I had initially booked this tour for May 2024 but got cold feet when I kept hearing it called "A Week in...Pain" --- that certainly caused some concern. But the dates in early Sept. 2025 worked out well so we went ahead with our plans for the 1st week in September. Well, we were wonderfully surprised. It was actually one of our top 2 Tauck trips. Yes, the itinerary was ambitious, but we thought well planned and wouldn't have missed a thing!
Our Tour Director was Susana Olivares who couldn't have been more welcoming, delightful or well-organized. She was always pleasant and hosted her home country with knowledge and ease. Each of the four hotels we stayed out were fabulous --- and this can be one area of concern for me as I've not been happy with some past hotels/hotel rooms in the past. But all four hotels were top notch. Our favorite hotel was in Seville (Hotel Alfonso XIII) and I must say I'm missing my breakfast next to the lovely gurgling fountain in the courtyard surrounded by mini orange tree plants. Seville was also my favorite stop along the way. We also greatly enjoyed the Alhambra Palace Hotel in Granada and will never forget exploring the Alhambra the next morning.
Madrid and Barcelona were important stops as well, but they are large cities so you won't be too surprised that I didn't find them as charming as the smaller stops between the two. Our bus driver was Felipe who was also fantastic and pleasant throughout the journey.
I am a foodie and was delighted to find Spanish food to be quite tasty. Oh yes, and I should also mention that we travelled with a delightful group of folks. No complainers, no braggarts, just a good group of travelling companions.
I was just about to give up on group travel, but this trip has renewed my faith and then some. Yes, it is a busy trip, but we wouldn't have wanted to miss any of the stops along the way. We learned so much about Spain, Spanish history and Spanish culture. Well done to Tauck!
A few additional suggestions:
1) Very happy with the Aon travel insurance offered by Tauck, which was reasonably priced. Our American Air flight was cancelled for the trip returning home and Aon absolutely exceeded my expectations by providing a prompt refund with minimal effort on my part. Still awaiting compensation for the cancellation from American Air, but that is completely separate from Tauck and Aon.
2) Recommend booking a visit to Park Guell in Barcelona. It's lovely and you will recognize the tilework from many photos of Barcelona. We took an Uber, which I cannot recommend, so walked back to the hotel on our own. Perhaps just get the hotel to help you with a taxi?
3) Booked a self-guided visit to Royal Palace of Madrid. Glad we did so as the regular entrance line was quite lengthy and it was great to be able to skip the line and walk in.
4) In Madrid, not far from the Royal Palace, (between Royal Palace and Plaza Mayor) is Market of San Miguel/Mercado de San Miguel. I am really missing it as we ate the best tapas and churros on the entire trip at this market. It's quite busy so we never did find a place to sit down but we made do (ate outside and sat on exterior ledge). We also found a wonderful food court and grocery area in the lower level of El Corte Ingles (sort of the Nordstrom of Spain), which was in the central square. It included sit-down restaurants and you could find every kind of food imaginable.
Hope this review is helpful.
