Wander readers know that the best journeys leave us with more than photographs—they introduce us to landscapes and ways of living that stay with us long after we’ve unpacked our bags.
Created in partnership with YellowWood Adventures, The Meaning of Adventure is a three-part series exploring a more thoughtful way to travel, shaped by local guides, active exploration, and the belief that the best trips don’t just show us new places—they change how we move through the world.
By Kristina Smith
Europe is getting hotter. Each summer seems to bring another round of headlines: record temperatures, crowded beaches, and destinations struggling with the realities of overtourism.
The Mediterranean classics still hold their appeal, of course, but increasingly travellers are asking a different question. Where can we go that feels a little quieter, a little cooler, and a little more connected to the place itself?
The Spanish have known the answer for generations.
In search of cooler summer temperatures, the royals headed north from Madrid to San Sebastián. Businesses followed. Wealth followed. Before long, elegant architecture lined the waterfront and a sophisticated food culture flourished along the Bay of Biscay, creating one of Europe’s most beloved summer retreats.
Long before “coolcation” became a travel trend, northern Spain had already perfected the concept.
Today, as travellers search for alternatives to crowded hotspots and soaring temperatures, the green coastlines of Asturias, Cantabria, and the Basque Country feel newly relevant.
Perhaps wellness travel is evolving too. Perhaps it is becoming less about escaping somewhere exotic and more about travelling with the seasons instead of against them.
Spain’s Other Coast
The Spain most travellers know is a country of olive groves, whitewashed villages, and sun-bleached plazas.
Northern Spain tells a different story.
Here, green hills tumble toward the sea and fishing villages cling to dramatic coastlines. The Pyrenees may capture most of the attention, but few visitors realize the mountain range continues westward, eventually becoming the limestone peaks of the Picos de Europa.
One moment you are watching waves roll into the Bay of Biscay; the next, you are winding upward into alpine meadows and mountain villages where clouds catch on the ridgelines and the air smells of pine and wildflowers.
For YellowWood founder Sam McManus, the region holds a particular affection. Having spent months living in Asturias, he describes it not simply as one of his favourite places in Spain, but one of his favourite places in Europe, indeed the world:
Northern Spain holds a very special place in my heart, not least because I lived here for almost a year during the pandemic, hiking in the Picos de Europa limestone mountain peaks and surfing in the briny waves of the Bay of Biscay. It is also where I wrote my collection of travel writing and spent my honeymoon.
The seafood and gastronomy along this coast are easily the best in the country; the prominent architecture of the ‘Casas Indianos’ that the Conquistadores built upon returning from the New World laden with gold and silver add to the cultural and economic wealth of the region, alongside its natural beauty and proud, generous local people.
A genuine hidden gem of Europe, it is where the Spanish take their own holidays, where life is slower and your spirit can soar. I hope you will come to love this spectacular region as much as I do.
San Sebastián remains one of the continent’s great food cities, where evenings unfold over plates of pintxos (similar to tapas) and seafood so fresh it was likely in the water that morning. Further west, small fishing communities such as Llanes continue to move to rhythms dictated less by tourism than by tides.
In the mountains, local cheeses mature quietly in limestone caves where cool temperatures have provided natural refrigeration for centuries.
History is never far away here either.
The valley of Covadonga, tucked into the foothills of Asturias, occupies a central place in Spanish history, while grand houses built by returning conquistadors still stand proudly in villages throughout the region as reminders of another era entirely.
Wellness at Human Speed
For years, wellness travel has largely been defined by spas, supplements, and carefully optimized itineraries.
Increasingly, another version is emerging.
It looks a little more like walking through a fishing village before breakfast. A long lunch on a shaded terrace. A conversation with a local hiking guide who knows the stories behind the landscape.
It looks like movement.
This is where active travel begins to overlap with wellness in ways which feel both old and entirely new.
There is something restorative about travelling at human speed. About earning the view at the end of the trail. About noticing how the landscape changes beneath your feet rather than through the window of a tour bus.
For some travellers, that means joining a small group of like-minded explorers. For others, it means travelling as a couple or finally taking the solo trip that has lived quietly on the wish list for years.
The common thread is curiosity. Curiosity about places, certainly, but also about other ways of living and moving through the world. The best journeys create space for both.
The Islands Beyond the Postcards
From northern Spain, the journey continues south and west to the Canary Islands.
At first glance, the pairing can seem unexpected. Yet the islands share much with the northern coastline: dramatic landscapes, deeply rooted local cultures, and experiences that reveal themselves best when explored slowly.
The Canary Islands have long been associated with winter sunshine and beach resorts, but beyond the familiar postcards lies a very different world.
On Tenerife, that means venturing inland to La Laguna, the island’s historic colonial capital, where colourful facades and cobbled streets feel more reminiscent of northern Spain than the beach towns many travellers imagine. Elsewhere, forests climb improbably toward the famous slopes of Mount Teide, Spain’s highest peak.
On La Gomera, where Christopher Columbus made his final stop before departing Europe for the New World, villages spill gently toward the sea and walking trails wind through volcanic landscapes that feel almost prehistoric in scale.
Further west, La Palma offers another kind of spectacle (you may remember a certain catchy pop song, La Isla Bonita?). Recent volcanic eruptions have reshaped parts of the island, reminding us that landscapes are not static but living, still being written beneath our feet.
High above it all sits Roque de los Muchachos, where some of the world’s leading observatories peer into impossibly dark skies.
On clear evenings, the Milky Way stretches overhead from horizon to horizon. In a modern world often illuminated around the clock, darkness itself feels like a luxury.
The best adventures rarely happen at the edge of the map.
More often, they happen just past the edge of the itinerary everyone else is following.
The Meaning of Adventure
YellowWood often describes its philosophy as taking the path less travelled. Increasingly, this feels less like a travel preference and more like a philosophy for moving through the world.
Journeys that feel immersive rather than extractive. Journeys that support local communities, move at a human pace, and leave space for curiosity, conversation, and surprise.
Northern Spain and the Canary Islands offer exactly that: green coastlines where royalty once escaped the summer heat, villages where the catch still determines the menu, volcanic landscapes shaped by fire and time, and trails that lead away from the crowds.
The future of adventure may not belong to those who go farther. It may belong to those willing to go deeper.
And perhaps, if we’re fortunate, into versions of ourselves we had not yet met before we left home.
Your Turn
YellowWood’s small-group and tailor-made journeys focus on responsible, active, and culturally immersive travel experiences designed to connect travellers intimately with the places they visit.
Upcoming adventures include:
- Historic Cities & Foothills of Northern Spain — 2026 and 2027 departure dates available
- Hiking the Wondrous Landscapes of the Canary Islands — 2026 and 2027 departures available