tour and tasting of DO wines from the area we just walked through.
After the tour and tasting, we’ll enjoy a lunch of regional food with wines from the winery.
After lunch, the bus takes us to the next city and our accommodation for the night.
On El Cavino Clásico we do six walks on three routes of El Camino de Santiago: Camino del Francés, Camino del Levante and Camino de Invierno. We hike around 12 km a day on relatively easy walks with only a slight change in level. The walks are suitable for anyone in good physical condition.
On El Cavino del Norte, we do six walks: five on El Camino del Norte and one on El Camino Inglés. We walk about 10 km a day, on sections that are more demanding than those on El Cavino Clásico. A good overall level of fitness and health is necessary for this walk (muscle, bone and respiratory health), due to the constant changes in level.
On El Cavino Gran Reserva we do six walks on the Gran Recorrido GR14. The relatively easy walks are around 10 km a day, with only a slight change in level. They’re suitable for anyone in good physical condition.
Each Cavino hiker (aka Caviniker) goes at their own pace. Before we set off, we arrange where to meet up at the end so we can head to the day’s winery once the whole group has arrived.
No problem. El Cavino is a trip designed for 100% enjoyment, not struggling. If you don’t want to walk one day (or several days), or don’t feel up to it, you can go on the El Cavino bus and meet up with the group at the end of the walk for the winery tour and the lunch.
All you need to carry on each walk is a small rucksack for your water, your wallet, a raincoat… You don’t need to carry a heavy load – just what you need for the day’s walk.
Larger bags stay on the bus, with all your clothes, toiletries and other belongings.
In the late afternoon you’ll have time to explore the cities where we stay, so you can pack clothes to change into for the rest of the day.
It’s very hard to forecast the weather in the areas we’ll travel more than a week in advance.
You can check the weather forecast for each walk in the WALKS section of each route.
We always recommend “dressing like an onion”, in layers you can peel off as the day warms up. The difference in temperature between early morning and evening can be as much as 20ºC, especially on El Cavino Clásico and El Cavino Gran Reserva.
On El Cavino del Norte the temperature’s more stable, but it’s more likely to rain.
All trips start on a Sunday. You can either make your own way to Logroño, Burgo De Osma or Vitoria (depending on which trip you’re doing) and meet at the hotel reception at 9.00 pm for the Welcome Dinner, or leave from Madrid on the luxury bus that will be with us for the whole trip. Departure from Madrid on the El Cavino bus is optional and free of charge. The bus leaves at 15.00 h (3.00 pm) from the street at the entrance to Atocha train station on Calle Méndez Álvaro.
After breakfast on the last day of the trip, Cavinikers can choose to return to Madrid on the El Cavino bus, also free of charge. The approximate time of arrival at Atocha train station is 17.30 h (5.30 pm).
