Spain Luxury Tour Review: Madrid, Barcelona, 10-Day Vacation

Review by traveler

Steve S.

10.20.2023

General Info

Traveler Review

Which Country (Countries) did you visit on this trip?

Spain

Your overall comments on the trip and the travel company:

Hello… Overall and on balance the trip was extremely successful and most memorable… Our visit to Spain… both Madrid/Barcelona was very exciting, to say the least. We covered a lot of ground and compressed a plethora of sites and additional cities that we did indeed visit. Spain is just a magnificent and breathtaking country and wished that we had journeyed there previously.

Our tours were just about average… somewhat disappointing…. for the most part, they were only AM tours not day long as we had thought they would be when we crafted out this journey with the tour operator… they lasted for approximately two hours concluding about noon or so… the tour guide p/u in our hotel at 10… lasted through noon… we had the pm to ourselves. The best tour during the entire trip was in Spain when our tour guide arrived at our hotel at 9, and it went through to about 4. She was the finest of the group… on the initial day of our journey in Madrid… she was also wonderful… however, it was only an AM tour.

A few of these tour guides made us uncomfortable as they just kept looking at their watches for the entire trip hoping perhaps that the tour did not go over a specific hour… one of the guides just left us after two hours and we had to find our way back to the train to take us back to Barcelona.

On one of the tours, we had to take a taxi from our hotel to the train station… take the train to our destination… after the tour, we again had to take a taxi back to the train station and a taxi back to the hotel... and we had to incur the high taxi fees as they were not covered by the tour operator.

A few of these guides were not that fluent in English which made it somewhat difficult to communicate with.

On the final day of the tour… we had an open day in which we had to create things to do that we did not do while on the tour.

I would say that this tour, which was very expensive and average and we have never been on tours that were so short we met people at the hotel who were gone most of the day and they couldn't believe that we were back so early and they paid less than we did, it was very disappointing...

What were the most enjoyable or memorable parts of your trip?

Everything was superb...

If you could take your trip again, what would you do differently?

Yes.

Travel Company Comments:

Hello Steve,

Thank you for your comments. Every time we followed up with your trip, your feedback was that you were having a great time, that you were enjoying the tours and you talked fondly about your guides being fun and informative. So honestly, we are surprised with your review.

As your trip was a bit last minute, we can both agree we had an intense relationship. In the planning process, we have talked many times, exchanged many emails, and gone through the details of your itinerary (on the phone and by email). I have solved your questions and before your departure, you had all the necessary information for your trip, the length of the tours, how the day trips were going to be arranged, when would have free time, and what things we suggested you visit on your own.

All the services we arranged met your interests and, also very importantly, your budget. I arranged for you a trip that you loved from the first moment, when you paid for the trip, the following day I sent you your detailed travel schedule with all the information for your days in Madrid and Barcelona. The process has been fast, and we have been nothing but responsive before and during your trip. I think that we have developed a close relationship and at all times you have been very positive with your feedback about our job and the services arranged.

In Madrid and Barcelona, as you mentioned, you have covered a lot of ground, and the days you were in Spain you have enjoyed six private tours covering the history and culture of Barcelona and Madrid but also Toledo, El Escorial, Segovia, and Girona.

Our team of guides is a solid team, and we are proud to work with the best of the best in each destination. They are all fluent English speakers, and our travelers often praise the high level of their tours mentioning that our team of guides is knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate, no one has ever said that they had any issue with the language nor that they were checking their watches, they know that working with our travel agency means to adapt the visits to the travelers needs at all moment.

When we met in Madrid you mentioned that you arranged a tour on your own while you were in Portugal, and you mentioned that the guide you had booked was not fluent in English so maybe you mean that guide.

You mentioned that your tours lasted only two hours, which is not correct.

For the walking tour in Madrid, your guide met you at 10 am at the lobby of your hotel and she adapted the visit to your interests, because you preferred to visit the Royal Palace instead of the Prado Museum, she took care of the tickets, and you took the necessary taxis. You ended the tour at 2:15 pm.

On the walking tours in Barcelona, you also met your guides at the lobby of your hotel, and you discovered with them the Gotic area and the main works of Gaudi, you visited the highlights of the city and you even mentioned that you had great laughs with your guide during the Gaudí tour. You ended the tour at 2 pm.

You had the information that these walking yours were half-day tours, and you knew that during the afternoons you would have free time to discover the city at your own pace. We sent you many suggestions of the things you could visit in your free time. And I know, because you told me on the phone, that you visited many of the things we suggested enjoying your days in Madrid and Barcelona.

On the day trip, when you visited El Escorial and Segovia you had a driver and a guide as this is a full day trip, in order to visit comfortably both places we arranged a private transfer, I am glad you enjoyed this day trip as both have an amazing history to discover!

For going to Toledo to keep costs under control, you did this day trip by train. Your guide met you at your hotel at 8:30 am and you went together to the train station, once you visited the city you decided to return back to Madrid with her instead of having lunch there, she changed the train tickets and once you arrived at Madrid, she took a taxi with you to your hotel, you were back at 2:30 pm.

On the day trip, you mentioned that you had to take taxis to the train station and then back to your hotel, we went over the logistics of this day trip in an email before your trip started, on one of our phone calls when we went through your itinerary, when we met in Madrid and on a phone call while you were in Spain.

Remember that we talked that going by train was more comfortable because the train ride is only 40 min and by road takes 1h 20min. That Sunday was the end of the first long weekend in Spain after the summer and roads were also going to be packed with cars, so even if we offered you the possibility of arranging a private transfer, you agreed that taking the train was going to be a better option. Your hotel was 15 minutes by taxi to the train station, the taxi services in Barcelona are fast, reliable and offer good service, we wouldn’t suggest this option if it wasn’t that way.

Regarding the people you met at your hotels, we don’t know what kind of services they have booked, they could be part of a group tour while you have enjoyed a completely private experience.

Once again, thank you for choosing our travel agency, and we hope to have the opportunity to create more unforgettable travel experiences for you in the future.