A Week in Spain
April 29 – May 6, 2018
Additional days of 2 days before tour and 2 days after tour
The Week in Spain – small group was an awesome trip. My husband stated that it is hard to consider another vacation after experiencing the wonderful, delightful trip in Spain. We saw so many beautiful buildings, flowers, cathedrals, and palaces. We were in awe at what we were seeing. The important things included how Tauck took care of us. Tauck made the tour so much more special and intimate by the planning of the trip and how they just took care of everything. We never had to touch our luggage outside our room. They picked it up on mornings that we were moving and when we got there our luggage was in our room waiting for us. What is so unusual about this is that we flew by airplane one day and another day by train. We never touched our luggage. It was taken by bus to our next location and placed in our room. Tauck found a travel path to get us from one beautiful place to another the most comfortable way possible. Now for touring, not only did we book small group, a group of 24 delightful guests, but when we toured a city or place, our group was divided in half with each group having their own tour guide. That made it such that we could see everything up close and personal but also we could talk personally to our guide and ask questions. My husband asked many questions that we were so happy that they explained.
The itinerary was filled with the best must see places that were beautiful and so representative of Spain. The itinerary was planned such that we could see these things in the first half of the day with evenings on many days left to our own exploring. We loved it. Of course, not to say we didn’t get lost a few times, but always found our way. It was so delightful just walk around in the plazas and the small little walkways of cobblestone and brick. The nights were filled with wonderful rooms in 5 star hotels.
Javier Soto, our Tauck tour guide, was just wonderful. He was very personable and east to talk to. He took care of everything and went out of his way to help us. He loved to laugh and easy to get him to laugh. One of my favorite memories was tricking Javier and getting us all to laugh. He would always give us water or even mints, or just talk to us. Towards the end of the trip, Javier gave us all gifts, a treasure for our memories of Spain.
The weather was perfect. It was cool in the mornings needing just a light jacket and just right in the evenings. Seville, was a little colder but warmed up nicely and Madrid was a little warmer. We got a couple of sprinkles but didn’t interfere with anything.
We took 3 private tours during out stay. The first day was the Costa Brava and Girona tour. We book through Viator and the tour group they used was In Out Barcelona Tours. We were picked up at the hotel at 9 am and brought back at 7 pm. This was a fantastic tour. The tour guide drove us to these places and explained everything to us. We saw bell towers, Jewish tombs and baths, their houses, churches, and learned so much history. He took us to a great plaza and we had a wonderful lunch. He drove us next to Costa Brava where he showed us wonderful views of the Mediterranean Sea. I had asked to be able to walk in the Mediterranean Sea and he drove us down so we could. A very wonderful day and worth every penny we spent.
The second day we went on a private tour to the Montserrat. Again we were picked up at our hotel at 9 am and were brought back by 4 pm. We booked again using Viator. The company they used was Barcelona Dreams tours. This time we traveled by subway, train, and cable car. Our tour guide was just wonderful and explained so many things about the Black Virgin. We heard the boys choir, saw the Black Virgin, and lite our candles. We also had a great lunch. It is a beautiful place to see. The mountain and the cathedral is a must see.
Comments
April 29 – May 6, 2018
Additional days of 2 days before tour and 2 days after tour
The Week in Spain – small group was an awesome trip. My husband stated that it is hard to consider another vacation after experiencing the wonderful, delightful trip in Spain. We saw so many beautiful buildings, flowers, cathedrals, and palaces. We were in awe at what we were seeing. The important things included how Tauck took care of us. Tauck made the tour so much more special and intimate by the planning of the trip and how they just took care of everything. We never had to touch our luggage outside our room. They picked it up on mornings that we were moving and when we got there our luggage was in our room waiting for us. What is so unusual about this is that we flew by airplane one day and another day by train. We never touched our luggage. It was taken by bus to our next location and placed in our room. Tauck found a travel path to get us from one beautiful place to another the most comfortable way possible. Now for touring, not only did we book small group, a group of 24 delightful guests, but when we toured a city or place, our group was divided in half with each group having their own tour guide. That made it such that we could see everything up close and personal but also we could talk personally to our guide and ask questions. My husband asked many questions that we were so happy that they explained.
The itinerary was filled with the best must see places that were beautiful and so representative of Spain. The itinerary was planned such that we could see these things in the first half of the day with evenings on many days left to our own exploring. We loved it. Of course, not to say we didn’t get lost a few times, but always found our way. It was so delightful just walk around in the plazas and the small little walkways of cobblestone and brick. The nights were filled with wonderful rooms in 5 star hotels.
Javier Soto, our Tauck tour guide, was just wonderful. He was very personable and east to talk to. He took care of everything and went out of his way to help us. He loved to laugh and easy to get him to laugh. One of my favorite memories was tricking Javier and getting us all to laugh. He would always give us water or even mints, or just talk to us. Towards the end of the trip, Javier gave us all gifts, a treasure for our memories of Spain.
The weather was perfect. It was cool in the mornings needing just a light jacket and just right in the evenings. Seville, was a little colder but warmed up nicely and Madrid was a little warmer. We got a couple of sprinkles but didn’t interfere with anything.
We took 3 private tours during out stay. The first day was the Costa Brava and Girona tour. We book through Viator and the tour group they used was In Out Barcelona Tours. We were picked up at the hotel at 9 am and brought back at 7 pm. This was a fantastic tour. The tour guide drove us to these places and explained everything to us. We saw bell towers, Jewish tombs and baths, their houses, churches, and learned so much history. He took us to a great plaza and we had a wonderful lunch. He drove us next to Costa Brava where he showed us wonderful views of the Mediterranean Sea. I had asked to be able to walk in the Mediterranean Sea and he drove us down so we could. A very wonderful day and worth every penny we spent.
The second day we went on a private tour to the Montserrat. Again we were picked up at our hotel at 9 am and were brought back by 4 pm. We booked again using Viator. The company they used was Barcelona Dreams tours. This time we traveled by subway, train, and cable car. Our tour guide was just wonderful and explained so many things about the Black Virgin. We heard the boys choir, saw the Black Virgin, and lite our candles. We also had a great lunch. It is a beautiful place to see. The mountain and the cathedral is a must see.